RTHK: Denmark, Canada settled decades-old "friendly war" Canada and Denmark have finally settled a largely good-natured "war" fought for decades with weapons such as flags, whiskey and schnapps over a tiny, barren, and uninhabited outcrop in the Arctic. The two sides were to formally announce on Tuesday a deal to split Hans Island and effectively create the first land border between Canada and Europe at a signing ceremony in Ottawa with Canadian and Danish foreign ministers. Dividing up the kidney-shaped island and resolving the 49-year-old benign impasse was to be held up as a model for peacefully resolving territorial disputes contrasted with Russia's military operation in Ukraine. "The Arctic is a beacon for international cooperation, where the rule of law prevails," Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. "As global security is being threatened, it's more important than ever for democracies like Canada and Denmark to work together, alongside Indigenous peoples, to resolve our differences in accordance with international law." The row over the 1.3 square kilometre Hans Island, which sits between Ellesmere and Greenland, dates back to 1973, when a marine boundary was drawn between Canada and Greenland, part of the Danish kingdom. Danes and Canadians have visited it by helicopter over the past decades to lay claim to it, leading to diplomatic protests, online campaigns and even a Canadian call to boycott Danish pastries. During those ministerial visits, each side would plant a flag and leave behind a bottle of whiskey or schnapps for the other to enjoy. The snow-covered site is uninhabitable, but the onset of global warming is bringing more ship traffic to the Arctic, and opening it up to fishing and resources exploration although maybe not in the area of Hans Island. Arctic expert Michael Byers noted that "the island is so incredibly remote as to make it uneconomical to contemplate any serious activity there." Putting off resolution of this unusual territorial dispute, however, made for good political theatre in both countries, flaring up ahead of elections. "It was an entirely risk-free sovereignty dispute between two Naallies over an insignificant, tiny island," Byers said. Denmark also feared that losing the ownership battle would undermine relations with Greenland, while Canada worried that a loss would weaken its negotiating position in a more consequential dispute with the United States over the Beaufort Sea, in far north-western Canada, believed to be rich in hydrocarbons. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-06-14. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. 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 KBR, a US-based firm operating in fields of science, technology and engineering, has agreed to acquire UK-based Vima Group, a leading provider of digital transformation solutions for up to 75 million ($90.48 million). Vima Group delivers solutions across a number of large-scale, high priority digital transformation programmes to support its clients, including defence and other public sector firms, in ensuring availability of effective digital and information technology as guided by the UK's Digital Strategy for Defence. The company is a trusted advisor and a top five supplier to Defence Digital and Navy Digital both organisations within the UK Ministry of Defence with a number of highly strategic, fast-growing programmes. "This acquisition builds on our growing platform of high end, technically differentiated advisory, consulting, and transformation solutions in international markets," said Stuart Bradie, KBR President and Chief Executive Officer. "Vima Group's capabilities and trusted relationships in increasingly important areas accelerates our strategy to invest in the skills of the future that will deliver growth and value creation for years to come. We are delighted to welcome Vima Group into the KBR family."-- TradeArabia News Service The Wikimedia Foundation is appealing the decision of a court in Moscow demanding that it remove information related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The foundation owns the website Wikipedia, which many people use to get information. The organization argues that people have a right to know the facts of the war. A Moscow court fined the Wikimedia Foundation $88,000 for refusing to remove what it called disinformation from Russian-language Wikipedia articles about the war. Disinformation is false information spread knowingly and often secretly in order to influence public opinion or hide the truth. Stephen LaPorte is a lawyer representing the Wikimedia Foundation. He said in a statement, This decision implies that well-sourced, verified knowledge on Wikipedia that is inconsistent with Russian government accounts constitutes disinformation. Wikipedia is one of the few remaining major Russian-language information providers for Russians. The government has placed severe restrictions on media in Moscow. "The government is targeting information that is vital to people's lives in a time of crisis," LaPorte said. "We urge the court to reconsider in favor of everyone's rights to knowledge access and free expression. The Moscow court said that what it considers disinformation on Wikipedia is a risk to public order in Russia. The court added that the Foundation, which is based in San Francisco in the American state of California, was operating inside Russia. Russian officials brought charges against the Wikimedia Foundation under a law about the failure to delete banned information. The Wikipedia appeal argues that removing information is a violation of human rights. It said Russia had no control over the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikipedia articles are written and edited by volunteers. Ukraine says it will fight to the end to reclaim the territory that Russian forces have occupied. The country has repeatedly asked Western nations for more help to fight Russia. President Vladimir Putin and Russian officials do not use the words "war" or invasion." They call it a "special military operation" aimed at preventing the mistreatment of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine and its Western supporters deny Russias claims that Russian speakers were mistreated. Officials say Russian forces have committed war crimes, including killings, torture and rape in places such as Bucha. Russia says the claimed evidence of war crimes is made up of false material. Officials say Ukraine and its Western supporters have spread disinformation about Russian forces. Im Jonathan Evans. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English based on a report from the Reuters news service. ___________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story article n. a piece of writing on a subject imply v. to express something in an indirect way; to suggest something without saying or showing it plainly verified adj. proven, shown or state to be true or correct inconsistent adj. having parts that disagree with each other constitute v. to be the same as or equivalent to something vital adj. very important ORLANDO, Fla. Central Florida-based author Steve Berry has been crafting novels for more than two decades and while he still has plenty of stories to tell, being on the road can get a little tiring. Im a little old for this! he joked, while discussing his recent book tour, which has brought him all up the East Coast to Atlanta, Baltimore and more during a three-week-long tour to promote ... DOH Leon Marks World Sickle Cell Day June 15, 2022 DOH Leon Recognizes World Sickle Cell Day Tallahassee, Fla. Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is the most common genetic disease worldwide and is estimated to affect 8,000 people in Florida and some 100,000 people nationwide. The Florida Department of Health in Leon County (DOH Leon) recognizes June 19 as World Sickle Cell Day and encourages citizens to consider blood donation to support those living with SCD. Every baby born in a hospital in the United States is tested for SCD. SCD is most common among African Americans. It can cause severe episodes of pain, anemia requiring blood transfusions, and frequent hospitalizations due to effects on other organs. Though there is no cure, treatments and support services are available for those in Leon County living with SCD. A significant way to support those with Sickle Cell Disease in Leon County is to donate blood, said Sandon Speedling, MHS, CPM, CPH, DOH Leon Interim Health Officer. Those with SCD must receive frequent blood transfusions. Having a diverse supply of blood types is crucial for these patients. DOH Leon will join the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of Tallahassee and other partners for a community health fair to mark World Sickle Cell Disease Day: Community Health Fair Saturday | June 18, 2022 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 2625 South Adams Street Tallahassee, FL 32301 (Free food giveaways, games, prizes, free health screenings for the sickle cell trait, on-site health vendors, health education brochures) Contact the Red Cross in Tallahassee to find a local blood drive or schedule a time to donate. To find out more about SCD, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/ # # # Written by:Pamela Saulsby | Public Information Officer LEXINGTON If Monday felt particularly sweltering, its because temperature records for the date were broken across areas of south Central Nebraska. More highs in the 100s are expected this weekend. Phil Beda, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Hastings said Jim Kelly Field at Lexington reported a high temperature of 108 degrees on Monday, June 13, while the Canaday steam plant reported 107. Beda said the Canaday steam plant reading tied the record high for the date going back 1954. There were residents who reported 107 degrees from their personal weather stations at Johnson Lake. For comparison, the maximum temperature that NWS office in Phoenix, Ariz., recorded on Monday was 108 around 4:15 p.m. Beda said official records are not kept for all sites in the Dawson County area, due to the type of equipment used, but did note the Hastings Airport reported a high temperature of 103 degrees, breaking the old record of 100 that was set on June 13, 1952. Dawson County is still drier than areas to the east, due to the ongoing drought and therefore can warm-up more, Beda said. For record highs for all of June, Beda had to look all the way back to 1933 when 108 was reported in Grand Island and 110 in 1936 reported at Hastings. Locally, Gothenburgs maximum temperature for June is 100, recorded in 1952. The reason for the record breaking temperatures was an upper level ridge of high pressure that overspread the Great Plains, moving in from the desert Southwest, Beda said. There were also strong south winds present that helped to transport moisture and higher humidity farther north. High pressure is associated with subsistence, or sinking air, so these types of systems usually bring clear blue skies. During the day, since no clouds are present to reflect sunlight, there is more incoming shortwave solar radiation and temperatures rise. Temperatures in the 100s are possible this upcoming weekend and into Monday. Another sustainable ridge of high pressure, reaching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border, will move over the Plains, Beda said. Sunday and Monday both have the chance to set record highs again. Sunday, June 19 record highs for Grand Island go back to 1918 when 104 degrees was recorded. Hastings set 102 in 1934, 1940 and 1974. For Monday, June 20, Grand Island set the record of 104 in 1974 and Hastings set the same temperature in 1974 and 1988. CNN Academy Abu Dhabi is inviting applications for a scheme to train the next generation of journalists. The program commences in September. This following the success of the inaugural CNN Academy Abu Dhabi in 2021, said a statement. UAE nationals and residents above the age of 21 are eligible to apply. A group of 25 participants will learn from experts at the worlds leading news brand and build a valuable set of industry skills to tell engaging stories across multiple platforms. The immersive training scheme will offer hybrid learning through in-person workshops at Yas Creative Hub, the first purpose-built development for media, creativity, and gaming in the region. It will also offer online webinars with senior CNN journalists, content creators and production specialists to learn CNN best practice in newsgathering, verifying sources and producing content for its various platforms. During the first weeks of CNN Academy Abu Dhabi, participants will complete 10 courses on core topics such as ethics in journalism, writing for TV news and mobile storytelling and editing. There will also be the opportunity to attend Global Media Congress alongside delegates from CNN. For the final week of the training programme, participants will take part in the very first CNN Academy Newsroom Simulation at Yas Creative Hub. This has been designed in consultation with CNN journalists from around the world and will be a competitive challenge to investigate and report on a fictional breaking news story that puts journalism skills to the test in a realistic, fast-paced setting. Each element of the scenario has been specifically tailored to reinforce journalistic best practices in conjunction with the broader CNN Academy curriculum and participants will produce video reports that will be judged by a panel of experienced CNN staff, said the statement. Further to the first CNN Academy Abu Dhabi, several of the participants have gone on to careers in the media including five who have experienced working for CNN in a mixture of paid internships, fixed term and full-time roles, it said. Rani Raad, President of CNN Commercial Worldwide, said: Never has it been more important for journalism to flourish in order to tell stories with impact about what is happening around the world right now and help audiences make sense of it all. CNN is at the forefront of how news is sourced, produced and distributed this initiative is part of us empowering the next generation to learn about these changes from the best in the business. As we embark on the second iteration of the CNN Academy Abu Dhabi, Im pleased to mark our 12th year of collaborating with twofour54 as our CNN bureau in Abi Dhabi continues to be a key hub for CNN globally and alongside CNN Arabic, which celebrates its 20th anniversary, cements our prominence and dedication to the region. Becky Anderson, Managing Editor of CNN Abu Dhabi and Anchor of Connect the World, was instrumental in the first CNN Academy Abu Dhabi and went on to lead some of the graduates as they took up roles in the CNN Abu Dhabi bureau. CNN Academy Abu Dhabi 2021 was the catalyst to launch many careers, including in our very own CNN team. This years CNN Academy Abu Dhabi has expanded to include many more in-person interactions and will culminate in the very first CNN Academy Newsroom Simulation. Our participants will tackle a dynamic, real-time breaking-news scenario, which will be challenging and exciting for all involved. I cannot wait to meet and work with this years participants. The training will take place at the Community Hub, a collaborative, co-creating space that brings together gamers, youth, aspiring filmmakers, freelancers, start-ups, and SME content creators at Yas Creative Hub. The Community Hub is home to training and development initiatives creative lab and Arab Film Studio, which will support the annual program. CNN Academy Abu Dhabi is open to UAE nationals and residents over the age of 21 who have a background and/or interest in media and multiplatform storytelling. Applications for the CNN Academy Abu Dhabi 2022 open on June 15. Check academy.cnn.com/abudhabi for more information. -TradeArabia News Service Local breaking featured top story Three firefighters in hospital after battling blaze in Rivercrest/Redland area Three Moffett Volunteer Fire Department firefighters are being treated at Hermann Memorial Hospital in Houston after assisting in putting out a fire in the Rivercrest area, said Bobby Dean Cranford, president of the Angelina County Volunteer Fire Department Association. Volunteer Fire Chief Eddie Sweet, his wife Anna Marie and his sister, Holly Klock, were all flown by helicopter from Woodland Heights, according to Richard Brunk, with the Moffett Fire Department. It is only by the grace of God were not planning three funerals right now, he said. The department was called to assist in putting out a fire in the woods in the 900 block of Old Highway 59 in the Rivercrest area around 1 or 2 p.m. Monday, Brunk said. There were no structures involved in the fire, he said. Eddie Sweet began having respiratory problems and was transported by ambulance to Woodland Heights Medical Center. The other firefighters followed the chief to the hospital. It was there where Anna Marie, and Klock began to experience respiratory issues, Brunk said. All three were put on ventilators and flown to Houston. The department is close-knit, and many members are family, so most have made their way south to be with the three who were injured, Brunk said. Other volunteer fire departments have taken over in the area until the department is back up and running, he said. Three other Moffett firefighters began having respiratory problems after this incident, but have not been hospitalized. The doctor guessed there was something in the smoke the firefighters were breathing, Brunk said. Anna Marie was taken off the vent around 7:30 or 8 a.m. Tuesday morning but she has a small brain bleed, Brunk said. She is being treated in the burn unit. Klock was still on the ventilator the last time Brunk was updated, he said. The doctors had to defibrillate her because of an issue with her heart, and she was in the Intensive Care Unit. Eddie came off the vent early this morning and hes doing fine, Brunk said. The first thing he asked for was snuff and a Dr Pepper. I think hes doing fine. This incident comes almost exactly a year after the department lost its former fire chief, Joey Rocka, to COVID-19. A convoy of local fire departments transported him to Angelina County for his funeral on June 11, 2021. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe 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. WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. announced it will send an additional $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, as America and its allies provide longer-range weapons they say can make a difference in a fight where Ukrainian forces are outnumbered and outgunned by their Russian invaders. President Joe Biden and his top national security leaders said Wednesday the U.S. is moving as fast as possible to get critical weapons to the fight, even as Ukrainian officials protest that they need more, faster, in order to survive. The latest package, the U.S. said, includes anti-ship missile launchers, howitzers and more rounds for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that U.S. forces are training Ukrainian troops on now. All are key weapons systems that Ukrainian leaders have urgently requested as they battle to stall Russia's slow but steady march to conquer the eastern Donbas region. Gen. Milley and I have been in a number of fights. And when youre in a fight, you can never get enough, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a press conference in Brussels, referring to Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I certainly understand where the Ukrainians are coming from, and were gonna fight hard to give them everything they need. The HIMARS and anti-ship systems are the kinds of longer range capabilities that over time can make a difference in the fight, Milley said. He said Ukraine will have trained HIMARS crews in the fight in a few weeks. If they use the weapon properly and its employed properly, they ought to be able to take out a significant amount of targets and that will make a difference, he said. But he also noted that the numbers clearly favor the Russians. "In terms of artillery, they do outnumber, they out-gun and out-range the Ukrainian forces. The aid is the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since the war began. Biden, who spoke by phone with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for about 40 minutes Wednesday, also said the U.S. will send $225 million more in humanitarian assistance to provide safe drinking water, medical supplies, food, health care, shelter and money for families to buy essential items. The U.S. remains committed, Biden said in a statement, to supporting the Ukrainian people whose lives have been ripped apart by this war. The aid comes as Austin convened a meeting in Brussels of more than 45 nations to discuss support for Ukraine. At the start of the meeting, he warned that the West must step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and prove its commitment to helping the country's military fight along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line in a grinding war of attrition with Russia. He told the participating nations, "We cant afford to let up and we cant lose steam. The stakes are too high. Overall, since the war began in late February, the U.S. has committed about $5.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including this latest package. Officials said that about one-third of the latest $1 billion will be from presidential drawdown authority, which means the Pentagon will take weapons and equipment from it's own stock and ship them to Ukraine. The remaining two-thirds would be equipment and weapons purchased from industry by the U.S. and then transferred to Ukraine. Austin's meeting, also attended by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, came on the opening day of a two-day gathering of NATO defense ministers at the alliance headquarters. Increased arms supplies cant come too soon for the Ukrainian forces battling to keep Russia from taking control of their countrys industrial east after more than 3 months of war. In his nightly address to the nation, President Zelenskyy pleaded Tuesday for more and faster deliveries of Western arms, specifically asking for anti-missile defense systems. Allies are committed to continue providing the military equipment that Ukraine needs to prevail, including heavy weapons and long-range systems, said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary-general. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Tuesday that without help from the West, we will not be able to win this war. She said Ukraine uses 5,000 to 6,000 artillery rounds a day, while Russia uses 10 times that many. The defense ministers also planned to discuss moves to beef up forces along NATOs own eastern flank and elsewhere, which have gathered strength since Russia invaded Ukraine. This will mean more presence, more capabilities and higher readiness, with more NATO forward deployed combat formations to strengthen our battlegroups in the East, more air, sea and cyber defenses, pre-positioned equipment and weapon stockpiles, Stoltenberg said. On a separate but related subject, he wouldnt commit to a timeframe for Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is blocking the membership bids, accusing the Nordic nations of supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Turkey to be terrorists. My aim is to solve this issue as soon as possible, but since we are several nations involved in this process, there is no way to tell you exactly when we will solve it, Stoltenberg said. Because of Turkeys concerns, this will take some more time than we originally expected, he said. Erdogan signaled Wednesday he wont back down. We will most definitely not change our stance until Sweden and Finland take clear, concrete and determined steps in the fight against terrorism, Erdogan said in an address to his ruling partys legislators. All 30 NATO members must agree to admit new members. Corder reported from The Hague, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed. 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. WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- An emergency committee of independent experts will meet next week to determine whether the growing monkeypox outbreak that's spread to dozens of countries should be declared an international health emergency, the World Health Organization announced Tuesday. That's the highest level of alert for viral outbreaks and doing so would mean that WHO views the normally rare disease as a continuing threat to nations worldwide, the Associated Press reported. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he decided to convene the emergency committee because of the unusual spread of monkeypox in countries well beyond parts of Africa where it is endemic. We believe that it needs also some coordinated response because of the geographic spread, he told reporters, according to the AP. Case counts are rising every day and there are "many gaps of knowledge of the dynamics of transmission," said Dr. Ibrahima Soce Fall, WHOs emergencies director for Africa. With the advice from the emergency committee, we can be in a better position to control the situation. But it doesnt mean that we are going straight to a public health emergency of international concern, he said, the AP reported. We dont want to wait until the situation is out of control to start calling the emergency committee. The UN health agency recommends judicious use of vaccines rather than mass vaccination, and said the main measures to control the outbreak include surveillance, tracking cases and isolating patients, the AP reported. More than 1,600 cases and nearly 1,500 suspected cases have been reported this year in 39 countries, including seven where monkeypox has occurred for years, Tedros said. There have been 72 deaths reported, but none in newly affected countries such as Britain, Canada, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United States, the AP reported. Last month, a WHO advisor said the outbreak in Europe and beyond was likely spread by sex at two recent rave parties in Spain and Belgium, according to the AP. Although the monkeypox cases in this latest outbreak have been seen mostly among gay men, scientists warn that anyone can catch monkeypox if they are in close, physical contact with an infected person or their clothing or bed sheets. More information Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on monkeypox. SOURCE: Associated Press Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union urged a federal appeals court Wednesday to continue blocking Arkansas' ban on gender confirming treatments or surgery for children, saying reinstating the restriction would create uncertainty for families around the state. A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the state's appeal of the preliminary injunction issued last year against ban, which was enacted by the majority-Republican Legislature. ACLU attorney Chase Strangio said allowing the law to be enforced would cause unnecessary disruption since a trial over it is scheduled to begin in October before the judge who issued the injunction. If the injunction were lifted now, these families would have to leave their homes, their communities, their jobs, travel to another state just to potentially return" months later, said Strangio, who is deputy director of transgender justice for the ACLU's LGBTQ and HIV Project. Arkansas was the first state to enact such a ban, which also prohibits doctors from referring youths elsewhere for such medical care. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson vetoed the ban but was overridden by the Legislature. Multiple medical groups, including the American Medical Association, oppose the ban and have said the care is safe if properly administered. The Justice Department has also opposed the ban as unconstitutional. Gender confirming surgery is not performed on minors in Arkansas. Arkansas has argued that the restriction is within the state's authority to regulate medical practices. These gender transition procedures can be set apart from many of these long existing practices like cleft palate surgery because they are a very emerging area of medicine," Deputy Solicitor General Dylan Jacobs told the court. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of four transgender youths and their families, as well as two doctors who provide gender confirming treatments. The appellate judges did not indicate when they rule. The hearing came days after a Texas judge blocked the state from investigating families of transgender youth over gender medical confirming care they've received. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) (THE CONVERSATION) Quick, define the word metaverse. From climate change to global connection and disability access to pandemic response, the metaverse has incredible potential. Gatherings in virtual worlds have considerably lower carbon footprints than in-person gatherings. People spread all over the globe can gather together in virtual spaces. The metaverse can allow disabled people new forms of social participation through virtual entrepreneurship. And during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the metaverse not only provided people with ways to connect but also served as a place where, for instance, those sharing a small apartment could be alone. No less monumental dangers exist as well, from surveillance and exploitation to disinformation and discrimination. But discussing these benefits and threats remains difficult because of confusion about what metaverse actually means. As a professor of anthropology who has been researching the metaverse for almost 20 years, I know this confusion matters. The metaverse is at a virtual crossroads. Norms and standards set in the next few years are likely to structure the metaverse for decades. But without common conceptual ground, people cannot even debate these norms and standards. Unable to distinguish innovation from hype, people can do little more than talk past one another. This leaves powerful companies like Meta to literally set the terms for their own commercial interests. For example, Nick Clegg, former deputy prime minister of the U.K. and now president of global affairs at Meta, attempted to control the narrative with the May 2022 essay Making the Metaverse. Categorical prototypes Most attempted definitions for metaverse include a bewildering laundry list of technologies and principles, but always included are virtual worlds places online where real people interact in real time. Thousands of virtual worlds already exist, some gaming oriented, like Fortnite and Roblox, others more open-ended, like Minecraft and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Beyond virtual worlds, the list of metaverse technologies typically includes avatars, nonplayer characters and bots; virtual reality; cryptocurrency, blockchain and non-fungible tokens; social networks from Facebook and Twitter to Discord and Slack; and mobile devices like phones and augmented reality interfaces. Often included as well are principles like interoperability the idea that identities, friendship networks and digital items like avatar clothes should be capable of moving between virtual worlds. The problem is that humans dont categorize by laundry lists. Instead, decades of research in cognitive science has shown that most categories are radial, with a central prototype. One could define bird in terms of a laundry list of traits: has wings, flies and so on. But the prototypical bird for North Americans looks something like a sparrow. Hummingbirds and ducks are further from this prototype. Further still are flamingos and penguins. Yet all are birds, radiating out from the socially specific prototype. Someone living near the Antarctic might place penguins closer to the center. Human creations are usually radial categories as well. If asked to draw a chair, few people would draw a dentist chair or beanbag chair. The metaverse is a human creation, and the most important step to defining it is to realize its a radial category. Virtual worlds are prototypical for the metaverse. Other elements of the laundry list radiate outward and wont appear in all cases. And whats involved will be socially specific. It will look different in Alaska than it will in Addis Ababa, or when at work versus at a family gathering. Whose idea of essential? This matters because one of the most insidious rhetorical moves currently underway is to assert that some optional aspect of the metaverse is prototypical. For instance, many pundits define the metaverse as based on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. But many existing virtual worlds use means other than blockchain for confirming ownership of digital assets. Many use national currencies like the U.S. dollar, or metaverse currencies pegged to a national currency. Another such rhetorical move appears when Clegg uses an image of a building with a foundation and two floors to argue not only that interoperability will be part of the foundations of the building but that its the common theme across these floors. But Cleggs warning that without a significant degree of interoperability baked into each floor, the metaverse will become fragmented ignores how interoperability isnt prototypical for the metaverse. In many cases, fragmentation is desirable. I might not want the same identity in two different virtual worlds, or on Facebook and an online game. This raises the question of why Meta and many pundits are fixated on interoperability. Left unsaid in Cleggs essay is the foundation of Metas profit model: tracking users across the metaverse to target advertising and potentially sell digital goods with maximum effectiveness. Recognizing metaverse as a radial category reveals that Cleggs claim about interoperability isnt a statement of fact. Its an attempt to render Metas surveillance capitalism prototypical, the foundation of the metaverse. It doesnt have to be. Locking in definitions This example illustrates how defining the metaverse isnt an empty intellectual exercise. Its the conceptual work that will fundamentally shape design, policy, profit, community and the digital future. Cleggs essay concludes optimistically that time is on our side because many metaverse technologies wont be fully realized for a decade or more. But as the VR pioneer Jaron Lanier has noted, when definitions about digital technology get locked in they become difficult to dislodge. They become digital common sense. With regard to the definitions that will be the true foundation of the metaverse, time is emphatically not on our side. I believe that now is the time to debate how the metaverse will be defined because these definitions are very likely to become our digital realities. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/how-we-describe-the-metaverse-makes-a-difference-todays-words-could-shape-tomorrows-reality-and-who-benefits-from-it-182819. Licenced as Creative Commons - attribution, no derivatives. Thank you! You've reported this item as a violation of our terms of use. Error! There was a problem with reporting this article. This content was contributed by a user of the site. If you believe this content may be in violation of the terms of use, you may report it. Report Abuse Log In to report MADISON, Wis. (AP) Donald Trump's endorsed candidate for Wisconsin governor is standing by his opposition to same-sex marriage, telling The Associated Press that he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman. Tim Michels, co-owner of Michels Corp. construction company, is one of four Republicans running for a chance to take on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in November and this month won the former president's endorsement. Michels spoke with the AP on Tuesday about the race. His views on same-sex marriage have been in question after he made comments in his U.S. Senate race in 2004 when he backed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. He did not comment when asked earlier this month what he thought of Evers raising a rainbow flag over the state Capitol to celebrate Pride Month. My position that is that marriage should be between a man and a woman, Michels said when asked about it Tuesday. When asked if he would take steps as governor to limit the rights of gay people, Michels said: As a businessman, what I do is I look at whats in the legislation and its all about the details. So I am very hesitant to do hypotheticals on a broadly stated question like that. But Michels said he would win the support of LGBTQ voters because "they know that Im going to bring proper, proven executive leadership to the governors office. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Wisconsin since Oct. 6, 2014, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a lower court's ruling finding the state ban to be unconstitutional. The next day, officials across the state began issuing marriage licenses. Eight months later, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage. Since the leak of a draft opinion alluded to the Supreme Court potentially overturning abortion rights, concerns have grown over whether justices could next move to reverse other decisions that rely on the right to privacy that the court outlined in the Roe v. Wade decision nearly 50 years ago. One of those is the 2015 ruling that struck down state bans on same-sex marriage. Wisconsin Democratic Party spokeswoman Hannah Menchhoff said Michels is once again staking out the most radical position on gay marriage. She pointed to polls that show a majority of Wisconsin residents support same-sex marriage, saying that Michels is too radical for Wisconsin. Michels' position on same-sex marriage puts him in contrast with another top candidate in the Aug. 9 Republican primary. Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch supports same-sex marriage and her campaign spokesman Alec Zimmerman said earlier this month that she has moved on from this debate. Kleefisch in 2010 said that same-sex marriage could result in people marrying dogs, tables or clocks. She later apologized. Business consultant Kevin Nicholson, another candidate, has said he doesnt want the courts to revisit the legality of same-sex marriage. The American people have made clear their view on this, that they believe that it should be legal," Nicholson said. State Rep. Timothy Ramthun, another candidate, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Evers' campaign responded to Michels' comment by tweeting a video of Evers waving a rainbow flag while marching in a parade along with the message: Tony will always support the LGBTQ+ community in Wisconsin. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Two grain silos have been inaugurated in Jordans Juwaideh and Aqaba regions following an extensive renovation, which will support the kingdoms food and security strategy for 2025. The AED258.7 million ($70.5 million) projects were carried out by Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) to raise the capacity of the Juwaideh silo to 120,000 tonnes and the Aqaba granary to 100,000 tonnes. ADFD financed the projects through a grant allocated by the UAE to Jordan as part of the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (Agfund). Revamped granaries The revamped granaries were inaugurated by Nasser Al Shuraida, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation and Acting Minister of Industry and Trade. The ceremony was attended by Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD; Dana Al Zoubi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, and other officials from both sides. Silos are mainly used to hold essential food grains such as wheat and barley. The Juwaideh silo store has 24 vertical storages. Each main silo has a 5,000-metric-tonne capacity. A 1-megawatt solar plant has also been set up to supply energy to the granary. The Aqaba granary has 28 additional vertical warehouses, each with a capacity of about 3,800 tonnes. Together the two silos are expected to reduce food imports, while also generating hundreds of jobs and contributing to Jordans economic development. Scale of efforts Nasser Al Shuraida said that the silos expansion project in Juwaideh and Aqaba underscored the scale of efforts of the UAE and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to support Jordan over its development programmes. He thanked the UAE and its leadership for enabling Jordan to achieve sustainable development. He emphasised that the UAE through ADFD financed many projects in vital sectors that had a significant impact on the Jordanian economy, which uplifted the standard of living. He called ADFD a strategic partner and a global model in terms of driving sustainable development around the world. Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi said: Our participation in the inauguration of expansion project of Juwaideh and Aqaba granaries reflects the depth of the strategic relations between the UAE and Jordan, as these pioneering projects represent a priority for Jordans development programmes. Increasing population He pointed out that the two silos with an expanded capacity will enhance food security and ensure that the country meets its food needs for an increasing population, in addition to keeping food price in check. All this will further strengthen Jordans economy and support the governments developmental objectives, he said. Engineer Imad Ali Al-Tarawneh, General Manager of Jordan Soils and Supply General Co, said: The mega projects reflect the vision of the wise leaderships of the two countries and their keenness to strengthen strategic relations to achieve common economic objectives. Abu Dhabi Fund for Developments contributions to upgrade the silos will help Jordan to maintain strategic stockpile of food staples, with the quantity being one of the highest in the Arab world. These projects also help meet local market requirements for essential food grains and enhance Jordans food security and sustainability. Since 1974, ADFD financed development projects worth AED6.5 billion, mainly in strategic sectors such as energy, transport, water and agriculture, health and education. These projects supported the Jordanian government to drive socioeconomic development in the country.-- TradeArabia News Service In a scathing rebuke of Michael Gablemans behavior in court last week, a Dane County judge has ordered the former state Supreme Court justice conducting a Republican review of Wisconsins 2020 election be fined $2,000 a day until he complies with ongoing public records requests. Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington on Wednesday also directed Gablemans sneering conduct in Remingtons courtroom to the office that regulates attorneys and judges in Wisconsin to take possible action against Gablemans license to practice law. The circus Gableman created in the courtroom destroyed any sense of decorum and irreparably damaged the publics perception of the judicial process, Remington wrote of Gablemans refusal to answer questions under oath on Friday about whether the Office of Special Counsel he heads had violated a court order to stop deleting requested documents. Gableman refused to provide testimony in the case, but instead lashed out at Remington, accusing the judge of being a partisan advocate. Neither facts nor law supported Gablemans conduct on June 10, 2022, Remington wrote in the order. He chose to raise his voice, point his finger, accuse the judge of bias, proclaim he would not be railroaded, and refuse to answer any questions. This strategy might work elsewhere, but it has no place in a courtroom. Wisconsin demands more from its attorneys, Remington added. Gablemans demeaning conduct has discredited the profession and every other person sworn to commit themselves to live by the constitutional processes of our system. Gablemans office and attorney did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. In his order, Remington also noted comments Gableman made about Christa Westerberg, an attorney for the liberal watchdog group American Oversight, the organization suing to get the records. Gablemans comments were made after the former justice was informed that the courtroom microphone was on and capturing audio. Gablemans conduct was an affront to the judicial process and an insult to Atty. Westerberg, by their very suggestion that she is not capable of litigating without the help of the judge, Remington wrote. The sophomoric innuendo about Atty. Westerberg coming back to chambers is a sad reminder that in 2022, woman lawyers still have to do more than be excellent at their job. Gablemans comments Friday came two months after he criticized in a radio interview the apparel of Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe. Black dress, white pearls, Ive seen the act, Ive seen the show, Gableman told WTAQ-AM host Joe Giganti in April. When Giganti responded that he recently saw Wolfe wearing a gold locket, rather than pearls, Gableman responded with, Oh, Hillary Clinton. Gablemans refusal to testify came two days after Remington cautioned the former justices staffer Zakory Niemierowicz, whom Gablemans attorneys have described as the sole legal custodian for the requested records, to consider seeking legal counsel, noting that remedial sanctions for contempt could include jail time. Attorneys for Gableman unsuccessfully tried to quash the subpoena issued to the former justice by American Oversight. In his order, Remington also referenced online threats he has received since Fridays court hearing, which come just weeks after retired Juneau County Judge John Roemer was killed in his New Lisbon home. I have been made aware of threats, for example, that I had better watch my back, or I hope the judge has a gun, Remington noted. One online suggestion has been for a group to protest at my home as has been reported at the home of United States Supreme Court Justice (Brett Kavanaugh). That these threats originate with the statements of a retired judge is the saddest part of this whole experience. Complaint filed At Remingtons order, the Dane County Clerk of Courts on Wednesday forwarded his decision and the transcript of the Friday hearing to the Office of Lawyer Regulation, which may be the first such referral for a former state Supreme Court justice who is practicing law after leaving the high court. There are limits to the public availability of complaints filed against lawyers, which are confidential until the Office of Lawyer Regulation, which investigates the complaints, asks the state Supreme Court to act, and the court later issues some form of discipline. Discipline can be anything from a private reprimand to revocation of a lawyers license to practice. A search Wednesday by the Wisconsin State Law Library of Wisconsins 30 most recent Supreme Court justices found that none of the recent justices were ever issued any form of discipline, according to state court system records. Gableman, while he was serving as a state Supreme Court justice, was the subject of complaints filed with the Office of Lawyer Regulation and the state Judicial Commission. In 2008, liberal group One Wisconsin Now filed a complaint alleging that Gableman, while he was district attorney in Ashland County, had made phone calls from his office related to a 2002 fundraiser he hosted for then-Gov. Scott McCallum. McCallum appointed Gableman as Burnett County circuit judge less than two months after the fundraiser. No discipline was issued as a result of the complaint, records show. The Wisconsin Judicial Commission, responding to an initial complaint by Wisconsin Citizen Action, filed a complaint in October 2008 alleging Gableman had violated the states code of judicial conduct by paying for a TV ad during his Supreme Court campaign which implied then-Justice Louis Butler, Gablemans opponent, had used a loophole while he was a defense attorney to gain release for a sex offender, who later attacked a young girl. That case ended with a 3-3 split by the state Supreme Court, with Gableman recusing himself. The Judicial Commission, seeing no path forward, then dropped the case. Records cases The case Remington oversees is one of three filed by American Oversight against Gableman, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and the Assembly seeking public records related to Gablemans review of the 2020 election. Gableman was hired a year ago by Vos, under pressure from Donald Trump to investigate the former presidents loss to President Joe Biden by just under 21,000 votes in Wisconsin. While originally allocated $676,000 in taxpayer funds, invoices have shown that ongoing court battles surrounding the review have pushed the cost to nearly $900,000. A recount, court decisions and multiple reviews have affirmed that President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. Only 24 people out of nearly 3.3 million who cast ballots have been charged with election fraud in Wisconsin. Gableman has issued two interim reports, but his work has been the target of bipartisan criticism. Vos paused the review this spring pending the outcome of lawsuits challenging Gablemans ability to subpoena elected officials and others who worked on elections. Both Gableman and American Oversight have posted hundreds of pages of records online, but American Oversight attorneys have contended that more records likely exist and have not been provided. Primarily, the organization has sought any documents including those that may have been deleted between Gableman and his staff, which American Oversight attorneys say constitute contractor records that are subject to the states open records law. In his order, Remington cited testimony provided by Niemierowicz in a recent deposition, in which Gablemans staffer noted that the office employed a classified person, whose records cannot and have not been released. Niemierowicz also alluded to the belief that a records custodian may evade state public records law by immediately destroying a record, Remington noted. These shortcomings are overshadowed by Niemierowicz lack of any authority to ensure compliance with the Courts order by procuring records, Remington wrote. This too, is evidence of a pattern of intentional disobedience by (the Office of Special Counsel), and Niemierowicz good faith ignorance is not a barrier to the imposition of contempt. American Oversight chief counsel Dan Schwager said in a statement he hopes Remingtons order will compel Gablemans office to fully comply with the records requests. It is increasingly clear that this unprofessional investigation is little more than a charade intended to prop up former President Trumps dangerously false claims of election fraud, and after spending nearly a million dollars of taxpayer money, the people of Wisconsin deserve all the facts, Schwager added. Both Remington and Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn have previously ordered Gableman to stop deleting records that may be responsive to American Oversights requests. Attorneys for Gableman have said the former justice is exempt from retaining records, and his office regularly destroys documents deemed irrelevant or useless. An analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Council in October determined that deleting such records, even by a state contractor like Gableman, violates state law. State Journal reporter Ed Treleven and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Michael Gableman, the former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice leading the taxpayer-funded Republican probe into the 2020 election, will address a poll watcher training event next weekend organized by a Republican lawyer who played a key role in former President Donald Trumps unsuccessful legal effort to overturn the election. Branded an election integrity summit by lead organizer the Conservative Partnership Institute, the event at a Wauwatosa hotel will include sessions on recruiting, training and deploying poll watchers, according to the events website. The Wauwatosa meeting is the latest in a nationwide effort by longtime GOP lawyer Cleta Mitchell to encourage more conservative activists to serve as poll watchers ahead of the 2022 election. Mitchell, a senior legal fellow for the conservative group, advised Trump during his failed attempt to stay in power. Other leaders of the group include Mark Meadows, Trumps former chief of staff, and former Republican Sen. Jim DeMint. With previous events in recent months across battleground states like Georgia, Arizona and Michigan, Mitchells arrival in Wisconsin comes as the Republican Party embarks on its own election integrity tour throughout the state in a push to recruit poll workers, observers and voting deputies. Rachel Reisner, the Wisconsin spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the national party is affiliated with Mitchells event. CPI spokesperson Kerri Toloczko declined to comment on the events itinerary, saying the organization does not give media interviews. Our Summits are solely to provide information and supplemental training for Wisconsin citizens who work to ensure safe and secure voting for all Wisconsinites, Toloczko said. Because CPI is a registered 501(3) nonprofit, it is prohibited from political campaign activity, though it can organize nonpartisan public and voter education guides, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Both the RNC events and CPI summit are closed to the press. Partisan election observers at the polls are nothing new, but recent Republican efforts to create a team of party-affiliated observers and poll workers has little precedent, said Debra Cronmiller, the executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. While poll workers greet voters, check them in and track ballots, observers typically monitor the operations to make sure they comply with regulations and that the law is followed. They will have no more or less authority at the polling places than other poll workers, Cronmiller said of Republican trainees. Its just new to me and others that they would be organizing themselves as a party initiative, rather than an individual in a community just wanting to work at the polls. Cronmiller said she and her colleagues are going into Novembers election with eyes wide open. The democratic process in recent years has seen increased incidents of voter intimidation, she said. Some of the off-the-wall stuff is happening, where you have literally militia intimidating voters, preventing them from entering a polling place, Cronmiller said. I honestly believe that if we are well prepared and everybody knows were well prepared, that in and of itself is a preemptive act to prevent any issues. CPIs Wauwatosa event will feature speeches from Gableman and Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, the chair of the state Assemblys elections committee. Other sessions have been dubbed a Citizens Guide to Cleaning Voter Rolls, The Lefts Secret Plan to spend your tax dollars to win in 2022 and Building the Wisconsin Election Integrity Infrastructure. The event will be held at the Renaissance Milwaukee West Hotel in Wauwatosa on June 24 and 25. 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. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Three firearms bills, including a ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, are headed to the governor's desk after passing the Rhode Island Senate. The bills passed Tuesday night intended to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings like recent ones in New York and Texas also raise from 18 to 21 the state's minimum age for buying rifles and shotguns, and prohibit loaded rifles and shotguns from being carried in public. The bills were passed last week by the state House of Representatives. A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Dan McKee said Wednesday that he is expected to sign them. The Senate version of the large-capacity magazine ban stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but the full Senate passed the House version of the legislation 25-11. High-capacity magazines have no legitimate purpose for hunting or self-defense," Democratic committee Chair Sen. Cynthia Coyne said in a statement. They enable shooters to unleash torrents of bullets and inflict maximum harm in mere seconds, making them a tool of the trade for mass shootings, drug trafficking and gang violence." Some lawmakers had sought to exempt high-capacity magazines that Rhode Islanders already own, but the proposal failed. Under the bill, those who already own large-capacity magazines or weapons will have 180 days to permanently alter them so they comply with the law, surrender them to police, or sell them to buyers in places where they remain legal. Law enforcement and military personnel are exempted. The state Republican Party said the high-capacity magazine ban will turn law-abiding citizens into criminals. This is rather breathtaking," the party said in a statement. In just a few months, tens of thousands of Rhode Island gun owners could become felons. Never have so many law-abiding citizens been put at risk for jail time since the days of Prohibition when possession of alcohol was a crime." Another bill amends current state law that bars the sale or possession of handguns to people under 21 to include rifles and shotguns. It is well-settled science that teenage and post-teenage brains are still developing," Democratic Sen. Maryellen Goodwin said in a statement. Its common sense that we shouldnt be selling lethal weapons to people who weve decided are not old enough to buy cigarettes or beer." Supporters of the measure noted that the suspects in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, were both 18. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. WASHINGTON (AP) The House committee investigating the Capitol riot plans to focus its hearing Thursday on the pressure that Donald Trump put on his vice president, Mike Pence, in a last-ditch and potentially illegal plan to stop Joe Bidens election victory. Trump seized on the unorthodox proposal from conservative law professor John Eastman to have Pence turn back the electors when the vice president presided over Congress to certify the election results on Jan. 6, 2021. Traditionally, Jan. 6 is a ceremonial day, a procedural step tallying the presidential vote. But Eastmans highly unusual plan bold, he called it was to have alternative slates of electors submitted to Congress, leaving Pence no choice but to return them to the states to sort it out. Biden would be denied a majority and Trump could win. As the defeated Trump watched dozens of court cases challenging the 2020 presidential election collapse, he turned to the Eastman plan as a last resort to stay in office. John (Eastman) is one of the most brilliant lawyers in the country and he looked at this, Trump told thousands of supporters at a rally near the White House before sending them to the Capitol on Jan. 6. And he looked at Mike Pence, and I hope Mike is going to do the right thing. I hope so. I hope so because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election, the then-president said. The committee viewed the actions as potentially illegal and a threat to democracy. What President Trump demanded that Mike Pence do wasnt just wrong, it was illegal and it was unconstitutional, said the committee's vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in opening remarks last week. A look at the Eastman plan in the days before Jan. 6 and why it's central to the congressional investigation: THE PLAN Two days before the Capitol attack, Pence was summoned to the White House for an Oval Office meeting with Trump and Eastman to hear about the law professors plan to turn back the electors. With Trumps false claims of election fraud, Eastman had been circulating what was essentially an academic proposal challenging the workings of the 130-year-old Electoral Count Act that governs the process for tallying the election results in Congress. The six-point plan was gaining momentum among Trumps allies in Congress, including key senators, and outside activists. BOLD, Certainly, Eastman said in a memo included in a court filing from the Jan. 6 committee. But he said such an unusual step was needed, falsely claiming this Election was Stolen. If Pence would refuse to count some electors, then the threshold needed to certify the presidential election would drop from the regular 270-vote majority to a lesser number one presumably that Trump could reach. If Democrats in Congress objected, as Eastman predicted they would, then under current law the House would be called on to decide the presidency. In that scenario, because the House would vote by individual state congressional delegations, which were mostly Republican majority, the numbers would align for Trump to win. The illegality of the plan, declared the Jan. 6 committee in a court filing, was obvious. HOW COULD THAT EVEN WORK? To set the plan in motion, Trump and Eastman convened hundreds of electors on a call on Jan. 2, 2021, encouraging them to send alternative electors from their states where Trump's team was claiming fraud. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and maybe even Nevada and New Mexico were on the list, according to testimony provided to the committee by Greg Jacob, who was counsel to Pence. Jacob, who is scheduled to testify Thursday before the House committee, was at the Oval Office meeting with Trump and Pence when Eastman outlined the plan on Jan. 4. Jacob received an email from Eastman late the following night. Major new development, Eastman wrote, attaching a letter signed by several members of the Pennsylvania legislature. It now looks like PA Legislature will vote to recertify its electors if Vice President Pence implements the plan we discussed. Jacob responded in lawyerly prose, asking if it is not unconstitutional." HAD THIS EVER BEEN DONE BEFORE? While the every-four-year-ritual of certifying the election results has certainly come with objections, nothing of this magnitude had been proposed since the disputed election of 1876 that led Congress to pass the Electoral Count Act. Routinely, lawmakers from the losing side of a presidential election would wage protest votes during the ceremonial proceedings in Congress. Several Democrats, including then-Sen. Barbara Boxer of California and Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, joined a challenge to Ohio's electors after the 2004 election. But no defeated president had ever done what Trump did, mounting a wide-ranging campaign to overturn an election that included pressure on the vice president to change the outcome. When Eastman received Jacob's probing questions, he retorted that the counsel was being small-minded. The professor pointed to past instances in history when presidents essentially violated the letter of the law for a greater outcome, and he suggested such an action was warranted now because the Constitution was being shredded over the election. Jacob replied that he could not believe there was a single Supreme Court justice or any judge who would agree to toss election laws that have been followed without exception for more than 130 years. Eastman's theory, Jacob wrote, was essentially entirely made up. PRESSURE BUILDS, TRUMP CALLS PENCE Pence's instinct was there was no way the Founding Fathers would entrust a single person with this authority to determine an election, Jacobs testified. Pence had asked questions of Eastman during the meeting, but never once did I see him budge from that view, he said. But a day after the Oval Office meeting, the pressure intensified. Rather than just turn the electors back to the states, Eastman said Pence should just throw out the states' tallies outright. "What Im here to ask you to do is to reject the electors Eastman said on Jan. 5, according to Jacobs testimony. On the morning of Jan. 6, as the vice president prepared to head to the Capitol to preside over the vote, Trump called. Trump told Pence he didn't think he had the courage to make a hard decision, according to testimony to the Jan. 6 committee by retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, a national security aide who was with Trump at the time and heard part of the conversation. Youre not tough enough to make the call, Trump said to Pence. THE COUNT BEGINS The first objection during the joint session of Congress was raised by a Republican congressman from the Arizona, one of the states Trump most vehemently disputed was won by Biden. Congress began working its way through the procedural matter; rioters were closing in on the Capitol. In an email to Eastman after the attack began, Jacob closed his arguments against the plan, saying: And thanks to your bull, we are now under siege. At the time, Jacob was sheltering in the Capitol from the mob. WHO IS JOHN EASTMAN? A former Chapman University law professor, Eastman is known in conservative circles for having clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court. Eastman also clerked for retired Judge Michael Luttig, who is also scheduled to testify Thursday. Luttig has called Eastman's ideas incorrect at every turn and had been providing legal counsel to Pence's team before Jan. 6. Ahead of Thursdays hearing, the vice chair of the House committee, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., released a video offering a glimpse of what's to come. In the video, Eric Herschmann, a lawyer at the White House, recounts a final conversation he had with Eastman the day after Jan. 6. I'm going to give you the best free legal advice you're ever getting in your life get a great effing criminal defense lawyer. You're going to need it," Herschmann recalled, saying. "And then I hung up on him. Eastman repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights not to testify during his interview with the committee. For full coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) At least four Republican South Carolina House members lost their reelection bids in Tuesday's primaries with a few other facing runoffs or margins so slim they will need recounts. House Education and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Rita Allison lost her race in Spartanburg County. Allison had been in the House for 24 years over two stints, being elected for the second go around in 2008. She was defeated by registered nurse Robert Harris, who said the 2020 election spurred him to enter politics. Also losing his Republican primary Tuesday was former House Ways and Means Committee chairman Brian White. He had represented his Anderson County district since 2000. White was one of the chamber's most powerful members before then-House Speaker Jay Lucas removed him from the budget writing committee in 2019. White was defeated by April Cromer. a businesswoman who supports term limits and open carry of guns. Other House Republicans who lost primaries were Lin Bennett from Charleston, elected in 2016, and Vic Dabney from Camden, elected in 2020. Rep. West Cox from Piedmont also may lose. One of his opponents, Thomas Beach, appears to have received just over 50% of the vote, although the margin to make that threshold was quite thin. Rep. Micah Caskey from West Columbia looks to have defeated his Republican opponent by a very slim margin, while Rep. Neal Collins from Pickens appears to have avoided a runoff by his own slim margin. On the Democratic side, Reps. Cezar McKnight and Roger Kirby appear headed to a runoff after they were put together in the same Williamsburg County district. In Richland County, Rep. Jermaine Johnson appeared to have a small lead over Rep. Wendy Brawley after they were drawn into the same district. But it wasn't clear if Johnson had enough votes to avoid a runoff. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court said Wednesday it was wrong to wade into a dispute involving a Trump-era immigration rule that the Biden administration has abandoned, so the justices dismissed the case. The court had said it would answer the question of whether Republican-led states, headed by Arizona, could pick up the legal defense of the Trump-era public charge rule that denied green cards to immigrants who use food stamps or other public benefits. The high court heard arguments in the case in February and appeared on track to decide it. But in an unsigned, one-sentence opinion Wednesday, the court said it was dismissing the case. That leaves in place a lower court ruling in favor of the Biden administration that the states could not intervene. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote separately to say he agreed with the decision to toss the case. Roberts said that bound up in the case are a great many issues beyond the question that the court had agreed to decide. It has become clear that this mare's nest could stand in the way" of deciding the case "or at the very least, complicate our resolution of that question, he wrote. Roberts said the court's action should not be taken as reflective of ... the appropriate resolution of other litigation, pending or future, related to the 2019 Public Charge Rule, its repeal, or its replacement by a new rule. Roberts was joined by three other justices in the court's conservative majority: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch. Gorsuch was appointed to the court by Trump. The former president's two other nominees, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, said nothing. At the center of the case was a federal law says that green card applicants cannot be burdens to the country or public charges. The Trump administration significantly expanded the definition, saying the use of public benefits including food stamps or Medicaid could be disqualifying. That led to court challenges, but the Supreme Court allowed the policy to take effect while those continued. The Biden administration rescinded the rule and has since announced new guidelines. The administration had said that in practice, the government denied green cards to only three people under Trumps rule and that their applications were later reopened and approved. Immigration groups have said the bigger impact of the rule was scaring immigrants, causing them to drop benefits or not enroll in them because of fears doing so could affect their applications to become legal permanent residents. In addition to Arizona, the states involved in the case were Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia. In a statement, Brittni Thomason, a spokesperson for the Arizona Attorney Generals Office said, "Our coalition of states will evaluate how best to continue this important fight." The case is State of Arizona v. City and County of San Francisco, California, 20-1775. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. LAS VEGAS (AP) Adam Laxalt, a former state attorney general who has embraced lies about the 2020 election, won the Republican nomination for a pivotal Nevada Senate seat, fending off a challenge from a political newcomer and setting up what will likely be a fierce and costly race against incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto, one of the most endangered Democrats in an evenly divided Senate. Laxalt enjoyed the backing of the Republican Partys most influential figures, ranging from former President Donald Trump to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But a late-stage challenge from political newcomer Sam Brown forced Laxalt to spend heavily in the final weeks of the primary campaign and tap into the support of some of his high-profile backers, particularly those with ties to Trump. The matchup against Cortez Masto comes at a difficult moment for Democrats, weighed down by President Joe Bidens low approval ratings and seeking to maintain control of Congress as people throughout the U.S. grapple with rising prices of everyday goods and gasoline. Republicans see the race as their best opportunity to flip a Senate seat and regain the majority, but are also watching for longer-term signals that Nevada is swinging back in their direction after rejecting every GOP presidential candidate since 2004. Together we have taken an important step tonight, Laxalt said at a party in Reno, Nevada. An important step in taking our country back, an important step in taking our great state of Nevada. Beyond the Senate race, Republicans in Nevada also picked Joe Lombardo as their nominee to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in what could be one of the most competitive governors races this year. And the GOP backed Jim Marchant as their candidate for secretary of state. A former state lawmaker, he has repeated false claims about the presidential campaign and, if elected, would be in charge of elections in a state that could be critical in determining the winner of the White House in 2024. Nevada was one of several states that held elections Tuesday, about midway through a primary season that could reshape American politics. The results offered warnings for both parties. In south Texas, Democrats lost a long-held seat in the U.S. House. They are likely to regain it in November, but Tuesdays results were a reminder that the partys standing is at risk of slipping among Latinos. Trump, meanwhile, helped a South Carolina state lawmaker take out five-term incumbent Rep. Tom Rice, who backed the former presidents second impeachment last year. While the win could help Trump regain momentum after setbacks in a series of races last month, it happened in a rural, solidly Republican congressional district. Another incumbent that the former president sought to defeat in a neighboring district, Rep. Nancy Mace, held back the challenger, attracting some of the suburban moderates who bolted from the GOP during the Trump era. Speaking to reporters after the results came in, Mace sought to strike a tone of consensus, pledging to work with anyone whos willing to work with me, full stop. For his part, Trump posted a statement on his social media platform saying Maces challenger, Katie Arrington, was a long shot who ran a great race. He offered his congratulations to Mace, who he said should easily prevail over a Democrat in the fall. Still, much of the attention Tuesday was on Nevada. Laxalt entered the primary with strong name recognition after serving for four years as Nevadas attorney general. The grandson of former U.S. Sen. Paul Laxalt, he campaigned unsuccessfully for governor in 2018. But perhaps most importantly in GOP circles, he's got ties to Trump. Laxalt worked on Trump's reelection campaign and promoted his lies about election fraud in the state after the 2020 election, including spearheading legal challenges to the vote-counting process. Trump in turn hosted Laxalt for a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, and appeared in a campaign ad for Laxalt. Trumps false claims of fraud in the 2020 election were laced throughout the campaign. Last fall, Laxalt began raising fears of voter fraud in 2022 and talked about preemptively mounting legal challenges to try to tighten up the election. Laxalt had insisted in 2020 that ineligible and dead voters cast ballots in the presidential election in Nevada, despite the states Republican secretary of state insisting that the results showing Bidens victory were accurate and reliable. Brown, to the surprise of many in the state, won the endorsement of the Nevada Republican Party at a convention vote in late April and a straw poll of the Las Vegas-area GOP at a May gathering. Recent polls showed him closing in on Laxalt, though the state, with a transient population and many late-shift workers due to the states tourism and casino industry, is considered fickle for pollsters. Laxalt is now focused on trying to defeat Cortez Masto, the first Latina elected to the Senate and successor of the late Sen. Harry Reid. She is making her first reelection bid as Democrats broadly are facing headwinds this year, particularly when it comes to the economy. In Nevada, high prices for gas are acutely felt by residents of Las Vegas sprawling suburbs or those commuting from far-flung rural areas. Those same factors could imperil the reelection of Nevada's Democratic governor, Sisolak. He will face Lombardo, the sheriff of Clark County, who also earned a coveted endorsement from Trump. Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York, Meg Kinnard in Charleston, South Carolina and Gabe Stern in Reno, Nevada, contributed to this report. Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ap_politics. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Some members of the La Crosse community are asking Mayor Mitch Reynolds to veto the recent ban on conversion therapy approved by the La Crosse Common Council last week. The group, led by former City Council members Tom Sweeney and Lorraine Decker, sent a veto request to Reynolds Monday, saying the conversion therapy ban "would outlaw La Crosse parents and legal guardians from choosing how to counsel their own children in personal private matters regarding sexuality." The coalition is also hosting a rally outside of City Hall Tuesday afternoon to further communicate their request that the ban be vetoed. Reynolds has until 5 p.m. Tuesday to veto the ordinance. The veto request says the ban is in violation of the rights to freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the freedom to assemble and associate amongst persons outlined in the United States Constitution. "We believe this Ordinance makes illegal constitutionally protected functions of religious entities and the practices of other counselors and therapists," the letter reads. "It essentially targets persons for their ideology and personal beliefs, and would certainly be challenged in court at the expense of La Crosse taxpayers." The current ordinance, passed in a 6-4 vote, bans conversion therapy, a practice that affects the LGBTQ+ community by attempting to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity. The purpose of the ban, according to the ordinance, is to protect people in La Crosse, "especially the physical and psychological well-being of minors, including non-binary, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, and to protect them against the exposure to serious harms caused by conversion therapy. As the ban was being considered by La Crosse officials, many people spoke out in support of and in opposition of the ban. Qatar Airways first flight from Doha to Santorini on June 7 was operated by an A320 aircraft and was welcomed by senior executives from Fraport Greece as the aircraft landed at Santorini International Airport for the first time. The airline marked the occasion by creating a bespoke in-flight food menu, designed to embrace traditional Greek cuisine, with specially decorated cutlery bands for all passengers, and an illustrated menu card for Business Class customers. Passengers were also gifted celebratory cupcakes to mark the occasion. The inaugural flight from Doha was operated by Qatari Captain Abdulaziz Al Kaabi and Greek Captain Andrew Evlambides, in honour of the first flight to Santorini. The island destination joins Athens and Mykonos to become the third Greek gateway to be served by the national carrier of the State of Qatar. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, said: The Greek Isles are a leading tourist destination and an important market for Qatar Airways. There is high interest from across our network for flights to Santorini, specifically in the leisure segment. We are committed to offering our passengers as many seamless one-stop connection choices as possible. I am sure visitors from the Middle East, Asia, Australia and the Americas will be pleased to have Santorini served by our airline. Alexander Zinell, CEO Fraport Greece said: We feel honoured that Qatar Airways has included Santorini in its network and expanding its presence at the Fraport Greece operated airports. Greece offers to the world some truly iconic holiday destinations and Qatar Airways now makes Santorini accessible from numerous new markets via its Doha hub. The 5-star Qatar Airways product is a perfect match to outstanding Santorini. The travel experience has been further upgraded as our brand-new Santorini Airport Terminal is now completed. We will continue to work with Qatar Airways and partners offering highly efficient airport operations and passenger experience worthy of the Santorini brand name. Seasonal flights to Mykonos resumed on June 3, with four weekly flights, and flights to Athens have increased to a double daily service, offering greater choice for business and leisure passengers alike. With the three weekly flights to Santorini, passengers can now enjoy seamless connectivity to over 150 destinations across the airlines extensive global network via Hamad International Airport, connecting with popular destinations across the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Enhanced connectivity means customers can leave Australia on Friday night and arrive in Santorini by Saturday afternoon. Santorini, famous for its distinctive blue and white architecture and known as Thira, is one of the jewels of the Aegean Sea and its popular with visitors looking for wonderful cuisine and hospitality set against the backdrop of some of the most famous views in the world. Qatar Airways continues to apply its flexible booking policy that offers unlimited changes to travel dates and destinations, and fee-free refunds for all tickets issued for travel completed by 30 September 2022. TradeArabia News Service YORKVILLE A touch of Hispanic culture could be vanishing from Racine County after neighbors persuaded village officials that a wedding barn brought noise and congestion to a peaceful countryside. The Yorkville Village Board voted Monday night against granting a permit for Rancho La Promesa and its Hispanic-themed wedding celebrations and other musical events. Barn owner Maria Sandoval and her supporters had voiced concerns about anti-Hispanic attitudes and facing racist slurs from neighbors as they sought to overcome neighborhood opposition. But members of the Village Board expressed support for neighbors who wanted to shut down Rancho La Promesa because, they said, it was too disruptive in the neighborhood along Braun Road. Several neighbors opposed the wedding barn Monday night during a joint meeting of the Village Board and Plan Commission to consider issuing a permit for the venue, which began hosting events without the required permit last year. Neighbor Martin Haas compared the music and noise to a megaphone, saying he and others are disturbed by changes that Sandoval and her wedding barn have brought to a quiet rural area. We like the quiet, Haas said. We dont want the development. We dont want the changes. Quote "We don't want the development. We don't want the changes." Martin Haas, neighbor opposed to permit for Rancho La Promesa Sandoval, who pledged to make any adjustments necessary to accommodate neighbors, found support among others at the village meeting. Racine County Board Supervisor Melissa Kaprelian, who represents the area in county government, urged Yorkville village officials to keep an open mind about Rancho La Promesa. Saying that new home construction and businesses development frequently changes a communitys appearance and character, Kaprelian said wedding barns, too, have enjoyed success in similar settings in the area. Kaprelian described Sandoval and her family as respectable people who are willing to cooperate with their neighbors. Were asking to bring forth diversity. Were asking not to be stagnant, Kaprelian said. Village Board members, however, found that the wedding barn events were too disruptive for neighbors and were too inappropriate for the rural countryside of western Racine County. The Village Board and Plan Commission both voted unanimously to deny Sandovals request for a conditional use permit that would have allowed her to legally continue hosting events on her agricultural-zoned property. Village Trustee Cory Bartlett compared Rancho La Promesa to a gravel mine proposal that the village blocked a few years ago because of neighborhood opposition. This is very, very similar, just a slightly different flavor, Bartlett said. Sandoval and her husband, Gerardo Sandoval, purchased a 7-acre farm property five years ago at 14800 Braun Road. The former Milwaukee-area residents of Mexican heritage, who have two college-age children, wanted to live in a more rural area. Quote "We're asking to bring forth diversity. We're asking not to be stagnant." Melissa Kaprelian, Racine County board supervisor The couple said they invested about $30,000 in converting an old barn into a venue for banquet-style events of up to 300 people. Rancho La Promesa has hosted many weddings and quinceanera parties, which are traditional celebrations for Hispanic girls marking their 15th birthday. The events began last year before village officials said they started hearing complaints from neighbors about noisy music, heavy traffic, late-night hours and roadside trash. Neighbors either declined to comment or denied that their opposition was driven by anti-Hispanic attitudes or racism. The Village Board voted April 11 to deny a permit for Rancho La Promesa, but officials later agreed to reconsider and put the matter up for another public hearing. Sandoval and her family members appeared Monday night with an attorney, Nick Wanic, who assured village officials that Sandoval was willing to comply with any laws or rules that would allow her to maintain the wedding barn. Wanic said the villages guidance on the matter had been unmanageable and contradictory. Shes trying, he said of his client. Shes trying to build a business. Neighbors told village officials that the event venue does not fit into the area along Braun Road. Some questioned what other types of businesses would be permitted, while several said the noise from the weddings and other events was intolerable. The noise level is just out of control, neighbor Vicky Lange said. Its too much. Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. June 9, 2022. Editorial: Proactive measures will help area lakes The image of Wisconsin lakes as unchanging, permanent parts of the landscape isnt accurate. We all know lakes change, but when you return to one year in, year out, they can take on an unwarranted sense of permanence. Part of that is because, aside from the water levels during times of unusual rain or drought, most of the changes take place below the surface. Its literally a case of out of sight, out of mind. Tranquility at the surface masks a dynamic system underneath. Some of the homeowners along Lake Altoona know this better than most. Last August there were real concerns about sedimentation cutting off South Shore Drive properties from the lake, despite waterfront access. Dredging in February tried to reduce sediment in the Eau Claire River, the lakes source, thereby reducing the eventual deposits. What we saw this week, and what well see in the coming months, should help residents and officials develop a long-term plan for the lake. Training this week instructed volunteers on how to map the bottom of Lake Altoona, and theyll eventually do the same on Lake Eau Claire. Saying the technology sounds like something Bob Ballard used a few decades ago to find the Titanic is going a step too far. But the basic idea isnt all that different. The National Ocean Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says bathymetry initially described the oceans depth using the sea level as a baseline. But it has come to mean submarine topography, or the depths and shapes of underwater terrain. Bathymetric mapping allows creation of detailed maps of the lake bottom. Such maps allow for two obvious uses. First, it should give a very accurate assessment of the lakes depths. Comparing that data to future measurements will tell everyone exactly how quickly lake sedimentation is rising, and where. The latter piece of information is particularly useful, since it can identify potential problems before they become obvious to those on the surface. With that information in hand, officials and residents can more effectively plan lake management. The data should reveal where sedimentation is coming from, what the real rate of sedimentation is, and allow for better strategies to deal with the issue. Remember, man-made lakes are essentially attempts to stall out natural lakes life cycles. They require tending to prevent them from silting up completely, an outcome that the Lake Altoona District says would happen in roughly 25 years without any efforts to the contrary. The striking thing about all of this isnt that the lake needs attention. Thats a given. But the cooperative effort between Lake Altoona and Lake Eau Claire to purchase the $30,000 bathymetric mapping equipment and then get the training to appropriately use it is new. This isnt a minor investment. Its not a small step. But it does show foresight. Mapping the lakes once only gives a single point-in-time look at conditions. Thats it. The better use, as we said, requires multiple maps as time goes by. And, since hiring a company to map the lake costs about $10,000 each time, the $30,000 investment pays off if each lake is mapped just twice. Frankly, wed be very surprised if the mapping isnt done considerably more than that. Better lake management will benefit the region. This isnt just about ensuring property owners have easy access to an aquatic playground. Its about maintaining a genuine resource for the Chippewa Valley. While we cant say it will save money, the potential seems to be there. Its generally easier to deal with small issues than large ones. Think of this as an annual checkup for the lake, a preventative step that better equips those charged with maintaining the lakes health to do so. The recent challenges at Lake Altoona show this isnt quite getting ahead of the current issues. But it is a very real step to shift from a reactive stance to a proactive stance, one that allows better planning and reactions in the future. And, in a few years when youre enjoying being out on Lake Altoona or Lake Eau Claire, youll be glad this step is being taken today. Kenosha News. June 8, 2022. Editorial: One of the looming victims of climate change: Wisconsin fisheries One of the looming victims of climate change is Wisconsins longtime reputation as a haven for walleye fishing and brown trout and brook trout as well. Warming waters across the state, along with habitat degradation and overfishing, have made the state less hospitable to the cold-water favoring fish and several disturbing reports in the past weeks hint that the hey-day of Wisconsin walleye fishing may be pushed out the door within the next 40 years or so. Thats lamentable, of course. Despite years of intensive stocking and harvest restrictions like catch-and-release on some state lake chains, the walleye population in the northern third of the state declined by a third between 1990 and 2017 and the reproductive rates have slowed as well. Zach Feiner, the lead author of a report by the UW-Madisons Center for Limnology, said those efforts have shown to be ineffective. In many lakes it doesnt seem to be working very well. What were doing now is maybe stocking lakes that are becoming too warm to really be able to sustain walleye populations into the future. A Lee Newspaper report last week said the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources estimates the state has 420 lakes with the dark cool waters walleye favor. But a report last year by the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Impact said that will decline to just four lakes by 2089. Similarly, a DNR report on trout habitat estimates that within 43 years, Wisconsin will lose 70 percent of its native brook trout habitat and almost a third of the streams that host brown trout. As always, in nature, when one species slides away another pushes to the forefront. In Wisconsins case, the projected decline of the walleye over the next several decades will likely mean a rise in smallmouth bass and bluegill populations fish that tolerate warmer waters. The DNR, UW experts and groups like Walleyes for Tomorrow, are looking hard to find ways to resist the change or find other ways to maintain the fishing resource, which is a valuable one to the state supporting 14,000 jobs and generating $1.9 billion in economic activity in the state. Kurt Justice, a fishing guide on the Minocqua Chain of Lakes, and a member of Walleyes for Tomorrow, is hoping to reverse the walleye decline. But, hes also learning to adapt. His fishing supply shop now stocks bass-fishing gear. If youre worried about losing those tasty walleyes from the Friday night fish fry menu, you can relax a bit. Commercial walleye come mostly from the cold waters of Canada, Lake Winnipeg, Lake of the Woods and other large Canadian lakes along with Lake Erie at least for now. But you might want to test your tastes for bluegill and bass so you are ready to adapt. END Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A congressional committee has begun an unflinching conversation with the citizens of this country about, in the words of the committee chair, Donald Trumps last stand, his attempt to spur the enemies of the Constitution to subvert American democracy. Facts about what happened during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack were clearly and soberly laid out at the committees initial hearing. Videotaped testimony underscored those findings. The rallying cries of the former president and the ensuing breach of the Capitol were shown for all to see. It was the first of several hearings by the Jan. 6 committee that are meant, in part, for the history books. But the importance of the hearings isnt simply about holding Trump, his allies and the flag-draped thugs storming the halls to account. The hearings challenge all Americans to recommit to the principles of democracy, ask how important those values are to us and face the threats posed to our democratic way of life. Those threats are real and present, as Trump prepares to possibly again seek the office he has already desecrated once. The committee is doing its duty to defend against these threats by presenting evidence that the attack on the Capitol was not an isolated event, that it was a coordinated assault and that it continues to this very day. Our duty, as American citizens, is to participate fully in this process, by watching and absorbing the committees evidence and considering what it would mean for our democracy if Trump were to run for president again. The eloquent restraint of the committees leaders was equal to the gravity of the task before them. The chair, Bennie Thompson, a Black former schoolteacher from Bolton, Mississippi, called back to history. He invoked the words of Abraham Lincoln, who wrote, before the critical election of 1864, This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this administration will not be reelected. Then it will be my duty to so cooperate with the president-elect, in making a solemn commitment to accept the results even if a loss might have meant the end of our Union. The vice chair, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who has been marginalized by her fellow Republicans for condemning Trump, warned of judgment from generations to come. Addressing her colleagues defense of the indefensible, she said, There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain. The chilling videos and interviews aired in the two hours of the initial hearing did far more than replay the familiar horrors. They were revelatory and dramatic, showing how Trump urged his followers to violate the Constitution and refused to rein them in even when his most loyal aides pleaded with him to do so. ... Republican politicians, with brave exceptions such as Cheney, have dismissed the hearings as unimportant, a partisan show trial and an unwarranted political attack on Trump. The House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy whose office was seen being overrun in one of the clips declared that congressional Republicans will issue their own report on Jan. 6, focusing on the security preparations. This misdirection tries to obscure the truth of what is in that footage: Many of the same Republicans had to flee their chamber in panic as a howling mob rampaged through the Capitol. The absence of full Republican participation in the hearings does not diminish their importance. On the contrary, the absence has prodded Thompson and Cheney to ensure that every accusation they level is supported by evidence. Trumps heretofore loyal attorney general, William P. Barr, testified that he told the president that his claims of a stolen election were bullst. Ivanka Trump, the presidents daughter, said that she accepted Barrs conclusion. And some of the same Republicans who now downplay Jan. 6 are said to have asked for presidential pardons in its aftermath. These politicians know that something truly terrible happened on Jan. 6, and confronting it is essential to healing our divided nation. At least 20 million people watched the opening session of the hearings on Thursday; our democracy will be strengthened if they are followed and experienced by everyone, in the same way the Senate Watergate hearings into the misdeeds of an earlier president transfixed the nation in 1973. The stakes today are arguably far higher: This investigation is an attempt by the elected representatives and civil servants of our democracy to figure out how it nearly came undone. As Cheney said, We all have a duty to ensure that what happened on Jan. 6 never happens again. Those Americans who still believe in Trump and his grievances may disagree with whatever conclusions the committee draws, but we urge them to see and hear the evidence the committee has collected from interviewing 1,000 witnesses and gathering more than 140,000 documents. Those Americans who were horrified by Jan. 6 also must not turn away in the belief that they already know what happened. There is much more to come in future hearings that has not yet been publicly disclosed. Gaining a deeper and more detailed understanding of the forces at work inside the White House, among Republicans speaking and texting that day and at the Capitol is essential to facing an essential truth about democracy: that it depends on leaders who commit to a peaceful transfer of power. The insurrection and the lies that led to it, as Thompson put it, have put two and a half centuries of constitutional democracy at risk. The danger will remain until Americans fully confront what happened on that day. The committee has given us that chance. There is nothing patriotic about the Patriot Front, whose 31 members were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to riot over the weekend in Coeur dAlene, apparently intending to disrupt a gay pride gathering. But it is a front a front for white nationalists who carry out their bullying tactics in the name of American freedom. And an affront for those who truly understand American freedom, not the Patriot Fronts distorted view of it. The Patriot Fronts tactics are the furthest thing from American freedom. Their beliefs are based on freedom only for those they approve of. In this case, the LGBTQ community is not among those who deserve the right to peaceably assemble, that allegedly God-given right protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Thats because Patriot Fronts ideals are rooted not in the Constitution but in hatred. Ironically, the Patriot Fronts planned bullying and harassment of a gay pride event perfectly demonstrate why we still need gay pride month. Our LGBTQ friends, family and neighbors have been marginalized, vilified, even prosecuted simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Gay pride month shows that they deserve the same freedoms, rights and protections as everyone else. To say otherwise is un-American. The Patriot Fronts planned harassment campaign is part of a growing anti-LGBTQ movement in this country which labels LGBTQ citizens as child groomers and pedophiles. That kind of demonization of a group of citizens is dangerous and leads to the very kind of misguided bullying and harassment planned by the Patriot Front. Unfortunately, this is another black eye for the state of Idaho, which continues to struggle to shed its reputation as a haven for extremism, white nationalists and white supremacists. In the wake of the arrests of Patriot Front members, Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued a statement about freedom of speech without fear of violence. Thats a good start, but doesnt go nearly far enough. He didnt even mention the Patriot Front and the danger it presents. His statement also thanked the many, many Idahoans from across the political spectrum committed to peacefully demonstrating. This runs the risk of giving solace and comfort to those who would continue to bully, threaten and harass those with whom they disagree. Littles statement also misses the gravity of the situation, the seriousness of this kind of organized effort to potentially do violence to a group of Idaho citizens. We need leaders who will strongly and forcefully call out and condemn these anti-American thugs. At least Little issued a statement. U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo also issued a statement: Hate, violence and bigotry are unacceptable in any form. I applaud the efforts of local law enforcement for their measured response in de-escalating what could have been a dangerous situation. U.S. Sen. Jim Risch merely thanked the police. Weak sauce, indeed. While the weekends Patriot Front arrest was plastered all over the national news, the other members of our federal delegation, Reps. Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson, were disappointingly silent on the issue as of Monday afternoon. Could it be they know that if they speak up against the Patriot Front, they risk losing much-needed votes in the upcoming election? If so, what does that say about their voters? Love 2 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 JEROME Last Tuesday, Antonio Gallegos, 27, and Reyes Ruben Duran, 21, both from Burley, were arrested on charges of 1st-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to deliver marijuana. The men were arrested in connection with the May death of Carl Yager, 48. Jerome County Sheriff's Office responded to St. Luke's Jerome on May 18 after an adult male was brought to the hospital with injuries after being shot. Yager died later. During the investigation, more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana were seized, according to a press release from Sheriff George Oppedyk. The Idaho State Police, FBI, Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office, Twin Falls Police Department, and the Mini Cassia Drug Task Force all assisted the Jerome County Sheriff's Office. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) The leaders of seven NATO nations from across Europe pledged their support Tuesday for Sweden and Finland's bids to join the alliance and for providing more heavy weapons to help Ukraine battle Russia. The support was voiced after an informal gathering at Dutch Prime Minister Mark Ruttes official residence in The Hague co-hosted by his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen. The other leaders attending were Romanias president and the prime ministers of Belgium, Poland, Portugal and Latvia. My message on Swedish and Finnish membership is that I strongly welcome that," said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who also attended. Its an historic decision. It will strengthen them, it will strengthen us. But he said the alliance also has to take seriously concerns raised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has vetoed membership for the two countries until they change their policies on supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Ankara to be terrorists. "There is no other NATO ally that has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey, Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg said Monday that he was glad the Swedish government had confirmed its readiness to address Turkeys concerns as part of assuming the obligations of future NATO membership. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, meanwhile, criticized the support so far for Ukraine, which has time and again called for more and heavier weapons. We have not done enough defend Ukraine, to support Ukrainian people to defend their freedom and sovereignty. And this is why I urge you, I asked you to do much more to deliver weapon, artillery to Ukraine, Morawiecki said. Where is our credibility if Ukraine fails? Can we imagine that Ukraine fails and we revert back to business as usual? I hope not, he added. The meeting came ahead of a June 29-30 NATO summit in Madrid that will seek to set a tough course for the alliance in coming years. Stoltenberg said the alliance has beefed up its defenses following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, reinforcing our ability to protect and defend every inch of NATO allied territory. He said that in Madrid, we will take the next steps and agree a major strengthening of our posture. Tonight we discussed the need for more robust and combat ready forward presence, even higher readiness and more pre-positioned equipment and supplies. He also said that "Ukraine should have more heavy weapons, and NATO allies and partners have provided the heavy weapons now for actually a long time. But they are also stepping up. The meeting followed a gathering Friday in Bucharest of nine NATO nations on the alliances eastern flank where some leaders urged NATO to step up protection in light of Russias protracted war against Ukraine. We need to make sure that NATO is able and prepared to respond effectively and calibrated to the threats it faces, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis told reporters after Fridays meeting. The alliance needs to be able to defend every inch of its territory. Three NATO members Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey border the Black Sea, which has turned into a key battleground in the war in Ukraine. Associated Press writers Jari Tanner in Helsinki, and Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report. Follow APs 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. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Cheri Beasley, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate from North Carolina, will hold a town hall event in downtown Marion on Friday. The event for McDowell County will start at noon Friday at the Spillway Bridge & Co. at 93 S. Main St. Beasley will discuss her platform and speak about issues important to rural North Carolinians. Then she will take questions from local residents, followed by a meet and greet with attendees, according to a news release. Beasley is an attorney and jurist who served as the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 2019-20. She was the first African-American woman to hold this office. Throughout her service, Cheri protected our constitutional rights and applied the law fairly and independently, reads a news release. She worked to make schools safe and strong, including working with law enforcement and educators to keep students in classrooms and out of the courtroom. She implemented paid family leave as chief justice to over 6,000 court employees to help people take care of their families and succeed in their jobs. Cheri created the first human trafficking court in North Carolina to hold traffickers accountable and support victims. Beasley had previously been appointed an associate justice in 2012. Before that, she had served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and as a district court judge in Cumberland County, according to online sources. This year, she is seeking the U.S. Senate seat from North Carolina, which is being vacated by retiring Sen. Richard Burr. She will face Republican Ted Budd in the November election. Beasley is visiting other counties in western North Carolina and meeting with their residents. This week, she is scheduled to visit Swain, Clay and Yancey counties as well. Beasleys visits are part of her Unite North Carolina tour to hear from voters in western North Carolina about the issues that matter most to them and share her message of whats at stake in this election and the opportunity this year to elect a senator who will fight for all of North Carolina in Washington, reads a news release. QatarEnergy signed a partnership deal with TotalEnergies for the North Field East expansion of the worlds largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, Reuters reports. Per the deal, TotalEnergies won a stake in a $29 billion Qatar gas project. The French energy giant also according to the deal will get a 6.25 per cent equity stake in the first phase of the plan. Suddenly, because of the tragic events in Europe, everybody is rushing to get LNG (liquefied natural gas), TotalEnergies Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Pouyanne, said. Appetite is strong. More partners are expected to join the project alongside TotalEnergies. The Gulf country is expanding production of liquefied natural gas amid a worldwide energy crunch. The new Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa, located on a private island in the North Male Atoll, will open on July 1. The 109 all-pool villa resort marks the entry of Hiltons flagship brand into the Maldives. Prior to the opening, Hilton has appointed Gaurav Thakur as the General Manager of the property. Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa is an outstanding resort, anchored on Hiltons signature hospitality, promising guests innovative dining, wellness and leisure concepts that will help them create new experiences as they travel and reconnect with their loved ones, said Jamie Mead, Senior Director of Operations, Hilton, South East Asia. With his innate understanding of the industry, strong background in operations and sound leadership skills, I have no doubt that Gaurav will ably guide his team to ensure an impactful launch and continued success for the resort. An accomplished hospitality veteran with a 17-year-long career in Hilton across the Waldorf Astoria, Hilton and Conrad brands, Thakurs diverse experience includes roles in countries such as the United Kingdom, India and the Maldives, where he oversaw operations across different departments. Through his career, Thakur also played key leadership roles in the opening teams for Conrad Pune, Conrad Bengaluru and Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, where he served as resort manager before moving to Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa. I look forward to bringing Hiltons signature hospitality to life with inspiring and one-of-a-kind experiences at Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa, said Thakur. Our team is committed to delivering exceptional stays as we prepare to welcome global travellers to our iconic destination. Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa is conveniently accessible via a 20-minute premium speedboat transfer from Velana International Airport. The island property showcases 109 beach and overwater villas each featuring its own private pool, six exceptional restaurants and bars, holistic spa and wellness facilities and best-in-class amenities for families, including one of the largest kids clubs in the Maldives and a rooftop lounge exclusive to teenage guests. TradeArabia News Service Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi Monday praised Saudi Arabia and the UAE for supporting the Arab African country economically as it faces an acute economic hardship compounded by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reports. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have moved together to support Egypt without a request from Cairo, he said. This is an opportunity to thank them. He also reportedly called on the Arab countries who made deposits in Egypts central bank to convert them into investments. We welcome our brothers to make investments in Egypt, and we are ready to provide them with all the support needed, the Egyptian leader added. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia and UAE have strengthened their presence in Egypt through several multiple-million dollar projects and investments. Egypt is currently facing a budget deficit of $20 billion, a debt-to-GDP ratio of 85 per cent and high prices for major commodities which are imported. The country is expected to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan. A new medium robotic combat vehicle developed by the Israeli defense ministry along with the countrys security industry was unveiled on Monday at the Eurosatory defense exhibition in France, reports i24news.tv The MRCV vehicle operates autonomously and is able to detect and destroy incoming threats along with fire control and emission management systems. It can also operate a drone and has a built-in system for transporting and receiving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The vehicle doesnt transport people, which allows it to be much smaller than a regular tank, yet still carry heavy loads. Jonathan Regev, i24NEWS defense correspondent, said it was very important that the new technology would reduce possible human losses. If this tank is hit and taken out of service thats too bad but its only money, no lives are lost, Regev added. Field tests are expected to start next year. The Ghanaian police, on Monday night, had suspended a deputy commander and two other officers after a violent dispersal of a student protest that left at least 38 people injured. On Monday, students at the Islamic High School in Kumasi, Ghanas second largest city, protested against frequent road accidents outside the school. After the students set up roadblocks, police fired several warning shots to disperse the crowd and restore traffic. The students threw stones at the police who used tear gas and fired warning shots, police spokeswoman Grace Ansah-Akrofi said in a statement. Although no one was shot, the police handling of the incident fell short of our standard operating procedure on crowd control, she added. After the incident, 38 students were taken to hospital, according to the authorities. Twenty-two have since returned home. As a result, the deputy regional police commander, Kwasi Akomeah-Apraku, has been removed from his post, Ansah-Akrofi said. Two other officers have also been suspended while the incident is investigated, she added. The education ministry condemned the violence and assured parents and guardians that the teenagers are safe. Road accidents are common in Ghana due to poor roads and reckless driving. According to the National Road Safety Commission, more than 200 people were killed between January and mid-March. The Equatorial Guinean justice system has condemned the company Comercial Santy after a health scandal for having changed the expiry dates of food products, announced Tuesday on state television. Comercial Santy, an import-export company established in Equatorial Guinea since the 1960s, was condemned by a court in Bata, the economic capital of this Central African country, for offences against public health after selling unauthorized pharmaceutical products. The company will have to pay a fine of 411 million CFA francs, about 625,000 euros, according to the state TVGE. The Bata court also ordered the confiscation of the machines used to change the expiry dates and the destruction of all products confiscated by the authorities whose dates were altered. Several employees and managers of Comercial Santy, of Spanish, Indian and Colombian nationality, arrested in March, were also found guilty and ordered to pay the fine jointly. Comercial Santy is one of the main supermarket and pharmaceutical chains in Equatorial Guinea. It employs a majority of South Americans. In 2006, tainted frozen products intended for sale by Comercial Santy were seized by the Equatorial Guinean authorities. This region in the far north of the country, bordering Burkina Faso, has been the scene of two attacks in recent months. The decree, adopted by the Council of Ministers on 13 June 2022, was read out in the state media. The possibility of identity checks, arrests on the public highway, house arrest, deportation or ban on stays, prohibition of gatherings on the public highway These are some of the measures that may be taken, according to the texts in force, as part of the state of emergency security decreed for the Savannah region. They were detailed on Togolese television on Monday evening by the Minister of Territorial Administration, who invited his compatriots to remain calm. The state of emergency, in force for 3 months, and which can be extended after authorization by the National Assembly, is presented as an exceptional measure, taken for a particular situation, by the government spokesman. Akodah Ayewouadan said that the state needs to act, but to act quickly and effectively to secure the area. The north of Togo was the scene of an attack last month, claimed by the Group of Support for Islam and Muslims. Eight Togolese soldiers were killed and 13 wounded in the locality of Kpekpakandi, according to the authorities, who also mention an attempted attack in the same area last November. The Swiss Press Club in Geneva hosted this Wednesday, June 15, the presentation ceremony of a newly released book entitled Morocco, the potential for transformative change. During the book presentation that was moderated by Pr. Henri Louis Vedie, French economist, professor emeritus at HEC Paris, the author of the book, Noureddine Obad, highlighted the contents of his work that focuses on the socio-economic progress scored by the Kingdom, including in its southern provinces. The presentation ceremony was attended by over a hundred people, including Moroccos Ambassadors in Bern and Geneva, the Chief Rabbi of Geneva, several foreign diplomats and Moroccan nationals living in the Swiss Confederation. The presentation was followed by a fruitful debate during which the author answered the relevant and constructive questions raised by the audience. The author of the book is a Swiss-Moroccan specialist in socio-economic development who is settled in Switzerland. The mystery of the Black Death's origins was solved in part at the KaraDjigach site in the Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan -- site of this 1886 excavation -- where modern scientists recovered and tested DNA from remains at the ancient burial ground. A deadly pandemic with mysterious origins: it might sound like a modern headline, but scientists have spent centuries debating the source of the Black Death that devastated the medieval world. Not anymore, according to researchers who say they have pinpointed the source of the plague to a region of Kyrgyzstan, after analyzing DNA from remains at an ancient burial site. "We managed to actually put to rest all those centuries-old controversies about the origins of the Black Death," said Philip Slavin, a historian and part of the team whose work was published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The Black Death was the initial wave of a nearly 500-year pandemic. In just eight years, from 1346 to 1353, it killed up to 60 percent of the population of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to estimates. Slavin, an associate professor at the University of Stirling in Scotland who has "always been fascinated with the Black Death", found an intriguing clue in an 1890 work describing an ancient burial site in what is now northern Kyrgyzstan. It reported a spike in burials in 1338-39 and that several tombstones described people having "died of pestilence". "When you have one or two years with excess mortality it means that something funny was going on there," Slavin told reporters. "But it wasn't just any year1338 and 1339 was just seven or eight years before the Black Death." It was a lead, but nothing more without determining what killed the people at the site. For that, Slavin teamed up with specialists who examine ancient DNA. They extracted DNA from the teeth of seven people buried at the site, explained Maria Spyrou, a researcher at the University of Tuebingen and author of the study. Because teeth contain many blood vessels, they give researchers "high chances of detecting blood-borne pathogens that may have caused the deaths of the individuals," Spyrou told AFP. The headstone of 'Sanmaq', one of the earliest known victims of the plague, and who was buried in 1338 or 1339 in what is now northern Kyrgyzstan, bears an inscription which reads he 'died of pestilence' 'Big Bang' event Once extracted and sequenced, the DNA was compared against a database of thousands of microbial genomes. "One of the hits that we were able to get... was a hit for Yersinia pestis," more commonly known as plague, said Spyrou. The DNA also displayed "characteristic damage patterns," she added, showing that "what we were dealing with was an infection that the ancient individual carried at the time of their death." The start of the Black Death has been linked to a so-called "Big Bang" event, when existing strains of the plague, which is carried by fleas on rodents, suddenly diversified. Scientists thought it might have happened as early as the 10th century but had not been able to pinpoint a date. The research team painstakingly reconstructed the Y. pestis genome from their samples and found the strain at the burial site pre-dated the diversification. And rodents living in the region now were also found to be carrying the same ancient strain, helping the team conclude the "Big Bang" must have happened somewhere in the area in a short window before the Black Death. The research has some unavoidable limitations, including a small sample size, according to Michael Knapp, an associate professor at New Zealand's University of Otago who was not involved in the study. "Data from far more individuals, times and regions... would really help clarify what the data presented here really means," said Knapp. But he acknowledged it could be difficult to find additional samples, and praised the research as nonetheless "really valuable". Sally Wasef, a paleogeneticist at Queensland University of Technology, said the work offered hope for untangling other ancient scientific mysteries. "The study has shown how robust microbial ancient DNA recovery could help reveal evidence to solve long-lasting debates," she told AFP. Explore further Ancient plague genomes reveal the origins of the Black Death More information: Johannes Krause, The source of the Black Death in 14th-century central Eurasia, Nature (2022). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04800-3 Journal information: Nature Johannes Krause, The source of the Black Death in 14th-century central Eurasia,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04800-3 2022 AFP Testing plasticity model generalization on the L4-PC to L2/3-PC connection type. a 3-D rendering of a representative pair of connected L4-PC to L2/3-PC in the in silico model. Inset shows a magnified view of the synapses mediating the connection (yellow spheres). b Evolution over time of simulated EPSP amplitude during a typical plasticity induction protocol (top left; one pairing shown out of 100). Mean EPSP amplitudes (top right) are shown before (baseline; blue) and after (long term; orange) the induction protocol. c Comparison of EPSP ratios in silico and in vitro for positive and negative timings and with presynaptic NMDAR blocker MK801. Experimental data and simulations without MK801 on the left panel, with MK801 (in vitro) and d = 0 (in silico) on the right panel. Welch's unequal variances two-sided t-test was n.s. for every protocol (p-value from negative to positive stimulation timing: 0.268, 0.209 MK801, 0.959 MK801; n = 100). Experimental data (in vitro) from Rodriguez-Moreno and Paulsen42. Population data reported as mean SEM. Credit: Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30214-w Everyone knows the human brain is extremely complexbut how does it learn, exactly? Well, the answer may be a lot simpler than commonly believed. An international research team involving Universite de Montreal has achieved a major advance in accurately simulating the synaptic changes in the neocortex that are thought to be key to learning, opening the door to a greater understanding of the brain. The scientists' studyfeaturing an open-source modelwas published June 1 in Nature Communications. "This opens up a world of new directions for scientific inquiry into how we learn," said Eilif Muller, an IVADO assistant research professor at UdeM and a Canada CIFAR AI Chair, who co-led the study at the Blue Brain Project of the Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland. Muller moved to Montreal in 2019 and is pursuing his research at the Architectures of Biological Learning Laboratory, which he founded at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center in association with UdeM and Mila, the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute. "Neurons are shaped like trees, and synapses are the leaves on their branches," said Muller, the study's co-senior author. "Prior approaches to model plasticity have ignored this tree structure, but now we have the computational tools to test the idea that synaptic interactions on branches play a fundamental role in guiding learning in vivo," he said. "This has important implications for understanding the mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, but also for developing powerful new AI approaches inspired by neuroscience." Muller collaborated with a group of scientists from the EPFL's Blue Brain Project, Universite de Paris, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Instituto Cajal (Spain), and Harvard Medical School to come up with a model of synaptic plasticity in the neocortex based on data-constrained postsynaptic calcium dynamics. How does it work? It's complicatedbut ultimately, simpler than you might think. The brain is made up of billions of neurons that communicate with each other by forming trillions of synapses. These connection points between neurons are complex molecular machines that are constantly changing as a result of external stimuli and internal dynamics, a process commonly referred to as synaptic plasticity. In the neocortex, a key area associated with learning of high-level cognitive functions in mammals, pyramidal cells (PCs) account for 80 to 90 percent of neurons and are known to play a major role in learning. Despite their importance, the long-term dynamics of their synaptic changes have been experimentally characterized between only a few types of PCs, and shown to be diverse. As a result, there has been only limited understanding of the complex neural circuits that they form, especially across the stereotypical cortical layers, which dictate how the diverse regions of the neocortex interact. Muller and his colleagues' innovation was to use computational modeling to come up with a more comprehensive view of the synaptic plasticity dynamics governing learning in these neocortical circuits. By comparing their results to the available experimental data, they showed in their study that their synaptic plasticity model can capture the varied plasticity dynamics of the diverse PCs making up the neocortical microcircuit. And they did so using only one unified model parameter set, indicating the plasticity rules of the neocortex could be shared across pyramidal cell-types, and thus be predictable. Most of these plasticity experiments were performed on brain slices of rodents in vitro, where the calcium dynamics driving synaptic transmission and plasticity are significantly altered compared to learning in the intact brain in vivo. Importantly, the study predicts qualitatively dierent plasticity dynamics from the reference experiments performed in vitro. If confirmed by future experiments, the implications for our understanding of plasticity and learning in the brain would be profound, Muller and his team believe. "What is exciting about this study is that this is further confirmation for scientists that we can overcome gaps in experimental knowledge using a modeling approach when studying the brain," said EPFL neuroscientist Henry Markram, the Blue Brain Project's founder and director. "In addition, the model is open source, available on the Zenodo platform," he added. "Here we have shared hundreds of plastic pyramidal cell connections of different types. Not only is it the most extensively validated plasticity model to date, but it also represents the most comprehensive prediction of the differences between plasticity observed in a petri dish, and in an intact brain. "This leap is made possible because of our collaborative team-science approach. Moreover, the community can take it further and develop their own versions by modifying or adding to itthis is open science, and it will accelerate progress." Explore further Neuromorphic memory device simulates neurons and synapses More information: Giuseppe Chindemi et al, A calcium-based plasticity model for predicting long-term potentiation and depression in the neocortex, Nature Communications (2022). Journal information: Nature Communications Giuseppe Chindemi et al, A calcium-based plasticity model for predicting long-term potentiation and depression in the neocortex,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30214-w Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine are conducting a longitudinal study to track neurological symptoms in COVID-19 "long-haulers." The first round of results, published June 15, 2022 in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, revealed the prevalence of various short- and long-term symptoms and found that, while many patients showed improvement, the majority still had some neurological symptoms after six months. A subset of individuals also exhibited significant coordination and cognitive issues, which had not been previously described. Following mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infections, 56 persons with neurological symptoms were recruited to the study between October 2020 and October 2021. They completed a neurological exam, cognitive assessment, self-reported questionnaires and an optional brain scan. Baseline measurements were taken a few months after their initial infection and repeated three and six months later. At the time of their first visit, 89 percent of participants were experiencing fatigue and 80 percent reported headaches. Other common neurological symptoms included memory impairment, insomnia and decreased concentration. Eighty percent of participants said these symptoms impacted their quality of life. When participants returned for their six-month follow-up, only one-third reported complete resolution of symptoms. The other two-thirds of participants reported persistent neurological symptoms, though most had diminished in severity. The most prevalent symptoms at six months were memory impairment and decreased concentration. The authors noted that none of the individuals with persistent symptoms at six months had any history of pre-existing neurological conditions prior to their SARS-CoV-2 infections. "It's encouraging that most people were showing some improvement at six months, but that wasn't the case for everyone," said senior author Jennifer S. Graves, MD, Ph.D., associate professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine and neurologist at UC San Diego Health. "Some of these participants are high-level professionals who we'd expect to score above average on cognitive assessments, but months after having COVID-19, they're still scoring abnormally." Researchers were also surprised to find a novel phenotype within the cohort. Seven percent of participants displayed a previously unidentified set of symptoms that included cognitive deficits, tremor and difficulty balancing. The authors labeled the phenotype Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 infection with Tremor, Ataxia and Cognitive deficit (PASC-TAC). "These are folks who had no neurological problems before COVID-19, and now they have an incoordination of their body and possible incoordination of their thoughts," said Graves. "We didn't expect to find this, so we want to get the word out in case other physicians see this too." Researchers are still investigating how much the SARS-CoV-2 virus directly invades the brain, but Graves said it is more likely that these delayed neurological symptoms are caused by the infection triggering an inflammatory autoimmune response in the brain. The team plans to continue monitoring participants' symptoms annually for up to 10 years. Additional efforts will evaluate how different COVID-19 variants and vaccines affect long-term neurological symptoms. "To have people's cognition and quality of life still impacted so long after infection is something we as a society need to be taking a serious look at," said Graves. "We still need to know how common this is, what biological processes are causing this, and what ongoing health care these people will need. This work is an important first step to getting there." Explore further Long COVID cause still unknown More information: Jacqueline E. Shanley et al, Longitudinal evaluation of neurologicpost acute sequelae SARSCoV 2 infection symptoms, Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology (2022). Jacqueline E. Shanley et al, Longitudinal evaluation of neurologicpost acute sequelae SARSCoV 2 infection symptoms,(2022). DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51578 Maximum temperatures across the United States for June 14, 2022. White and gray indicate temperatures in the triple digits. Credit: Pivotal Weather, based on data from the National Weather Service This summer is coming in hot. the New York Times reports that a heat wave caused record-high temperatures this weekend in 16 cities from the Southwest to the Southern Plains. Now, the heatwave is traveling east to the Great Lakes, with more than 100 million Americans under heat alerts, according to the Washington Post. Across large swaths of the country, temperatures are reaching the triple digits. For many, hot temperatures are a fun excuse to go to the beach. But for vulnerable populationssuch as children, outdoor workers, the elderly, and those who can't afford air conditioningheat waves like this can be very dangerous. In fact, heat is the leading weather-related killer in the United States. It is estimated that between 600 and 1,300 Americans die every year as a result of extreme heatmuch higher than deaths from hurricanes, which have killed an average of 118 Americans since 2000. Yet hurricanes tend to receive a lot more attention. What makes heat waves so dangerous? Why do we underestimate their dangers, and what can we do about it? To learn more, State of the Planet spoke with Robbie Parks, an environmental epidemiologist at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Parks studies the connections between climate change, weather, and public health. The dangers of heat waves A heat wave is a period of unusually hot weather that lasts two days or more. How a heat wave is defined depends on an area's historical averages. The most obvious threat of high temperatures is through heat exhaustion or heat stroke. During a heat stroke, the sweat mechanism fails and the body cannot cool down, potentially leading to death or permanent disability. More common, says Parks, is that stress from high heat exacerbates other health conditions, contributing to deaths from heart attacks, strokes, and other forms of cardiovascular disease. And because high temperatures can worsen air pollution, people with respiratory problems may also suffer. Over the longer term, heat waves can strain water and energy resources, leading to power shortages and blackouts. They can fuel severe storms and wildfires, and even threaten food security if crops and livestock are damaged. People who are most vulnerable to the impacts of heat waves include small children, outdoor workers, the elderly, people with chronic diseases, and pregnant women. There is also an environmental justice component, with low-income populations and non-Hispanic Blacks at higher risk from heat waves. Why we underestimate heat waves If heat waves are so deadly, why don't they get as much attention as earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes? Parks suggests that heat waves may be less evocative because they are less visual phenomena. "Weather events are usually well defined in people's memories because of the physical elements," he says. "If there's some kind of tsunami or hurricane, you get videos of floods, of big waves or high winds that throw things around. However, with regards to temperature, it is invisible. If you look out the window on a hot day compared with a cold day, it would take an expert really to see a difference." There can also be a cultural perception that hot weather is nice weather, he adds, that downplays the dangers of extreme heat. Time for name-calling? Could naming heat waves help to save lives? The idea has been debated for years, with some experts suggesting that names could help to increase public awareness and safety measures around heat waves. Axios reports that this month, Seville, Spain is poised to become the first city to start naming severe heat waves. Several citiesincluding Los Angeles; Miami; Milwaukee; Kansas City, Missouri; and Athensare testing out ways to use weather data and public health criteria to categorize heat waves. Naming and categorizing heat waves wouldn't come without some complications. For example, unlike hurricanes, which are categorized based on their wind speeds, extreme heat can be defined differently in Arizona versus Oregon. Despite that, Parks thinks the idea is overall feasible and sensible. "If you can set the appropriate parameters for which a particular heat event warrants being named, and that can activate emergency funding, that is an effective way to do something about it," he said. Similarly, Simon Mason, the chief climate scientist at Columbia Climate School's International Research Institute for Climate and Society, has emphasized the need to design policies around the names and categories, making sure the public understands how to respond to different levels of heat waves. As he told Wired in 2020: "Unless we design management and strategies around this naming convention, we'll be missing the main point of doing this." What works for beating the heat There are several actions that city, state, and federal governments can take to reduce the dangers of heat waves, both in the short term and long term. At the local scale, Parks suggested creating block captains who know a neighborhood's most vulnerable residents and can go around and check on them during a heat wave. In a study published last year in the Journal of Extreme Events, Parks and his colleagues studied how the combination of COVID-19 and extreme summer heat affected low income communities of color in New York City during the summer of 2020. They identified city-level policies and programs that helpedincluding setting up cooling centers, providing in-home air conditioners, and planting trees, which can help neighborhoods cool off. Cities can also help by opening swimming pools and ensuring access to public water fountains. In particular, Parks underlined the need for people to be able to cool off with dignity inside their own homes. He pointed out that while New Yorkers historically see access to heat as a fundamental right during wintertime, home cooling has had relatively little support, even though lack of access can be deadly in both cases. Even with programs that give away air conditioners, people may need help paying for the energy to use them, said Parks. "Two years ago, in the hot summer of 2020, some vulnerable people were given air conditioning units. Some didn't use them and some people generally don't use AC, in particular because of the spiraling electricity costs. And so it's an energy security issue as well as an environmental justice issue." At the higher levels of government and over the long term, implementing sustainable energy infrastructure to power these cooling devices, and to reduce carbon emissions, would also help to battle heat waves, which are getting hotter, longer, and more frequent due to climate change. Whatever actions are taken, "heat mitigation efforts should fundamentally be through the lens of environmental justice," said Parks. For people facing extreme temperatures, experts recommend staying hydrated and avoiding strenuous outdoor activities. And for those without reliable access to air conditioning, here are some helpful tips to keep your body at a safe temperature during a heat wave. Explore further India's northwest reels under unusual early heat wave More information: Jennifer Bock et al, Compounding Risks Caused by Heat Exposure and COVID-19 in New York City: A Review of Policies, Tools, and Pilot Survey Results, Journal of Extreme Events (2021). Jennifer Bock et al, Compounding Risks Caused by Heat Exposure and COVID-19 in New York City: A Review of Policies, Tools, and Pilot Survey Results,(2021). DOI: 10.1142/S2345737621500159 Provided by State of the Planet Kerten Hospitality, a mixed-use, ESG and lifestyle operator, has appointed Tara Marlow as Group General Counsel based in the groups UAE office. Marlow will be supporting and strengthening the footprint expansion in existing and new markets while at the same time supporting the multiple ongoing openings in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Georgia, Italy, UAE and Egypt to name a few which are set to open in the next 12 months alone. Marlow, a British national who has lived in the UAE since 2004, is a highly experienced lawyer in real estate development and the Hotels & Leisure industry, with over 20 years of experience. She has been consistently ranked by international legal directories Chambers Global and Legal 500 as a leading individual in the Hotels & Leisure market and was recognised by Who's Who Legal as a 'Global Elite Thought Leader in Hospitality - EMEA' 2020. Marlow joins Kerten following many years as a Partner and Regional Head of Real Estate and Hotels & Leisure, with the MENA region's largest law firm, Al Tamimi & Co, where she created the firms widely respected hotels practice. Tara also previously held the position of Vice President, Legal for MAF Hospitality, working hand in hand with seasoned hotel professionals from various international brands, where she also established and managed the legal function, and provided legal support to the business as it developed its portfolio of hotels. She has been an active member of the Advisory Committee of the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference and, as a private practice lawyer, has been widely published and a regular speaker at industry conferences throughout the Middle East. Marloes Knippenberg, CEO of Kerten Hospitality, said: We are honoured to welcome Tara to the Kerten family. Tara is a follower and supporter of Kerten Hospitality since its birth. To have someone of Taras calibre believe in Kertens future vision and join the team is yet another great achievement. Tara shares Kertens owner-centric focus, and we believe that she will be instrumental in our rapid growth and in meeting our ESG-focused business objectives that deliver a return to all stakeholders involved owners, investors, guests and communities around our projects. Kerten Hospitality (KH) manages and operates hotels, branded residences, serviced apartments, workspaces and business hubs under its 100% owned and developed brands. It manages a portfolio of 13 owned brands including: Cloud7 Hotel and Residence, The House Hotel and Residence, Ouspace a collaborative Social/Business Hub and serviced offices concept. KH has a suite of in-house designed and operated food & beverage offerings and employs and collaborates with world renowned Michelin chefs to up and coming local foodpreneurs. The current pipeline includes 35+ projects ranging from the first lifestyle destination in KSA The House Hotel City Yard, Eco-Luxury Resorts in the UAE and Abha - KSA, to Art Hotels including residencies in Georgia curated by the curators of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Urban City Centre Destinations in Italy, extension of the Cloud 7 Residence Ayla Aqaba success with an experience hotel in Jordan, a suite-only project in Kuwait, Leisure, Business, and Meeting Mixed-Use in the first Sustainable destinations in the Egyptian North Coast, and new Urban Hub in El Ghouna. -TradeArabia News Service Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Europe's medicines watchdog said Wednesday it has started to review an adapted version of Pfizer/BioNTech's anti-COVID jab in order to better protect against specific variants of the virus, including Omicron. "As the company makes progress in the development of its adapted vaccine, EMA will receive more data, including data on the immune response to the vaccine, as well as data on its efficacy against Omicron sub variants," the European Medicines Agency said. "By starting a rolling review, EMA will be able to assess these data as they become available," the Amsterdam-based agency said. However, it stressed that the details about the adaptive vaccine "for example whether it will specifically target one of more COVID variants, are not yet defined." The EMA's rolling review will continue until there are enough data for a formal application to market the drug within the 27-nation bloc, the EMA said. Worries that the coronavirus, particularly the BA.4 and BA.5 variants, are making a comeback are mounting including in Britain and the Netherlands where infection levels have rising to the highest levels in three months. Explore further EU regulators start review of China's Sinovac vaccine 2022 AFP Credit: CC0 Public Domain Many people assume that when older loved ones move to an assisted living community, the planned activities will help their relatives get more physically active. But that's not often the case. A new study from the University of Michigan School of Nursing examines factors that influence physical activity and sedentary behavior in residents who live in assisted living communities. Researchers examined how the use of an assistive walking device, depression, sleep disturbance, pain, fatigue, social isolation and making social comparisons impacted physical activity and sedentary behavior. Fifty-four residents from eight assisted living communities participated in the pilot study. The residents had low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary behavior, which confirmed results from previous studies, said study senior author Janet Larson, the Shake Ketefian Collegiate Professor of Nursing. "What I was fascinated by is that 72% of time accumulated stepping was in less than two-minute bouts," Larson said. "That was startling. They're not walking for any length of time. They're not able to maintain their endurance and they're bound to be losing endurance. "Basically, they're going from the recliner to the bathroom and back, or going to the recliner to the refrigerator and back, so that was a huge red flag." Also, 65% of time accumulated sitting was in bouts greater than 30 minutes, and 34% in bouts of more than an hour, Larson said. What's considered prolonged sitting isn't well-established in the scientific community, so it's unclear what those numbers mean beyond the fact that the accumulated amount of sitting is high, she added. Study co-author Carol Vos, adjunct assistant professor at the U-M School of Nursing, said the findings may be helpful in identifying opportunities to interrupt longer periods of sitting with standing or walking, both of which deliver health benefits. Residents using an assistive walking device who were fatigued and who tended to make social comparisons with others were significantly more sedentary. "Because residents frequently saw each other throughout the day, there may have been a tendency to compare activity levels and give one a false sense of being physically active, especially if they compared themselves to those with poorer physical function and very low levels of physical activity," Vos said. Studies are mixed as to whether older adults prioritize physical activity, but it makes sense that residents in assisted living are more sedentary, Larson said. "Some of the things they used to push themselves to do, like the laundry, the cooking, getting the mail, they no longer have to do," she said. Residents in the U-M study said they valued physical activity, but these values weren't reflected in their daily lives. "In this study, staying active was important and all of the participants expressed that moving was essential to maintaining health and function," Vos said. "They valued physical activity for the benefits it could afford them and were motivated to stay active. Factors that weren't investigated but could contribute to low levels of physical activity include the degree of functional impairment, fear of falling, assisted living policies or procedures that limit engagement in activity for safety reasons, and environmental barriers to physical activity. For people over 60, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests: At least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity, such as brisk walking. At least two days a week of activities that strengthen muscles. Activities to improve balance, such as standing on one foot, at least three days a week. Larson said the research team's next project will monitor physical activity in assisted living residents over six months. They are also exploring the effects of social factors in greater detail to determine how much impact they have on physical activity and sedentary behavior. The research was published in Research in Gerontological Nursing. More information: Carol M. Vos et al, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior of Residents in Assisted Living: A Preliminary Study, Research in Gerontological Nursing (2022). Carol M. Vos et al, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior of Residents in Assisted Living: A Preliminary Study,(2022). DOI: 10.3928/19404921-20220408-02 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Germany is experiencing a new wave of coronavirus infections, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said Wednesday, urging the most vulnerable to quickly get their fourth vaccination jabs. "The announced summer wave has unfortunately become reality," he told Rheinische Post daily. After weeks of falling new infections, the numbers of cases in Europe's biggest economy are seeing an uptick again. "Because the current virus variant is very easily transmitted and because almost all precautionary measures have expired, the effect of the summer" in calming a surge in infections was not as effective, he said. Face masks should once again be worn indoors to prevent transmission, added the health minister. Germany's seven-day incidence rate of new infections per 100,000 people reached 472.4 on Wednesday. Europe's biggest economy began easing coronavirus curbs, including letting unvaccinated people back into shops and restaurants, and allowing larger gatherings, from March. The requirement for employees to work from home whenever possible was also lifted in the same month. The wearing of medical masks was removed from schools and offices, but remains mandatory on public transport. Explore further Germany to end most Covid curbs in March: draft govt plan 2022 AFP Credit: CC0 Public Domain QUT researchers have identified a way of more quickly determining the risk of a heart attack for Indigenous patients, which could fast-track their treatment and ease hospital overcrowding. Results from a single test could be used to safely rule out heart attack for up to one third of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients with low troponin levels according to QUT research. Published today in the Medical Journal of Australia, QUT Associate Professor Jaimi Greenslade from Australian Center for Health Services Innovation (AusHSI) evaluated data from 110 patients who presented with chest pain to the Cairns Hospital emergency department. Professor Greenslade said the current process to identify heart attack was to test for levels of troponin, a protein released from damaged heart muscles into the blood stream, at the time of patient presentation and again 23 hours later. "There is a growing body of evidence reporting that a single test may be adequate to rule out heart attack for a group of non-Indigenous patients, but limited research has evaluated the use of a single test for Indigenous patients," said Professor Greenslade, who is also an Advance Queensland Fellow at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. "Our study provides the first evidence that using a single test is likely to be as safe for Indigenous patients as non-Indigenous patients. "We found that of the patients who had very low troponin levels on presentation, none ended up having a heart attack within 30 days." Professor Greenslade said the baseline risk of heart attack was higher for Indigenous patients than non-Indigenous patients, so researchers needed to be sure that processes used to rule out heart attack were safe for this cohort. "The traditional process used to assess for heart attack ends up being quite lengthy and there are large numbers of patients presenting to emergency departments with chest pain every year, contributing to overcrowding. "A considerable amount of research has looked at whether there is a way to expedite this process. One finding was that patients with extremely low results on the first blood test were unlikely to have heart attack and might not need the second test or further testing. "Until now, it hasn't been clear whether a low initial test result in an Indigenous patient was enough to rule out heart attack like it is in the non-Indigenous patient. "The implications are that a group of Indigenous patients might also be able to be discharged earlier and may not require long hospital stays." The study also reported that a large proportion of participants reported risk factors for cardiovascular disease66% were smokers, 40% had diabetes, 56% had hypertension, and 57% had a family history of coronary artery disease. "A low troponin value may safely exclude heart attack, but Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may benefit from referral to culturally appropriate medical services for cardiac risk factor management," Professor Greenslade said. Professor Greenslade said the observational study was small, and further research on larger cohorts across multiple sites was needed to identify whether findings could be supported when implemented in clinical practice. Explore further More sensitive blood test diagnoses heart attacks faster More information: Jaimi H Greenslade et al, Value of single troponin values in the emergency department for excluding acute myocardial infarction in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Medical Journal of Australia (2022). Journal information: Medical Journal of Australia Jaimi H Greenslade et al, Value of single troponin values in the emergency department for excluding acute myocardial infarction in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,(2022). DOI: 10.5694/mja2.51544 Behfar Ehdaie said the new treatment approach is like a "male lumpectomy." Instead of removing all the tissue in a breast or prostate, doctors have learned "it is safe and effective to treat specific areas and greatly reduce the burden on patients.". Credit: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center In recent years, a new treatment strategy known as focal therapy (partial gland ablation) has emerged for prostate cancer considered to be "intermediate risk"mostly, small tumors confined to one area of the prostate. At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), researchers have been working closely with an advanced focal therapy approach known as high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Now a landmark clinical trial has demonstrated this less-invasive method works well for many patients. The phase 2 trial, led by MSK urologic cancer surgeon Behfar Ehdaie, looked at a particular type of HIFU treatment, also called MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS), in men with intermediate-risk cancer. The novel approach effectively controlled the disease in patients and greatly reduced adverse side effects of treatment. This suggests many men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer can avoid surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. "We believe this novel treatment strategy will improve the lives of many prostate cancer patients," Dr. Ehdaie says. "To draw a parallel with how breast cancer treatment changed 30 years ago, you could think of focal therapy as a 'male lumpectomy.' Instead of removing all the tissue in a breast or prostate, we have learned that it is safe and effective to treat specific areas and greatly reduce the burden on patients." Results from the clinical trial, published June 14, 2022, in Lancet Oncology, represent a major step toward having the new HIFU approach become part of widespread prostate cancer treatment. When the cancer is confined to the prostate gland, the main treatment options have traditionally included active surveillance (close monitoring), surgery, and radiation. But men who needed surgery or radiation often had persistent side effects, such as urinary and sexual problems, that could reduce quality of life. "Advancements in prostate cancer over the past two decades have been headlined by successes that have benefited all patients, and now focal therapy provides another exciting area that can move the needle in prostate cancer management," Dr. Ehdaie says. How does HIFU for prostate cancer work? The MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is an outpatient treatment that takes about two hours. Patients under anesthesia are placed in an MRI machine that covers the lower half of the body. After the machine takes an image of the prostate, the doctors outline the treatment area and deliver the focused ultrasound waves, guided by the MRI. The ultrasound waves come from different directions, intersecting to attack and kill the cancer by heating the cells to more than 158 F (70 C). "While you are imaging, you are getting temperature feedback as well to make sure the right spots are being treated," Dr. Ehdaie says. "The patient wakes up from the anesthesia and goes home. There's no incisions or wounds on the body to heal. We have demonstrated the procedure is safe for patients, and they can return to normal activity right away." Prostate cancer HIFU treatment patient success story John Brannan is one of the success stories. In 2016, when he was 65, his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) began rising steeply. Although prostate cancer is largely not hereditary, he was alarmed because his father, uncle, and two cousins all died from the disease. A doctor in Boston suggested surgery to remove the cancer as soon as possible. But that night at a dinner party, John spoke with two of his wife's friends who had surgery for prostate cancer and discussed some of the side effects that had persisted. One friend knew about the clinical trial and connected John with MSK medical oncologist Howard Scher, who referred him to Dr. Ehdaie. John was eager to enroll. "In addition to personal reasons for wanting this treatment, I also hoped to help the next generation who might benefit," he says. "I've seen the effect this disease can have on my own family." John says the process was easy. Dr. Ehdaie scheduled the MRgFUS treatment in the Center for Image-Guided Interventions at Memorial Hospital in September 2016. John walked out several hours later and went back to the hotel with his wife and had dinner. "It was pretty much back to normal right away," he says. "No cutting, no stiches, no lying in a hospital bed for days or weeks. I wore a catheter for the first 24 hours and was a little tired, but that was it. The treatment was actually less painful than the biopsies I have had." Making HIFU available for more patients Dr. Ehdaie says that using MRgFUS for intermediate-risk cancers became possible due to two important developments over the past 15 years. First, there was an acceptance by experts of using active surveillance for low-grade tumors. The second advance was new imaging technology that enabled MRIs to be incorporated into ultrasound treatment. In the phase 2 clinical trial, 101 men received the novel MRgFUS treatment and then were biopsied six months and 24 months later. There was no intermediate- or higher-risk cancer left in the treated area for 88% of the patients. "Probably most important was the lack of side effects," Dr. Ehdaie says. "Nobody in the study reported urinary incontinence or experienced bowel problems. Most men were able to achieve erections." Based on this data, the FDA in December 2021 granted approval for the technology, called Exablate Prostate, to treat prostate tissue. The FDA also approved an investigator-initiated trial designed by Dr. Ehdaie and surgeon Peter Scardino to compare MRgFUS focal therapy to active surveillance and demonstrate a clinical benefit for patients with prostate cancer. 'A new lease on life' More than five years later, John is still doing well and has avoided surgery and radiation treatment. He has yearly follow-up checkups and periodic surveillance biopsies at MSK to make sure the disease has not returned. Now 70, he lives in Florida with his wife and stays active by buying and renovating properties. Since his treatment, he has gotten calls from friends and acquaintances all over the country asking how they can get it too. MSK will be offering this novel treatment to select men and is hoping to launch the phase 3 clinical trial soon as well. "I feel like I was given a new lease on life, so I'm trying to make the most of it," John says. "It's a phenomenal use of technology, and I think it's going to absolutely take off across the world." Explore further Ultrasound technique treats prostate cancer with minimal side effects More information: MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) Focal Therapy for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer: A Phase 2b Multicenter Study, The Lancet (2022). Journal information: Lancet Oncology , The Lancet MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) Focal Therapy for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer: A Phase 2b Multicenter Study,(2022). Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The science behind your Netflix viewing habits could soon be used to guide doctors in managing cancer, according to scientists funded by Cancer Research U.K. and Cancer Grand Challenges. An international team of scientists have used artificial intelligence (AI) to investigate and categorize the size and scale of DNA changes across the genomea cell's complete genetic codewhen cancer starts and grows. Using AI, the scientists have identified 21 common faults that occur to the structure, order and number of copies of DNA present when cancer starts and grows. These common faults, called copy number signatures, could help guide doctors to treatments which reflect the characteristics of the tumor. When you watch Netflix, data are generated about the type of films and TV series you watch, how frequently you watch them and whether you give them a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down." Netflix uses an algorithm to analyze this massive amount of data, find patterns in the content you watch and then recommends new films and TV series when you scroll through Netflix. A team of researchers led by Dr. Nischalan Pillay at the University College London (UCL) and Dr. Ludmil Alexandrov at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), built a similar algorithm which can sift through thousands of lines of genomic data and pick out common patterns in how the chromosomes organize and arrange themselves. The algorithm can then categorize the patterns that emerge and help scientists establish the types of faults that can occur in cancer. Using the algorithm, the scientists looked for patterns in the fully sequenced genomes from 9,873 patients with 33 different types of cancer. The algorithm identified 21 common faults to the structure and number of chromosomes in tumors and categorized them into different "genres" called copy number signatures. The 21 copy number signatures will now be used to create a blueprint that researchers can use to assess how aggressive the cancer will be, find its weak spots and design new treatments for it. Dr. Ludmil Alexandrov, Associate Professor at UC San Diego and co-lead author of the study, said: "Cancer is a complex disease, but we've demonstrated that there are remarkable similarities in the changes to chromosomes that happen when it starts and how it grows. "Just as Netflix can predict which shows you'll choose to binge watch next, we believe that we will be able to predict how your cancer is likely to behave, based on the changes its genome has previously experienced. "We want to get to the point where doctors can look at a patient's fully sequenced tumor and match the key features of the tumor against our blueprint for genomic faults. Armed with that information, we believe that doctors will be able to offer better and more personalized cancer treatment in the future." The scientists previously studied how these large-scale genomic faults occur in sarcoma, and wanted to find ways to study these changes across different types of cancer. Using software called SigProfilerExtractor, which was developed by Dr. Alexandrov, the algorithm uses complex math to scan sequencing data from cancer patients and identify common patterns in how the chromosomes are reorganized in different types of cancer. The scientists further investigated the copy number signatures which most strongly affected outcomes for cancer patients. Of the 21 signatures identified by the algorithm, the scientists found that tumors where the chromosomes have shattered and reformed (known as chromothripsis) were associated with the worst survival outcomes. For example, the study found that patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain tumor, had worse survival outcomes if their tumor had undergone chromothripsis. On average, glioblastoma patients without chromothripsis survived 6 months longer than glioblastoma patients whose tumors had chromothripsis. The scientists hope that they will be able to refine the algorithm to enable doctors to find out how your cancer is likely to behave, based on the genetic traits it acquired when it started and the genetic changes it picks up as it grows. Dr. Nischalan Pillay, Associate Professor in Sarcoma and Genomics at UCL and co-lead author of the research, said: "To stay one step ahead of cancer, we need to anticipate how it adapts and changes. "Mutations are the key drivers of cancer, but a lot of our understanding is focused on changes to individual genes in cancer. We've been missing the bigger picture of how vast swathes of genes can be copied, moved around or deleted without catastrophic consequences for the tumor. "Understanding how these events arise will help us regain an advantage over cancer. Thanks to advances in genome sequencing, we can now see these changes play out across different cancer types and figure out how to respond effectively to them." The scientists have made SigProfilerExtractor and other software tools used in the study freely available to other scientists, so that they can use the algorithm to build their own Netflix-style libraries of chromosome changes from DNA, based on from data obtained from sequencing tumors. Dr. Christopher Steele, postdoctoral researcher at UCL and first author of the research added: "We believe that making these powerful computing tools free to other scientists will accelerate progress towards a personalized cancer blueprint for patients, giving them the best chances of survival." Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive of Cancer Research U.K., said: "Cancer Research U.K. has been at the forefront of understanding the genetics behind cancer. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, it's amazing news that we can build a blueprint across multiple tumor types that might help researchers predict how a cancer will behave and show ways in how we can tackle it with more precise treatments. "This research is another brilliant result for Cancer Grand Challenges, which was set up to tackle some of biggest challenges in cancer research." The paper, titled "Signatures of copy number alterations in human cancer," was published today in Nature. Explore further Tumor 'signatures' could provide key to more accurate treatment for deadliest cancers More information: Signatures of copy number alterations in human cancer, Nature (2022). Journal information: Nature Signatures of copy number alterations in human cancer,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04738-6 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain During the most acute periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses faced record levels of stress and burnout. As pandemic stress on hospitals and nursing homes now recedes, will nurse burnout recede as well? Many policymakers assume so. However, Penn School of Nursing's Rachel French, Karen Lasater, and colleagues find that high rates of burnout and intent to leave existed before the first COVID-19 patients ever entered U.S. hospitals and nursing homes. Our analysis of survey data collected December 2019 through February 2020 from 33,462 registered nurses (RNs) in New York and Illinois revealed that more than 40% of RNs reported high burnout. As we reported recently in the Journal of Nursing Regulation, one in four were also dissatisfied with their job, and one in five planned to leave their employer within one year (one in three among nursing home RNs). In addition, over half (56%) of RNs reported not having enough staff to get their work done, 68% rated care quality at their workplace as less-than-excellent, and 31% of hospital RNs gave their hospital an unfavorable patient safety rating. Burnout isn't just a personal issue for RNsit is a persistent threat to public health. Evidence shows that in hospitals with higher rates of RN burnout, patient safety is threatened and patients have higher odds of dying. If RN burnout was already too high before the pandemic, what can be done to decrease it on the heels of a multi-year pandemic response? Setting minimum nurse staffing standards is an evidence-based policy intervention that could be adopted at either the state or federal level or as a condition of participation in Medicare. Chronic understaffing and unsafe nurse workloads are major contributors to RN burnout. Decades of research have shown that each additional patient in a nurse's workload is associated with poor patient outcomes, including mortality and hospital readmissions, as well as poor nurse outcomes including burnout, job dissatisfaction, and intent to leave. To date, California is the only state to have implemented minimum hospital nurse staffing standards. The unfunded policy mandate was implemented in 2004 with good effectpatients in California hospitals receive 23 more hours of nursing care per day on average compared with patients in other states, with the greatest staffing improvements in safety-net hospitals. A common concern about implementing safe nurse staffing standards is whether there are enough nurses to meet new staffing standards. The U.S. has more nurses per capita and more new entrants to nursing now than ever before. The problem is not that we have too few nurses, but rather that we have too few nurses willing to work under current working conditions. Other policies can help alleviate nursing shortages that may exist in some geographical regions. For example, state adoption of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) enables RNs licensed in an NLC state to practice in other NLC states via a multistate license. During the first surge of COVID-19, governors in some states (e.g., New York) used their temporary emergency powers to waive licensure requirements for RNs coming from other states to help with the COVID surge. Such emergency powers would not have been necessary had those states been part of the NLC. Twelve states still have not enacted the NLC, including New York and California. Further adoption of the NLC could facilitate greater mobility of the much-needed nursing workforce across the U.S. to meet the demand for nursing care. In addition to relieving acute nurse staffing shortages, mobility from the NLC could facilitate meeting safe nurse staffing standards, which is associated with less nurse burnout. Such a policy would also help reduce long licensing wait times, which have caused significant delays in hospitals trying to onboard new nurses. Both NLC adoption and minimum nurse staffing standards have wide support. Our study found that most RNs in hospitals (73.4%) and nursing homes (76.3%) have favorable views of the NLC. More than 90% of the general public agree that hospitals and nursing homes should be required to meet safe staffing standards for nurses. Yet despite 20-plus years of evidence and the numerous National Academy of Medicine reports about the effects of working conditions on clinician burnout and patient safety, hospitals and nursing homes have failed to meaningfully improve working conditions. Our findings that RNs in hospitals and nursing homes experienced poor working conditions, high burnout, and poor patient safety and care quality even before the COVID-19 pandemic are a sobering reminder that our goal should not be to return to the pre-pandemic "normal." Meaningful policy action via minimum nurse staffing standards needs to be enacted to reduce ongoing nurse burnout and improve the quality and safety of healthcare for Americans. Explore further Illinois nurse staffing legislation predicted to reduce hospital deaths and improve care More information: Rachel French et al, Conditions of Nursing Practice in Hospitals and Nursing Homes Before COVID-19: Implications for Policy Action, Journal of Nursing Regulation (2022). Rachel French et al, Conditions of Nursing Practice in Hospitals and Nursing Homes Before COVID-19: Implications for Policy Action,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/S2155-8256(22)00033-3 Creative rendition of SARS-CoV-2 particles (not to scale). Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH A recent Pfizer or Moderna mRNA-vaccine booster provided good but temporary protection against infection by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, according to a study from researchers at Weill Cornell MedicineQatar. In the study, published June 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers analyzed the Omicron wave in Qatar last winter, comparing prior infections, vaccine immunity and combinations thereof among more than 100,000 Omicron-infected and non-infected individuals. The analysis showed, as expected, that full mRNA vaccination plus a booster dose, atop natural immunity due to infection by an earlier variant, was associated with the strongest protection from Omicron infection. However, vaccine immunity against new infection appeared to wane rapidly, whereas people with a prior-variant infection were moderately protected from Omicron with little decline in protection even a year after their prior infection. The study, the most comprehensive of its kind in investigating different combinations of immunity for Omicron-variant SARS-CoV-2 infections, also found evidence that both vaccination and prior infection provided strong and durable protection from severe, critical, or fatal COVID-19 during the Omicron wave. "We found that the rates of severe COVID-19 during Qatar's Omicron wave were very low even among those who had only two doses of vaccine or only a prior infection," said study first author Dr. Heba Altarawneh, a postdoctoral research associate who conducted this study working with study senior author Dr. Laith Abu-Raddad, a professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell MedicineQatar and at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. Qatar's highly centralized and comprehensive electronic health records database, which includes all RT-PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 performed in the country, permits unusually rapid and large-scale epidemiological studies. Dr. Abu-Raddad and colleagues have already published prominent papers on infection and illness rates for prior SARS-CoV-2 variants and waves. For the new study, the researchers cataloged positive PCR tests associated with infection symptoms in Qatar during the country's omicron (B.1.1.529) wave, from Dec. 23, 2021, through Feb. 21, 2022. They paired each of these infected, symptomatic individuals with a PCR-negative individual from the databasematching by sex, week of testing, age range and nationality (Qatar has a highly diverse resident population that includes many guest workers from Asia and Africa). The researchers then analyzed how the prior-wave infections and vaccination histories of the two groups differed. The analysis included 104,490 people in all. A key finding was that a history of vaccination with the standard two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine, but no history of prior infection, brought no significant protection against symptomatic omicron infection. Having a booster dose appeared to be about 60 percent protective, though most boosters were received just weeks before the Omicron wave. Overall, the analysis suggestedconsistently with prior studiesthat mRNA vaccines and boosters work fairly well in protecting against symptomatic omicron infection, though their protective effect wanes rapidly and disappears within six months or so. For those with no history of vaccination, SARS-CoV-2 infection during a prior-variant wave appeared to provide about 50 percent protection against symptomatic infection during the Omicron wave, and this "natural immunity" was associated with almost the same degree of protection even a year after infection. The combination of prior, full vaccination and prior infection was maximally protective: Individuals with prior infection and three doses of either mRNA vaccine were, overall, nearly 80 percent protected from symptomatic infection during the Omicron wave. The results also indicated that vaccination, prior infection alone or a combination, was protective against severe illness from Omicron infectionsthe protective effect ranging from about 72 percent for previous infection alone to 100 percent for previous infection plus three vaccine doses. "These findings demonstrate the benefits of vaccinating those with prior infection for optimal protection against the Omicron variant," said Dr. Abu-Raddad. The analysis distinguished between infections with two different sub-lineages of the Omicron variant, BA.1 and BA.2, but found very similar results for both, as well as similar results for both Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines. Explore further Omicron infection is a poor booster of COVID-19 immunity Only BLU, the Maldives largest under ocean restaurant, has opened at Oblu Select Lobigili & Oblu Xperience Ailafushi, offering diners unique experiences from deep-sea dining to food trucks serving succulent grills on a starlit beach. Launched on June 13, 2022, Only BLU is one of the most sought-after outlets in the destination. Surrounded by exotic blue hues and a colourful flow of marine life, this deep-sea dining experience is a unique way of connecting with nature and with loved ones. The restaurant is accessed through a wooden jetty between the two island resorts, Oblu Select Lobigili and Oblu Xperience Ailafushi. As guests descend 6.8 meters below sea level, they pass by an open kitchen showcasing the chefs artistry in an inviting display and are welcomed with canapes and sparkling wine. There is a distinctly only blue vibe with colours, patterns, and textures all chosen to complement the spectacular ocean vistas. A horseshoe-shaped design ensures every table has its own window view of the coral reef. With a 190 sqm dining space and 46 seats, Only BLU is the largest under ocean restaurant in the Maldives. While the show-stealer is the mesmerising under ocean setting, the Modern Gourmet Cuisine is just as tempting. Dining experience is personalised with a choice of seafood and fish, meat and poultry, or vegetarian fare, all paired with red and white wines and a selection of beers. On-menu are carefully crafted dishes such as: Panko and Sesame Crusted Tofu served with enoki mushroom, scallion, and tossed greens Maldivian Yellow Fin Tuna Poke served with Peruvian avocado, Spanish onion, mango, and edamame Guinea Fowl Ballotine served with foie gras and wild mushroom emulsion, spinach, potato pave, and butter tossed young root vegetables Plates of delicious appetisers and mains are stacked in rantangs (wooden stands) and placed on the table creating a personalised culinary tower that adds an element of visual delight. The smart and discreet service keeps the focus completely on savouring the flavours and soaking in the spellbinding marine show. At Oblu Select Lobigili, the Lobi Plan includes one complimentary dining experience at Only BLU for a minimum of four days of stay. Dining at Only BLU is not included in the Fushi Plan. However, guests at Oblu Xperience Ailafushi have the option of booking lunch or dinner for an additional charge. Speciality food truck experience For those looking to step out and relish a carefree meal on the beach, there are two vibrant food trucks - Gaadiya 17 at Lobigili island and The Copper Pot Food Truck at Ailafushi island, which serve grab-and-go style grills. Gaadiya 17, opened on June 13, 2022, specialises in certified, farm-raised game meat. On the menu are Angus Striploin and Kobe Tataki steaks, Wild Maldivian Lobster, Lagoon Prawns, and Octopus Legs. The Copper Pot Food Truck is all about fresh Surf & Turf grills. These aromatic and succulent dishes can be savoured by the ocean, enveloped in starry skies, soft music, and a refreshing breeze. At Oblu Select Lobigili, guests can also dine at Ylang all-day restaurant and relax at the eye-catching Swing Bar with an infinity pool. Dining options at Oblu Xperience Ailafushi include the Element X Restaurant which serves modern Western, Central Asian, and Far Eastern cuisines and X360 Bar featuring a 1000 sqm infinity pool. La Promenade, opened on June 11, 2022, offers an engaging social scene with a cafe and wine boutique. Jorge Amaro, the General Manager of Oblu Select Lobigili and Oblu Xperience Ailafushi, said: "Our engineering teams have pulled together a remarkable feat with Only BLU - which immerses guests in a creative, soul-warming food journey. We have curated a world of exquisite flavours at both resorts. Every day brings fresh, new dining options for our guests to explore. Oblu Select Lobigili and Oblu Xperience Ailafushi are both located in North Male Atoll, Maldives and are reachable by a convenient 15-minutes speedboat journey from Velana International Airport in Male. TradeArabia News Service Staten Island in the Nineteenth Century: From Boomtown to Forgotten Borough" by Joseph Borelli; The History Press (192 pages, $21.99) Most New Yorkers dont think much of Staten Island. In fact, they dont think about it at all. And when they do, its about how different it is. With under half-a-million people, its the smallest borough and the whitest. Unlike the rest of the city, Staten Island voted for President Donald Trump twice. And it doesnt have a subway. When it became part of New York City in 1898, it encountered issues that remain intractable to this day, former Borough President James S. Oddo writes in a foreword to Joseph Borellis Staten Island in the Nineteenth Century: From Boomtown to Forgotten Borough. We share little in common with the rest of what was then known as the City of Greater New York, Oddo observes. It is likely that we never will. Representing the islands south shore on the New York City Council, Borellis not a disinterested party. And he remains unconvinced this union was or is a good idea. There can be no doubt that being a part of New York City has had its benefits, Borelli writes. Yet perhaps it is time to ask the question again: What price has been paid for this privilege? Borellis book begins as the 18th century was closing. With a population of 3,838 in 1790, a growing Staten Island rushed to provide services. A poorhouse was built in 1803 to shelter the impoverished. Public schools were opened, and a courthouse was erected. Twelve dollars were spent on wooden stocks to publicly shame petty criminals. Many residents prospered. Daniel Tompkins rose to the top, serving as a New York Supreme Court judge, and governor, before becoming James Monroes vice-president. A wealthy developer, he loaned the government $1.4 million to help finance the War of 1812. A staunch abolitionist, he railed against unjust and cruel bondage. And, as governor, he signed a bill emancipating every enslaved New Yorker. Other residents chose Staten Island to escape politics. After Aaron Burr fatally wounded Alexander Hamilton in a duel, he was tried, acquitted for treason, and endured a ruinous divorce. Hamiltons son represented Burrs ex-wife. The former veep died at the Port Richmond Hotel, shunned, in 1836. He breathed his last in the presence of, and his eyes were closed by, a passing stranger, noted a journalist. General and 11-time President of Mexico Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna also sought refuge in Richmond County. Life had gone disastrously for him after his triumph at the Alamo, and in 1865 the embattled military man fled his country, ending up in Staten Island. Reportedly, he disembarked with barrels of chicle, an extract of the sapodilla tree. He thought it might prove a cheap substitute for rubber. Attempts to refine the raw material failed, as did the generals efforts to recruit an army to restore him to power. He slunk home, leaving the chicle behind. However, his business partner, amateur inventor Thomas Adams, took another look at it and decided the stuff might make a new kind of candy. And so chewing gum was invented in Staten Island or, so claimed the Chiclets company. Perhaps the islands greatest success was Cornelius Vanderbilt. Born in 1794, he dropped out of school at 11 to work his fathers ferryboat. He eventually bought his own small boat, taking passengers to Manhattan for 18-cents. By the end of his first year, Vanderbilt had made $1,000. And by the time he was 23, he had built a steamboat empire. When he died in 1877, Vanderbilt had not only amassed a Gilded Age fortune of over $100 million but set a record for the single, largest charitable contribution in U.S. history $1 million, to build the Tennessee university which bears his name. But there were also troubled times on Staten island, most springing from residents resentments. In 1799, the state legislature used eminent domain to seize 30 acres on the islands north shore, where it built a quarantine hospital for contagious travelers entering New York harbor. It was, Borelli notes, only the first time the powerful city government and the legislature would place unwanted, albeit necessary, facilities, in the county. Other institutions, including a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients, followed, outraging everyone, reported the New York Herald, from the wealthy gentleman who occupy summer villas on the Island to the humblest oysterman who works for his dollar a day. Finally, in 1858, a mob of 400 Staten Islanders ordered patients out of their beds and burned the quarantine hospital to the ground. The state sued Staten Island for damages, but the point had been made. The next medical facilities were established on floating barges and on two artificial islands. But there was racial unrest on the island, too. True, Staten Island was home to many liberal abolitionists. One of them, Robert Gould Shaw, would go on to lead, and die with, the Unions famous Glory battalion. Yet when the Civil War draft began, a weeks worth of race riots erupted, starting in Manhattan before spreading to Staten Island. By the time they had been quelled, in July of 1863, a Black neighborhood in Stapleton had been destroyed, and countless residents beaten, shot, or even lynched. As it had with the quarantine riot, the state held Staten Island taxpayers liable for the damages. Meanwhile, as the century drew to a close, Manhattan power brokers worried. The citys population stood at 1.5 million, but Chicago had reached 1.1 million, and Philadelphia was close behind. New York City, an 1894 pamphlet argued, needed to permanently cement its status as Americas largest city or relinquish its role as arbiter of business, music, society, politics, the drama, everything. Manhattan had already annexed the Bronx. Brooklyn which by then had absorbed much of Queens and boasted a population of well over 1 million was the next obvious prize. Yet as afraid as New York may have been of Chicago, Borelli writes, industrialists feared that the inefficiencies of the port system was rendering it less desirable than New Orleans, Boston, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. To truly grow, New York City didnt just need Brooklyns population; it needed Staten Islands coastline. First, Manhattans government had to get the voters of Brooklyn and Staten Island to sign on. It wasnt easy. Brooklyn, a major city in its own right, was reluctant to relinquish its independence. Staten Islanders were deeply suspicious of Manhattan politicians. Yet when the referendum was held, it passed. Proponents celebrated, predicting better city services and lower taxes. Flash forward to 2022. Despite decades of promises, no rail link to the other boroughs has been built. The islands Fresh Kills Landfill, the massive dump opened supposedly on a temporary basis in 1948 only closed in 2001 and was redeveloped as a park. None of these slights have gone unnoticed. In 1993, two-thirds of residents voted to secede, although the referendum was largely symbolic. Borelli, though, hasnt given up on the idea. Its time we re-imagine Staten Island as anything but the forgotten borough, he writes. It must reassert itself as one of the largest, safest, and most successful communities in the United States an honor we held throughout the 19th century, and one we would soon attain through our political independence from City Hall. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 TUESDAY, June 14, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory panel will decide on Tuesday whether to recommend the agency approve the emergency use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 6 to 17. The panel will analyze Moderna's two-dose vaccine for children aged 6 to 11 at half the strength of the adult shot, and for youth aged 12 to 17 at the adult dose, and then vote on whether to give its blessing to both. Typically, the FDA follows the recommendations of its expert panels. Once the FDA has authorized the shots, as expected, expert advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will discuss the best use of the Moderna vaccine in older children and teens this weekend. Moderna first asked the FDA to approve its vaccine for adolescents and older teens last June, a month after Pfizer won emergency authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine to be used in 12- to 15-year-olds. The FDA then approved the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 6 to 12 last October. But regulators were worried about reports of myocarditis that were seen mostly in young men who had been given the Moderna vaccine, so they chose to delay a decision while more research was conducted. The company said concerns about myocarditis have now subsided after further research and real-world evidence, The New York Times reported. In a second meeting on Wednesday, the same FDA panel will weigh Moderna's vaccine for children under 6 and Pfizer's vaccine for children under 5. 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 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- At least 13 infant deaths have been reported in Fisher-Price's Infant-to-Toddler Rockers and Newborn-to-Toddler Rockers since 2009, while there has been one death reported with a Kids2 Bright Starts Rocker, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and both companies warned in new alerts issued Tuesday. Rockers should never be used for sleep, and infants should never be unsupervised or unrestrained in the rockers, CPSC and the companies stressed. Fisher-Price has sold more than 17 million rockers worldwide since the 1990s and recommends consumers visit its Safe Start website for safety videos, tips and additional safety information, as well as the latest safety warnings. Consumers are asked to report incidents to Fisher-Price at 1-800-432-5437. Kids2 has sold more than 1.8 million rockers worldwide since 2012 and encourages consumers to call Kids2 at 1-800-230-8190 or go to its website to ask questions or report incidents. The CPSC said consumers can report incidents involving rockers or other infant products at its website. The agency investigates incidents and deaths that occur while infants are using the products. Parents and caregivers should never use inclined products such as rockers, gliders, soothers, and swings for infant sleep, and should not leave infants in these products unsupervised, unrestrained or with bedding material, due to the risk of suffocation, the CPSC advises. A new agency rule requiring that infant sleep products have a sleep surface angle of 10 degrees or less takes effect on June 23. The CPSC offers the following safety tips: The best place for an infant to sleep is on a firm, flat surface in a crib, bassinet or play yard. Use a fitted sheet only and never add blankets, pillows, padded crib bumpers or other items to an infant's sleep setting. Infants should always be placed to sleep on their back. Infants who fall asleep in an inclined or upright position should be moved to a location with a firm, flat surface such as a crib, bassinet or play yard. More information For more on infant sleep safety, go to the American Academy of Pediatrics. SOURCES: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Fisher-Price, Kids2, news releases, June 14, 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. As the World Health Organization convenes its emergency committee to consider if the spiraling outbreak of monkeypox warrants being declared a global emergency, some experts say WHOs decision to act only after the disease spilled into the West could entrench the inequities that arose between rich and poor countries during the coronavirus pandemic. Many scientists also doubt any declaration would help to curb the epidemic, since the developed countries recording the most recent cases are already moving to shut it down. Monkeypox has sickened people for decades in central and west Africa. To date, no deaths have been seen outside Africa. The WHO said Thursday it did not expect to announce any decisions by its emergency committee before Friday. WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A centuries-old mystery as to the origins of the Black Death has been solved, according to an international team of scientists. They said the plague pandemic that killed up to 60% of people in Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa in the mid-1300s originated in central Asia in what is now Kyrgyzstan. Plague first entered the Mediterranean in 1347 on trade ships from the East. The source of the Black Death has been unclear, but one popular theory is that it first appeared in China. However, the authors of this new study say they've traced it to an area around Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan. An epidemic devastated a local trading community there between 1338 and 1339, and tombstones from the time indicate that people died of an unknown epidemic or "pestilence." As part of the study, the researchers analyzed DNA from human remains in graves from the area with the year 1338 on their tombstones. They found DNA from the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis. "We could finally show that the epidemic mentioned on the tombstones was indeed caused by plague," study co-author Phil Slavin said in a news release from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. Slavin is a historian at the University of Stirling in Scotland. But was this the source of the Black Death? Previous research suggested that the Black Death was triggered by a massive diversification of plague strains believed to have happened sometime between the 10th and 14th centuries, but the exact date was unknown. "We found that the ancient strains from Kyrgyzstan are positioned exactly at the node of this massive diversification event. In other words, we found the Black Death's source strain and we even know its exact date [meaning the year 1338]," said study lead author Maria Spyrou, a researcher at the University of Tubingen in Germany. The next question to answer was whether this strain evolved locally or came from elsewhere. Plague bacterium survives in wild rodent populations worldwide, in what are called plague reservoirs. The researchers said modern strains most closely related to the ancient strain are found today in plague reservoirs around the Tian Shan mountains, a mountain range bordering Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and northwest China -- very close to where the ancient strain was found. This points to an origin of Black Death's ancestor in central Asia, the scientists explained. More information There's more on plague at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. SOURCE: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, news release, June 15, 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. As Montana's grizzly bear population reclaims historical habitat beyond designated recovery zones, the bears are moving into communities that haven't seen grizzlies for generations. That's spurring wildlife managers to prepare ranchers and residents before grizzlies appear at their doorsteps. "Right now weve got subadults dispersing to who knows where," said Jamie Jonkel, bear management specialist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. "These bears are dispersing outward." Jonkel estimated 40 grizzlies are living on the Blackfoot and Clearwater valley floors: "Were going to see more and more creep as time goes by because we do have an awful lot of female activity in the Blackfoot Valley and elsewhere." That "very slow creep" into other areas leads wildlife managers like Jonkel to begin educating people on how to avoid conflict before the bears arrive. Across FWP's Region 2, Jonkel said he's "beating the drum and beating it loud so that the communities outside of where we have grizzly activities are at least hearing whats going on." Jonkel described the outreach as a "slow process thats just barely in front of the bear line," and said that people do pay attention when they hear about grizzlies near them. Lee Enterprises' "Grizzlies and Us" project last winter "really, really helped to get western Montanas attention," Jonkel said. Jonkel's remarks came at Monday's City Club forum in Missoula the club's first in-person gathering since the onset of the COVID pandemic in early 2020. Monday's session focused on grizzly population and conflict with humans and livestock, and featured U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator Hilary Cooley, and Wayne Slaght, longtime manager of Two Creek Monture Ranch in Ovando. Libby Metcalf, a professor of wildland management at University of Montana's W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, moderated. In 1975, when grizzlies were originally listed under the then 2-year-old Endangered Species Act as threatened in the continental U.S., the species occupied just 2% of its historical range in the Lower 48 states. The two largest designated recovery zones for the species, the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, are now home to an estimated 1,114 and 1,069 grizzlies, respectively. Missoula sits within the NCDE, Cooley noted, and "bears are doing very well in this ecosystem, spreading well beyond the recovery zone. "Weve met biological recovery, weve got more bears every year," Cooley said. "And bears come with challenges. Thats why were talking here today." Some places on the cusp of playing host to grizzlies already face conflict as grizzlies move into the area. Avon is one of those places. The small ranching community on U.S. Route 12 on the west side of MacDonald Pass sits along the Little Blackfoot River between Garrison and Helena, and south of the Blackfoot Valley where grizzlies now roam around Ovando and Seeley Lake. After being eradicated from the Avon area by humans a century ago, grizzlies hadn't had much of a presence there until the past couple years. The McIntosh family, sixth-generation Avon ranchers, told the Montana Standard last winter that grizzlies had killed at least five yearling calves on their ranch in spring 2021, and sightings of the bears on the ranch had become more frequent. One was captured and relocated from the ranch, and another was euthanized. Wildlife managers advised the family to remove and dispose of livestock carcasses they'd historically dumped into a pit on the ranch, which had attracted the grizzlies, and Bill McIntosh, who said he'd hardly ever seen grizzlies around Avon until recently, bought bear spray for the first time. But ranches will likely have to adapt even further as grizzlies settle across wider swaths of western Montana. Slaght, the ranch manager in Ovando, explained at Monday's forum that mitigating conflict with grizzlies is "something we live with 24 hours a day, seven days a week ... for us to live with them every day and have to deal with them on private property, thats a headache and its a costly headache." The Two Creek Monture Ranch now has about 10 grizzlies for most the year. They often come within feet of his home, Slaght said, which has led to "huge costs" in adapting ranch infrastructure and operations for grizzlies, "not only for safety of our livestock but for safety of the human beings out there." Grizzlies repeatedly broke into wooden grain sheds on the ranch, so Slaght replaced them with steel shipping containers that cost $3,500 apiece. Electrified mats help guard gates, cameras monitor grizzly activity, and electric fencing costs upward of $18,000 per mile. The ranch has installed 6 or 7 miles so far. As on the McIntosh ranch, Slaght has done "a lot of preventative stuff, a lot of cleanup." Slaght said his views on coexistence with grizzlies sometimes clash with those of the mainstream ag community. "Ag thinks that the bears should have to deal with us," he said, arguing instead that humans should figure out how to work around grizzlies. "If we want to live on the land, thats a hassle were going to have to have." That hassle is also present in more residential places already home to grizzly populations, Jonkel said. He's working to help people understand how not to entice bears onto their properties and near their homes. He joked that "everyones an amazing animal trainer and just doesnt know it," and said he often humorously instructs people on how to train bears to come onto their front porch, reciting a tongue-in-cheek list of human activities and habits that attract bears. Educational outreach, he acknowledged, is "a tough one, and humor doesnt necessarily work with every area ... But humor has always worked for me." Another trick, he said, is helping people understand that "weve taken over all of the habitats but the very best of the best habitat is the spring and fall habitat that are the valley floors, and the best of the best is where we live. Irrigated lawns, bird feeders and especially easily accessible garbage have all made residential areas prime feeding ground for grizzlies, and prime for human-grizzly conflict: "I think getting people to understand that, and why, will help." Over the horizon for Jonkel and other wildlife managers are areas like Drummond, Anaconda and the Deer Lodge Valley, where grizzlies may pop up soon. The Bitterroot National Forest and Salmon-Challis National Forest farther south have seen some activity, he said, but not much. Mineral County, west of Missoula, is where he's going next to educate communities. "We got ahead of the barrage" with the Blackfoot Challenge helping ranchers reduce attractants and monitor and deter bears, he said after the forum, reiterating the importance of preemptive education. "That helped a lot." Another possible solution, Slaght said, is one he knows may rile conservationists: reducing grizzly population, or dispersing the bears to reduce population density. Although he works to coexist with them, he said, "We have too many bears. Thats, in my opinion, one of the biggest things." You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 5 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. Recent catastrophic weather events have left many wondering: What just happened? Areas of southwest Montana are flooding, the northwest region received heavy snowfall in mid-June, and temperatures statewide are expected to rise into the 80s and 90s on Thursday and Friday. Brian Tesar, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Billings, said the flooding in southwest Montana was primarily a result of rainfall on heavy snowpack. Recent winter storms and cooler May temperatures contributed to normal and above-average snowpack sitting in mountains above 6,000 feet. Warmer June temperatures softened the snow, which Tesar said was primed to melt real fast. Then an atmospheric river a long, narrow region of the atmosphere like a river of water vapor in the sky moved in from the Pacific. When it dropped heavy rainfall on the Beartooth Mountains, the heavy, wet snow melted, and melted fast. We had 7 inches of water come off the mountains in 24 hours, Tesar said. Normally, 7 inches of water would melt off over the course of several weeks. In a normal year, rivers gradually rise as the snowpack melts, but the combination of heavy rainfall and wet snow brought more water than channels could manage, making floods in southwest Montana disastrous. Tesar said the factors contributing to the floods were relatively unusual. Montana saw a relatively cool May, and there were slightly unusual late snow storms that added to a building snowpack. The atmospheric river passing through the Beartooth Mountains was uncommon. These ingredients on their own are slightly unusual, Tesar said. "By themselves, they dont cause alarm. But when theyre lined up just right, it creates this whole scenario." Tesar said its too soon to say whether the floods are a symptom of climate change. Climatologists will study this and determine if its part of a pattern caused by climate change, he said. "But one event in itself is nothing we can really hang our hat on. Its really hard to say." While temperatures are expected to rise this week and some parts of the state will receive rain, Tesar said these factors likely wont be a huge concern. Warm temperatures will cause some snowmelt, but Tesar said the snow will not be melting nearly as fast. While it's supposed to rain in some areas this weekend, Tesar said the showers will be intermittent and will not be as devastating as the atmospheric river. Jennifer Kitsmiller, a NWS meteorologist in Missoula, said that while northwest Montana saw less flooding compared with other areas in the state, areas along the Highway 2 corridor saw 1.5 to 3 inches of precipitation. Hungry Horse received close to 3 inches of rain in 24 hours, and Kalispell set a new record for June 14 rainfall with 2.07 inches in 24 hours. The previous record, set on June 14, 1973, was .87 inches of rain in 24 hours. Mountains in Glacier National Park, Whitefish and the Swan Range received 4 to 7 inches of moisture. A snow monitoring site northeast of Bigfork, located at 6,000 feet elevation, reported almost 40 inches of snow. The fact that the precipitation came in the form of snow likely saved us from having a bigger flood scenario because not all the liquid in the system immediately melted out, Jennifer said. At elevations of 5,500 feet and up, it fell as snow and its still sitting there. Jennifer said some snow in northwest Montana will melt as temperatures rise on Thursday and Friday, but she doesnt expect the melt to cause major issues, though rivers will run high and fast. A low pressure system coming from the Gulf of Alaska is heading toward northwest Montana this weekend, and NWS meteorologist Jeff Kitsmiller said experts are "worried about it." In a low pressure system, winds are blown inward, causing air to rise, which produces clouds and condensation. This low pressure system will be warmer than the atmospheric river. Jeff said there's one big question: Where will the precipitation fall? "If it's closer to us, it will end up being a pretty big rain event in northwest Montana," he said. "It's tough to tell where it will end up. There's a range of possibilities." While Jeff said the likelihood of a big rain event in northwest Montana this weekend is low, the consequences would be dire. "Since the rivers and streams are high already and the Flathead and Whitefish rivers are flooding, adding a lot more rain in the system will become a really big flood situation," he said. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Legal questions surrounding psychoactive mushrooms led a city committee to delay its vote on a mushroom-related resolution Wednesday. A discussion about entheogenic plant use exceeded the Missoula Public Safety, Health and Operations Committees allotted time during a virtual meeting. Ward 3 Council Member Daniel Carlino said the city received more public comments in support of the proposed resolution than any other city council item so far this calendar year. Carlino spearheaded the resolution to avoid arresting individuals for growing, gathering and gifting entheogens. The resolution also sets out to continue making entheogens not a funding priority for law enforcement or other agencies in Missoula, to restrict budget expenditures for investigation, persecution (and) arrest for solely entheogenic issues, to furnish a copy of this resolution to the County Attorney (and) to instruct citys lobbyists to support at state level. I just believe that drug policy should never have been viewed as a criminal issue, Carlino said Wednesday. Its a health issue, and I think we need to address it in a humane way rather than kicking people while theyre down. Carlino and other advocates of the motion highlighted purported benefits of entheogenic plant use, such as medical uses and reduced recidivism for some crimes. The benefits of these entheogens include psychological and physical wellness, they support and enhance religious and spiritual practices and they most importantly reestablish humans inalienable and direct relationship to nature, said Larry Norris, co-founder of Decriminalize Nature, a group that has participated in successful decriminalization efforts across the U.S. We see this as a human rights issue as much as anything else. Carlino pointed to prosecution of drug offenses as another motivator for the motion. If you look at all drug arrests theres racial disparities, Carlino said, although there was not available data detailing racial disparities in entheogenic plant-related arrests in Missoula or greater Montana. City staff brought up potential obstacles to the resolution during the meeting Wednesday. The Missoula Police Department opposes this resolution, said Missoula Police Chief Jaeson White. White said MPD investigated 20 cases involving entheogenic use from Jan. 1, 2020 to April 21, 2022. Of those cases, White said, three involved only possession of entheogenics. He contended MPD could run into problems with federal funding, partner relationships and enforcement around schools if the resolution were to pass. This resolution contains flaws that will impact our ability to enforce other drug laws and lead to unintended consequences, White warned. City Attorney Jim Nugent enumerated various legal challenges that could jeopardize the resolution. He said Montana law prevents local governments from decriminalizing state laws. State law also states local governments cant mandate what law enforcement prioritizes, and it also prevents local governments from adopting laws related to felonies. And if the city were to enact the resolution, it wouldnt apply to other law enforcement agencies like the Missoula County Sheriffs Office. Just as a reality check, people need to realize that all these other entities, theyre not bound or influenced in any way by the city council resolution, Nugent pointed out. Despite the concerns with implementing the resolution, six public commenters spoke in favor of the motion Wednesday. I think the research really goes to show for itself that there really is a beneficial relationship that can be had with this, said Stephen Ferguson, a licensed addiction counselor. As a Montanan, I find it rather interesting that our current drug policy dictates how I can have a relationship with Mother Earth, another public commenter said. The committee ran out of time to discuss and vote on the motion Wednesday. The city will take it up again on June 29. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. 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. The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), has announced the appointment of Ehab A Zaki, as Director of Engineering and Vasanthi Prabhakaran, as the Director of Rooms. Hailing from Egypt, Zaki brings a plethora of luxury hotel experience to his new role as Director of Engineering, having worked with some of the best hospitality groups in the industry, such as Marriott and Accor. He began his career in 2002, where he worked as Director of Engineering at the prestigious The Ritz-Carlton, Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. Progressing forward, Zaki subsequently went on to work as the Director of Engineering at Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Oman. Zaki has made a name for himself in the hospitality industry as an Engineering Director. He has extensive expertise working for a variety of high-end hospitality groups and will undoubtedly excel in his new role at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre. Zaki said: It has been an honour to have worked with some amazing hospitality groups. I am excited to continue my journey with The Ladies and Gentlemen of the Ritz-Carlton DIFC and embark on new experiences. Prabhakaran, a Malaysian native, offers a wide range of premium experience in the hospitality industry. She started her career as a Front Desk Agent at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia in Singapore, shortly after graduating from Hotel and Tourism Management Institutes of Switzerland, where she earned her International Hotel and Tourism degree. Prabhakaran excelled in her career at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia in Singapore, where she worked for 8 years, and was quickly promoted from Front Desk Agent to Front Office Groups Manager. Moving on to better prospects, Prabhakaran accepted a position as Front of House Manager at The St. Regis in Kuala Lumpur in 2019, and was promoted to Assistant Director of Rooms in 2020. In her new role, Prabhakaran will take on the role as Director of Rooms at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and will oversee the rooms division. Prabhakaran said: "Working at The Ritz-Carlton with 11 years of Marriott Luxury Hotel experience whilst advancing forward in my career has been a terrific adventure. I am thrilled to be a part of The Ladies & Gentlemen at the Ritz-Carlton Dubai International Financial Centre as Director of Rooms. I hope to uphold the highest mission of the brand which is the genuine care and comfort of our guests. - TradeArabia News Service A letter from a Missoula law firm alleges misconduct in the Mineral County Attorney's Office, saying the office withheld relevant evidence in multiple prosecutions, a claim backed up by at least one judge's ruling. The letter, sent by the Reep, Bell and Jasper P.C. law office on Monday, alleges prosecutors in the Mineral County Attorneys Office mishandled cases by omitting required disclosures during the criminal justice process, prompting defendants to enter guilty pleas when all relevant evidence hadnt been considered. This error by the Mineral County Attorneys Office impeded its citizens' rights to make a fully informed decision about whether to proceed to trial, the letter says. It points to the involvement of three Mineral County Sheriffs deputies, Shawn Visintin, David Kunzelman and Patrick Nobles, asking that all Mineral County cases involving the deputies be reevaluated. It also advises that all defendants who previously entered guilty pleas should be allowed to withdraw those pleas, and any case involving the three deputies in question should be promptly dismissed. Attorney Lance Jasper explained that withholding the information prevents defendants from properly evaluating and preparing cases. Jasper's letter came after a court order last week ruling that the Mineral County Attorneys Office didnt make a timely disclosure in a criminal case, which prompted a Missoula judge to dismiss the case altogether. Timely disclosures are required for due process, and they ensure fair trials, Missoula County District Judge Leslie Halligan wrote in the order filed on June 8. The Mineral County Attorneys Office declined to comment on the matter. The order says the prosecutors erred in a criminal case by not noting Deputy David Kunzelmans termination from the Missoula County Sheriffs Office in 2013. Ronald Gibson, the defendant in the dismissed case, faced multiple charges, including felony assault on a peace officer. Gibson was accused of obstructing Kunzelman by resisting arrest and assaulting the deputy in August 2021. Sometime in late April or early May of this year, the state was notified Kunzelman was terminated as a reserve deputy by the Missoula sheriffs office in 2013. He was terminated after his supervisor was notified Kunzelman had reportedly cheated on his entrance exam to become a reserve deputy back in 2006. The Mineral County Attorneys Office didnt disclose information about Kunzelmans termination to Gibson or his attorney. The defense team learned about it on June 1 through a third party, and emailed the state asking for a disclosure in court, the order stated. Mineral Deputy County Attorney Debra Jackson responded by saying she didnt know about any criminal charges against Kunzelman, but didnt address the question posed to her about his employment record. She also didnt acquire the deputys personnel record as requested, according to the order. The States subsequent refusal to disclose when it came to the attention of defense counsel made the violation more egregious, Halligan wrote. Gibson was awaiting a trial for 280 days, Halligan wrote. In her order, Halligan references the U.S. Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland (1963), a landmark case that determined prosecution attorneys cannot withhold relevant evidence from the accused. Peace officers are expected to have impeccable integrity, especially in the performance of their duties, Halligan continued. If Deputy Kunzelman was terminated in 2013 for cheating on the Missoula County Sheriffs Office deputy entrance exam, this would tend to cast doubt on his credibility. Kunzelman's termination should have been thoroughly investigated and disclosed by the state, Halligan added. By not doing so, the state violated its duty to disclose. Because Kunzelman was the prosecution's key witness, Halligan found the state unable to maintain its prosecution in the criminal charges against Gibson. She vacated the trial and dismissed the case. Jasper estimates at least 10 defendants have been affected by conduct similar to what Gibson experienced, but said that number might grow. The letter doesnt detail what behavior by Visintin and Nobles is prompting the request for disclosures, but it does accuse Nobles of indiscretion and dishonesty for which he was fired. Kunzelman is still working in the Mineral County Sheriffs Department, Sheriff Mike Toth said. Visintin and Nobles are not. At the end of the letter, Jasper and his co-attorney, Jordan Kilby, stipulate the county attorneys office has two weeks to make the required disclosures and comply with its ethical obligations. Our office will have no other choice than to seek judicial action, including a demand for costs and legal fees, to protect the citizens of Mineral County, it concludes. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 4 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. An open dorm bed will be hard to come by after the University of Montana revealed last week it will be at full capacity for the fall semester. UM housing staff are arranging for more than 100 temporary housing spaces planned for those on campus. Other students are stuck on apartment wait lists. University officials told the City of Missoula affordable housing committee on June 8 that there are more than 300 students on a wait list for a UM apartment and triple the number of people looking to stay another year in residence halls compared to 2021. For both Lewis and Clark and University Villages, we have every thought that they will be at 100% occupancy this fall, UM Housing Director Sandy Curtis told the committee over Zoom. A university spokesperson also said applications to live on campus will remain open, despite the high demand for student housing. Officials also guaranteed the university will make sure all new students have a safe place to live. More students are using UM Housing after Missoulas rent and home prices rose dramatically in the last two years. Home value has shot up 57% from January 2020 to January 2022, while the available inventory dropped by 58%, according to data from Zillow. The median house price in January was $485,000, according to the Missoula Board of Realtors. Dave Kuntz, director of UM strategic communication, said this crunch is driving students back to campus housing. That dynamic is harder to measure, but we feel it, Kuntz said, adding much of the demand has come in the last two years. In 2019, there was no wait list for Lewis and Clark. In 2021, there were 14 people. Now its growing significantly (last week it had more than 100 students). Another reason housing is so tight on campus is because of construction projects that reduced the number of residence halls. In 2019, there were roughly 1,800 beds for UM students. For fall 2022, there will be around 1,600 spots. The renovation of Knowles Hall, partial demolition of Craig Hall and six new floors of office space in Aber Hall all contributed to fewer beds. To fix the situation, the university plans to restore the top six floors of Aber Hall back to residence halls. Part of this is housing demand from the Missoula community, part is because we are growing, Kuntz said. UMs 2021 fall freshman class led the university to its first enrollment increase in 10 years. Asked whether the university would eliminate the first-year residency rule, which requires all first-year students to live on campus, Kuntz said that policy remains in effect. He added housing officials will make sure each student gets a safe place to live. UM also plans to transform some common areas like study lounges into temporary bunk rooms, with the plan that some students will drop out in the opening weeks. Kuntz said they hope to get every possible student into a permanent setup. He could not rule out that some students could be moved to temporary housing off campus. University apartments, also managed by UM Housing, are also feeling the housing supply crunch. More than 200 wait-listed students are looking to get a spot in the University Villages, while roughly 100 are in line for a spot in Lewis and Clark Villages. Sophomore OMastewin Foster applied for a UM apartment in Elliot Village with her friend in early April, but doesnt feel optimistic about making it off the waitlist, where she is currently in the hundreds. When she applied to Lewis and Clark, Foster said housing officials told her she would have better luck not applying with her roommate and join a random group instead. Now, she is working and living full time on campus. I am thinking that staying on campus is my only option now, Foster said. I just dont think they have enough housing to cater for us. Foster is looking at either living in a residence hall for fall 2022, or finding off-campus housing. Kuntz said there is not much UM can do, especially when all apartments will be at full capacity. He hoped some of the demand would be cut down by Aber Hall, since it is common to be on multiple housing wait lists, especially on UMs 13 individual lists. Earlier this year, the university entered a feasibility study to replace some of their apartments with taller, more dense units. Mosaic Architecture, which is running the study, told the Montana Kaimin new apartments could come online in 2023. University officials are also discussing the possibility of a new residence hall, but little is known on that timeline. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 2 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. Editor's note: this story will be updated throughout the day as reporters and editors learn more about the developing flood situation. Federal disaster declaration announced for Montana Update 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 16 President Joe Biden has announced a major disaster declaration for Montana in response to the flooding activities. Part of the release states: The acute damage to infrastructure, particularly in and around Yellowstone National Park, will impact communities that rely on tourism and recreation for livelihoods, jobs, and revenue. Park County benefits from more than $200 million annually in tourism, and Carbon County brings in $68 million annually from tourism. Morning round up Update 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, June 16 Initial damage estimates due to flood activity in the greater Yellowstone region are starting to roll in. A request to the Biden administration to issue a presidential major disaster declaration, the state estimated the damage to transportation infrastructure alone is $29 million. Among other things, the request points out that Carbon County relies on $68 million from tourism each year, and Park County sees $200 million injected into its local economy. It is very unlikely communities will see those dollars this year. The flow of the Yellowstone River around Billings receded several feet overnight and city residents were able to resume normal water use as of Thursday morning. The surge along the Yellowstone had caused crews to temporarily shut down the Billings water treatment plant on Wednesday. During a call with residents and tourists in Cody, Wyoming the Yellowstone National park superintendent said the entire park will remain closed through the weekend. The less-damaged southern loop of the park is now expected to open Monday at the earliest. Park officials continue to assess the damage. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon is set to declare an emergency in response to historic flooding in the park. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte declared a disaster for flooding on Tuesday. Flathead County declares a state of emergency for anticipated flooding Update 4:43 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15 Flathead County declared a state of emergency in response to anticipated flooding and current flooding. To date, there is a pre-evacuation notice in place for low-lying areas across Flathead County. Official evacuation notices have been issued for Leisure Road in Kalispell and Blankenship Road from Blankenship Bridge to the North Fork Road. Road closures in effect: North Hill Top Road in Columbia Falls. From Steel Bridge Road to Muddy Drive in Kalispell. West Side Hungry Horse Reservoir Road between Mazie Creek and Graves Creek Road. 7-mile Upper Whitefish/Stryker Road in the Stillwater State Forest. Evacuations have been lifted and roads open to resident traffic only are Rabe Road in Columbia Falls and Lake Drive and Bailey Lake Area in Columbia Falls. The Red Cross has set up an emergency shelter at Columbia Falls High School for individuals affected by the evacuation orders. The Sheriff's Office has established an information line at 406-758-2111. For current information, follow the Flathead County Sheriff's Office Facebook Page. Custer-Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests announce closures Update 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15 The Custer Gallatin National Forest has posted an area closure on its website, shutting down all lands, roads and trails in Carbon, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Park and Gallatin counties. The exception is the Pryor Mountain portion of the forest, which remains open. The purpose of this order is to protect emergency personnel, public health and imminent life safety due to widespread flooding events, roads and facility damage in Carbon, Park, Stillwater and Sweet Grass counties, the posting said. The closure is in effect from Tuesday through June 24, or until it is rescinded. Violations of the closure can result in a $5,000 fine or six months in jail. For more details, contact the forest office at 406-587-6701. Closures are also impacting the Beartooth, Gardiner and Yellowstone Ranger Districts and includes all National Forest system lands within those districts as crews get out to assess damage, the stability of bridges and facilities. Many of our trailheads in the Paradise Valley and (Absaroka-Beartooth) arent able to be accessed regardless, said forest spokesperson Mariah Leuschen-Lonergan. As waters recede engineers and recreation staff are getting in and determining the safety and stability of infrastructure. We are aware of some washed out roads and bridges and need to assess conditions. In Cody, the Forest Service announced the snowmelt impacts were having impacts on the areas recreation sites. They urged patience from travelers. Some campgrounds, roads, and trails may need to be closed for resource protection as well as public safety. Visitors should plan ahead and visit the Shoshone National Forest website (http://www.fs.usda.gov/shoshone) and Facebook page (US Forest Service Shoshone National Forest) for updates on any areas that may be closed or impacted. We know that there are a lot of people who had planned trips to the Greater Yellowstone area and are now having to adjust itineraries because of closures, said Wapiti, Clarks Fork, and Greybull District Ranger Casey McQuiston. The Shoshone National Forest remains open to visitors and recreationists. Additionally, the Washakie and Wind River Ranger districts of the Shoshone National Forest have not been as impacted as the northern portion of the Shoshone, and there are wonderful recreational opportunities on that end of the Shoshone as well. As daily high temperatures continue to increase throughout the week, with predicted temperatures above 90 by Friday, snowmelt and subsequent runoff could prolong and even potentially exacerbate some of these conditions. The Shoshone National Forest will continue to evaluate the situation and will respond to changing conditions, getting associated information out to the public as soon as possible Wapiti, Clarks Fork, and Greybull Ranger districts Office at 307.527.6921. Yellowstone River at Billings begins to recede, downstream flooding still occurring Update 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15 Water levels along the Yellowstone River at Billings appear to have peaked late Wednesday morning and may now be incrementally dropping. vernight, the river rose to 16 feet, a full foot higher than its record crest of 15 feet in 1997 and a foot and a half higher than what was initially forecast for the city earlier this week. By 9 a.m. on Wednesday the Yellowstone had climbed to 16.4 feet and then appeared to jump to 17.52 feet at 11 .a.m., according to data from the National Weather Service. By 12:45 p.m. levels had dropped to 16.3 feet. Ranches and farmsteads south of Billings stretching to Edgar have been inundated. Yellowstone County officials closed half a dozen roads and are monitoring four bridges. The area south of Billings at River Road and Duck Creek was nearly all under water, flooding a number of farms and ranches. Water from the Clarks Fork had flooded land and ranch houses around Byam Road at the Yellowstone/Carbon County line as well as the Pryor Edgar Road near Edgar. Cities in eastern Montana along the Yellowstone River's path are forecast to see higher levels of water but so far not enough to push them into a major flood stage, according to the weather service. The Yellowstone at Forsyth is predicted to crest at 12.7 feet on Friday morning; flood stage there is 14 feet. Miles City could see some flooding. The river is expected to crest there at 14.8 feet on Friday afternoon; minor flood stage at Miles City is 14 feet. Further down the line, the Yellowstone at Glendive is forecast to crest sometime Saturday morning, reaching 53.2 feet. The minor flood stage there is 53.5 feet. In Sidney, the river is forecast to crest at 17.8 feet on Saturday afternoon. Minor flood stage there is 19 feet. Carbon County updated flooding situation Update 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15 Unsafe conditions remain in the flooded area; the public is urged to stay away from closed areas. Reports of the public accessing unsafe areas continue to be a concern for law enforcement. Many roads, streets and sidewalks are unstable and could give way. Please avoid the area. The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River near Fromberg and Edgar are experiencing significant flood impacts as well as Rock Creek in Red Lodge. It is expected that water will continue to recede today. A significant warming trend is expected this Friday/Saturday and the public is urged to stay alert of changing water conditions. Public Works staff along with Montana Department of Transportation are assessing the damage due to the floods. The public is urged to stay away from the flooded and closed areas for their own safety. A boil order is still in effect for Red Lodge, Fromberg and Edgar. Current evacuation orders in effect: Red Lodge: Evacuation orders in Red Lodge have been lifted. Belfry: Lovers Lane. Fromberg: All areas east of Highway 310, south of East River Road west of the river. Joliet: No evacuation orders are in effect at this time. Bridger: No evacuation orders in effect at this time. All drinking water from the tap should be boiled before use in Red Lodge, Fromberg and Edgar. Public Works has reestablished water service to parts of Red Lodge but significant damage to the infrastructure has occurred and parts of Red Lodge remain without water. Water is out in Fromberg as water pumps supplying the town were underwater. Planned Actions: As water recedes, ongoing assessments of area roads/bridges will continue today. Crews are working to restore 19th Street bridge in Red Lodge; however, this road remains closed to the public. Highway 308 bridge is comprised, remains closed to the public and crews are working to restore the Highway 308 bridge. Crews will also be working on Meteetsee bridge; however, this road remains closed to the public. Crews are working to reestablish access to the water plant today and clearing debris out of roadway in Red Lodge. Crews will be in Fromberg and Belfry today working on road access. Lovers Lane in Belfry remains closed. Northwestern Energy will be working in the area fixing gas lines and working on restoring electric poles. Bridge engineers arrived today and will be working with county road departments on assessing damage. Evacuation Shelters: The American Red Cross has setup evacuation shelters located at the following locations: Fromberg School Red Lodge Fairgrounds Public Meeting: A public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 16th at Fromberg School at 6:00 PM at 319 School St, Fromberg, MT 59029. The meeting will also be lived stream to Facebook Live at the Carbon Alerts Facebook page. Sandbags: The public can get sandbags at the following locations, volunteers have been assisting with filling bags: Fromberg School Joliet Road Shop, 202 State Street Bridger Road Shop, 22 Old Mine Weather: Seasonally cooler weather remains today with temperatures in the 60s in the lower elevations with upper elevations in 40s- 50s. No significant rain is expected over the next 24-48 hours. Warmer weather is expected to arrive tomorrow and into Friday and Saturday. Water levels will potentially rise with the warmer weather moving in the region later in the week. The public is urged to remain cautious, stay alert of changing water conditions and stay clear of flooded areas. Resources Assigned: The Western Montana Type III Incident Management Team continues to assist local flood relief efforts. Numerous agencies are on scene including: Carbon County DES, Carbon County Sheriffs Office, Red Lodge Police Department, Red Lodge Fire & Rescue, Montana Highway Patrol, Fromberg Volunteer Fire Department, Bridger EMS, Bridger Volunteer Fire, American Red Cross, City of Red Lodge, Public Works, Forest Service, Beartooth Billings Clinic, Carbon County Public Health Department, Montana Department of Transportation, Montana FWP Game Wardens, Two Bear Air, and Montana National Guard. For current information follow the Carbon Alert Facebook page or call 406-426-2425. Stillwater County updated flooding situation Update 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15 Stillwater County Flooding has impacted the entire Stillwater River, parts of the Yellowstone River, Itch-Kep-Pe Camping Area and Reed Point. Damage assessments and resource allocations were ongoing. Roads and bridges in the area remained impassable. Sandbagging operations were continuing. Sand bags are available at Absarokee Fire Hall and in Reed Point. Air rescues from West Rosebud and Emerald Lakes were successfully completed. Evacuations were lifted but only residents should return to the area. Road and Bridge Department are assessing and opening roads as they are deemed safe to traffic. The following roads were closed: Road and Bridge Department are assessing and opening roads as they are deemed safe to traffic DES reported to MT DES Duty Officer and NWS Road Closures by Stillwater Road and Bridge West Rosebud to Mystic Lake Fiddler Creek Rd to Hwy 419 Nye Rd at Carters Camp going South S. Stillwater River Road is open from Nye to Beehive. Closed at Beehive Stillwater River Road Bridge compromised/not passable at Riddles Cliff Johnson Ln Road towards North Stillwater River Miller Rd at North Stillwater River Rd E Jack Stone Rd to North Stillwater River Rd Lower Flat Rd off of Joliet Rd. Closed to all but residential traffic Yellowstone Bridge in Reed Point Miller Bridge on N Stillwater River Hwy 419 Going West (Bridge Completely Gone) Ingersoll Rd off Hwy 78 Nye Rd to the Sibanye/Stillwater Mine going south (Road is Gone) All Campgrounds and Fishing Accesses in the county are closed until further notice. Per Montana Fish & Game and The United States Forest Service Red Lodge community meeting: "Red Lodge should not be open for business" Update 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15 During a recent meeting, Red Lodge fire chief and emergency commander Tom Kuntz told residents that every bridge south of Red Lodge is "compromised." Residents also expressed concerns over the future. The flood has displaced residents from their homes and shuttered businesses that depend on the busy summer months. "As a community leader, I think I always want to say Red Lodge is open for business," Kuntz told the crowd. "Right now, Red Lodge should not be open for business." A sign on alongside the highway in Rockvale warns travelers to stay away. It reads: "Red Lodge is evacuated. Please do not come." Billings braces itself as Yellowstone River rises, smaller communities swamped Update 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 15 The Yellowstone River crested above 16 feet overnight, a foot above the previous record. It was so high, the river gauge was overwhelmed and stopped measuring at 15-feet, 4-inches. Billings Public Works officials warned city leaders Monday night that if the river rose to 15 feet it would put the water and wastewater treatment plants in jeopardy. A levy has been built around the plants and water pumps have so far been keeping up with whatever river water is coming over the levy. In the small town of Edgar, flooding from the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River swamped all the septic tanks. Residents cant use their toilets and porta-potties have been set up on every street corner. Downriver, small farm towns like Huntley Project, Worden, and Ballantine are swamped, but no reports yet of lost roads or bridges. Further downriver, cities like Forsyth and Miles City are bracing for the surge with voluntary evacuation orders in the low country along the river. As temperatures rise this weekend and more rain is in the forecast, there could be a second surge. Yellowstone National Park evening presser highlights - northern entrance to remain closed Update 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14 The flood damage will keep the northern half of Yellowstone National Park closed to tourists for the rest of the summer, Superintendent Cam Sholly told reporters Tuesday evening. The area includes the iconic Lamar Valley, Tower Falls and Mammoth Hot Springs. The southern loop of Yellowstone National Park may reopen to visitors in a week or less, he added, using some type of reservation system or timed entry to control entry. Travel from Jackson, Wyoming, was already going to be hampered by road construction. Entrances that would be reopened for the southern loop include the East, South and West gates near Cody, Jackson and West Yellowstone, respectively. Park County authorities focus on helping residents, look to start assessing damage Update 4:10 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14 The water is receding north of Yellowstone National Park. Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler said during a press conference Tuesday that crews have been able to start looking at just how much damage was done since flooding began. The sheriffs office has completed at least a dozen rescues, he said. In Gardiner, several homes along the Yellowstone River have been lost, Bichler said. Whispering Pines, Cooke City and Silvergate have also sustained extensive damage. Lisa Lowy, interim Livingston city manager, said the citys southeast areas saw homes flooding and street damage that remains to be totally assessed. Now, Bichler said, officers are focused on moving non-local traffic out of Gardiner. Highway 89 opened between Gardiner and Livingston on Tuesday, which he said should help get essential goods into town. The eight patients housed at Livingston HealthCare on Monday remain at Pioneer Medical Center in Big Timber, hospital CEO Deb Anczak said during Tuesdays press conference. The main campus phone system is still down, Anczak said, but an inspection found no water penetrated the facility. That means that depending on when roads open in the area, the hospital is looking to reopen its emergency department as soon as possible and return to inpatient care. For now, the hospitals urgent care center on Highway 89 is operational and its Shields Valley Clinic in Wilsall has extra staff on hand to handle walk-ins. Those who need help or are looking for information in the area, Park County Emergency Manager Greg Coleman said, should call the hotline at (406) 222-4131. You can also text your zip code to Nixle at 888777 to receive updates by text. Only call 911 if you have an emergency, Coleman reiterated. Theyre very busy right now, he said. The HRDC in Livingston set up an emergency shelter at its warming center on South Second Street Monday night, and may stay open Tuesday depending on how many people need it. Coleman said to call the hotline if youre looking for a place to stay. Offers of help in any form can be directed to 211. Were in for the long haul, Park County Commissioner Steve Caldwell said. Its going to be a long exercise, but I think were up to it. Cody resort shutters temporarily amid flood Update 2:40 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14 The Pahaska Tepee Resort located outside Cody, just two miles from Yellowstones east entrance is shuttered through at least Thursday. The resort boasts cabins, a restaurant, gift shop and outdoor activities. Its oldest lodge was built by U.S. Colonel William Cody (a.k.a. Buffalo Bill) himself. Pahaska was booked at about 90% capacity at the beginning of the week, said Angela Coe, who runs the resort. But rainfall over the weekend caused the North Fork Shoshone River to swell so much, it got into the lodges water system, Coe said. Staff shut off the system Monday to prevent it from getting into the resorts tap, and sent all guests home. The rivers since receded. Coe said Pahaska Tepee is currently sending water samples to the Wyoming Department of Health in Cheyenne. The water needs to test as safe two days in a row before the lodge can open up again. If all goes well, the resort will reopen Friday. But Pahaska Tepees guests often come for Yellowstone, Coe said. She doesn't expect Codys tourism business to recover until the parks southern region reopens, too. Prospective vacationers arent waiting for answers, Coe said. The phones at Pahaska Tepee have been ringing nonstop with cancellations. She emphasized that people are wanting to cancel their July and August reservations. Officials to release water from Mystic Lake dam Update 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14 The Mystic Dam will be releasing water from Mystic Lake to maintain safe water levels within the reservoir, Stillwater County officials announced Tuesday afternoon. "This action is necessary to maintain safe water levels behind the dam," a statement from a Stillwater County spokesperson said. "Since the Stillwater and Rosebud River levels have dropped we anticipate little to no impact on the current flooding situation." Yellowstone to remain closed at least five more days Update 1:56 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14 Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a release the park will remain closed at least five more days. In a release, Sholly said Xanterra's seasonal employees will be moved from Mammoth and that concession facilities in the northern part of the park at Mammoth and Roosevelt "will not reopen likely the rest of the year." The park also will: Implement full visitor closure of the backcountry. Evaluate needs for backcountry evacuations. Improve Old Gardiner Road from Mammoth to the North Entrance and use the road for administrative travel and evacuate visitors. Restore power to northern Yellowstone sites and Canyon, Lake and Norris. Evacuate Gardiner visitors via the Old Gardiner Road. Support Gardiner residents with a resupply of food, water and medicine. Support isolated NPS residents at the NE Entrance via aircraft if necessary. Support Cooke City residents as needed. Mitigate wastewater impacts of destroyed sewer lines in Gardiner and Mammoth. Relocate all Mammoth-based concessions employees to properties on the southern loop. Halt and redirect any inbound employees hired to work in Mammoth or Tower who haven't arrived yet. Support employees who lost housing in Gardiner. Prepare for outside teams to help assess damage. Prepare reservation system strategy for southern loop for remainder of the year. Jackson works to accommodate Yellowstone-bound tourists Update 12:39 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14 The Teton County Fairgrounds was a landing site for a few dozen displaced Yellowstone campers Monday. About 38 RVs parked there overnight, according to Trista Hiltbrunner, a staff member at the fairgrounds. Some of them came from inside the park, she said. By noon Tuesday, just a couple remained. Cities and towns located just outside of Yellowstone were busy Tuesday connecting displaced visitors with lodging, and helping them figure out next steps. We really do operate as one, Rick Howe, vice president of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, said of Yellowstones gateway communities. At this point, the chambers mostly getting calls from people who were planning to visit the park this week, and suddenly had nowhere to go, he said. The chamber extended its phone services by three hours so it could accommodate the rush of calls. Its now live from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Howe said Jackson is preparing to accept more displaced travelers and evacuees, but is waiting to hear more from park officials. Yellowstone provides update on conditions, evacuations - no deaths or injuries reported Update 12:10 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14 During a conditions call, Yellowstone National Park officials said the Montana Department of Transportation and the Park County Sheriffs Office opened U.S. Hwy 89 at Yankee Jim Canyon through Bozeman at 35 mph to locals, delivery and service vehicles and outbound visitors, including trailers, at about 11:35 Tuesday morning. "We cleared visitors from the entire northern end of the park," said Park Superintendent Cameron Sholly. "There are no visitors in the northern end, currently." No injuries or deaths have been recorded from the flooding, Sholly said. The extent of the damage is still unclear. "We've kept our teams out of harm's way," he said. "We won't know exactly what the damage looks like until the water goes down." The Park Service is still working on evacuating the southern part of the park and making contact with backcountry hikers. The southern loop, which suffered significantly less damage than the northern loop, can't handle the full visitation Yellowstone receives, Sholly said. The park is still figuring out when and how the southern entrances will reopen. "That's still probably a little ways out, and it'll be some sort of reservation system, likely a temporary reservation system," Sholly said. Park officials said Mammoth and Roosevelt will likely remain closed to visitors for the rest of this year. The Park Service plans to move affected seasonal employees to positions in the southern part of the park. Do not drink order issued in Gardiner Update 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14 The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has issued a "Do Not Consume" order in Gardiner. This means that water is not safe to drink or cook with. It is safe for washing hands and showering. Outside of Gardiner residents in Park County are encouraged to contact the Park County health department with questions about wells that maybe compromised or submerged by flooding. Their number is 406-222-4131. "If you have a well, and it is submerged by flood water or the water appears to be compromised, the water may not be safe to consume," Park County officials said in a statement Tuesday. "This is especially true for people who are immunocompromised or an infant." No access to Gardiner available, supplies being shipped Update 11:58 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14 According to a Park County press release, "Attempts are currently ongoing to establish one-way traffic in the Valley [to Gardiner]. As yet, there is still no access. Attempts to establish drop points for supply drops in the Valley and in Gardiner and Cooke City are ongoing." The press release also stated that, as waters recede, officials will be assessing the damages made to roads and bridges to determine if they are "structurally sound." Montana National Guard performing evacuations Update 11:08 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14 The Montana National Guard evacuated 12 people from the communities of Roscoe and Cooke City on Monday as the flooding cut off vehicle access to the towns. Aircrews from the 1-189th General Support Aviation Battalion deployed a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to assist in search and rescue efforts at the request of local law enforcement. As of Tuesday morning, the Guard unit is conducting a third evacuation operation for recreationalists around East Rosebud Lake. We are standing by for additional requests for support, Maj. Ryan Finnegan, Montana National Guard Public Affairs Officer said. As local law enforcement requests assistance, we will continue to provide what resources are available. A Florida family of eight were plucked by a helicopter from a flooded rental outside Cooke City, at the parks Northeast Entrance, on Monday after high waters stranded them. A Cooke City man was air lifted by the National Guard after he suffered hypothermia from cold waters as he self-rescued. Gov. Greg Gianforte announces "statewide disaster" Update 10:20 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14 In a Tweet on Monday, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte declared a "statewide disaster." In a separate post released just before to the disaster Tweet Gianforte stated, "For the last 24 hours, the State Emergency Coordination Center has been working with partners in Carbon, Stillwater, and Park counties to evacuate, ensure shelter, and safely restore power and water in areas impacted by severe flooding." Power returns to Red Lodge, flood levels drop 10:02 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14 Power in Red Lodge was restored and flood levels were declining slightly. Rock Creek was forecast to crest Monday afternoon around 1 p.m., but 80-degree temperatures predicted for later in the week are raising concerns that the tragedy is not yet over. "It's still a river flowing" down the streets, said resident John Clayton whose house was flooded. "But it's an almost fordable river now." Morning update for greater Yellowstone area 9:05 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14 One day after milk-chocolate flood waters surged through Yellowstone National Park and nearby communities, officials and residents were working to assess the damages as others downstream braced for historically high rivers expected to come Tuesday. Just after 10 p.m. Monday, people living in a sizable portion of southeast Livingston were required to evacuate due to the rising Yellowstone River, though the order was lifted just before 9 a.m. Tuesday. About a half-hour after the evacuation notice Monday night, the city's hospital, Livingston HealthCare, closed as the river's record-high waters crept into its parking lot. By 1 a.m. Tuesday, the Yellowstone had reached flood stage at Billings, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS forecast the river to crest Tuesday afternoon at 14.7 feet, just three-tenths of a foot shy of the record established in 1997. Meanwhile, the world's first national park and the south-central Montana communities of Red Lodge, Gardiner and Fishtail began to further assess damage from unprecedented flooding on the Yellowstone and Stillwater rivers as well as Rock Creek. Images of damage from the frothing streams continued to emerge Tuesday morning. Celebrating its 150th anniversary during prime tourist season, Yellowstone remained indefinitely closed at all five entrances Tuesday for only the third time in 34 years most recently in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also for the infamous 1988 fires. Residents and tourists in Gardiner at Yellowstone's North Entrance and Silver Gate and Cooke City just outside the Northeast Entrance were stranded due to roads made impassable by high water and damage that could take weeks or even months to repair, park officials said. Officials on Monday were evacuating those still inside the park, beginning in its northernmost reaches, where the impacts including road washouts, bridge failures, rockslides and mudslides were most severe. YNP employees at park headquarters in Mammoth, who remained without power Tuesday morning, planned to buy groceries and other essentials in West Yellowstone, which announced late Monday that it would permit temporary camping in town for people impacted by the closure. A generator was providing power to Mammoth's cell tower, enabling communication to the outside world. Park employees were to convene at 11 a.m. to assess next steps. The serpentine road from Mammoth to Gardiner in the Gardner River Canyon was badly damaged, as was the road between Tower Junction and the Northeast Entrance where the Lamar River surged well beyond its record flood level. As of approximately 9 a.m. Tuesday, the park had not provided an update of the situation on its website or social media pages. At this time, the extent of the damage, as well as how many people may be stranded inside the park, is unclear. The Yellowstone River crested at just over 49,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) at Corwin Springs in the upper Paradise Valley on Monday, shattering its previous records of 32,200 set in June 1996 and matched a year later. The Lamar peaked at 16.7 feet Monday, breaking its 1996 record by more than four feet and rising two feet above the gauge's upper reach. Near Corwin Springs, a house for Park Service employees was pried loose from its foundation by the raging waters and spun downstream. U.S. Highway 89 was closed just south of Emigrant, not far from where the iconic Carbella bridge leading to Tom Miner Basin was swept away early Monday in the first sign the Yellowstone meant business. On the flanks of the Beartooth Mountains to the east, residents of Red Lodge, Fishtail and Nye waited for floodwaters to abate. Meteorologists said the unprecedented flooding was caused by a convergence of an unseasonably cool spring that retained snowpack, late-spring snowstorms and multiple days of considerable rainfall at high elevations. Parts of the park received more than an inch of rain over 24 hours Monday, more than tripling the previous single-day mark. Most of the flood damage was centered on YNP and the streams flowing north from the Yellowstone Plateau, including the Gallatin River, which was expected to reach flood stage at Logan about 25 miles of Bozeman in the wee hours Tuesday. On Monday, the Gallatin County Sheriff's office cautioned residents along low-lying stretches of the West Gallatin to be prepared to evacuate. Also Monday, the Flathead River at Columbia Falls in northwest Montana surpassed flood stage by a half-foot and was expected to rise another two feet Tuesday. Yellowstone's peak flooding was to push downstream to Big Timber, Columbus, Laurel, Billings and eastern Montana by Tuesday afternoon. A flood warning for the Boulder River south of Big Timber was lifted Tuesday morning. The Custer Gallatin National Forest has posted an area closure on its website, shutting down all lands, roads and trails in Carbon, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Park and Gallatin counties. The exception is the Pryor Mountain portion of the forest, which remains open. The purpose of this order is to protect emergency personnel, public health and imminent life safety due to widespread flooding events, roads and facility damage in Carbon, Park, Stillwater and Sweet Grass counties, the posting said. The closure is in effect from Tuesday through June 24, or until it is rescinded. Violations of the closure can result in a $5,000 fine or six months in jail. For more details, contact the forest office at 406-587-6701. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The waters of the Yellowstone River may be receding in Livingston, but there is still work to do. First responders, road crews, volunteers and neighbors have been hard at work taking stock of the damage from the flood waters since early Monday morning. A day after the dramatic and violent swell of waters from the Yellowstone River, Gov. Greg Gianforte declared a statewide disaster. The declaration came from an executive order signed by Montana Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras. Lee Newspapers reported that Gianforte was out of the country. Though what kind of emergency funding could come to aid places like Livingston and Gardiner are unclear, the executive order does authorize the governor to use money from the states general fund to meet contingencies and needs arising from these conditions. First responders and elected officials held a press conference Tuesday afternoon in Livingston to provide an overview of the flooding situation throughout Park County. Park County Commissioner Steve Caldwell said that the county was ready for the long haul. We are looking to see what happens after, there is obviously an after in this community, its resilient and resourceful, Caldwell said. Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler said that Tuesday was a pretty big operational day. He said that the Ninth Street Island and much of the area south of the city, including most areas near the Yellowstone River, were affected by rising flood waters. The water is coming down, and it is showing us exactly what kind of damage were dealing with, Bichler said. No injuries or deaths have been reported, Bichler said. So far, 10 rescue operations, including two air rescues have been conducted. When asked to describe any dramatic rescues, Bichler said than any operations in fast-moving water are dramatic although rescuers did work in the dark to save dogs from the Stafford Animal Shelter. That river was pretty angry, Bichler said. Swift water rescues are extremely dangerous, especially when youre talking about around structures. Deb Anczak, the CEO of Livingston HealthCare, said that eight patients were moved from the hospital to Pioneer Medical Center in Big Timber. She said that no water had made it into the facility, but when the hospital is able to reopen is dependent on access. Veterans Bridge, which runs over the Yellowstone River and leads to the hospital, was closed Tuesday afternoon. Greg Coleman, the Park County Emergency Management director, said that two shelters were open Monday night for people to use. An HRDC shelter opened in Livingston that night at the warming center and was still expected to be open Tuesday night, he said. People who need access to the warming shelter can call 406-222-4131. A new fund the Southwest Montana Flood Relief Fund has been created to support communities affected by severe flooding in Park and Madison counties, as well as other affected areas, according to a release from the Greater Gallatin United Way and the Park County Community Foundation. Online donations can be made at www.greatergallatinunitedway.org. The other shelter was operated by the Montana Red Cross at the Hope Lutheran Church in Bozeman. Five people who evacuated from the flood in Livingston stayed in the Red Cross Shelter housed in the Bozeman church Monday night. Ernie Lytie, shelter manager, said the shelter was set up by 4 p.m. Monday. The first couple arrived just before 10 p.m., with the others arriving after midnight. They had all left by the morning, he said. Well be here however long it lasts, he said. Shelter organizers said they had a handful of people arriving asking to volunteer or donate resources. JT Bennton showed up Tuesday morning, to offer help and aid. Bennton, who recently moved to the Gallatin Valley, said he was in Livingston Sunday and saw the river rising. I saw the shelter had come up and I wanted to see if there was anything they needed, he said. At the Ninth Street Island bridge Tuesday morning, near Sacagawea Park, onlookers gathered near the edge of the swollen Yellowstone River. To the left of the bridge, the entrance to the park was closed off. Just after 3 p.m. Monday the city reported through its emergency text service that the levee at the park had sprung a leak in the horseshoe pits. Lisa Lowy, the interim Livingston city manager, said that city work saved the levee in Sacagawea Park. By Tuesday not much water had made its way into the park, she added. An evacuation of the island was completed Monday, according to a release from Park County. Some residents chose to stay despite the severe flooding. Two rescues were conducted Monday night and several structures had been lost. A steady stream of vehicles crossed over the bridge Tuesday morning. The water had receded slightly, but still the roiling brown river touched the bottom of the central concrete support pillar. Livingston Police Officer Daniel Lashinski was stationed in his patrol car at the mouth of the bridge. Lashinski was only letting residents cross the bridge to check on their homes or gather belongings. Lashinski said that though the water had receded, some of the area on the edge of the river was still unsafe. So far, there had been no injuries, he said. By midday the Park County Sheriffs Office announced on Facebook that the road to Gardiner, U.S. Highway 89 South, was open to local traffic and services only. A portion of that road leaving from Livingston had previously been under construction. Cones and concrete barriers were set up along the roadway. The reflection of a pair of mint green utility boxes rippled in the slow-moving water. Two skid steer loaders had water halfway up their tracks. A hastily constructed gravel berm was on the east side of the road. Behind a stretch of the earthen dam was the home of Dave Haugs sister. Haug, outfitted with knee high rubber boots and a shovel, was checking in on his sisters place. Haug said that usually the Yellowstone River runs a half-mile from the neat row of trees to the right of his sisters house. By 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, the murky water had surrounded the house and was lapping against the brown steps leading to the front door. Fortunately, previous flooding had taught Haugs sister a lesson. After the back-to-back floods of 1996 and 1997, Haug said that the house had been jacked up 4 feet. The inside was dry, Haug said. But Im certainly amazed there wasnt any water. Liz Weber contributed reporting to this story. Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@dailychronicle.com or by phone at 406-582-2648. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Former President Donald Trump. AP Photo/Joe Maiorana Trump lashed out at Rep. Liz Cheney while basking in the defeat of another pro-impeachment lawmaker. Trump has made it his mission to chase pro-impeachment lawmakers out of the GOP. Wyoming's Republican primary takes place on August 16. Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed that Rep. Liz Cheney, who voted to impeach him over the January 6 Capitol riot, will soon lose her reelection bid just how Rep. Tom Rice, another pro-impeachment lawmaker, was defeated in South Carolina's primary on Tuesday night. "Same thing's going to happen in Wyoming to Virginia 'resident' Liz Cheney, that happened in South Carolina to Congressman 'Impeach Master' Tom Rice, who lost as an incumbent by 28 points!" Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. Cheney and Rice were among the 10 House Republicans who broke with their party and voted to impeach Trump on a charge of "incitement of insurrection" last year in the wake of the Capitol attack. Only six of those Republicans are running for reelection in this year's midterms, and Rice is the first in that cohort to lose a primary. With an estimated 95% of the results in, Rice is projected to lose to former state lawmaker and Trump-backed candidate Russell Fry, per Decision Desk HQ and Insider. In a sign of the extent of his defeat, Rice is currently trailing by more than 26 percentage points, a shellacking for a five-term incumbent. Trump has made it abundantly clear that his mission is to rid the Republican Party of anyone he deems disloyal to him. Cheney, a staunch conservative who serves as vice chair of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, has been one of Trump's toughest critics in Congress since he left office. She will face a Trump-endorsed challenger, attorney and former Republican National Committee member, Harriet Hageman, in Wyoming's Republican primary on August 16. The former president has repeatedly taunted Cheney and her father, former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney. Trump has taken to calling the lawmaker a "war criminal" and delights in attacking the family for their support of the Iraq War, although Trump himself at the time, then-an emerging reality TV star, also supported the conflict. Story continues Cheney has stood her ground against Trump and characterized herself as a defender of the Constitution. There has been no significant independent polling of the race as of yet. Cheney has amassed a large campaign war chest compared to Hageman so far. Cheney's campaign did not respond to Insider's request for comment. Though Rice lost his primary, Trump appears to be losing at least some of his grip over the GOP based on other recent primary elections. Rep. Nancy Mace, who ran against a Trump-backed opponent in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District, edged out her primary challenger on Tuesday evening. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who Trump heavily targeted because they refused to challenge the 2020 election results, also both coasted to victory in their primaries against Trump-endorsed candidates last month. Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, who Trump threw his support behind, lost his primary last month as well. Read the original article on Business Insider The Olive Hill Community Economic Development Corporation plans to showcase the history of local African Americans through two public projects. The organization launched an initiative called Communities in Unity that includes plans for a public mural and art park celebrating the historic African American neighborhoods of Morganton. The Unity Corner Mural and Public Art Park will be located at the corner of East Union Street and Bouchelle Street next to Gaston Chapel AME Church. The mural will be created on the wall of the Legal Aid building there. A press release on the projects outlines the vision to create public art that will beautify and enhance a historic downtown space with displays that reflect the local Black identity, consciousness and social structures. It notes that during the early- to mid-20th century, Burke County was very segregated, with distinct neighborhoods where minorities were allowed to reside. According to Burke County census records, many of these citizens were servants in others homes cooks, maids, factory workers, business owners, etc., said Beverly Carlton, president and CEO of the OHCEDC. This venture will highlight the lost historical accomplishment of the African American Burke and Morganton community citizens. The organization is asking local African Americans to consider sharing pictures, stories or poetry from the 1920s to 1960s, or even from present day, that they feel would be appropriate to have represented on the mural. This project is not just about stories and historical material, it is about getting the communities aware of the effort to unite our shared stories under one umbrella the mural, Carlton said. People can submit items and information to OHCEDC in person at 200 S. College St., Suite A, in Morganton or email them to ohcecdc.org. Items are due by Aug. 1. This information will inspire the selected artist, and some collected items will be part of the Communities in Unity display at Morganton City Hall between June and July before our Freedom Jubilee Celebration to kick off the mural project and commemorate (the) Juneteenth 2022 holiday, Carlton said. The Freedom Jubilee Celebration will take place at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the corner of Bouchelle and East Union streets in downtown Morganton. The event is free to attend. Carlton said local historical records indicate that residents conducted Juneteenth marches from the Burke County courthouse in 1888, 1893, 1915 and 1921. We will acknowledge the effort to create the mural and park, then we will walk up to the (historic Burke County) courthouse amphitheater to continue our community awareness of the program and celebrate the day with education information about Burke County and how our African American ancestors celebrated the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, Carlton said. The organization also is holding an artists call, asking local artists who would be interested in creating the mural to submit proposals. Artists and/or artist teams who apply must live in North Carolina. Artists can request proposal documents from OHCEDC by calling the office at 828-475-4620 or emailing ohcedc@ohcedc.org and including Call for Artist Proposal in the subject line. Applicants must complete the application form and upload it with the following materials in one zipped file (file formats other than those requested will not be considered): The artists or muralists concept of theme Umoja Unity, Community, Strength. Up to four images representative of the applicants style of art and list of previous work, artwork and/or mural projects: Each image should be submitted as a separate .jpg file sized at approximately 900 pixels at the longest dimension and no larger than 600 KB. The photos should be accompanied by an image list as a separate .docx or .pdf file providing file name, media and dimensions of the artwork. Resume and previous mural projects: No more than two pages providing the artists/teams resume and description of previous completed mural projects as a separate .docx or .pdf file. Completed applications are due by 5 p.m. Aug. 1. Once collected, the application materials will be reviewed by a selection team comprised of African American residents, management and businesses, as well as local artists and individuals from various Burke County cultural arts organizations. Selection of finalists and the project artist/team will be based on mural project experience and previous work and designs that meet the aesthetic interests listed above, Carlton said. Arts staff will notify applicants of selection results and will make further arrangements with the selected finalists. Our hope is to begin within 45 days after the selection committee makes its final choice, (with) hope to complete by spring 2023. OHCEDC hopes to eventually establish collectives of artists who periodically change the murals and art on display in the park as a way to actively work to combat negativity, according to the press release. The organization is asking for the communitys help to make the mural and art park projects a reality. The goal is to raise $200,000 for both the mural and the memorial park in remembrance and honor of the Black Downtown Business and Worship District of East Union and Bouchelle streets in their heyday from 1800 to 1969, Carlton said. To encourage people to support (the project), we have announced our efforts to the Black Church within Burke County and our local NAACP and other black organizations. There is a display table in the city hall lobby to announce our efforts, along with handout cards and flyers. (We) hope that citizens of Burke County will be open to the project and join our efforts with their gifts, whether through donations (or) volunteering as individuals, organizations or churches. People interested in donating can visit ohcedc.org and click on the link for donations. Donations also may be mailed to PO Box 4008, Morganton, NC, 28680-4008. Staff writer Tammie Gercken can be reached at tgercken@morganton.com. Environmental Protection Agency remedial project manager Nikia Greene presented at the Butte-Silver Bow health boards meeting June 8 to update its members on the West Side Soils Operable Unit (WSSOU) groundwater project. Chapin Storrar, from engineering firm CDM Smith, and Superfund toxicologist Charlie Partridge also attended the meeting via Zoom and aided Greene in the presentation. Between 2019 and 2021, the EPA investigated 490 study areas in the WSSOU, Greene said, and collected over 4,000 samples. He also said 40 water and sediment samples were collected from Blacktail and Basin creeks, and that there were six storm water events, but the EPA isnt seeing a smoking gun in those areas yet. This means that a discrete source responsible for some of the elevated metal concentrations upstream of Harrison Avenue in Blacktail Creek during high flow events has not yet been identified, Greene said in an email. However, he added that the final analysis isnt complete. Greene said Montana Resources and the Montana Bureau of Mines & Geology regularly sampled 31 residential wells and two mines, respectively, and have shared that data with the EPA. The Atlantic Richfield Co. owns a lot of property west of Tech, Greene said, and has sampled wells there. Greene said Atlantic Richfield is expected to share the data with the EPA. The EPA wants to sample 53 residential wells in the mine study areas, and has sent access letters to the landowners. So far, 21 have agreed to the sampling, and three have denied, Greene said. Out of 38 residential wells that have already been sampled, Partridge said at the meeting that 17 tested above EPA water quality standards for arsenic, which is 10 parts per billion, several have tested for elevated levels of uranium, and a couple have tested for elevated levels of more uncommon metals. Greene said the landowners have been notified of the results. Dr. Seth Cornell, a member of the health board, requested that Greene present on the WSSOU to the board, and asked questions after the presentation concluded. He asked the presenters if: after landowners were told of the elevated levels of metals in their drinking water, they were then given information about the health risks and next steps to take to protect the health of them and their families. Youve really got to go the extra mile with these folks, Cornell said. Let them know what the health risks are and how to lower the health risks. I dont think its enough to just say, Hey, these are your numbers. Good luck to you. You got to have some road map for these people, and they can choose if they want to follow it or not, but to lower their risks, and I get the sense that thats not happening. Greene said that there wasnt anything like that in place now, but theyd take Cornells recommendation into account and work on applying it. He also noted that although the EPA does have a responsibility, there is an individual responsibility as well for people to test their wells and mitigate the associated health risks. Im not saying this lightly or saying that we have no responsibility, Greene said. What Im saying is, I have a responsibility, knowing that I built a house and drilled a well on the Boulder batholith to get that sampled and figure that out. Among other things, the EPA has prepared a draft of the remedial investigation report, which is now under internal review, completed a draft human health risk evaluation, and completed a screening-level ecological risk assessment. The EPA is now evaluating data gaps, beginning a feasibility study, preparing a baseline ecological risk assessment, and continuing a responsible party search. The next steps are for the EPA to update the remedial investigation report with 2022 sampling data and data from Atlantic Richfield, complete the ecological risk assessment, perform a cultural resources survey, and finish the feasibility study. After the remedial investigation/feasibility study is completed, a proposed plan and record of decision will be developed. Greene said in an email that the potential issue of edible mushrooms growing in the WSSOU containing toxic metals is currently being reviewed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Butte man convicted of aggravated burglary for getting into a womans home and attacking her told a judge Wednesday that the jury got it wrong. They didnt get the whole story, Merle Raymond Branstetter, 52, told District Judge Robert Whelan before getting into specifics about things he thought they missed. Whelan listened to him and a request by defense attorney Katie Green that Branstetter get a three-year suspended sentence, then sided with prosecutors and sentenced him to 10 years in the Montana State Prison. Branstetter told police he would fight his accuser all the way when police interviewed him after the incident on June 7, 2019, and he made good on that by taking the case to trial. A jury found him guilty on Jan. 10 this year. The jury is the one who tried you, Whelan told him Wednesday. My job is to make sure I provide protection to the community. Prosecutor Mike Clague said Branstetter got into the womans home in the middle of the night and attacked her, and noted photos of her face taken afterward that were presented as evidence in the case. You saw her beaten, bruised face, Clague told Whelan, adding that Branstetter had a criminal history that included other violent offenses. He said Branstetter deserved prison time but also said 10 years was only a fourth of the maximum 40 that can be imposed for aggravated burglary. The victim said she only knew Branstetter as a friend but when he started becoming aggressive, she took out a protection order against him. She said she was awakened one night by her dog going nuts and Branstetter was inside wanting money for alcohol, according to prosecutors. The woman said he grabbed her phone and threw it and when she was hitting Branstetter to make him leave, he struck her in the face a few times. He left before police got there but they contacted him through an employer and arrested him. He denied being at her residence and said she must have inflicted the injuries herself because he did not assault her. Love 3 Funny 1 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 4 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A 48-year-old Opportunity man accused of kissing an 11-year-old girl on the mouth and having nude photos of a developmentally delayed teenage girl on his phone pleaded not guilty to two felony charges Wednesday. Christopher Michael Gursky made an initial appearance before District Judge Ray Dayton and pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and sexual abuse of children. The assault charge carries a minimum four-year prison term and maximum 100 years and the abuse count is punishable by up to 10 years. Gursky appeared via Zoom from the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County jail and public defender Chris Miller and prosecutor Ben Krakowka appeared from their offices. Bond had been set at $100,000 and when Dayton asked about the status of that, both attorneys weighed in. The offenses in this case are very serious, Krakowka said, but before he could address the amount, Miller cut in and said he was OK with bail set at $100,000 for now. Attorneys can seek reductions through filed motions later. Dayton said if bond is posted, Gursky would be under typical orders to have no contact with any witnesses or alleged victims. He then asked Krakowka if he wanted any further conditions. At this point in the investigation, Krakowka said, but Miller cut him off again, saying it was not appropriate to discuss such things during an initial appearance. Krakowka did ask that Gursky, if released, have no contact with anyone under 18 or go to any place such as schools where children are known to congregate. Dayton agreed to impose that condition and set the next hearing for July 13. Anaconda police issued a statement saying Gursky has been living in the Anaconda and Philipsburg area since the mid-1990s and their investigation is ongoing. Krakowka filed charges on June 1 and Gursky was arrested the next day. The charges allege that in early February, Gursky kissed the 11-year-old girl on the mouth when she told him not to, told her it was their little secret and said they could be boyfriend and girlfriend and be married. The girl told a school counselor and her mother about it the next day and the mother went to police. During an interview with police, charging documents state, Gursky agreed to give his cell phone over and a computer analysis of it turned up photos of a teenage girl naked in a bathroom. An officer recognized the girl as a local resident who is developmentally delayed. She told police that when she was 16, Gursky would come meet her at a local business where she worked and he eventually asked her for sexy pictures of herself. She said she sent multiple nude images of herself. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 4 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Gov. Greg Gianforte's office declared Montana a disaster Tuesday as historic milk-chocolate flood waters roared eastward down the Yellowstone River system after devastating the northern regions of Yellowstone National Park and nearby communities along the Absaroka and Beartooth fronts. Gianforte's declaration came after surging waters spread over banks at unprecedented highs into the communities of Red Lodge, Nye, Fishtail, Absarokee, Joliet and Livingston. By Tuesday afternoon, floodwaters in those regions had begun to recede, leaving destroyed homes, roads and bridges as well as rockslides and mudslides that stranded residents and tourists in Gardiner, Cooke City and Silver Gate. It is just the scariest river ever, Kate Gomez of Santa Fe, New Mexico, told The Associated Press. Anything that falls into that river is gone. The swells are huge and its just mud and silt. Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly announced that the world's first national park would be closed for at least five more days as staff assessed damage. Celebrating its 150th anniversary and at the peak of tourist season, Yellowstone is shut down for only the third time in 34 years most recently in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also for the infamous 1988 fires that burned a mosaic over one-third of the park. No injuries or deaths have been recorded from the flooding, Sholly said. "We've kept our teams out of harm's way," he said. "We won't know exactly what the damage looks like until the water goes down." Sholly added that Xanterra staff in the northern part of the park would be relocated and added that concessions at Mammoth and Roosevelt "will not reopen likely the rest of the year." U.S. Highway 89 in the Paradise Valley was closed just south of Emigrant until early afternoon, when residents were allowed to return and tourists were told to depart while they can. Late Monday, people living in a sizable portion of southeast Livingston were required to evacuate, and the city's hospital, Livingston HealthCare, closed and its patients taken to Big Timber as the river's record-high waters crept into its parking lot. The evacuation order was lifted just before 9 a.m. Tuesday as the river's peak surge raced downstream. Numerous Yellowstone County roads were closed. And at Red Lodge, power was restored to most residents Tuesday a day after Rock Creek's waters raged through the town, collapsing the 19th Street Bridge and swirling around homes. The waters were receding somewhat by Tuesday afternoon. Residents and tourists in Gardiner at Yellowstone's North Entrance and Silver Gate and Cooke City just outside the Northeast Entrance were stranded due to roads made impassable by high water and damage that could take weeks or even months to repair, park officials said. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality also issued a "Do Not Consume" order for Gardiner over unsafe drinking water, but by Tuesday afternoon repairs were made and testing begun. Employees at park headquarters in Mammoth, who remained without power Tuesday, planned to buy groceries and other essentials in West Yellowstone. A generator was providing power to Mammoth's cell tower, enabling communication to the outside world. The serpentine road from Mammoth to Gardiner in the Gardner River Canyon was badly damaged, as was the road between Tower Junction and the Northeast Entrance where the Lamar River surged well beyond its record flood level. Sholly said the park would explore using the gravel Old Gardiner Road between Mammoth and the North Entrance to bring supplies to park headquarters. The Yellowstone River crested at just over 49,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) at Corwin Springs in the upper Paradise Valley on Monday, shattering its previous records of 32,200 set in June 1996 and matched a year later. In the park, the Lamar peaked at 16.7 feet Monday, breaking its 1996 record by more than four feet and rising two feet above the gauge's upper reach. Near Corwin Springs, a multi-family house for Park Service employees was pried loose from its foundation by the raging waters and spun downstream, splintering when it collided with a bridge. At least a dozen GoFundMe pages were set up for displaced residents. The Montana National Guard evacuated 12 people from the communities of Roscoe and Cooke City on Monday as the flooding cut off vehicle access to the towns. Aircrews from the 1-189th General Support Aviation Battalion deployed a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to assist in search and rescue efforts at the request of local law enforcement. We are standing by for additional requests for support, said Maj. Ryan Finnegan, Montana National Guard Public Affairs Officer. As local law enforcement requests assistance, we will continue to provide what resources are available. A Florida family of eight were plucked by a helicopter from a flooded rental outside Cooke City after high waters stranded them. A Cooke City man was air lifted by the National Guard after he suffered hypothermia from cold waters as he self-rescued. On Tuesday morning, the Guard unit conducted a third evacuation operation for recreationists around East Rosebud Lake. The first stark hint that the Yellowstone River meant business Monday was when the iconic Carbella bridge leading to Tom Miner Basin was loosened from its supports and swept into the river like a toy. Meteorologists said the unprecedented flooding was caused by a convergence of an unseasonably cool spring that retained snowpack, late-spring snowstorms and multiple days of considerable rainfall at high elevations. Parts of the park received more than an inch of rain over 24 hours Monday, more than tripling the previous single-day mark. Most of the flood damage was centered on YNP and the streams flowing north from the Yellowstone Plateau, including the Gallatin River, which reached flood stage at Logan about 25 miles of Bozeman in the wee hours Tuesday. YNP gateway communities not immediately affected by the flooding began working overtime Tuesday to accommodate either stranded visitors or tourists who had plans to visit. The Teton County Fairgrounds in Jackson, Wyoming, was a landing site for a few dozen displaced Yellowstone campers Monday. About 38 RVs parked there overnight, according to Trista Hiltbrunner, a staff member at the fairgrounds. Some came from inside the park, she said. By noon Tuesday, just a couple remained. West Yellowstone, at the park's West Entrance, also announced late Monday that it would permit temporary camping in town for people impacted by the closure. Also Tuesday, the Flathead River at Columbia Falls in northwest Montana was expected to surpass flood stage by 2-1/2 feet. The floods highlighted the beginning of a week in which as much as two feet of snow has been forecast for some mountain areas and 100-degree temperatures later in the week for other parts of the state, accelerating runoff even more. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In the wee hours of June 11, a day after protests broke out in Ranchi, a police convoy reached Alams home with his corpse and actively participated in arranging his last rites. Swati Shikha | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles RANCHI (JHARKHAND) In the wake of protests over derogatory remarks on Prophet Muhammed made by now suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma, the death of Mudassir Alam in Ranchi has shifted the spotlight to polices handling of such situations. After Friday prayers on June 10, 15-year-old Alam was shot by a bullet in his head during cross-firing between police and civilians. He was rushed to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Ranchi and put on a ventilator. Around midnight, the family was informed that Alam succumbed to his injuries. His family is yet to receive a copy of the postmortem report. Alams family members told TwoCricles.net that government officials urged them to get done with the funeral rites at the earliest and police assured them that an FIR would be filed against those responsible for his death. In the wee hours of June 11, a police convoy reached Alams home with his corpse and actively participated in arranging his last rites. We already lost our child. We didnt want to politicize his death. We buried him as per the administrations instructions, said Shahid Ayyubi. The deceaseds uncle, Shahid Ayyubi, told this reporter that on June 12, the daily Market police station in-charge refused to register an FIR. We called the DIG, a former SP and DC but all in vain, said Ayyubi. With no option left, they called the press. The administration did not have any answers to their questions either. Then we gave them an ultimatum that well bring Mudassirs body to the police station and protest against the administrative arbitration, said Ayyubi. Finally, the police registered an FIR but did not share the FIR number with the family. At Alams house in Hindpiri, Mudassirs mother, Nikhat Parveen (29), is inconsolable. She refuses to speak as her eyes constantly search for Alam, her only child. He was here moments ago, I told him to not go for the protests, she wailed. He said that I will be back soon mummy, but where is he? Alams father, Pervez, sells fruits and vegetables on a cart. His son regularly used to accompany him. In the FIR, Pervez recollects that on the noon of June 10 around 3:30 PM, while selling fruits on his cart, he saw a crowd of protestors walking towards the Hanuman Mandir. As soon as the crowd reached the temple, his 15-years-old son joined the crowd. Pervez has named Bhairo Singh, Shashi Sharad Karan, Sonu Singh and others for firing shots from the terrace of the temple as well as pelting stones in the FIR. In videos circulated on social media, a group of Muslims can be seen pelting stones at people gathered at the terrace of the temple. The pelting and shooting led to chaos and a stampede-like situation wherein the police resorted to firing. Five policemen, who led the firing during the violence, have been named in the FIR. Pervez firmly believes that his son died by the bullets fired by Bhairo Singh, Shashi Sharad Karan, Sonu Singh and the aforementioned police officials. Meanwhile, Bhairo Singh, a Ranchi-based Hindutva leader has filed a complaint with the Cheif Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court alleging that his life is in danger as multiple Muslim organisations have threatened to murder him. Singh was the main accused in the attack on Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Sorens convoy on January 4, 2022. Rural SP Naushad Alam, who was present in RIMS and met with Mudassirs family, told this reporter that he was not in a position to comment as the case was outside his jurisdiction. SSP Surendra Kumar Jha and the Daily Market station in charge declined to comment on this case. Swati Shikha is a feminist journalist and development sector practitioner based in Ranchi. COLUMBIA FALLS Torrential rain and high water levels continue to hit most of Flathead County as above-average rainfall sparked flood watches and flood warnings in regions around the three forks of the Flathead River. Data from the National Weather Service show precipitation loads in the last 24 hours have averaged from 1 to 1.5 inches of rainfall across the Flathead Valley. In mountain locations around the Whitefish and Swan ranges and Glacier National Park, precipitation ranged from two to four inches of rain. Most precipitation fell as snow at 5,000 feet with one to two feet of snowfall at elevations above 6,000 feet. The main Flathead River at Columbia Falls hit 14.5 feet on Tuesday, 1.5 feet above flood stage. There is a flood warning for the Yaak River near Troy that was flowing at 8.7 feet on Tuesday. By next week, the Flathead is expected to crest at 16.37 feet. High river levels cause fast-flowing currents, unpredictable conditions, and very cold water with large amounts of debris, Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino said in a public notice on Tuesday. Residents need to stay aware of current weather conditions and avoid low elevation areas when possible. Emergency staff are working to provide information as it becomes available. The safety of our community is our number one priority. River waters were over the road on Highway 2 between Columbia Falls and Hungry Horse. On Tuesday afternoon, the Sheriffs Office issued specific evacuation orders for Rabe Road in Columbia Falls and the Leisure Drive area of Kalispell. Precautionary evacuations were recommended for all low-lying parts of the Flathead Valley. Heino added that due to the large geographic area at risk, emergency personnel might not be able to reach everyone in need. Its a roller coaster," NWS meteorologist Alex Lukinbeal said of the region's fluctuating temperatures. "Right now, were sitting in the low 50s, but by Friday well be up into the 80s and low 90s in the Missoula and Flathead valleys. Lukinbeal estimated that by early next week there will be another low-pressure system moving in, bringing more rounds of precipitation and thunderstorms that could drop half an inch to an inch of rain in the valleys. Snowplowing on Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road was also put on hold due to increased avalanche danger, and the road was closed between the Avalanche Campground and Jackson Glacier Overlook. Flathead Avalanche Center Director Blase Reardon said on Tuesday that the current avalanche danger was more like early May than mid-June. "This might seem like a temporary inconvenience, but these are really unusual conditions and there will be some avalanche hazard where this recent snow has fallen on existing seasonal snow, Reardon said. That could be particularly true on the warm, sunny days forecast for later this week. At the end of Monday, weather stations in Glacier National Park reported about 160% of the historical median snow-water content. Significant snowfall above 6,000 feet throughout the day Tuesday increased the amount of moisture in the mountains. High water levels in rivers and streams across northwest Montana will likely continue for at least another 10 days, but the National Weather Service doesnt foresee disastrous flooding there anything like the torrents pummeling south-central Montana the past two days. NWS meteorologist Travis Booth said on Tuesday that swollen streams and rivers across the region will likely remain at or near flood stage in coming days. I don't imagine it's going to get any worse, but you still could have those lingering effects through Wednesday morning, Booth said. At this point the main concern that continues to stick out would be the Flathead (River) in Columbia Falls. In the Hungry Horse region and outskirts of Glacier National Park, the rain persisted all Tuesday. Tami McKenzie, public affairs officer with the Flathead National Forest, said Mondays showers in the upper Flathead region caused rock slides along the north shore of Graves Bay, which led to a road closure on West-Side Hungry Horse Reservoir Road #895 between Mazie Creek Road #5326 and Graves Creek Road #897. The closure will be in effect until Aug. 30 but could be lifted sooner if repairs take less time. On Tuesday afternoon, state secondary highway S-508 was closed until further notice between U.S. Route 2 and Yaak because of a rockslide onto the road. High water levels on the Flathead River caused another road closure near the Blankenship Bridge. McKenzie said the Blankenship closure will be extended in the coming days. The Old Steel Bridge in Evergreen was also closed and access is restricted to the Pressentine and Kokanee Bend fishing access sites. Everythings going to depend on what happens with our weather in the coming days and weeks as we continue to see more rain, she said. A rise in temperatures could lead to higher snow runoff and the potential of increase in river flow due to snowmelt. Hungry Horse Dam currently sits a few feet below full pool as precipitation increases. If the dam goes above full pool, we will need to start releasing water, but were not there yet, McKenzie said. Glacier National Park spokeswoman Gina Kerzman said flooding in the park has blocked the Quarter Circle Bridge leading to the Apgar Lookout trail, Avalanche Lake Trail, North Fork Road from Polebridge to Lodging Creek and St. Mary Campground Loop A. Missoulian reporters Bret Anne Serbin and Joshua Murdock contributed to this story. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The governor on Tuesday issued a statewide disaster declaration, citing historic flooding in Carbon, Park and Stillwater counties, in addition to flood warnings across Montana. The executive order was signed by Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras as acting governor while Gov. Greg Gianforte is traveling out of the country. With rapid snowmelt and recent heavy rains, communities in south-central Montana are experiencing severe flooding that is destroying homes, washing away roads and bridges, and leaving Montanans without power and water services, Gov. Greg Gianforte said in an emailed statement Tuesday. Todays disaster declaration will help impacted communities get back on their feet as soon as possible, and I have asked state agencies to bring their resources to bear in support of these communities," he continued. The state's Disaster and Emergency Services agency is working with local authorities in Carbon, Park and Stillwater counties, according to the press release. DES is also working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition, DES leads the State Emergency Coordination Center and is coordinating with local authorities in affected areas. The state activated the coordination center Monday. Gianforte's office also said it is working with FEMA to pursue an expedited presidential disaster declaration to help cover the cost of emergency protective measures. A spokesperson for Gianforte said he is in communication regularly while out of the country. He left the county "late last week," according to his office. "The governor...is regularly briefed on the flooding and the state's response, is in communication with state and local officials, and asked Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras to take all necessary action in his temporary absence, including visiting Red Lodge today to receive a briefing, tour the damage, and meet with residents and visitors who have been evacuated," spokesperson Brooke Stroyke wrote in an email Tuesday. "Early this morning, the governor formally issued a disaster declaration after verbally authorizing it yesterday afternoon." The governor will return in a few days, his office said. The state Constitution allows for the lieutenant governor to serve as acting governor when so requested in writing by the governor. "At the governors direction, the state is bringing every resource to bear to support communities in south-central Montana," Stroyke wrote. "The governor is personally in touch with local officials, as well as Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly, to ensure their needs are met. The states primary focus with partners on the ground remains evacuating areas in danger, ensuring shelter is available, and safely restoring power and water services." On Tuesday, Montana U.S. Sen. Jon Tester released a statement saying he'd contacted FEMA, the National Park Service, Small Business Association and others. I am closely monitoring the severe flooding happening in Montana, and I encourage every Montanan to stay safe by following local precautions and avoiding flooded areas. Im in touch with local, state and federal officials to make sure that folks on the ground are getting the help they need as swiftly as possible, and I appreciate the work of our first responders in keeping folks safe," Tester said in an emailed statement. Montana's U.S. Sen. Steve Daines also issued a statement. I fully support Governor Gianfortes statewide disaster declaration to help impacted communities get back on their feet as quickly as possible, and I stand ready to facilitate recovery efforts at the federal level, Daines said in the emailed statement. In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Montana's U.S Rep. Matt Rosendale said he was tracking the flooding and damage. This morning, I spoke to Gov. Gianforte and local officials in Stillwater, Park and Carbon counties to get an update on the (effects) the Yellowstone River flooding is having on the communities in southwestern Montana," Rosendale said in the emailed statement. "I wholeheartedly support Gov. Gianfortes decision to declare a statewide disaster, and I am grateful for his efforts to keep the flood damage to a minimum. I will continue to monitor the situation closely and do all that I can to ensure Montana receives the resources it needs in a timely manner. Holly Michels is the head of the Montana State News Bureau. You can reach her at holly.michels@lee.net Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 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. The president of an upcoming gay pride event in Helena said he has been working with local law enforcement to make sure everything goes safely, after members of a right-wing group were arrested over the weekend near a similar celebration in Idaho. On Saturday, Coeur dAlene police arrested 31 people from a group called Patriot Front crammed into a U-Haul trailer on misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot. One person was from Idaho, police said, with others from Washington, Arkansas, Texas and Wyoming. Patriot Front is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist hate group that broke off from a similar far-right group after the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. Prior to the event, Coeur dAlene police said they didnt have any verifiable information that groups were coming to the city to engage in riotous conduct, the Associated Press reported. Kevin Hamm, president of Montana Pride, formerly known as Big Sky Pride, said Monday he has been working with local police and the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office, along with the Montana Human Rights Network, to make sure everything is safe at the Helena event. Its never going to be perfect and be 100% safe, but we will do whatever we can to make it safe, he said. The multi-day Helena event usually attracts 10,000 to 12,000 people. This years event is July 17-24 and includes a July 23 parade through downtown Helena. The Helena City Commission has approved suspending the city's ordinances prohibiting open alcohol containers within the downtown urban renewal district for July 23. Hamm said it was known for some time through social media that Patriot Front planned to be at the Idaho event. He said he mentioned that to Helena police and said they were aware and were on it. Interim Helena Police Chief Brett Petty said any time there are incidents like these, it heightens our concern. Especially incidents that occur close to us regionally. He said he could not reveal what actions police would take. I cannot discuss tactically how we will proceed or any plans that we will put together, but it will be part of our threat assessment for this event and others, Petty said in an email. Shawn Reagor, director of equality and economic justice for the Montana Human Rights Network, which advocates for human rights values in the state, said they have seen a significant increase of reports of discrimination, harassment and theft since the 2021 legislative session when there were several anti-LGBTQ laws passed. Reagor, who said he has had his gay pride flag stolen, said there have been calls to action from extremist groups around Montana. We are paying close attention to make sure everyone is safe, he said, adding that the increase in violence and rhetoric demonstrates the need to have events and to come together as community to celebrate who we are. He said he has the firm belief that efforts to halt gay pride events will have a backlash that brings more people to come together to celebrate gay pride. Hamm said he was more concerned about when bad things happen and there is no warning, like when 49 people were killed and 53 were wounded June 12, 2016, in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The shooter was killed after a three-hour standoff with police. He also said there is always a threat. That is one of the reasons we have Pride, he said. We have to remain visible and say We are here. Hamm said the only protest that has occurred at the Helena event involved the Rev. J.D. Hall in 2018. Hall and protesters from the Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney said their message was to condemn homosexuality and to encourage repentance. Hamm said the problem has been escalating since 2016, when bigots said they can say whatever they want. Its only getting worse, he said. He said Montana has had several Pride events recently, noting they were held in Anaconda, Glacier, Livingston, Great Falls and Missoula. Hamm said some people are trying to terrorize gay people into giving up their celebrations and going back into the closet. Thats not going to happen, he said. Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Icelandic paedophile sentenced to 8.5 years in prison in Torre Pacheco, but will only have to do community service The pensioner from Iceland had already served time in his home country before molesting at least six children in Spain between 2020 and 2021 In the spring of 2021, the Guardia Civil arrested an Icelandic retiree living in the village of San Cayetano, in Torre Pacheco , for allegedly sexually abusing eight minors. This man, known locally in the town as El Ingles (despite not being English) had already served a sentence in his own country for raping four children in 1988. He later went to live in Colombia, and subsequently took refuge in Murcia His trial here in Spain is now over, and he pleaded guilty and admitted to his crimes against six of the eight children. While he was convicted, he is nevertheless out on probation now after being given a suspended sentence as requested by his defence team, and which was not opposed by the Public Prosecutors Office. The man has been sentenced to a total of eight and a half years in prison for three crimes of attempted sexual abuse of minors under the age of 16, two crimes of corruption of minors, three crimes of showing pornographic material to minors and three crimes of communicating with minors by showing pornographic images of minors, as stated in the sentence of the 5th Section of the Provincial Court, based in Cartagena. However, this prison sentence has been suspended on condition that he does not commit any more crimes and does not approach his victims. He will also have to do some community service. He gained their trust with dog walking, then tried to touch their penises The crimes took place between May 2020 and the spring of 2021, when he was finally arrested, and the victims were all minors aged between 9 and 15 years old. He is said to have used walking his dogs as one of the pretences to get close to the children, and having gained their trust this way, he tried to touch the penis of two of them. Another victim, who reportedly went to the mans house, was cornered against the wall while the man put his hand on the inner part of his right thigh at the height of his genitals, without touching them, and with the other hand he tried to pull down his trousers. The minor refused, [but] the accused asked repeatedly to let him see it, referring to his penis, and the minor left the house scared and running. He also offered two of the children money to come to his home alone, in order to have sex with them, offering one up to 100 euros and the other 30 or 35 euros in exchange for spending twenty happy minutes. In addition, three children were shown pornographic videos showing both adults and minors. To three children, he sent messages by WhatsApp containing pornographic photographs in which the genitals of minors were represented with drawings of animals. The decision of the court is that the man will now be on probation for a decade, but the sentence of the Provincial Court is not final and can be appealed before the High Court of Justice (TSJ). Image: Guardia Civil The top 5 beaches in Mallorca, Spain What are the best beaches to visit in Mallorca? These are the 5 most beautiful beaches you can find Every year, sun-seeking holidaymakers flock to the Spanish island of Mallorca in search of high temperatures, delicious food, and pure relaxation, and one of Mallorcas greatest appeals are its breathtaking beaches! Holidu, the search engine for holiday rentals, has analysed Google Maps data to uncover which beaches in Majorca are the best rated, in order to provide travellers with some inspiration on which shores of the Spanish holiday island you should plan to head to next. The list of beaches was taken from Google Maps with their number of reviews and average ratings. All those with more than 100 reviews were then ranked by the average rating given by the users and the number of reviews they received. So here they are the 5 prettiest beaches in Mallorca: Cala Figuera (1,235 reviews, 4.7/5 stars) Its official the best-rated beach in Mallorca is Cala Figuera! This beautiful beach is located in the northeastern part of the island in a cove on the Cap de Formentor. Dubbed as the perfect spot to escape summer crowds, this beach is a hidden gem, nestled among high, vertical cliffs. While the beach is largely made up of pebbles, gravel and rocks with a few sandy parts in between, the highlight of this location is the crystal clear water that is perfect for snorkelling. Cala Llombards (122 reviews, 4.7/5 stars) In second place is Cala Llombards, a stunning white sandy beach on the southeast coast of Majorca. This beach is a natural paradise and is fairly unknown to tourists, instead being a go-to spot for locals and holiday rental owners in the area. Cala Llombards is ideal for swimming and snorkelling, thanks to the calm waters due to its sheltered location and clear visibility for coral and fish spotting. Calo des Moro (5,978 reviews, 4.6/5 stars) Calo des Moro secures its spot as the third best beach in Majorca. Situated in the southeast corner of the island, this beach is a mere 6 kilometres from Santanyi, a small town that is a popular destination due to its Balearic charm. In true Majorcan style, this beach is tucked inside by a bay that is surrounded by imposing white cliffs. The remote location of the beach means that there are no facilities nearby, but it is a suitable place to take children thanks to the shallow and calm water. Cala Mesquida (5,405 reviews, 4.6/5 stars) At number four is Cala Mesquida, located in a large, beautiful bay in the northeastern part of the island. The bay is around 0.5km long and 150 meters wide, surrounded by magnificent dunes and rocks. This fine-grained, white sand beach with stunning turquoise water is popular among locals and is perfect for diving or snorkelling. In the high season, you will find a wide variety of beach services: paid deck chairs, toilets, bars and a lifeguard. If you are looking for a quieter resort village, this area is a perfect choice. Interesting places to visit nearby are the historical towns of Arta and Capdepera. Cala Agulla (3,804 reviews, 4.6/5 stars) Right next to the Cala Mesquida, there is the equally beautiful but more popular beach of Cala Agulla. Cala Agulla is located about 2km from Capdepera, in the north-eastern part of Mallorca. What is special about Cala Agulla is that it has been recognised as a Blue Flag beach several times, which means that it meets the highest safety requirements. Here everyone can swim in turquoise blue water, enjoy sandy surroundings and a rocky landscape. This place is exceptionally family-friendly due to its shallow waters, lifeguard duty and sunbeds/umbrellas/toilets availability. Once you get enough sun, you can relax in the shade in a nearby restaurant or take a walk through a forest. You might also like: Top snorkelling sites in the Region of Murcia, Spain Image: Marko Markovic / Unsplash MUSCATINE With an excessive heat warning issued for the area through Wednesday afternoon, the Muscatine County Department of Public Health urges people to take precautions to make sure they stay healthy in the threatening temperatures. The National Weather Service reports temperatures will be in the 90s at least through Wednesday, and the evenings will offer little relief, with the lows only dipping to the mid-70s to mid-80s. The heat index in some areas is expected to reach 110 degrees. Thunderstorms are expected Wednesday evening when a cold front moves through the area. The first day of summer is June 21. There are heat-related illnesses that can occur, but they are preventable, Christy Roby, director of Public Health, said. It can be as simple as heat rash or sunburn. People can get heat cramps or heat exhaustion up to heat stroke. Roby encourages people to stay hydrated and stay in a cool area. She said air conditioning is the best place to be. While no cooling stations have been opened, Roby said people can go places such as the library to cool off. She also said people should keep track of the weather. Roby also encourages people to drink plenty of water, even when they arent thirsty. She explained the water keeps the body cooled down. The highest risk populations in inclement weather are people over 65 or younger than 2, or with pre-existing conditions, she explained. Lets look out for our neighbors and see how they are doing, she said. She also said if possible, outdoor activities should be done in the early morning or late night, and not in the mid-day with the highest heat. She also people should use sunscreen if they are outdoors. Warning signs of a heat-related illness may include excessive sweating, nausea, headache, high heart rate, and high body temperatures. According to a statement from the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, pets shouldnt be left in a car for any length of time when the temperature is over 70 degrees. ARL recommends if people see a child or pet alone in a parked car during severe heat to contact law enforcement. Pet owners are advised to limit their pets time outside on hot days and to make sure they have plenty of water. And they are cautioned not to walk a pet on hot cement or asphalt and to keep auto coolant away from where pets can get at it. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MAKARIV, Ukraine (AP) The truck driver had the radio on, his daughter's stuffed toy keeping him company, and was bouncing his lumbering vehicle down one of the innumerable dirt tracks in Ukraine that are vital thoroughfares in the country's vast agricultural heartlands. Then the right rear wheel hit a Soviet-era TM-62 anti-tank mine. The explosion blew Vadym Schvydchenko and his daughter's toy clean out of the cabin. The truck, and his livelihood, went up in flames. Astoundingly, the 40-year-old escaped with just minor leg and head wounds. Others haven't been so lucky. Russia's war in Ukraine is spreading a deadly litter of mines, bombs and other explosives. They are killing civilians, disrupting planting, complicating the rebuilding of homes and villages, and will continue taking lives and limbs long after the fighting stops. Often, blast victims are farmers and other rural workers with little choice but to use mined roads and plow mined fields, in a country relied on for grain and other crops that feed the world. Schvydchenko said he'll steer clear of dirt tracks for the foreseeable future, although they're sometimes the only route to fields and rural settlements. Mushroom-picking in the woods has also lost its appeal to him. Im afraid something like this can happen again, he said. Ukraine is now one of the most mined countries in Europe. The east of the country, fought over with Russia-backed separatists since 2014, was already contaminated by mines even before the Feb. 24 invasion multiplied the scale and complexity of the dangers both there and elsewhere. Ukraines State Emergency Service said last week that 300,000 square kilometers (115,000 square miles) the size of Arizona or Italy need to be cleared. The ongoing fighting will only expand the area. The wars deadly remnants will continue to be a hidden threat for many years to come, said Mairi Cunningham, who leads clearance efforts in Ukraine for The Halo Trust, a demining NGO that got $4 million in U.S. government funding in May for its work in the country. There's no complete government count of mine deaths since the invasion, but every week authorities have reported cases of civilians killed and wounded. Cunningham said her group has counted 52 civilian deaths and 65 injuries since February and that's likely under-reported. The majority were from anti-tank mines, in agricultural areas, she said. On a mobile app called Demining Ukraine that officials launched last month, people can send photos, video and the geolocation of explosive objects they come across, for subsequent removal. The app got more than 2,000 tip-offs in its first week. The track where Schvydchenko had his brush with death is still used, despite now being marked with bright red warning signs bearing a white skull and crossbones. It scythes through corn fields on the outskirts of Makariv a once comely town west of Kyiv that bears the battle scars of Russias failed assault on the capital in the wars early weeks. Even with the Russian soldiers gone, danger lurks amid the surrounding poppy meadows, fields and woodlands. Deminers found another explosive charge undetonated just meters (feet) away from Schvydchenko's blown-up truck. On another track outside the nearby village of Andriivka, three people were killed in March by a mine that ripped open their minivan, spewing its cargo of food jars and tin cans now rusting in the dirt. In a field close by, a tractor driver was wounded in May by an anti-tank mine that hurled the wreckage onto another mine, which also detonated. Halo Trust workers are now methodically scouring that site where Russian troops dug foxholes for any other devices. Cunningham said the chaotic way the battle for Kyiv unfolded complicates the task of finding mines. Russian forces thrust toward the capital but were repelled by Ukrainian defenders. Often it was Russians held an area, put some anti-vehicle mines nearby a few in and around their position and then left, she said. Its scattered. Mines are still being laid on the battlefields, now concentrated to the east and south where Russia has focused its offensive since its soldiers withdrew from around Kyiv and the north, badly bloodied. A Ukrainian unit that buried TM-62 mines on a forest track in the eastern Donbas region this week, in holes scooped out with spades, told The Associated Press that the aim was to prevent Russian troops from advancing toward their trenches. Russian booby-trapping has sometimes had no clear military rhyme or reason, Ukrainian officials say. In towns around Kyiv, explosive experts found devices in unpredictable places. When Tetiana Kutsenko, 71, got back her home near Makariv that Russian troops had occupied, she found bloodstains and an apparent bullet hole on the bathroom floor and tripwires in her back yard. The thin strands of copper wire had been rigged to explosive detonators. Im afraid to go to the woods now, she said. Now, Im looking down every time I take a step. Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Srdjan Nedeljkovic in the Donetsk region of Ukraine and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine also contributed. Follow APs 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. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Bettendorf now faces a federal lawsuit because of the fatal May collision on the pedestrian walkway of the Interstate 74 bridge. Three men were struck by a vehicle at about 2 a.m. May 22 as they stood on the bridges pedestrian pathway. Ethan Gonzalez, 21, was killed at the scene. Anthony M. Castaneda, 18, of Moline, died of his injuries a few days later. At last report, Charles Bowen, 22, was in critical condition. The suit was filed by Chicago Attorney Devon C. Bruce on June 9 in the U.S. District Courts northern district of Illinois on behalf of Michele and Manuel Castaneda, according to court records. They are listed as the administrators of the estate of Anthony Castaneda. The plaintiffs accuse Bettendorf the only defendant listed of negligence in relation to the incident, court records state. Among the allegations is that barriers such as bollards were not included in the walkways design to prevent vehicle access. The plaintiffs argue Anthony Castanedas death was the result of the citys negligence and they are seeking damages in excess of $75,000, according to court records. As a result of the incident, the Rock Island County States Attorneys Office charged Chhabria A. Harris, 46, East Moline, accused of being the driver, with: Three counts of aggravated DUI, great bodily injury or death. Three counts of failure to stop after a crash causing personal injury or death. Three charges of aggravated reckless driving. Two counts of reckless homicide. The case against her is pending. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The City Council on Tuesday approved a three-year contract with incoming City Manager Anil Comelo, who's currently deputy city manager in Richmond, California. Comelo said he plans to start working for the city on July 26. I'm thrilled to be selected and I'm looking forward to starting work at the city," Comelo told the council. 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. A press release issued by the city last Thursday calls Comelo "a seasoned veteran in Bay Area municipal services, with significant hands-on experience in budgeting and financial management, organizational development and strategic planning." "He also brings a strong foundation in Human Resources management and community engagement and communications," according to the press release. "Over the course of his 25 year career in public service, Comelo has worked with agencies including the Cities of Beverly Hills, Oakland and San Rafael." Comelo will replace Mark Prestwich, who resigned in February to become city manager in Palos Verdes Estates. Jim McCann has been serving as interim city manager since Prestwich departed. Mr. Comelo was the City Council's unanimous choice and brings both a broad administrative skill set and community sensitivity that will complement and further the work done under the Council, Mark Prestwich and Jim McCann to strengthen the City's administrative infrastructure and enhance responsiveness in local governance," said Mayor Geoff Ellsworth. In the same statement, Vice Mayor Paul Dohring called Comelo "a results-oriented leader with the right combination of vision, enthusiasm and experience to help us advance a very ambitious work plan. Comelo has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Masters of Public Administration in Public Policy and Organizational Change from California State University, East Bay, according to the press release. He lives in Orinda and expects to move to Napa County. In the press release, Dohring said McCann "has served our city admirably and gained the respect of many." At Tuesday's meeting, Ellsworth thanked Prestwich and McCann for "remarkable work and a smooth and steady transition during remarkable times." Mitts, Kellogg promoted Meanwhile, Administrative Services Director (previously Finance Director) April Mitts has been assigned to the newly created position of assistant city manager. Assistant Administrative Services Director Mandy Kellogg has been promoted to administrative services director to replace Mitts. On Tuesday the council approved contracts for Comelo (base salary $235,072), Mitts (base salary $181,406) and Kellogg (base salary $150,394). Mitts has been with the city since 2014 and has a doctorate degree in public administration. As assistant city manager, Mitts will provide oversight and direction to advance critical capital projects, drive the Measure H general obligation bond forward, provide oversight and management to the city's climate action efforts, evaluate organizational needs and recommend changes, and participate in labor negotiations and communication strategy development and implementation, according to a staff report. Kellogg has a bachelor of arts degree and is working on a master's in public administration at Sonoma State University. A staff report by Interim City Manager Jim McCann calls Kellogg is "well respected among City personnel and fellow municipal financial colleagues and has been an effective mentor and leader of staff." "She is correctly viewed as a highly capable, hardworking, professional and highly confidential member of the City team," McCann wrote. You can reach Jesse Duarte at (707) 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The familiar strains of Pomp and Circumstance, the grateful speeches, and the reading of 114 names marked a routine ending Friday to a decidedly not-routine high school career for the Saints Class of 2022. Moments before graduating from St. Helena High School, Kaylee Moura recalled when the world shut down in 2020, a year we and you will never forget. 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. St. Helena schools returned to in-person instruction in November, but the challenges of living with COVID-19 continued. We will tell these stories about quarantine for the rest of our lives, Moura told the audience, adding that the anxiety of the pandemic has made her resilient and strong. Fellow senior Dylan Rodriguez said he moved to St. Helena only three years ago, which gave him a unique perspective as to how special our school culture is. Prior to arriving, I imagined a closed-off community that favored social conformity over uniqueness and individuality. I could not have been more wrong, Rodriguez said. After his early days as the new kid, he came to feel a liberating sense of compassion and acceptance. The experience left him determined to live without hesitation, without regret, and without limitation, he said. Stress less over the momentary validation of others, and stress more over ensuring that you be and love your true self, Rodriguez said. "We leave here with the power and responsibility to change the world," he added. Another graduate, Anjali Felder thanked the faculty, graduates families and the community for their support. For all the times it comes across as overbearing, this community takes care of its own, she said. The saying It takes a village to raise a child is not cliche in St. Helena. Felder told classmates to cherish memories of dissecting cats in Chris OConnors anatomy lab, visiting the French Laundry with Sophie Warins French class, visiting New York City for Patti Coyles drama class, and participating in the FFA Rib Feed. Without the drive and motivation of this faculty, we would not be where we are today, Felder said. You can reach Jesse Duarte at (707) 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A St. Helena man in his 70s, uninsured, had long struggled with untreated dyslexia. With one phone call, a local nonprofit helped him enroll in Medi-Cal and receive the treatment he needed. Which agency helped him? It might not be the first or second one you guess. It was Napas Community Health Initiative, which helps Napa County residents of all ages, races and income levels access the health insurance they need to stay healthy, happy and productive. Executive Director Elba Gonzalez-Mares and Program Director Maria Torres-Almanza described to us how their organization was launched in 2005 as the Childrens Health Initiative, helping kids access insurance, vaccinations and basic checkups. It has since expanded to serve pregnant women, seniors, and everyone in between. CHI is busiest during open enrollment from October through January, but it stays active year-round, partnering with groups like the UpValley Family Centers, St. Helena Hospital Foundations mobile health van, Queen of the Valley Medical Center Community Outreach and OLE Health. The health initiative helps clients figure out which insurance option suits them best, and then navigate the intimidating paperwork (and, in some cases, income verification) necessary to apply for and gain coverage. Theres an insurance option for everyone, Torres-Almanza told us, but costs vary widely and eligibility rules continue to evolve, especially for immigrants who lack permanent legal status. Currently, members of that population ages 0-26 and 50 and older are eligible for Medi-Cal, but people ages 27-49 have to find an alternative. CHI is a local invention with a statewide presence. Its part of a coalition of like-minded agencies, California Coverage & Health Initiatives, that lobbies on behalf of clients to remove barriers to accessing health insurance. CHI has also established satellite agencies serving Solano County, Santa Clara and Los Angeles. CHI receives funding from Napa County, the Napa Valley Vintners, Kaiser Permanente, and various other nonprofits and family foundations. When we asked Gonzalez-Mares what she needed, she didnt mention money but said shed love to have a few more board members with a passion for helping people access health care. An Upvalley board member would be a plus. If youre interested, email her at elba@calchi.org. CHI strives to be 90% about the person and 10% about the application, as Gonzalez-Mares put it, but its influence permeates our community and economy. Lacking preventive care, uninsured people tend to wait longer to get health care and require more expensive treatment when they finally do. That puts strain on the health care system and on the patients families. It often forces patients to miss school or work, which diminishes their own economic prospects and prevents them from contributing to the economy at large. Insured people, on the other hand, are more likely to be healthy and productive members of their families and our society. CHI works year-round to move people from the first category into the second category. When they succeed, everybody wins. The Star editorial board consists of Napa Valley Publishing president Jay Scott, Napa Valley Register editor Dan Evans and community volunteers Norma Ferriz, Shannon Kuleto, Bonnie Long, Peter McCrea, Chuck Meibeyer, Gail Showley and Dave Yewell. The temperatures were already headed towards the 80s on Tuesday morning, heating up the spirits of some 105 students graduating from Napas Valley Oak High School and 59 from the Napa Valley Independent Studies program. Inside Napa's Memorial Stadium families and friends waved and cheered for their favorite graduates while also fanning themselves with paper programs or holding umbrellas to help beat the heat. Saul Sanchez, a Valley Oak senior, waited to meet a friend outside the stadium before lining up for the procession. Im really excited, said Sanchez. Im done with high school now, which means hes about to make a significant change to his morning routine. I dont have to be here at 8 a.m. every day, he said with a smile. 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. Valley Oak senior Juana Almanza said her high school graduation feels like an accomplishment. It feels good seeing other people being happy for you. Almanza said that she was happy to receive a $1,000 scholarship, which she will use at Napa Valley College. But she already has summer work plans. Im going to keep managing my mothers cleaning business, she said. Kaydence Ryan, also a new Valley Oak graduate, wore a lei around their neck made of rainbow colored paper and dollar bills folded into rosettes. Ryan was happy to be at the graduation ceremony, they said. Dressing up and seeing your friends, at such an occasion is fun, the senior said. The best part about Valley Oak is the individual attention students receive, especially from teachers. Theyre all awesome, said Ryan. Theyre basically like family. Azhley Gonzalez, 17, actually earned enough credits to graduate at age 16 but she wanted to walk in her graduation ceremony. It felt right to come back, for the pomp and circumstance. It feels like the conclusion of my high school years. Gonzalez already knows what her future entails: She plans to join the Marines. Ive been training and studying, for a 2023 ship date, she said. Valley Oak senior Ruth Zamora said graduation day left her feeling a little bittersweet and sad. Its the final day of high school, she said, as if reading the the final pages of a four-year-long story. Zamora hopes to become a psychologist, she said. Its good when you can help someone and dont expect anything in return. Were going on to the next chapter, said senior Lizette Rizo. She had this advice for high school students who are about to advance to the next grade: Have good time management skills but also have fun at the same time, because if you dont, youre going to regret it. Valley Oak High School is an accredited educational option for 16- to 18-year-old students who need an alternative setting and/or an alternative pathway to complete their graduation requirements, said the school website. Located at 1600 Myrtle Ave. in Napa, students are enrolled in small accelerated innovative classes of no more than 20 learners. Congratulations class of 2022, said student speaker, Helen Terrien. Graduating from Valley Oak means that you have done everything in your power to give yourself a successful future. You have fought so hard for these diplomas. Two hours earlier, 59 Napa Valley Independent Studies (NVIS) students graduated on the same field. Speakers throughout that ceremony reflected on what brought them to the school, which allows students to develop individualized curriculums to fit their needs. Maria Cisneros, the principal of both schools, launched the ceremony, but immediately turned it over to graduating senior Hope Villasenor to lead the pledge of allegiance and introduce her class. As the district, we truly focus on empowering young people, and what a perfect place to demonstrate that today and have Hope come up here and lead the ceremonies this morning, Cisneros said. Villasenor welcomed everyone present and those watching via livestream noting the impact theyve made on the graduates. Villasenor then introduced Pat Andry-Jennings, assistant superintendent of instruction of the Napa Valley Unified School District. Andry-Jennings said she and the school board trustees, teachers, custodial staff, and other school staff were there to tell the students how proud of them they are. She also urged the parents in the audience to think about when they entered their student into kindergarten and recognized how much theyve grown since. You marched to your own beat; Im sure from day one if you talked to your families, theyd definitely tell us that, and you have created and written your own story and theres so much more to come, Andry-Jennings said. Two student speakers from the senior class spoke about their unique journeys to and through the school. Hanna Lucero said she tried out several themes for the speech, and after much thought, she began to feel one of the biggest lessons shes learned is the importance of reflection. She said she grew up in Benicia and never thought shed end up graduating from NVIS. But Benicia High School stopped being an option after a life-altering event, she said. She moved to American Canyon High School in her junior year, and then transferred to NVIS one month into the school year. Lucero said NVIS gave her hope in finishing her education and hope for her career moving forward. She referred to the rest of her class as an ambitious, resilient and exceptional group of students, and noted that every graduate there has had their own journey through NVIS. Though I never expected to be a student here, today I couldnt be prouder to say Im part of the NVIS graduating class of 2022, Lucero said. Every single member of the faculty did their best, around the clock, to ensure that all students were cared for and had the support they needed, both academically and emotionally. Lucero added that graduation marked the start of true independence. She urged the class to remember where they started, so they can recognize how far theyve come. The other speaker, Elena Vandenburg, said shes loved the three years she spent at the school, though it hasnt been easy. She noted that everyone in the school was there because of unique circumstances that made normal school a less favorable option. Vandenburg added that shes tried to fit into being conventionally normal throughout her four years of high school and has come to realize that normal doesnt actually exist. Everyone at any of Napas high schools, she said, had unique, individual paths throughout their experience. If we all tried to be the same, how boring would this world be, Vandenburg said. None of the amazing things that have happened would have happened if we were worried about fitting into society. And even if we tried to be normal, or take a normal path, COVID definitely threw a big wrench in that, messing with all of our plans. 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. Jennifer Huffman Business Editor Jennifer Huffman is the business editor and a general assignment reporter for the Napa Valley Register. I cover a wide variety of topics for the newspaper. I've been with the Register since 2005. Follow Jennifer Huffman 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 Updated at 4:40 p.m. Tuesday California officials have agreed to pay out $51 million to settle lawsuits against the state stemming from the March 2018 shooting at The Pathway Home in Yountville, where a former patient killed three female staffers and then himself. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. The settlement authorizes $51 million one-time to pay for settlement costs at the Veterans Home of California, Yountville (where Pathway operated) related to the shooting, according to state budget documents approved this week by the Legislature. Lindsey Sin, spokesperson for the state Department of Veterans Affairs, confirmed to the Napa Valley Register the funding will settle all four cases against CalVet brought by families of the three women taken hostage and killed by a gunman on March 9, 2018. The settlements will include $7 million for the estate of Pathways director Christine Loeber, $14 million to the estate of therapist Jennifer Golick, and $30 million for the estate of Jennifer Gonzales Shushereba, a clinical psychologist. Our hearts remain with the victims and their families, Sin said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. We recognize that their loss is ongoing and that the pain of losing these women will never truly go away, but only hope they are now able to put a piece of this tragedy behind them. Settlement payments will become final after the California budget, which takes effect July 1, is approved by the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Veterans Home standoff ends tragically, with Pathway Home hostages and gunman dead in Yountville YOUNTVILLE The all-day standoff between law enforcement and a gunman with three hostages at the Veterans Home of California ended tragically Ronald Foreman, the attorney for the husband and daughter of the 42-year-old Golick, said the settlement is just a first step of a long journey for the Golick family and confirmed that other lawsuits over the incident remain pending including actions against the Napa County Sheriffs Office and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. This compensation today is not going to heal the suffering the Golicks have gone through, Foreman told the Register Tuesday afternoon. (Golicks daughter) lost her mom, and (husband) Marc lost his love of decades. The shooting has sparked wrongful-death lawsuits, including at least two filed in federal court in San Francisco by the families of Golick and the 48-year-old Loeber. Those suits are pending, according to court records, and Foreman said another case against the Napa County Sheriffs Office is pending in an appellate court for the actions of the first deputy to arrive at the scene of the attack. Shushereba, the third victim, was 29 years old and was 26 weeks pregnant. Yountville Vets Home grapples with aftermath of 3 staff killings YOUNTVILLE On Saturday morning the Veterans Home campus was quiet, the mood somber. Its been a long time coming for these families, Robert Bale, co-attorney with Roger Dreyer for Shusherebas husband T.J. Shushereba, said after the Sacramento Bee reported the settlements shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday. The $51 million allotment would help fund an agreement between CalVet and the victims families that arose from mediation between the two sides that began earlier this year in Napa County Superior Court, according to Bale. Its heartening to hear the Legislature has approved this, he said. We are certainly hopeful the governor will do so as well; its the very least at this point that should be done for these families. Officials have said the shooting was carried out by Albert Cheung Wong, a 36-year-old former Sacramento resident and Army veteran who had served in Afghanistan and was suffering from severe mental health issues and post-traumatic stress disorder. Wong became a patient at The Pathway Home, a residential treatment center based at the Yountville Veterans Home where Golick had been the clinical director for seven months, in April 2017, court papers say. More than 600 older and disabled veterans live at the home, which is the oldest and largest of the states eight Veterans Homes and is ringed by wineries. Wong did not live there, but received treatment from the Pathway program. Six months after The Pathway Home shootings, 2 staff members reflect Its been six months since three women and an unborn child were shot and killed on March 9 by a former client at The Pathway Home program at t On Dec. 20, 2017, Wong was hospitalized with a 5150 mental health hold at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, where he expressed homicidal thoughts toward decedent Jennifer Golick, court papers say. Wong also reported possession of multiple firearms immediately prior to his hospitalization and the ability to access firearms were he to be released from the hospital, court papers say. Despite that, he was released from the psychiatric ward after two days. California veteran bought guns after psych hold On Feb. 14, 2018, Wong purchased a Stoeger double-barrel shotgun from a Napa sporting goods store, waited the 10-day waiting period and picked up the weapon on Feb. 25, according to a California Highway Patrol investigation. While he was waiting, on Feb. 23, Wong bought a JP Enterprises Ultralite .308 caliber assault style rifle at a Burlingame gun shop, waited out the 10-day waiting period and picked it up March 5, four days before the shootings. No one reported Wongs 5150 hold or his threats while he was on the 5150 hold to law enforcement, which could have prohibited him from purchasing weapons, court papers say. At the time, Wong expressed homicidal thoughts toward specific individuals associated with the Pathway program, including Jennifer Golick, court papers say. Wong also expressed suicidal intent with a plan to shoot and kill himself. To the Veterans Administration physicians and staff, Wong described a past altercation with a therapist named Jennifer and a more recent altercation with a new therapist named Christine, both of whom sparked homicidal thoughts for him. A report from the office of Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley found that Wong had been expelled from the Pathway Home on Feb. 20 due to his refusals to comply with program policies and treatment plan. Wong had expressed extreme anger and frustration toward the clinical staff due to many prior disagreements and his recent discharge from the program, the report found. With the feds, the question is: Why was this mental health patient, in a hospital, who was referred for 5150, allowed to get a weapon? the Golicks attorney Foreman told the Register. Why was his name never put into a registry? "The gun access problem, the issues of mental stability, and the combination of that has to stop at both ends of the problem," Scott Righthand, the lawyer for Loeber's parents, told the Register late Tuesday. "It means that everybody has to do what theyre supposed to do to make sure that (therapists) who are put in harms way and who hopefully will talk down those with mental issues are protected. We cant just throw them out there and say 'Here, go make this guy better,' because its not that easy." Shootout as Napa gunman takes hostages The CHP and district attorneys investigation of the shooting concluded that, after searching online for information on murder and suicide, Wong arrived at Pathway at 10:18 a.m. armed with both weapons, extra ammunition and 20-round magazines and ear and eye protection. Law enforcement responded to 911 calls of an active shooter and Napa sheriffs Deputy Steven Lombardi confronted Wong as Wong took the women hostage in a group room, engaging in a gunfight. Deputy Lombardi fired a total of 13 rounds from his .223 caliber rifle at Wong during the shooting sequence which lasted approximately 10 seconds, according to the district attorneys report, which ruled the deputys use of force to be reasonable and lawful. Wong fired a total of 22 rounds from his .308 caliber rifle toward Deputy Lombardi during the shooting sequence, the report added. Wong then shot the victims with the rifle and shot himself in the head with the .12-gauge shotgun, the CHP report said. Lombardi survived the shootout. He retired in late 2020, according to the Napa County Sheriffs Office. Lawyers for the victims' families, however, said that by the time the deputy arrived, the situation had become a hostage-barricade situation, and that the suit against the sheriffs office that is pending stems from the claim that Lombardi fired blindly through a door, thus provoking the killings of the victims. Officers cannot unreasonably use force; there is no legal use-of-force training that allows an officer to shoot blindly, Foreman said later Tuesday, arguing that Lombardi acted without knowing where the attacker and hostages were. The three therapists, he said, were trained practitioners who had an opportunity to talk down the person, but that chance was taken away by this senseless act. Attorneys in the case urged California to bolster security at its Veterans Homes and other facilities to properly protect those who work with traumatized and unstable veterans and ensure that the Pathway workers deaths are not in vain. The folks at CalVet, with few exceptions, turned a blind eye to this danger on campus. As a result, three women and a child died, Bale said, referring to Shusherebas unborn daughter. It didnt have to happen and it was clearly preventable. Pathway, we believe, made a valiant effort to help these people, with little or no help from CalVet. This was a nonprofit that was made to assist returning warriors, in an environment where it was a foregone conclusion that something like this could happen. All of this means nothing if the state doesnt turn its attention to CalVet facilities and make sure that its not only cognizant of the importance of helping these returning heroes, but also taking steps to protect the people who are trying to help them. Loeber, the Pathway director, "was in a position that 100% of the time, all she did was try to make everybody elses world better and give back to her community, to veterans, to anyone she could help," said Righthand, her parents' lawyer. "And this should have never happened. These were people who deserved to be protected the right way." Its a loss for the world, really, not just for her parents, for everybody she helped and everybody she would have helped. Sam Stanton of the Sacramento Bee contributed to this report. You can reach Howard Yune at 530-763-2266 or hyune@napanews.com Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. White House announces conversation between Biden and Jinping in coming weeks EU countries agree to fill all gas storage facilities to at least 80% by next winter Traffic restored at Lars, road is open Armenia Economy Minister: Transport communication with Russia will be restored within two hours EU energy ministers agree on energy conservation laws Increased imports force Armenian producers out of domestic market Scholz says return to pre-war relations with Russia is impossible Armenia FM: Azerbaijan continues to hold Armenian POWs and civilians hostage Israel to work with world powers to influence any deal with Iran Azerbaijanis moving cross-stone on road of Berdzor NATO to increase size of its rapid reaction force by almost eight times 'Armenian Genocide: Evidence from the German Foreign Office Archives, 1915-1916' published in Persian Mohammad Bagheri says Iran will respond to Israeli intervention in region Representatives of ICRC office in Baku visit Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan Robert Habeck: Gas shortage this winter could lead to 'serious economic crisis in Europe' Armenia FM: OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs play key role in Karabakh conflict settlement US, European officials look forward to NATO summit to make progress on Finnish and Swedish accession Leaders of NATO, Turkey, Sweden and Finland meet in Madrid Zelenskyy tells G7 leaders he wants war in Ukraine to end by the end of 2022 Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia to hold joint military exercises G7 leaders to support Ukraine for as long as it takes EEU to provide duty-free import quotas for cheese, alcohol infusions to Serbia in 2023 Turkey announces creation of grain operations center Dollar, euro go up after long decline in Armenia Armenia premier: Reforming education sector is one of governments absolute priorities NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg promises to protect Baltic countries from external threats Upper Lars checkpoint on Georgia-Russia border to be closed for 1 week? Armenia ruling force lawmaker submits resignation from parliamentary seat Artsakh FM pays working visit to Russia Armenian FM meets Greek President Azerbaijan-Turkey-Kazakhstan transport working group to be set up Armenia legislature secret ballot for electing new judges to cassation court to kick off at 3pm Welt: Putin is preparing a new raw material trap for the West through lithium mining in Bolivia CNN: US intends to supply Ukraine with medium and long-range missile defense systems Armenian FM's visit to Greece begins Armenia economy ministry does not say when Lars motorway will reopen Birmingham explosion leaves 5 people injured Armenia Supreme Judicial Council member presents Court of Cassation candidate judges biographies Israel may allow Iran to export oil under US supervision Armenia appellate court considering appeal against PM Pashinyan Ibrahim Kalin says Turkey has no enmity with Armenia Heavy rain hits northern Turkey Turkey doesn't impose sanctions on Russia because of its energy dependence Cavusoglu says they are waiting to open Zangezur corridor as soon as possible Process kicks off aimed at building new nuclear power unit in Armenia European Commission head doesn't support G20 summit boycott if Putin attends 139 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia past 1 week Aliyev: New weapons, most modern equipment have been, are being brought to Azerbaijan Peskov rules out Russia's disconnection from global Internet World oil prices dropping Drug smuggling by Iranians is prevented in Armenia Armenia parliament to convene special session Copper rises in price Armenia finance minister meets with Asian Development Bank representatives Yerevan mayor to pay 12-day official visit to France Earthquake hits Armenia-Georgia border zone At least 4 dead after stand collapses during bullfight in Colombia Microsoft to end support for Windows 8.1 in January 2023 95% blind Japan skateboarder breaks 2 Guinness World Records NASA to launch Capstone satellite for future creation of habitats on Moon US intends to raise $200 billion as part of G7 program, competing with China's Belt and Road project Egypt signs contract with India to buy 180,000 tons of wheat US Treasury Secretary discusses sanctions against Russia in Turkey 20 people die in mysterious circumstances in nightclub Cavusoglu: Turkey is facing serious economic crisis Armenian PM's spouse to hold official meetings and discussions in Nice, Monaco and Cannes Media: Ukraine once again purchases weapons in Germany directly from manufacturer European Council head cautious about G7 plan to ban imports of Russian gold Iran launches second Zoljanah rocket into space Britain and France agree to increase support for Ukraine Armenian FM to leave on working visit to Athens NATO to discuss largest military deployment since the Cold War Artsakh Internal Affairs Ministry: Special measures in Stepanakert carried out in intensified mode Biden thanks Scholz for leadership on Ukraine crisis at G7 summit Iraqi PM arrives in Tehran UN fears disease outbreak in Afghanistan due to earthquake Johnson: Cost of Russian victory in Ukraine is too high New Colombian president pledges to protect rainforest Young man throws himself down from territory of Armenian Genocide Museum G7 countries to impose a ban on imports of Russian gold SADA CEO: Armenian startups are not yet well known on international market, they need to be strengthened Turkey FM and Blinken discuss NATO expansion and grain supplies from Ukraine Shoigu inspects grouping of Russian troops involved in Ukraine Indonesian President to travel Ukraine, Russia on peace-building mission Turkey intelligence agency captures alleged Greek spy Armenia PM to answer questions from media and public organizations tomorrow Ecuador's president lifts state of emergency declared due to strikes Concrete placement starts at Unit 2 of Bushehr NPP in Iran Eight corpses found at famous Mexican resort US Army private admits plotting attack on military unit Archaeologists discover remains of ancient tortoise with laid egg in Pompeii Lithuanian president on sanctions against Kaliningrad transit: concessions to Russia are out of question Founder of hypercar manufacturer Koenigsegg puts Toyota's GR Yaris up for sale President Vucic says Serbia will seek replacement for Russia oil China to provide $7.5M in humanitarian aid to quake-stricken Afghanistan Chicken meat production drops in Armenia MFA spokesman: Armenia reaffirms its readiness to establish peace, stability in the region Putin announces, at meeting with Lukashenko, decision to transfer Iskander-M missile systems to Minsk Armenian-Italian archeological expedition launches exploration near Dvin (PHOTOS) Armenia political scientist: OSCE Minsk Group revival not ruled out Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, who is in Bulgaria on an official visit, met with Bulgarian National Assembly Speaker Nikola Minchev on Tuesday. According to the Foreign Ministry's press service, the interlocutors highly assessed the bilateral relations between the two nations based on historical commonalities and warm friendly ties. They also highlighted the importance of inter-parliamentary contacts in terms of expanding and deepening them. Both sides emphasized the readiness to activate the ties between the friendship groups functioning in the parliaments of Armenia and Bulgaria, as well as to expand the cooperation at international parliamentary platforms. Ararat Mirzoyan presented to Minchev the reforms implemented in Armenia, which are aimed at democratic development, protection of human rights and ensuring the rule of law. The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs underscored that the democratic reforms in Armenia are irreversible. The sides exchanged views on the possibilities of developing economic cooperation. In terms of activating human contacts and business ties, the implementation of the direct flight between Yerevan and Sofia was highlighted. The sides also discussed the perspectives of the development of Armenia-EU relations. The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs presented the efforts of the Armenian side towards the establishment of peace and stability in the South Caucasus, the developments regarding the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The sides underscored the need to reach a lasting and comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue through peaceful negotiations under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. Minister Mirzoyan also touched upon the situation created as a result of Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh in 2020. In particular, the issue of repatriation of prisoners of war and civilians illegally detained in Azerbaijan, preservation of Armenian cultural and religious heritage in the territories transferred to Azerbaijani control, deliberate creation of humanitarian problems in Artsakh by Azerbaijan. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, who is in Bulgaria on an official visit, met with members of the Bulgaria-Armenia Friendship Group of the Bulgarian National Assembly. According to the Foreign Ministry's press service, Mirzoyan and head of the Bulgaria-Armenia Friendship Group Afanasi Zafirov agreed that the two countries have established effective and mutually beneficial cooperation based on the historical ties between the two peoples, mutual sympathy and trust over the years, both in bilateral and multilateral formats. The sides underscored the significant role of the Bulgarian-Armenian community in strengthening the Armenian-Bulgarian relations. The interlocutors touched upon parliamentary diplomacy as an important direction for the development of the relations between the two countries, noting with this respect the activation of contacts between the parliamentary groups and the cooperation at the international parliamentary platforms. During the meeting, the sides also exchanged views on the possibilities of promoting the cooperation between Armenia and Bulgaria in trade-economic, tourism, education and cultural spheres, for which there is a rich legal-contractual framework comprising more than 60 documents. Minister Mirzoyan presented his interlocutors the situation on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as the processes aimed at the establishment of regional peace and stability. The sides agreed that the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be comprehensive within the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship and as a result of peaceful negotiations. FM Mirzoyan underscored the urgency of humanitarian issues, particularly the repatriation of Armenian POWs and civilians detained in Azerbaijan after the 44-day war, and the need to preserve the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the territories taken under Azerbaijani control. At the invitation of the President of the Majles of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, President Alen Simonyan of the Republic of Armenia National Assembly (RA NA is in Iran on an official visit. On Wednesday, the delegation led by Simonyan met with the President of the IRI Majles. Thanking the President of the Majles for the meeting and the acquaintance, the RA NA President noted that it is his first visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, adding that the mutual visits will be continuous. He invited his colleague to Yerevan on a mutual visit. The NA President Alen Simonyan told his colleague that in December of the previous year there were effective discussions with the Iran-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group of the IRI Majles hosted in Yerevan, and their continuous character are considered to be an important basis for the implementation of the joint programs of the two parliaments. In this context Alen Simonyan mentioned the meeting of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO PA) held in Yerevan recently, where the parliamentary delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran also took part. He noted that after the meeting the parliamentarians of Iran had meetings in the National Assembly, and an opportunity was given to discuss issues regarding the bilateral agenda. The President of the Majles of Iran welcomed the visit of the delegation led by the RA NA President, noting that the agenda items of todays private talk should be at the focus of Armenia-Iran inter-parliamentary relations. According to him, there is a lot of work jointly to do at the parliamentary level, including the boosting of the economic ties, the development of legislative cooperation, as well as the creation and improvement of transport infrastructures. As he assessed, the parliaments should support the processes of the opening of Iran-Armenia railway and highways and creation of infrastructures. Touching upon the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf informed about his position, underlining the preservation of the territorial integrity of the two countries and the establishment of lasting peace. At the end of the meeting Alen Simonyan invited his colleague to Armenia on an official visit. After the bilateral meeting followed the press conference of the heads of the parliaments of the two countries. During the press conference with the President of the Majles of Iran Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf the NA President noted in particular: Distinguished Mr. Ghalibaf, Dear colleagues, Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, I would like to thank the President of the Majles of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, my colleague and good friend for the invitation, warm reception and effective discussions and negotiations. During our discussions with the President of the Majles Ghalibaf in the atmosphere of friendship and mutual trust we expressed our satisfaction about the high level of the Armenian-Iranian relations and the inter-parliamentary close ties. We have underscored that our partnership is based on the friendship and neighborhood of the millennia, we both expressed readiness for deepening our partnership in all directions. We discussed in detail the regional developments. Naturally, I touched upon the Azerbaijani-Turkish last aggression and its consequences against Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)]. I have noted that numerous humanitarian problems have remained after the war, particularly, the return of prisoners of war, the preservation of the Armenian historical-cultural and spiritual values on the territories passed under the control of Azerbaijan. The encroachments of Azerbaijan towards the sovereign territory of Armenia endanger our efforts aimed at the stability and security of the region. In this respect we highly appreciate the position of Iran on the territorial integrity and the inviolability of the borders. Certainly, the important themes of our todays meeting were also the last challenges of the transport transit and the ways of their overcoming. Distinguished Mr. President, we have also spoken about continuing our economic joint programs and reaching them to an end. I would like to note once again, as Mr. President also assured the political leaderships are resolute to fully develop our partnership relations and deepen them. I am again thankful for the invitation, dear Mr. President, and I will gladly wait for you in Yerevan. Thank you, Alen Simonyan concluded his speech. The relatives of the fallen servicemen will wait until Thursday for the criminal case under investigation by the Investigative Committee of Armenia to be transferred the National Security Service. Otherwise, they will take action. Eduard Yeghiazaryan, the father of soldier Erik Yeghiazaryan who died in the 44-day Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war in the fall of 2020, on Wednesday told Armenian News-NEWS.am about this. "They have until tomorrow to respond. If its not what we want, we already will take our action. We know who killed our children, we cannot stand back. Prosecutors and judges should not hope that they can stop our struggle. We have nothing to lose anymore," he said. According to Eduard Yeghiazaryan, after the opposition movement removed its tents at France Square in downtown Yerevan, the relatives of the fallen soldiers have moved their tents from Freedom Square to France Square. "We will carry on our struggle to the end, until we punish the culpritthe so-called 'Commander-in-Chief.' (). We do not have any political demands, we just want the murderer of our children to be punished," Eduard Yeghiazaryan concluded. During the time of [then-President] Robert Kocharyan, in November 1998, the country's authorities were negotiating on the basis of the so-called "Common State" plan, which presupposed the presence of Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)] in Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this speaking in the parliament after the report on the implementation of the 2021 state budget of Armeniaand on the negotiation process to resolve the Karabakh conflict. Pashinyan again blamed the former Armenian authorities for all the failures; in particular, noting that in the aforesaid negotiations they were allegedly discussing the possibility of including Karabakh in Azerbaijan. "But now, becoming an opposition, they accuse the [incumbent] authorities of treason. And the fact that Kocharyan, like his supportersincluding [the ARF] Dashnaktsutyun [Party]insist that Nagorno-Karabakh will never be part of Azerbaijan, smells of cunningto put it mildly. Not only did they not rule out the possibility of Karabakh becoming part of Azerbaijan, but they also agreed with the key logic of the negotiation package, according to which Karabakh shall eventually become part of Azerbaijan. Moreover, they thus ignored the declaration of independence of Karabakh adopted on September 2, 1991, as well as the independence referendum held on December 10 of the same year," the Prime Minister said. According to him, after the idea of a "Common State," the issue of exchanging territories appeared on the negotiating table. "The essence of that plan was that Armenia gets Nagorno-Karabakh, and in return it gives Azerbaijan the Meghri region in Syunik Province [of Armenia]," Pashinyan assured. From his point of view, Yerevan's agreement to discuss that option, in fact, indirectly meant that Armenia, perhaps at that time, recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. In 2021, the "radical opposition" developed two main theses. The first was that the Armenian government washed its hands and abandoned Karabakh. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this Wednesday speaking in the parliament after the report on the implementation of the 2021 state budget of Armenia The second thesis, according to him, was based on the fact that the opposition demanded to adhere to a specific resolution: "Karabakh will never be part of Azerbaijan." "The current opposition was attempting to substantiate that this particular policy was implemented during their rule," Pashinyan said. He recalled that today there are people in the ranks of the "radical opposition" who were in power from 1998 to 2018, and they are the ones who push the above-mentioned theses. "In 2021-2022, the budget of Karabakh has increased unprecedentedly, and the assistance provided by the Armenian government has reached unprecedented volumes. () in the post-war period, Karabakh's budget was the largest in its entire history. Karabakh has never had a bigger budget, and Armenia has not provided greater assistance to it," Pashinyan assured. The construction of the north-south corridor is a necessity for Iran and Armenia to establish national and regional security and develop bilateral cooperation, the Iranian Parliament Speaker stressed, Mehr reported. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated this Wednesday during a meeting in Tehran with his Armenian counterpart, Alen Simonyan. During the meeting, Ghalibaf described the visit of his Armenian counterpart to Iran as a good opportunity to develop bilateral cooperation. Saying that relations with neighbors play important role in the foreign policy of the Iranian Government, Ghalibaf underlined, "As we are at a critical juncture in the regional situation, it is necessary to develop bilateral and regional cooperation." The importance of West Asia and the Caucasus region has given a special sensitivity to bilateral relations, Iranian Parliament Speaker said, stressing that in this regard, Iran-Armenia relations are very important. The Islamic Republic's firm stance towards neighboring countries, especially Armenia, is maintaining peace, tranquility, and stability, Ghalibaf further noted. The Zionist regimei.e., Israeland the United States are seeking to disrupt regional security to achieve their own interests, thus, the neighboring countries must pay attention to these issues, he explained. Elsewhere in his remarks, Ghalibaf also described the economy as the most important issue in Iran-Armenia ties. Transportation is the most important economic issue between the two countries, which leads to the exchange of goods and energy and communication between the countries, he said. According to him, the construction of the north-south corridor is a necessity for Iran and Armenia to establish national and regional security and develop bilateral cooperation. Ghalibaf concluded his remarks by expressing hope that the issues and disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be resolved through principled dialogues. Armenia's President of the National Assembly also stressed using the opportunities and capacities of both countries to establish trade and develop economic relations. Armenia has made every effort to accelerate the completion of the North-South Corridor in recent years, he also said, stressing that the President of Armenia put a great emphasis on the issue of the North-South Corridor. The 44-day Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) war in the fall of 2020 had many consequences for Armenia, he also said, appreciating Iran for its stance and its support for maintaining the territorial integrity of the countries. YEREVAN. Vice President Ruben Rubinyan of the Republic of Armenia National Assembly (RA NA) on Wednesday received a delegation, led by President Margareta Cederfelt the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA), which arrived in Armenia on a working visit. Welcoming the guests, Rubinyan valued the cooperation between Armenia and the OSCE PA, the NA informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. Reference was made to the normalization process of RA-Turkey relations. The Deputy Speaker of Parliament of Armenia presented the current situation in the region after the 44-day war, the bellicose statements and actions of Azerbaijan and unsolved humanitarian problems. According to Ruben Rubinyan, despite numerous calls of the international community, Azerbaijan continues using Armenian prisoners of war and other held persons as political hostages. It has been noted that the immediate return of the persons being in Azerbaijan is on the agenda of the Republic of Armenia. The OSCE PA President highlighted the establishment of long lasting peace in the region and the efforts of the Armenian side in the direction. Speaking about the cooperation within the framework of the structure, Margareta Cederfelt highly appreciated the work of the Armenian delegation in the OSCE PA. New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI/PRNewswire): InnoCSR, a South Korean materials technology provider and member of the Born2Global Centre, and Vaidya Group, a leading conglomerate in Nepal that includes construction and real estate development companies, have signed an agreement on their partnership to adopt the Good Bricks System. The Good Bricks System, a non-fired brick manufacturing technology developed by InnoCSR, will be used to help Vaidya fulfill its brick demand on and near its development sites. The adoption plan outlines the establishment of multiple Good Bricks factories in the Bhaktapur, Kavre, and Hetauda areas, where Vaidya Group already has a strong presence. Made from a combination of soil, cement, and soil stabilizer from InnoCSR, Good Bricks surpass both the international standard for brick quality and Nepal's domestic standard for comprehensive strength (CST) and water absorption. InnoCSR has recently partnered with major brick manufacturers and construction companies in different parts of Nepal. InnoCSR CEO Yoonsuk Lee said, "Our partnerships are getting bigger and broader. We are excited to now have a leading real estate developer and respected company as our partner. By having a non-fired brick production site on and near its development sites, Vaidya Group will also be going green and sustainable, not to mention saving cost." Vice President Kiran Vaidya of Vaidya Group commented, "Both organizations aim to make Good Bricks widely available in the market, and the bricks will be standardized in terms of shape and quality under the Good Bricks System and supplied to the market throughout the year. We are going to see a big change in the brick industry in next few years, and Vaidya is excited to be a pioneer of that change." Established in 2008, InnoCSR is a global materials technology firm that aims to introduce "Impact Technologies" that bring about real, positive changes across Asia and beyond. Since the beginning, "Doing Well by Doing Good" has been at the core of the company, which has evolved from a CSR consulting-focused business into a full CSR solutions provider. After years of working with various actors across a wide range of sectors and regions, InnoCSR has come to crystallize its efforts into a proprietary technology called the "Good Bricks System," which offers a revolutionary way for the construction industry to boost productivity while mitigating its harmful environmental impacts. For more information, visit innocsr.com Vaidya Group was founded in 1984 by Kiran Vaidya, the company's current chairman, with the vision of developing Nepal and putting it in a prominent position on the world map. The group has now grown into one of the leading conglomerates in Nepal, with a diverse portfolio of businesses across many industries. Building on this foundation, the group continues to make advancements based on its unique approach, furthering its commitment to build Nepal up one business at a time. For more information, visit vaidya-group.com The Born2Global Centre, operated by Born2Global, is a full-cycle service platform that supports the global expansion of promising companies. Established in 2013 under the Ministry of Science and ICT, Born2Global has been setting the standards for a successful startup ecosystem in Korea and continues to expand and transform startups so that they are engaged, well equipped, and connected with the global market. For more information, visit born2global.com This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire) New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Vijay Singla of JTL Infra announced the adoption of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) within his company, along with voicing concern about increasing focus on the environmental challenges plaguing various countries and communities in the world. He says "from eating habits to spending patterns to social attitudes to challenging regressive customs- there is a rising awareness of how minor changes may make a big difference in society. In the same way, adopting ESG will set slow but definite new carbon expectations for the steel industry." The recent forward-looking Union Budget, as well as the fact that energy transition and climate action are both critical to the economy's long-term viability, are two of the government's development pillars. "The budget continues to give encouragement for growth, particularly in the Steel and mining industry," Vijay Singla, JTL Infra says. According to Saurabh Bhatnagar, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP, EY India National Mining & Metals Consulting Leader "Companies with stronger ESG performance can acquire project finance at a reduced cost, improve resource management, minimize operational risk, and strengthen resiliency against future changes," says the report. When determining the profitability of capital investments, several steelmakers consider the impact of carbon emissions. Adopting shadow internal carbon pricing can aid in the identification of sustainability inefficiencies as well as the economic implications of a low-carbon economy. Vijay Singla strongly feels that JTL Infra must focus on finding solutions, including a collaborative approach, to the difficulties that continue to afflict it. "The steel sector is on the verge of a much-anticipated transformation, with all eyes on ESG," he adds. The actions taken from here on should support that shift. This would include leveraging the power of modern technologies, a necessity highlighted by the epidemic, as well as an emphasis on decarbonization, digitalization, and decentralization. "Today's cutting-edge technology has the capacity to fulfil energy demand while also pushing sustainability," Singla stated. Vijay Singla of JTL Infra is looking forward to embracing the ESG practice within the company and has a few suggestions on how to make it happen. The most important of these is to create an environment with built-in structural incentives that not only encourage but also enable the sector to get comfortable with new technologies. He believes "government green stimulus packages and the global green infrastructure investment push will have a double-edged effect on the metals and mining sector like JTL Infra that helps the company to grow in adversity." Vijay Singla has a strong intuition that digital solutions may assist in boosting productivity, reducing energy usage, reducing waste, and managing pollutants. "Blockchain has the potential to validate the steel value chain's sustainability quotient, providing end-users with verifiable data to analyze their net carbon footprint. Cloud computing may also aid in the creation of more flexible supply networks, while central command and control centres can monitor geographically scattered mine-to-metal value chains," he added. Decisions about sustainability efforts cannot be made solely on the basis of financial expenses to the company. Vijay Singla has figured out a solution, he says, "We must act in the best interests of all stakeholders and be willing to make a fair trade-off between industry, end-users, and the environment. Stakeholder alignment will be important to accelerating the speed of change and enabling the collaboration required to co-develop realistic solutions to complicated issues." Finally, Vijay Singla (JTL Infra) underlined the need for a reliable supply system. He believes that "in the long term, it will establish a win-win paradigm that benefits customers, distribution companies, and franchisees." This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) India's trade deficit widened to a record $24.29 billion in May 2022 from $6.53 billion in the same month last year due to a sharp jump in the country's imports, as per data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday. The merchandise trade deficit in May 2022 is the highest ever monthly gap. On a year-on-year basis, it has surged by 271.96 per cent. The trade deficit has widened sharply due to a jump in the country's imports. India's merchandise imports in May 2022 surged by 62.83 per cent to $63.22 billion in May 2022 as compared to $38.83 billion recorded in May 2021. India's overall exports, merchandise and services combined, rose by 24.03 per cent year-on-year to $62.21 billion in May, the government data showed on Wednesday. The merchandise exports in May 2022 stood at $38.94 billion as compared to $32.30 billion recorded in the same month last year, registering a year-on-year growth of 20.55 per cent. The estimated value of services export for May 2022 is $23.28 billion, which is 30.32 per cent higher as compared with $17.86 billion recorded in May 2021, as per the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. For the first two months of the current financial year, overall exports rose to $124.59 billion, posting 25.90 per cent year-on-year growth. The merchandise exports for the period April-May 2022 rose to $78.72 billion as against $63.05 billion recorded during the period April-May 2021, registering a positive growth of 24.86 per cent. The estimated value of services export for April-May 2022 is $45.87 billion, exhibiting year-on-year growth 27.71 per cent over $35.92 billion recorded in April-May 2021 period. The overall imports, merchandise and services combined, surged by 59.19 per cent year-on-year to $77.65 billion. For the first two months of the current financial year, the overall imports are estimated to be $151.89 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 45.44 per cent over the same period last year. Merchandise imports in May 2022 were $63.22 billion, which is an increase of 62.83 per cent over imports of $38.83 billion in May 2021. Merchandise imports for the period April-May 2022 stood at $123.41 billion as against $84.87 billion during the period April-May 2021, registering a growth of 45.42 per cent. The merchandise trade deficit for April-May 2022 widened to $44.69 billion as against $21.82 billion in April-May 2021, which is an increase of 104.80 per cent. Despite the uncertainty and volatility caused by the war in Europe, the engineering goods exports rose by 12.65 per cent year-on-year to $9.71 billion in May 2022, said EEPC India Chairman Mahesh Desai. "This instills the confidence that the sector is strong enough to withstand the global headwinds and sail through the challenging times. The measures taken by the government to curb rising fuel and steel prices have started yielding positive impact and would help the sector offset part of external challenges," Desai said. "We hope that once the global commodity prices cool down, the engineering goods sector would gain significantly and accelerate the growth engine. It will boost private investment and create more jobs across various levels in the value chain," he added. (ANI) New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI/YourPressBuddy): In India, the concept of Emotional Wellness is still in its nascent state. The pandemic has made us all more aware of the importance of mental health. However, when it comes to taking progressive steps toward mental wellbeing - there are still miles to go. When it comes to kids, the situation is grimmer. According to the Indian Journal of Psychiatry (2019), even before the pandemic, at least 50 million children in India were affected by mental health issues; 80 - 90 per cent did not seek support. The pandemic has worsened it. Months of social distancing and disruption to school life have taken a toll on the mental and emotional health of children nationwide. "People reach out for help only when the problem is already out of hand. Many mental health conditions can be controlled through good self-help techniques in the early stages," says psychologist Neha Cadabam. Neha is the founder of Mindtalk Buddy, a Cadabams Group company focused on creating products for emotional wellness. One of the most recommended self-help habits happens to be journaling. The first study on the benefits of journaling or expressive writing was published in 1986 by Pennebaker & Beal. Since then, a whole body of research has reconfirmed the positive effects of journaling. A paper published by the Cambridge University Press says, "Writing about traumatic, stressful or emotional events has resulted in improvements in both physical and psychological health." The best example of expressive journaling in popular culture would definitely be "The diary of a young girl" by Anne Frank. Written in hiding during world war II, Frank's diary is considered one of the most impactful writing pieces of the 20th Century. "A regular habit of maintaining a journal can go a long way in reducing anxiety and combating depression. It's almost like venting out, and you can speak your mind without worrying about being judged," adds Neha. Mindtalk Buddy is the first Indian company to develop an exclusive range of products for emotional health. All the products are created by a team of psychologists and designed to ensure maximum ease of use. "Currently, our journals are designed for kids. They have been meticulously created keeping in mind a child's ability to express themselves. We have divided the journal into thematic sections like a habit tracker, mood tracker, and gratitude. The themes act as powerful cues for the child to express themselves better. So far, the reviews have been really positive, and parents do see a remarkable improvement in their children's ability to express and analyze." The Mindtalk Buddy team is visibly excited about the early success of the products! The company plans to launch more products not just for children but also for adults. While Cadabam's Group is already India's most renowned private player in the space of psychiatry, it would be interesting to see how their foray into emotional wellness pans out with time. This Story has been provided by YourPressBuddy. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content in this article. (ANI/YourPressBuddy) Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], June 15 (ANI/PRNewswire): The youth of the country must follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mantra of 'Sudhar, Pradarshan aur Privartan' (Reform, Perform and Transform), and actively work for their own bright future and for building a new, prosperous India, said Anandiben Patel, Governor of Uttar Pradesh, while speaking at the Annual Convocation of Chandigarh University held at its Gharuan campus. Asserting that quality education and the skill set of the youth of any country will only transform its future, and decide its progress, Smt Patel urged the passing out students to reap the most out of their best education and a new, brighter future that lies ahead of them. A total of 877 students of the 2021 batch of as many as 5 Management and Law programs were awarded degrees. Smt Patel was the chief guest on the occasion, while Dr Satnam Singh Sandhu, Chancellor, Chandigarh University and senior vice-president Prof Himani Sood along with other officials, were also present on the occasion. In her convocational address, Smt Patel said that every academic year and annual convocation brings with it new challenges and new opportunities. Congratulating the passing out students, she expressed her faith that they will contribute in building 'Naya Samaj aur Naya Bharat' (a new society and a new India). "As we march on to become a knowledge superpower, the youth of this nation must remember and religiously follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mantra of 'Sudhar, Pradarshan aur Privartan' (Reform, Perform and Transform). They must actively work for their own bright future and dedicate themselves for building a new, prosperous India, which will lead the world in all the spheres," said Patel, also the former Governor of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, besides former Chief Minister of Gujarat. Patel said that quality education and the skill set of the youth of any country will decide its progress, and urged the youth to focus all their energies towards creating a new, prosperous, happy and peaceful India. Asserting that the development of any nation or civilisation is decided by its educational institutions, Smt Patel said that the universities, in particular, are the soul of nation, and reflect its progressive, introspective and global outlook. "We need to ensure that every university does well on parameters like Education, research, Capacity building etc so that India's stature rises further, globally," she said. Underlining that education has positive impacts on an individual's point of view, social balance and nation development, Smt Patel said that the rich Indian Education System has got its due in the New Education Policy-2020 while hailing the policy for its overall inclusivity, and a special focus on education in the mother tongue. Smt Patel warned the youth against being satiated with the ordinary and urged them to continue their hard work till they reach the top. Smt Patel noted that Chandigarh being the capital of both Punjab and Haryana has huge responsibility in imparting quality education, and expressed happiness that Chandigarh University has been doing justice to this responsibility. Earlier, Smt Patel conferred degrees upon 877 students of the 2021 batch of 5 different Undergraduate programs. Five meritorious students who topped various courses were awarded Gold Medals including Ajesh Pal Singh from Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Priyanka Yadav from Bachelor of Law (LLB), Isha Mathur from BA-LLB integrated course, Aaina Walia from B.Com-LLB integrated course, and Ruponita Nag from BBA-LLB integrated course. Besides, as many as 11 scholars were also conferred their PhD degrees. Speaking on the occasion, the Chancellor of Chandigarh University, S. Satnam Singh Sandhu congratulated the passing-out students and wished them luck for their future endeavours. "As you begin to start your professional journey, it is expected from you that you all will use your knowledge to fuel your passion and create great things. Think of your parents and the dream they have from you, as you embark on this journey. Do what you do best, find your niche amidst the galaxy of things, and establish your place in the world," he said, adding that he hopes that the graduate students of the university will contribute to the development of the country with their dedication, talent and hard work. The Chancellor also presented a copy of 'Heartfelt: The Legacy of Faith' to Smt Patel. As many as 474 students of Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), 75 of Bachelor of Law (LLB), 176 of BA-LLB integrated course, 74 of B.Com-LLB integrated course, and 78 of BBA-LLB integrated course were awarded degrees in the ceremony. This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire) New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI/ATK): Unified Brainz celebrated the glorious careers of prominent leaders from around the globe, leading by example with resilience, diligence, and perseverance on the occasion of World Environment Day on June 5, 2022. The launch showcased the first edition of the unique dark mode Coffee Table Book, "Who's Who of The World," which was unveiled during its virtual event. This exquisite ceremony saw the presence of trailblazers from various industries who have scaled massive heights of success and have shared their passion journey. As the Chairperson of ACERE cluster of Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC, a renowned business house in Oman which was listed in the Top 100 Family Businesses by Forbes in 2021, Areej Mohsin Darwish is a role model for women in Oman and beyond. Step by step, the charismatic Areej has shattered the glass ceiling. With a keen interest in Information technology, she graduated in Computer Science from Sultan Qaboos University and started her career at Petroleum Development, Oman. She joined the family business 27 years ago and has been playing a key role in MHD's business operations since then. From humble beginnings in 1974, the company was established as an LLC in 1987 under the outstanding leadership of Areej's father, the Late Mohsin Haider Darwish. The Late founder had the keen foresight to envision the economic development of Oman and the business opportunities that would emerge in the process. Diversification is important both for business growth and reducing risks. The company has always aimed at diversification across sectors and brands, and has grown their business lines and expanded their presence across the Sultanate. Today, MHD LLC is associated with renowned global brands such as Jaguar, Land Rover, McLaren, Hongqi, MG, Ford, Ashok Leyland and Michelin. Areej spearheads the Automotive, Construction Equipment, and Renewable Energy (ACERE) division of the business house. Through her visionary leadership, she has driven thoughtful decision-making, motivated teams, and brought about significant change ensuring the organization continues to be on the path of growth and success. Having been surrounded by entrepreneurs, Areej has seen the finer details of growing and managing a business since she was young. Sharing what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur, she says, "As an entrepreneur, we need to carefully plan our business objectives in line with our long-term goals. We need to take calculated risks because if we play it safe all the time, we cannot be assured of growth and success. We need to have an insatiable appetite for growth and development. We need to put our ideas into practice, go ahead with implementing them to the best of our abilities, and then see how it goes. We need to have the courage to make the hard choices." Areej's continuous quest for excellence has seen her bestowed with prestigious awards - '50 Most Powerful Businesswomen - MENA' from Forbes Middle East; Achievement in Business - Arab Women of the Year Awards 2022 'Woman of the Year - Gold winner from Stevie Award, International Businesswomen Award from Harvard Business Council International award, Women of Influence in the Arab World by CEO Middle East and many more. Yet, she believes that the path to success is not a straight line but a curved one with challenges along the way. Ask her how she overcomes her challenges, and she reveals, "I embrace challenges with positivity as I am a very positive person and of the opinion that we can overcome challenges with the right attitude, attuning our perception, and taking the right action. Challenges in life help build our leadership skills. Every challenge is an opportunity to take us and our team to the next level. On the other hand, my personal challenge is to achieve a work-life balance. My aim is to passionately enjoy my profession while maintaining a balance between home and work. As we journey through life, it's my goal to continually focus on my vision for the future." To know more about Areej, check https://whoswho.world/ or to nominate email, info@ubgroup.asia A motivating leader, Areej's aim is to inspire progress that will build meaningful values for the future generation. She believes that in order to be successful we need to build a strong team as people are the greatest asset. She also believes that it's in aiming for the stars that one raises themselves to the height of their potential. This story is provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ATK) Bollywood actor Huma Quereshi was seen in a funny mood as she took to social media and shared some lively pictures of herself, urging everyone to manifest their 'best life. "Manifest your best life. And while the Universe does its magic... continue to be a goofball... PS - no scooters or flowers were harmed during the making of this post." captioned the 'Ishqiya' actor on Instagram. In the first picture, Huma happened to strike a pose with a shiny red-coloured scooter. She looked quite tomboyish with her olive-hued cap and matching light-green gym wear. Huma paired her attire with a grey jacket and white sneakers. The actor accessorized her look by sporting small-studded gold earrings and a simple black watch. [{3f14d84c-cd89-44ee-8f28-531841b58abb:intradmin/huma_1.JPG}] In the next picture, Huma gave off a fun-loving vibe as she pretended to ride the scooter with one leg on the vehicle and another high up in the air. She seemed to be enjoying herself dearly. [{5b3cbeac-1da1-4acc-bddb-dd45e382fb2d:intradmin/huma_2.JPG}] Huma in her third picture clicked a photo with a bouquet of flowers in her hand, held up high, flashing a wide smile. She seemed to be in a jovial mood in the picture. [{e5026bc5-7cba-442d-a8b7-767c03c4e165:intradmin/huma_3.JPG}] Meanwhile, on the film front, Huma will be next seen in a new film titled 'Tarla', where she would feature in the role of India's famous chef Tarla Dalal. 'Tarla' is being directed by Piyush Gupta and produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, and Nitesh Tiwari. Huma Quershi was last seen in the Alia Bhatt-starrer, 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'. The actor was even felicitated with the 'Powerful Women of the Year 2022' award for being one of the women achievers. Women achievers from various fields were presented with this award on the eve of International Women's Day this year. (ANI) Former actor Saira Banu broke into tears after accepting the honourable Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar Award for her late husband and veteran actor Dilip Kumar, on Tuesday, saying that Dilip is 'always with her'. Upon accepting the award on behalf of her late husband, Saira Banu expressed her gratitude saying, "I feel extremely happy. Such a prestigious award for such a legendary person. I think that Dilip Sahab is here today with us and is witnessing this event. I would have been really happy if he was with us here today." Calling Dilip Kumar the 'Kohinoor' of India, Saiba Banu said that, he should be honoured with the Bharat Ratna award. "I wish this happens. Dilip Sahab has been the 'Kohinoor' of India. So why shouldn't a 'Kohinoor' receive the Bharat Ratna? I strongly believe that he should definitely receive the award." said the 'Padosan' actor. Speaking on how Saira Banu keeps the memory of Dilip Kumar in her alive, she said, "I believe in the reality that he is here with me at every step. I will never think that he is not here. It will be easy for me to accept that he is with me and will forever remain by my side, being my pillar of support- my Kohinoor." Saira Banu's undying love for Dilip Kumar was evident as ever since the actor breathed his last in the past year, Saira has kept a low profile. She revealed to a media outlet that she was unable to cope with the loss of her beloved husband. Calling Dilip Kumar an 'extraordinary' man, Saira confessed that she was strongly attached to her husband and 'desperately' needed him in her life. Saira and Dilip had been married for 55 years before the latter passed away on July 7, the previous year owing to a prolonged illness, ending an era in Bollywood. After his death, Saira was also hospitalised due to issues with her blood pressure levels in the same hospital where Dilip had been earlier. In a career spanning nearly six decades, the star had delivered several unforgettable movies and moments that touched the hearts of many.He had worked in three films that were helmed by Ghai. Dilip and Saira's first movie together was 'Vidhata' in 1982 followed by 'Karma' in 1986 and 'Saudagar' 1991. Meanwhile, the 77-year-old Saira stepped into Bollywood with the 1961 film 'Junglee' opposite late actor Shammi Kapoor. She is celebrated for films like 'Padosan' (1968), 'Hera Pheri' (1976), 'Diwana' (1967) and 'Purab Aur Paschim' (1970). (ANI) Actor Rajkumar Rao's recent post in Amsterdam reveals that the actor is waiting impatiently for the release of the official teaser of his upcoming film 'Hit: The First Case'. Taking to Instagram, the 'Newton' actor shared a picture of himself captioning it, "Waiting for HITTheFirstCase teaser, coming out in two days. Until then... no point in waiting, let's do some work. Click some nice pictures when you're in Amsterdam." In the picture, Rajkumar Rao can be seen striking a casual pose against the backdrop of the magnificent Royal Palace of Amsterdam. He wore a quirky graphic T-shirt having colourful patches against a black canvas and matched it with a pair of black joggers. The black sunglasses and black sneakers complimented his look further. Rajkumar Rao has been prepping up for the release of his next movie, 'Hit: The First Case' to hit the theatres on July 15 this year. Helmed by Sailesh Kolanu, the upcoming mystery action thriller is the Hindi remake of the Telugu film of the same name. The original Telugu film starred actors Vishwak Sen and Ruhani Sharma in lead roles. The Hindi remake of the film is a gripping tale of a cop who is on the trail of a missing girl. The producers of this film are Bhushan Kumar, Dil Raju, Krishan Kumar, and Kuldeep Rathore. Meanwhile, on the work front, Rajkumar is shooting for 'Mr And Mrs Mahi' opposite Janhvi Kapoor. The film is directed by Sharan Sharma best known for his direction in the movie 'Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl'. Rajkumar is also a part of Anubhav Sinha's 'Bheed', the sequel to his hit film 'Stree', Abhishek Jain's 'Second Innings', Shrikanth Bolla Biopic, Hansal Mehta's 'Swagat Hai,' and Anurag Basu's 'Life in a metro' sequel. (ANI) The superstar shared his tributes on his official Twitter handle where he shared a poster on the Galwan heroes. He wrote," Long live the legacy of our great heroes of Galwan! May your sacrifices be forever honored as the nation salutes in your memory today. Jai Hind!" On the work front, Mohanlal, who has many projects lined up, for the first time in his career has decided to direct the film 'Barroz: Guardian of D'Gama's Treasure'. He is currently busy with his first directorial and will also be seen in Shaji Kailas's film 'Alone'. Other upcoming projects include 'L2: Empuraan' the sequel of 'Lucifer' Prithviraj Sukumaran's directorial debut film Lucifer. Upcoming thriller 'Monster', by director Vysakh is also lined up for release. (ANI) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a moratorium of three years (2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23) to Cochin Port Authority (CoPA) towards repayment of the balance outstanding GoI loans amounting to Rs 446.83 crore to tide over the financial crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic. The amount was to be repaid in 10 instalments commencing from 2018-19. However, Cochin Port Authority could pay the installments of 2018-19 and 2019-20 only. From 2020-21, the traffic was badly impacted due to Covid-19 pandemic which adversely impacted the cash inflow. As a result, Cochin Port could not pay the installments of 2020-21 and 2021-22. Cochin Port has been brought under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021 with effect from November 2021. The CCEA on August 24, 2016 had approved the proposal for waiver of penal interest on GoI loans taken by Cochin Port for various infrastructural developmental activities during 1936-37 to 1994-95. --IANS ssb/vd ( 197 Words) 2022-06-14-19:50:06 (IANS) Cracking down on those involved in the violence that took place in Ranchi last Friday (June 10), the police have put up their hoardings with the photographs, their names and addresses at major intersections of the city. The step was taken on the instructions of Governor Ramesh Bais. On Monday, the Governor had summoned senior officers of the state including DGP Neeraj Sinha and expressed strong displeasure over the incident. The Governor had asked the DGP to identify the miscreants and put their photographs in public places so that common citizens can give information about them. Ranchi Police has taken prompt action within 24 hours of this instruction. The hoardings and posters put up at major intersections of the city have pictures of more than three dozen miscreants along with their names and addresses. These include the names of Chhotu, Charka, Bichha, Shad, Tagla, Aamir from Hindpiri, Qurban Chowk resident Captain, and Sirajul of Lakdi Pul Gali etc. The pictures of all these accused were captured in CCTV, video and drone cameras during stone-pelting and vandalism on the main road on Friday afternoon. People have been appealed to inform the police about them. The police have so far arrested 15 people in connection with incidents of violence while more than 40 people have been questioned. Seven of those arrested are currently undergoing treatment at RIMS. Police have also taken preventive action under Section 107 against 155 people living in six police station areas of Ranchi. A total of 26 FIRs have been registered so far in this case, in which more than 50 people have been named. Apart from this, more than 1,000 unknown people have been made accused. On the fifth day after the violence, the situation has started returning normal in most areas of the city. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 are still in force in five police station areas of the city. These are -- Daily Market, Doranda, Hindpiri, Doranda, Lower Bazar and Kotwali. The police have now allowed opening of shops in these areas only from 12 noon to 5 p.m. A large number of police forces have been deployed in the sensitive areas of the city. --IANS snc/uk/skp/ ( 377 Words) 2022-06-14-20:36:03 (IANS) Two terrorists, linked with proscribed terror outfit LeT, including a Pakistani, were neutralised in a brief encounter at Bemina area of Srinagar district on Tuesday, J&K Police said. Police said acting on specific information generated by police regarding the movement of terrorists, who had earlier escaped from an encounter in Sopore and were being tracked continuously, in Bemina area, Srinagar police established a special naka near JVC Bemina. "During naka checking, two suspects, while approaching the said naka, were challenged and started indiscriminate firing upon the said naka party. The fire was however effectively retaliated, leading to a brief encounter," a police official said. In the initial exchange of fire, five police personnel received minor injuries and were immediately evacuated to hospital for the treatment of their injuries. "In the ensuing brief encounter, the two terrorists were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter. Incriminating materials including documents were recovered from the possession of both the killed terrorists," the official said. The two have been identified as Abdullah Goujri, resident of Pakistan's Faisalabad, and Adil Hussain Mir alias Sufian alias Musab, resident of Anantnag. "It is pertinent to mention here that the killed terrorist Adil Hussain Mir had crossed over to Pakistan in year 2018 on visit visa from Wagah," police said. Inspector General Police Kashmir zone Vijay Kumar told media that Pakistan-based terror handlers had sent two Pakistani LeT terrorists alongwith Adil Hussain, a resident of Pahalgam area with the directions to carry out attacks on Amarnath Yatra. However, all the three terrorists have been killed now in two separate encounters i.e; one at Sopore and the other two at Bemina. IGP Kashmir appreciated the role of police for tracking and neutralizing the terrorists who had recently escaped in Sopore encounter. He further said it is a big success as they were planning to attack Amarnath Yatra however the prompt and timely action by the police led to the elimination of both the terrorists and thereby averting the possible major threat. Two AK-47 rifles, 10 magazines, 165 live cartridges, Y-SMS device, Matrix sheets, Pakistani medicines etc were recovered from the site of encounter. All the recovered materials have been taken into case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror crimes. --IANS zi/vd ( 399 Words) 2022-06-14-20:42:03 (IANS) A team of eight CBI sleuths, including women officers, grilled Rujira Narula Banerjee, the wife of Trinamool Congress national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, for nearly seven hours on Tuesday in connection with the agency's probe into the coals smuggling case. During the grilling that started at 11.45 am and continued till 6.45 pm, the name of Neeraj Singh, a chartered accountant who's currently absconding, surfaced repeatedly. As per CBI sources, Singh, who is a resident of Howrah, helped the coal smuggling masterminds in transferring funds by hoodwinking the regulatory and monitoring authorities. Recently, the CBI officers came across documents relating to communications between the prime accused in the case, Anup Majhi alias Lala, and Neeraj Singh. These documents gave the CBI officers some clear idea as to how Singh transferred several crores of rupees to different bank accounts as per the instructions of Lala. One such account where money was transferred was traced to Bangkok, which was purportedly held by Rujira Narula. While transferring the amount to this particular account, the Indian currency was converted into Thai Baht. As per CBI estimates, the total financial involvement in this coal smuggling racket was around Rs 1,300 crore. CBI sources said that during her integration on Tuesday, Rujira Narula constantly denied knowledge of the existence of the bank account and also said that she never heard of anyone named Neeraj Singh. While the CBI officers were interrogating Rujira Narula, her husband was in Tripura to attend a by-election campaign rally there. At the rally, Abhishek Banerjee said that the CBI sleuths deliberately tried to stop him from visiting Agartala by aligning the time of his wife's integration with his schedule. "But I am not scared," he said at the rally. However, the CBI officers denied the allegation and said that when they had sought time from Rujira Narula for interrogation last week, her counsel had confirmed this date. --IANS src/arm ( 334 Words) 2022-06-14-20:50:02 (IANS) Prime Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the work of the media and newspapers is to deliver news and educate the masses if there are any lapses in society and the government. "It is their duty to bring such shortcomings to the fore.... But, as much as the media has the right to criticise, it also has an equally important responsibility to bring positive news to the fore," Modi exhorted. He was speaking at the bicentennial celebrations of 'Mumbai Samachar' -- a Gujarati daily, published from Mumbai continuously for the past 200 years and now ranking among the 50 oldest newspapers in the world. In this context, Modi lauded the manner in which journalists worked like 'karmayogis' during the past 2 years of the Corona pandemic which will be remembered forever. "The positive contribution of India's media helped India a lot in dealing with this biggest crisis of 100 years. He also lauded the media's role in promoting initiatives like digital payment and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan," said Modi. The Prime Minister said that this country has a rich tradition that is carried forward through the medium of debates and discussions. "For thousands of years, we have conducted healthy debate, healthy criticism and right reasoning as a part of the social system. We have open and healthy discussions on very difficult social topics. This has been the practice of India, which we have to strengthen," he said. In his address, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray expressed amazement that a Gujarati language newspaper could be published for a staggering two centuries in a state where Marathi is the main language of the masses. "This is the beauty of Mumbai which has assimilated all languages and cultures which thrive here... we also know the challenges and travails of running a newspaper," said Thackeray, lauding 'Mumbai Samachar' for its contributions to the city, state, nation and the overall media, and vowing to start reading it from "tomorrow". On the occasion, Modi released a commemorative India Post stamp on the two-century old paper, which the city's Gujarati-speaking communities comprising Gujaratis, Jains, Dawoodi Bohras, Khojas, Memons and others, swear by. 'Mumbai Samachar' started as a weekly on July 1, 1822 by Fardunjee Marzbanji, and later after several 'avatars', became a daily in 1832, and has been continuously printed and published from its headquarters in the Fort area of south Mumbai for the past 200 years. --IANS qn/pgh ( 413 Words) 2022-06-14-21:22:02 (IANS) The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the 'Agnipath' recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the armed forces. Soldiers recruited under the new scheme will be inducted into the armed forces as 'Agniveers', a new rank as opposed to sepoys who join the Indian Army under the legacy recruitment model. The 'Agnipath' model will foresee the recruitment of personnel below officer rank (PBOR) in army, air force and navy for four years, including six months of training. "The Cabinet Committee on Security has taken a historic decision today to approve the transformative scheme of 'Agnipath'. Under this, Indian youth would be granted an opportunity to get inducted into the armed forces," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said during a media briefing on Tuesday. However, retired Armymen expressed different opinions about the scheme and the short-term involvement of the youth in the armed forces. Talking to IANS, Major General (retd) P.K. Saighal said that the Indian Army is one of the best and most powerful forces in the world. However, he felt that recruiting youth through the Agnipath model for three to four years is not right for the forces. "A person takes around six to seven years to become a complete soldier. But these youth will be out of job before that," Saighal said. Terming those who will be selected through this process as 'tourists', Saighal said they will get just around six months if training which is not enough to understand the essence of Indian Army. "Soldiers risk their lives to serve the country, but why will they take such risks and show courage and patriotism when they know that they will be in the job for just four years," he asked. Saighal added that if they have to work for four years, the last year of their service will be spent searching for another job. "In such a situation, they won't be able to show dedication towards their work," Saighal said. Speaking to IANS, Major General (retd) Ashok Kumar said, "The Agnipath scheme is important and useful for both the armed forces and the nation. The forces will get younger candidates, bringing down the average age of the units from around 32 years at present to 26 years." "Those selected for enrolment in the armed forces as regular cadre will have better skills to operate weapons, lead the units and enhance the capabilities for future wars," Kumar told IANS. --IANS avr/arm ( 416 Words) 2022-06-14-21:24:02 (IANS) "The tenure of R.C.P. Singh in the Rajya Sabha is ending on July 7 and as the party has denied him ticket again, he should resign from the Narendra Modi government. "As the party has not given any responsibility, it's up to him to decide what he wants to do," Kushwaha said. His statement came as the JD-U expelled four senior leaders including party state spokesperson Ajay Alok, state General Secretaries Anil Kumar and Vipin Kumar Yadav, as well as Jitendra Niraj - all deemed to be close to Singh. Singh has already said that it's up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to decide his fate, and is trying to keep him happy. As earlier in the day, the PM said that 10 lakh jobs will be provided in the government in the next 18 months, he immediately issued a video statement, congratulating Modi. --IANS ajk/vd ( 184 Words) 2022-06-14-21:30:04 (IANS) The Madhya Pradesh unit of SP said that it will also appeal to the state Assembly to terminate Shukla's membership. The state leadership also said that it will discuss the issue with SP's national President Akhilesh Yadav. SP's Madhya Pradesh unit chief Ramayan Patel, while responding to Shukla jumping the ship to BJP, accused the BJP of using money power to lure MLAs from opposition camps into its fold. "Rajesh Shukla has been expelled from SP's primary membership for indulging in anti-party activities and joining hands with the BJP. We will also take action against him after discussing the matter with our top leadership," Patel said. Earlier on Tuesday, Shukla along with a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA and an Independent legislator joined the BJP in Bhopal in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Shukla was elected from the Bijawar Assembly constituency in Chhatarpur district. With his switch to the saffron party, SP no longer has any legislator in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly. The two other legislators who joined the saffron camp on Tuesday are Sanjeev Kushwaha (BSP) from Bhind and Rana Vikram Singh, an Independent MLA from Susner. The trio joining the BJP becomes significant as the move came just a month ahead of the Presidential elections scheduled on July 18. The BJP presently has 127 legislators in the state Assembly. --IANS pd/arm ( 269 Words) 2022-06-14-21:58:03 (IANS) "Rahul's condition is stable now. The doctor of the ambulance told that in the primary examination, BP, sugar, and heart rate are normal and the lungs are also clear. Apollo Hospital has all the preparations, in a while the ambulance will reach Bilaspur," tweeted the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister's office. The young boy from Chhattisgarh, Rahul Sahu who fell into a borewell in Pihrid village of Janjgir-Champa district was successfully rescued after over 100 hours of operation. Sahu was safely extricated around midnight on Tuesday. Around 150 officials were deployed for the rescue operation. "We have won, our team has won. It was a challenging situation. We were given all kinds of assistance from the administration. CM Bhupesh Baghel was continuously monitoring the situation. We're taking Rahul directly to Apollo hospital in Bilaspur," Collector Janjgir, Jitendra Shukla told ANI. The rescue operation was jointly carried out by the Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and District Administration. "It was a very challenging operation. Rahul could be successfully rescued because of the joint efforts of the team members. It is a huge success for all of us. Around 25 Army officials were deployed here," Army Personnel, Gautam Suri told ANI. Sahu who fell into a borewell in Pihrid village of Janjgir-Champa district was successfully saved after over 100 hours of a rescue operation. (ANI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin condemned the Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s questioning of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and called it an outrageous act of political vendetta against the Congress party. "I condemn the outrageous act of political vendetta against Congress party and its leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi by the ruling BJP government using the Enforcement Directorate," tweeted Stalin. He took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stating the parties should lock horns politically and 'not by forcing ED'. "Having no answers to the pressing issues of the common man, BJP uses such diversionary tactics to save itself from the public ire. Political opponents should be fought politically, not by 'forcing' the Enforcement Directorate," he said in another tweet. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday left the ED office in Delhi after the second consecutive day of questioning in the National Herald case and has been asked to appear for the third day of questioning. The 51-year-old senior Congress leader reached ED headquarters around 11.07 am along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi and was deposed before the investigators shortly after his entry into the building. The former Congress president, a Z+ category protectee of the Central Reserve Police Force after the Union government withdrew the Gandhi family's Special Protection Group cover in 2019, was asked again to join the probe as investigators were not satisfied with the answers he gave to them during questioning on Monday, said official sources. As per the sources, the Congress leader will be again questioned about the ownership of Young Indian Private Limited (YIL) by the Gandhi family and its shareholding in Associate Journals Limited (AJL), the company that runs the National Herald newspaper. Investigators will also question about the circumstances under which AJL was acquired by YIL in 2010, making it the owner of all assets owned by the National Herald newspaper. The National Herald, started by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was published by the AJL. In 2010, the AJL, which faced financial difficulties, was taken over by a newly-floated YIL with Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda as directors, both of them Gandhi loyalists. In a complaint in the Delhi High Court, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy accused Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul Gandhi, and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds. Officials familiar with the probe said Rahul Gandhi is being asked questions about the takeover of the AJL by YIL since the Gandhis have stakes in the latter. The central anti-money laundering probe agency is expected to confront the Congress leader with the documents about alleged irregularities later in the day. The Lok Sabha member from Wayanad in Kerala is being questioned under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED also learnt to record the statement of Rahul Gandhi to know about the incorporation of the YIL, the operations of the National Herald and the fund transfer within the news media establishment. The ED is also investigating the financial transactions as well as the role of party functionaries in the functioning of AJL and YIL.National Herald is published by the Associated AJL and owned by YIL.It is also learnt that the ED will take the written statement of Rahul Gandhi statement under Section 50 of the PMLA. (ANI) The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday quoting 'Manusmriti', made an observation that there are no gods before parents and one can not pay them back. The bench made the remark while looking into the habeas corpus petition. "There are parents who sacrificed everything for their children. There are children who have given up everything for their parents," the court further stated. The father of a 19-year-old engineering student had filed a petition, stating his daughter is missing. The father also pleaded with the court to hand over the custody of his daughter to him. The daughter, an engineering student, has married a driver. The bench headed by Justice B. Veerappa and Justice K.S. Hemalekha stated that love is blind and parents' love is not seen. "What had been done to parents might also happen to the children tomorrow," the bench said, adding: "When there is lack of mutual love, circumstances like this come up." The bench after making these remarks dismissed the habeas corpus petition filed by the father underlining that the daughter is not a minor, and she has the right of choice. The court said the girl has stated before the court that she is an adult, and has married the person whom she loves. Her husband also gave an assurance to the court that he will take care of her properly. --IANS mka/pgh ( 238 Words) 2022-06-14-22:42:03 (IANS) In wake of the Centre announcing 10 lakh government jobs in next one and half years, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain what happened to his promise of 2 crore jobs per year made in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. "Narendra Modi had made a written promise to provide 2 crore regular jobs per year. In the last 8 years, this government has not fulfilled its promise. Now, the Prime Minister is verbally extending a job promise of just 10 lakh in the next one and half months," the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly said. "I must say that the comparative analysis of their 'Baaten' (talks), 'Vaade' (promises), 'Jumle' (gimmicks), 'Bhashans' (speeches) and 'Iraade' (intention) is needed. There is no limit to their lies. The double engine government of Narendra Modi is claiming to provide 10 lakh jobs in one and half years and the Bihar government during the 2020 Assembly election promised to give 19 lakh jobs. The 10 lakh jobs of the Centre is part of the 19 lakh jobs of the Bihar government or not?" he asked. Tejashwi Yadav also asked the Modi government to clarify whether these would be regular or contract basis jobs and also clarify about taking fee for the examination or not. --IANS ajk/vd ( 234 Words) 2022-06-14-22:42:05 (IANS) With Gujarat set to go to the polls later this year, tension was brewing in Ahmedabad's Isanpur area on Tuesday with residents of some societies threatening to boycott the polls after several constructions there were reportedly demolished. 'Boycott Elections' banners were hoisted in some societies of Isanpur where the residents demonstrated against the ruling BJP government. The protesters levelled serious allegations of intimidation by the police and corporators. The locals were protesting against the Lambha Board TP 54 project for which about 40 structures in five societies were demolished to make way for the new TP scheme. The locals said that no notice of any kind was served to them, while the local corporator was also not willing to listen to them. "We tried to talk to local corportor Mansinh Solanki, but he did not receive our calls, nor did he reply to our messages," said a protester. Nainesh Gajjar, a local resident, told IANS that constructions were demolished without serving any prior notice. "The corporator has done this to us to benefit the builder who has a scheme in front of our society. Many of us are daily wagers or have small businesses or private jobs. We can not afford a new house nor can we afford to go to call on the administration every day. They have made 40 families homeless just to benefit a builder," Gajjar said. --IANS asmita/arm ( 244 Words) 2022-06-14-23:02:03 (IANS) Deputy Superintendent of Police, Jivba Dalvi, told IANS that the Collector of North Goa, Mamu Hage, had ordered the sealing of this spa in Anjuna. This is the second such action taken by the authorities. Last week, Dalvi along with the police had raided a spa named Alga Centre. "Based on the report submitted by the Anjuna police, the spa was ordered for sealing by Collector Mamu Hage," Dalvi said on Tuesday. The Goa police has launched a crackdown against illegal massage parlours operating in the state following the order from Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to take action against illegal massage parlours. Sawant had said that police inspectors of the respective areas will be held responsible if illegal activities are found taking place in the name of running massage parlours. --IANS sanjay/arm ( 166 Words) 2022-06-14-23:12:01 (IANS) Assam's NRC (National Register of Citizens) Coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma has filed another FIR with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption wing of Assam government alleging corruption and money laundering by former NRC state co-ordinator Prateek Hajela, officials said on Tuesday. Dev Sarma, who is also the Secretary of the Home and Political Department of the Assam government, had filed the first FIR with the CID against Hajela accusing him and few others of criminal and anti-national activities. In the second FIR filed on Monday, the incumbent NRC Coordinator in his complaint said that the then state coordinator was aware of the fact that a sub-contractor was being used to provide Data Entry Operators (DEO) though he did not officially approve the proposal of System Integrator (SI) for engaging M/S Integrated System and Services. The SI was paid Rs 14,500 to Rs 17,500 per month per DEO by the NRC authority, but the DEOs got only Rs 5,500 to Rs 9,100 per month during 2015 to 2019 even the DEOs were denied the minimum wage as per the Minimum Wages Act, and as per a provisional audit report, the Accountant General, Assam has observed that "the difference of margin ranged from 45.59 to 64.27 per cent was exorbitant and audit assessed that undue benefit of Rs 155.83 crore was allowed to SI and labour contractor after allowing 10 per cent reasonable profit margin to the contractor". "Undue benefit to the tune of Rs 155.83 crore is a huge amount and it is reasonable to suspect that kickbacks and money laundering must have occurred in the process. During my investigation it came to light that one Proloy Seal worked as a middleman in the whole process. He was neither an employee of the office of the state coordinator nor was he a contractor engaged by the office. But his presence was seen always in the office. It is suspected that he was the key person in managing all the kickbacks and money laundering," said the complaint available with IANS. As per the audit report there was avoidable expenditure to the tune of Rs 10.73 crore in connection with the engagement of Third-Party Monitoring Consultant (TPMC). "Further, as per the amended Delegation of Financial Power (DFP) Rules, for expenditure of more than Rs 5 crore, the state coordinator should obtain approval of the Empowered Committee headed by the Chief Secretary or from the Registrar General of India. As the audit report observed that 'entire expenditure of Rs 10.73 crore made against the engagement of consultants was unjustified and avoidable which resulted extra burden to the government exchequer and undue benefit to the SI to that extent, it is suspected that the TPMC was used to siphon off government money showing works against the same scope of work allotted to the Project Management Oversight of SI, the complaint said. In view of Dev Sarma's first complaint, a case was registered in the CID department of the state. The complaint had stated that in the NRC updating exercise, the "Family Tree Matching" procedure was adopted to check fraudulent practices used to make false linkage claims with persons residing in Assam in the pre-1971 era. Since the NRC updating exercise involved large manpower, there was a provision for the quality checks to avoid erroneous entries in the NRC before the 'Family Tree Matching' was introduced. But, the procedure did not have any quality check system. Dev Sarma in his first complaint said that the software was deliberately designed to avoid quality checks. He accused Hajela of intentionally doing this which in turn gave free hands to some officials for including doubtful citizens in the NRC list. According to Dev Sarma, this can be seen as an anti-national act affecting national security. Hajela was also accused of violating a Supreme court order in 2018 which did not permit the NRC state coordinator to review the office verification of documents already completed for 24,89,745 people. But the letter to CID had said that Hajela allowed the review exercise defying the top court directive. To update the 1951 NRC in Assam, the statutory notification for starting the Supreme Court-monitored exercise was issued in December 2013. The draft list was published in August 2019, excluding 19.06 lakh out of 3.3 crore applications for lack of adequate documents for establishing their Indian citizenship. --IANS sc/pgh ( 736 Words) 2022-06-14-23:28:03 (IANS) "A total of 29 people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence in Ranchi on Friday, 10th June," said Ranchi Police. Earlier on Tuesday, the police arrested 6 people in the case. "All 6 persons arrested are named accused in the case. These accused are brought to Kotwali PS from different parts of Ranchi and interrogation is going on," said Superintendent of Police in Ranchi Anshuman Kumar. A protest erupted in Ranchi after Friday prayers on June 10 against the controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad made by suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled leader Naveen Jindal. Two people died and several others sustained injuries as the protest turned violent. (ANI) "One of the killed terrorists has been identified as Jan Mohd Lone of Shopian. Besides other terror crimes, he was involved in recent killing of Vijay Kumar, Bank manager on June 2 in Kulgam district," tweeted the Kashmir zone police. The banker, Vijay Kumar, was a resident of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan and was working in Kulgam. The banker was shot dead by terrorists in daylight. The Jammu and Kashmir police killed two terrorists in an encounter that broke out in the Kanjiular area of Shopian on Wednesday. The terrorists were linked with the proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) "ShopianEncounterUpdate: 02 terrorists linked with proscribed #terror outfit LeT killed. Identification being ascertained. Further details shall follow," tweeted the Kashmir Zone Police. Jammu and Kashmir police and security forces had jointly conducted the operation. (ANI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday rejoined Enforcement Directorate's ongoing investigation in connection with an alleged money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper for the third consecutive day. The Lok Sabha member from Wayanad in Kerala arrived at ED headquarters at around 11.42 am accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi has been questioned for over 20 hours since Monday when he was deposed before the ED investigators in the case for the first time. As per official sources, the Congress leader, a Z+ category protectee of the Central Reserve Police Force after the Union government withdrew the Gandhi family's Special Protection Group cover in 2019, has been confronted with several documents collated by the ED as evidence recovered so far in the case to get his version. Rahul Gandhi has been questioned in detail about the ownership of Young Indian Private Limited (YIL) by the Gandhi family and its shareholding pattern in Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the company that runs the National Herald newspaper, said sources. Investigators in the ED, sources said, have also questioned Rahul Gandhi to describe the circumstances under which AJL was acquired by YIL in 2010, making it the owner of all assets owned by the National Herald newspaper. The National Herald, started by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was published by the AJL. In 2010, the AJL, which faced financial difficulties, was taken over by a newly-floated YIL with Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda as directors, both of them Gandhi loyalists. In a complaint in the Delhi High Court, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy accused Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul Gandhi, and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds. Officials familiar with the probe said Rahul Gandhi is being asked questions about the takeover of the AJL by YIL since the Gandhis have stakes in the latter. The Congress leader is being questioned under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED also recorded the statement of Rahul Gandhi to know about the incorporation of the YIL, the operations of the National Herald and the fund transfer within the news media establishment. The ED is also investigating the financial transactions as well as the role of party functionaries in the functioning of AJL and YIL. National Herald is published by the Associated AJL and owned by YIL. The ED has also taken the written statement of Rahul Gandhi under Section 50 of the PMLA. Congress leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal were earlier questioned in the case. Rahul Gandhi's mother Sonia Gandhi is scheduled to appear before the ED on June 23. She was admitted on Sunday to the Ganga Ram Hospital following post-Covid complications. There is allegations that AJL was founded in the 1930s to print National Herald and had 5,000 freedom fighters as shareholders. AJL is now in Gandhi family ownership. AJL declared in 2008 that it won't print newspapers anymore and will enter real estate. In 2010, a new firm called YIL is incorporated with Rs 5 lakh and with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi among other Congress leaders as directors. It pledges to do charity but does none till 2016, as per allegations. It is also alleged that AJL's 9 crore shares (99 pc of all) are transferred to YIL, and that Rahul Gandhi alone holds 75 per cent shares while Sonia and other senior Congress own the rest. There is another set of allegations that Congress gave AJL Rs 90 crore loan which Congress writes off in lieu of alleged ownership of AJL assets worth Rs 2,000 crore. However, Congress claims that the loan was given to pay the salaries of AJL staffers and to save National Herald and that YIL is a not-for-profit company and its ownership still vests with AJL. "YIL can't pay dividends to shareholders and not a penny has moved. How can there be money laundering without any money changing hands." The case to investigate alleged financial irregularities under the PMLA was registered about nine months ago after a trial court took cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe carried out on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013. Swamy had approached the court alleging that the assets of AJL were fraudulently acquired and transferred to YIL, in which Sonia Gandhi and her son owned 38 per cent shares each. The YIL promoters include Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. 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 Congress. Congress argued that YIL was a not-for-profit company under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 that can neither accumulate profits nor pay dividends to its shareholders. Calling it a case of political vendetta, senior Supreme Court advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi had said, "This is truly a very weird case -- an alleged money laundering case on which summons are issued with no money involved." 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 PMLA. While Kharge is the CEO of YIL, Bansal is the Managing Director of AJL. All roads leading to the ED office in central Delhi are still barricaded by the police amid heavy deployment of Rapid Action Force personnel and Delhi Police. The Delhi Police has imposed provisions of Section 144 CrPC to prohibit assembly and entry of people on roads leading to the ED headquarters in Pravaratan Bhawan on A P J Abdul Kalam Road where some youth Congress workers protested and were manhandled by police while trying to push barricades a few minutes after Rahul Gandhi joined the probe on Tuesday. The police detained all the protesters and bundled them in separate buses to take them away from Central Delhi. (ANI) This came after unidentified hackers gained access to the website of Thane Police in Maharashtra and uploaded a message allegedly regarding religious minorities, the police said on Tuesday. Later, on Tuesday afternoon, the website got restored. Maharashtra Cyber Additional Director General of Police Madhukar Pandey on Tuesday said they have informed CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team), the nodal agency of the Central government for dealing with cyber threats, and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) about "the defacement incident." Protests erupted in various states including Punjab, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh over the controversial remarks on religious minorities made by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled leader Naveen Jindal. Notably, some Gulf nations expressed outrage against the controversial remarks against the Prophet. The country has been witnessing protests. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday asked the police heads of states and Union Territories to be prepared and alert as they will be on target. On Friday, MHA issued a statement to all state and Union Territory police after several incidents of violence. A senior MHA official informed that they sent alerts to all state and Union Territory police to remain vigilant as they can be targeted during the violence. (ANI) Ahead of an Opposition parties' meeting called by TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Miniter Mamata Banerjee, leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said that candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections cannot be elected without the Congress. Banerjee has on Wednesday called a meeting to forge a consensus for fielding a joint candidate against the NDA in the Presidential election. Aam Aadmi Party has decided to skip the meeting, sources said today. Speaking to ANI today on this development, Kharge said, "Electing a candidate (for the upcoming Presidential elections) can't happen without Congress as we have nearly 50 per cent votes. But, we will still go to the meeting to fight together... as we don't want to break the unity. We want to fight against BJP." Kharge further said, "Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and many big leaders aren't participating. We want unity and a unanimous (Presidential) candidate." Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Banerjee met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at his residence in Mumbai separately to try and convince him to be the common opposition candidate for the top constitutional post. Pawar, however, has turned down the proposal, sources in the Opposition camp said. The West Bengal Chief Minister is in the national capital for the meeting aimed to explore the possibility of formulating a common strategy with other Opposition parties for the Presidential polls. Several Opposition leaders will take part in the meeting called on Wednesday by Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee to discuss Presidential polls to put up a united fight against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. The Presidential elections will take place on July 18 and the results will be declared on July 21. Other leaders who would take part in the meeting include former minister HD Deve Gowda and his son and Janata Dal (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, Rashtriya Lok Dal's Jayant Chaudhary and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti. MK Stalin's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will be represented by TR Baalu while Shiv Sena's Subhash Desai will attend the meeting. Samajwadi Party and National Conference will also attend the meeting. Sources said Congress will also participate in the meeting to be held at the Constitution Club. Congress leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh, and Randeep Singh Surjewala are likely to attend the meeting. Banerjee has also sent an invitation to former BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal but it is unlikely to attend the meeting. Communist Party of India general secretary D Raja on Tuesday said that Left parties are likely to attend the meeting. CPI-M and other Left parties are rivals of the ruling TMC in Bengal.Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal, which has been invited, is unlikely to attend the meeting. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is likely to send a representative even as party leader K Chandrashekar Rao is keen to forge an anti-BJP alliance. KCR is likely to float a new political party at the national level as part of efforts to play a key role in national politics soon. Banerjee had earlier written a letter to 22 leaders, including Left parties, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and chief ministers of opposition-ruled states. (ANI) In this regard, the Bihar Primary Education Director in a letter to Bihar School Examination Committee said the Centre is regularly conducting the CTET exams, so the department has decided not to conduct the STET exam in 2022. Notably, the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) is conducted every year by the Centre. Hence, the Bihar government felt that there is no need of conducting the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) separately from the state government. As per the letter from the Bihar Primary Education Director, the Bihar government said the decision will be taken after considering the need-based Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). The Ministry of Education under the Government of India has entrusted the responsibility of conducting the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) to the Central Board of Secondary Education Delhi. (ANI) The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who had bonded with Mamata Banerjee over their common goal of defeating the BJP, opted out of the Opposition meeting this morning, raising strong objections to the Congress being invited. "The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) will not be attending the Opposition party leaders' meeting going to be held in New Delhi, called by Mamata Banerjee to frame a joint strategy for the Presidential polls," informed Krishank, TRS leader and Telangana State Mineral Development Corporation (TSMDC) Chairman. Sources close to the Chief Minister's Office told ANI, "It is very likely that Chief Minister KCR has decided not to send his representative also to today's opposition meet called by Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Delhi." "Earlier, it was decided that TRS will send a representative to today's meeting as KCR will be busy owing to prior commitments," sources said. One of the TRS leaders told ANI on anonymity, that TRS doesn't want to share the dais with the Congress party. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has on Wednesday called a meeting to forge a consensus for fielding a joint candidate against the NDA in the Presidential election. Aam Aadmi Party has decided to skip the meeting, sources said today. "Aam Aadmi Party will not participate in the meeting of Opposition parties to be held today regarding the Presidential Elections. AAP will consider the matter only after the Presidential candidate is declared," sources said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Banerjee met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at his residence in Mumbai separately to try and convince him to be the common opposition candidate for the top constitutional post. Pawar, however, has turned down the proposal, sources in the Opposition camp said. The West Bengal Chief Minister is in the national capital for the meeting aimed to explore the possibility of formulating a common strategy with other opposition parties for the Presidential polls. Several opposition leaders will take part in the meeting called on Wednesday by Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee to discuss Presidential polls to put up a united fight against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. The Presidential elections will take place on July 18 and the results will be declared on July 21. (ANI) With an aim to maintain peace in violence-hit areas of Jammu and Kashmir, the curfew imposed on Thursday under Section 144 continues for the sixth consecutive day in Bhaderwah town of Doda district. Internet services also remain suspended and heavy security forces still remain deployed in the region. Restrictions imposed in Ramban and Kishtwar regions are being relaxed in a phased manner. Amrikwal Sheikh, a small-time tea shop owner in Bhaderwah, appeals for immediate relaxation of the curfew. Speaking to ANI, he said, "My business will suffer and I have nothing left at home. It has become difficult for us to survive and make ends meet. I appeal to the people to let go of these things and think of the poor. We are starving to death. Please don't make the circumstances harder for us. I appeal to each and everyone to live and let live." The tensions prevailed on Thursday after a purported video went viral in which instigating announcement was being made from a mosque in Baderwah, Jammu. Following this, a case was registered at Bhaderwah Police Station. Police Media Centre Jammu said, "Action has been taken under the law. A case has been registered at Police Station Bhaderwah. Anyone who takes the law into their hands will not be spared." According to officials, the situation is under control and is being carefully monitored. (ANI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal jointly flagged off Volvo bus services from Jalandhar in Punjab to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi on Wednesday. Mann describes it as a revolutionary step to curb the transport of the mafia. Seven Volvo buses will ply daily from Jalandhar bus stand to Delhi airport. Likewise, similar buses will also move from Amritsar, Pathankot, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Patiala and even from Chandigarh daily to the airport for facilitating the passengers. With the plying of these buses, the passengers will get a comfortable, luxurious and cheap travel to IGI airport at a meagre price, claimed Mann. The booking of those buses can be done online three months prior to the travel, and also offline at the counters six months ahead of the journey. "This is a historic occasion when the Punjab government has fulfilled its promise to the people by ending the monopoly of the private transporters and introducing cheap and luxury travel to IGI airport at merely Rs.1,170, thereby stopping loot of people", said Kejriwal while addressing the gathering in Jalandhar. Squarely blaming the successive Congress and Akali governments for not plying government buses to the airport, he said that their vested interests prohibited them from doing so. Mann said that the transporter leaders of both these parties minted the money illegally by not allowing government buses to operate on this route, allegedly promoting the transport of the mafia. He also said that these people monopolised the trade and exploited the people. Kejriwal claimed that the AAP-led government will take every initiative to safeguard the interests of Punjabis and eliminate all sorts of mafia or monopolisation from the state, vowing to make Punjab a gangster-free land. He said that gangster culture was nurtured by the Akalis and Congress who openly patronised these criminals. He claimed zero tolerance for the same and added that now that the patronisation of these gangsters has ended, they will soon be behind bars. He rendered the AAP-led government to be an "honest one", giving the rare example of putting its own Minister behind bars on charges of corruption to wipe out this menace and work for the welfare of the people. "I ask the Opposition, has Mann sahib brought gangsters with him? These gangsters were born under previous governments. No one can protect gangsters, and anti-national elements", he said. He iterated that a new era of unproven development and growth is being witnessed within three months of the formation of the AAP government, something that the previous governments couldn't do over many years. Punjab Transport Minister Laljeet Singh Bhullar also addressed the gathering, terming the day historic and claiming that this service would prove helpful to lakhs of NRIs of Punjab. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot informed that the Volvo buses of Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC would arrive directly at the airport terminals. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal paid tributes to Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh at the statute of the great martyr inside the Bus Stand premises. Cabinet Ministers Lal Chand Kataaruchak, Dr Baljeet Kaur, Harbhajan Singh, Harjot Bains and Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal along with several MLAs were also present on the occasion. Prominent amongst others present on the occasion included Additional Chief Secretary to CM A Venuprasad, Special Principal Secretary to CM Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori, Commissioner of Police GS Sandhu, and Additional Special Principal Secretary to CM Himanshu Jain. (ANI) Leaders of several opposition parties met here on Wednesday to discuss forthcoming presidential elections and urged Sharad Pawar to be the joint candidate but the senior NCP leader declined the offer. The meeting adopted a resolution to field a common candidate in the election slated for July 18. The meeting was called by Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. "Several parties were here today. We've decided we will choose only one consensus candidate. Everybody will give this candidate our support. We will consult with others. This is a good beginning. We sat together after several months, and we will do it again," she said after the meeting. The meeting was attended by leaders from 17 opposition parties. It coincided with the date of notification for the presidential polls. "In today's opposition meeting, all parties proposed the name of Sharad Pawar for presidential poll, but he said he cannot take this up now due to his health. All parties requested him to reconsider his decision," CPI leader Binoy Viswam told ANI. Sudheendra Kulkarni said opposition parties are keen on a candidate "who can truly serve as custodian of the constitution and stop Modi government from doing further damage to Indian democracy and India's social fabric". Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party did not participate in the meeting which was held at the Constitution Club. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) led by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao did not send a representative to the meeting. Congress participated in the meeting along with 16 other political parties. Apart from TMC, Congress and NCP, the parties which attended the meeting included CPI, CPI(M), CPIML, RSP, Shiv Sena, RJD, SP, National Conference, PDP, JD(S), DMK, RLD, IUML and JMM participated in the meeting held at the Constitution Club of India here. The polling for the presidential election is slated for July 18 and votes will be counted on July 21. (ANI) The accused has been identified as Kalyani Singh, posted as an Assistant Professor at a Post Graduate Government College in Chandigarh. On September 20, 2015, Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, also known as Sippy Sidhu, a national-level shooter was shot dead at a park in Sector 27 in Chandigarh. CBI had registered a case on April 13, 2016, at the request of the Chandigarh Administration and had taken over the investigation related to the murder of Sukhmanpreet Singh on the night of September 20, 2015 in Sector 27 in Chandigarh by unidentified persons. The shooter had started his own Law firm in the name of /s Sippy Sidhu LLB at Mohali (Punjab). During further investigation, the alleged involvement of the accused came forth in the case. Accordingly, she was examined and arrested. The arrested accused was produced on Wednesday in the Court of Special Judicial Magistrate, Chandigarh and remanded to four days of police custody. (ANI) Delhi's Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana visited the new office building of the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC) and Special Police Unit for North-Eastern Region (SPUNER) to interact with Northeast students at Nanakpura, Moti Bagh, New Delhi on Wednesday. On his visit, he interacted with a group of 50 North-Eastern students who were studying in Delhi and also felicitated 10 'Good Samaritans', who had helped the North-Easterns in Delhi. The Samaritans hailed from diverse fields such as Government Service, Indigo Airlines, Social Workers, Cemetery Associations, Hospitals and Ambulance Services. In conversation with the Police Commissioner, the Northeast students called for the sensitization of Delhi Police personnel towards the problems being faced by them due to cultural differences and their difficulties in interacting with the Delhi police. Asthana assured them that all their concerns would be addressed by Delhi Police and also encouraged them to enrol and join the 'Police Mitra' programme of Delhi Police. Under the initiative 'Police Mitra' or 'Friends of Police' introduced by Delhi Police, civilian citizens are responsible for tying up with the police staff to look after the law and order, traffic and crowd management, the safety of women prevention of crime and informing about suspected elements around their area. The ID cards provided to 'Police Mitras' give them the authority to help the police in fighting crime without any salary. A cultural programme in the form of 'Bihu Song' of Assam was also conducted by a group of students from the North-Eastern States. Other senior officers, including Special Commissioners, Joint Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners of Police, also graced the occasion. (ANI) Union Minister Rajnath Singh has spoken to Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee among other opposition leaders for the upcoming presidential election even as Opposition parties today after a meeting convened by the West Bengal chief minister announced that they will put up a consensus candidate. According to sources, Rajnath also spoke to Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav earlier today and sought their opinion on candidates for the July 18 presidential elections. However, the three leaders have asked the government to declare the BJP-led NDA's nominees for the Presidential election. Congress's Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile said that he has asked by party chief Sonia Gandhi to speak to other party leaders to arrive at a consensus on a joint candidate. "Congress will play a constructive role in ensuring that a consensus is reached over candidate's name. Let's be proactive, not reactive. Congress has no particular candidate in mind, will sit with others to arrive at a name acceptable to all," Kharge said. Leaders of 17 political parties joined a crucial meeting of opposition parties convened by Mamata Banerjee to build consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the NDA in the presidential election here. "Several parties were here today. We've decided we will choose only one consensus candidate. Everybody will give this candidate our support. We will consult with others. This is a good beginning. We sat together after several months, and we will do it again," TMC leader Mamata Banerjee said after the meeting. CPI MP Binoy Viswam who participated in the meeting said that Mamta Banarjee had proposed NCP's Sharad Pawar's name as the Presidential candidate of the Opposition. Pawar did not accept that proposal. TMC, Congress, CPI, CPI(M), CPIML, RSP, Shiv Sena, NCP, RJD, SP, National Conference, PDP, JD(S), DMK, RLD, IUML and JMM - participated in the meeting held at the Constitution Club of India here. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) led by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao did not send a representative to the meeting. The presidential election is slated to be held on July 18 and votes will be counted on July 21. (ANI) After the massive flood and landslides in several districts of the state in May, Assam is once again hit by the incessant rainfall. With the rainfall on Wednesday, the Dima Hasao district of the state has been facing floods and landslides. While the district administration, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the State Public Works Department are engaged in the restoration works to repair the damaged roads in the district, rain waters have flooded many parts and have submerged the roads. According to the reports, the torrential rains have triggered several landslides in many parts of the hill's district. The S-Curve or S-Turning road near the N Leikul village has been blocked as it faced a landslide and several vehicles were struck by the soil debris. The Haflong-Harangajao road has also been blocked as the river level has risen up to the highway road. Meanwhile, in the Tamulpur district, more than 7,000 people were affected after several villages here submerged in the flood waters. The water level of the rivers Borolia, Pagladiya, and Motonga rose due to the regular rain showers for the past couple of days. The flood waters of several rivers in the Tamulpur have submerged several villages including Kekerikuchi, Dwarkuchi, and Bodoland Chowk and have inundated the cropland area of thousand bighas in the area alongwith the roads. Four people were killed in a landslide in Guwahati on Tuesday. Many people in the area have also been forced to leave their homes and are now taking shelter in safer places after the flood waters entered their houses. One of the locals affected by the natural calamity in Tamulpur said, "Flood waters have entered my house and many villagers are now facing massive problems." The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall in several districts of the state till Friday (June 17) and following this, in the interest of public safety, the Deputy Commissioner of the Dima Hasao district, who is also the Chairman of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), has ordered the closure of all educational institutes in the district from June 15 to June 18. The Deputy Commissioner has asked the Gaon Burhas (Pradhan/Head) of all villages, Officer-in-Charge/In-Charge of all police station/outposts of the district to share the information related to the damages due to natural disasters with the District Disaster Management Authority office at 03673-236324, 03673-1077/ 9435530412, so that they could take necessary action. In May, the hill district witnessed massive devastation in floods and landslides in which the road connectivity in the district was badly affected. Unprecedented rainfall in the last month caused large-scale destruction in the hill district by flood and landslide, where more than 500 families were rendered homeless and three, including a child, had lost their lives due to the landslide. Besides, as many as 32 people (27 in flood and 5 in a landslide) were killed in the first phase of the flood till May 28. (ANI) As part of the BJP's reach out to various parties in the NDA as also in opposition for the presidential poll, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday spoke to Janta Dal-United leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. As per the sources, the Defence Minister who is also the Deputy Leader of BJP in Lok Sabha, spoke to Nitish Kumar this morning for building a consensus on the candidate for the upcoming presidential elections. Sources said it was conveyed to Nitish Kumar that an attempt is being made to put up a consensus candidate. It is also being reported that Kumar has assured that his party will be supporting the candidature as proposed by the BJP-led NDA. The discussion over the presidential election was initiated last month when Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had visited Bihar and met Kumar. The Bihar Chief Minister had earlier scotched speculation about the possibility of his being a candidate and had said that he was not in the presidential race. BJP and JD-U had together won the last assembly polls in Bihar. Apart from Nitish Kumar, Union Minister Rajnath Singh has already spoken to Naveen Patnaik of Biju Janta Dal and also to the YSRC leadership. Singh has also spoken to Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee as well as Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Sources said that this is the initial round of discussion. BJP had announced on Sunday that Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda would coordinate with political parties for presidential polls. Leaders of several opposition parties met here on Wednesday to discuss forthcoming presidential elections and urged Sharad Pawar to be the joint candidate but the senior NCP leader declined the offer. The meeting adopted a resolution to field a common candidate in the election slated for July 18. The meeting was called by Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The presidential poll will be held next month. (ANI) Former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday expressed shock at the order of the state government to select only Hindi-speaking students for tours of other states and called it a "betrayal of Kannada". The JD(S) leader alleged that the Central as well as the state governments are involved in the "heinous act of ignoring Kannada students during school excursions" and warned of protest if the order is not withdrawn. "BJP governments in the Centre and the State which are conspiring for 'One Bharat, One Language' policy are involved in heinous act of ignoring Kannada students during school excursion. This is inexcusable and condemnable," Kumaraswamy tweeted. "The government has chosen only Hindi speaking High School and PUC students to send for other State tours under the programme 'One Bharat, Shreshta Bharat' organised as part of Amrit Mahotsav of Independence," the JD(S) leader added in his tweet. However, State Education Minister BC Nagesh said that neither the state nor the Central government gave any indication that the knowledge of Hindi or English is compulsory for the students travelling from Karnataka. "As part of the commemoration of the Independence Day of India, the central government and the state government have not given any indication that Hindi / English language knowledge is compulsory for students travelling from Karnataka. Disciplinary action will be taken by the department against the officer/staff responsible for this confusion," Nagesh tweeted. Kumaraswamy, citing the media reports alleged that the order of the Bengaluru DDPI stated that only "those students who speak Hindi should be selected". "I am shocked to read media reports on an order issued by the Bengaluru DDPI that only those students who speak Hindi should be selected. This order is a heinous betrayal of Kannada," he tweeted. The former chief minister held the Education Minister responsible for the "catastrophic order" and asked if such an order can be possible without the government's knowledge. "The State government and the education Minister are directly responsible for this catastrophic order. Can there be such an order without the government's knowledge? This is a mirror to this ignorant government," he tweeted. Alleging "oppression" of the people of Karnataka since the BJP came to power at the Centre and in the state, Kumaraswamy said that "this is an effort to uproot Kannada and ensure disappearance of Karnataka's pride". "Kannada and Karnataka are caught in butchers' hands. We need to protect our Kannada from this stranglehold of those patronising Hindi," he tweeted. Kumaraswamy demanded the withdrawal of the order and warned of taking to the streets to protest if action is not taken on the issue. "The officer who issued such a betrayal order should be transferred and the order must be withdrawn. Kannada students must be compulsorily selected for the tour programme. Otherwise, we have to get on to streets and protest," he tweeted. (ANI) 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. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who attended the meeting of opposition parties on presidential polls on Wednesday, made an apparently cryptic remark saying he was in the process of talking to like-minded parties to field a common candidate and Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee convened the meeting. Emphasising that Congress will play a constructive role in ensuring that the opposition parties arrive at a consensus candidate, he also said parties opposed to the ruling BJP must remain "united and disciplined and not score political points against each other". He said the unity opposition parties display will have implications beyond the presidential poll. Congress and Trinamool Congress are rivals in Bengal and Tripura. There was also sparring between the two parties in the Goa assembly polls earlier this year. Mamata Banerjee, who is keen to bring opposition parties together against the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, had not met Congress leaders during her visit to Maharashtra last year to meet leaders of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Mamata Banerjee's decision to convene a meeting of opposition parties on presidential polls is also being seen as a move to emerge as an anchor of the larger grouping opposed to the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. After Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked him to hold talks with opposition parties earlier this month on fielding a common candidate in presidential polls, Kharge had met NCP chief Sharad Pawar. In his remarks at the meeting of opposition parties on Wednesday, Kharge said after the notification for the Presidential elections was released, Sonia Gandhi had asked him to speak to leaders of various parties "opposed to the divisive and destructive policies of the RSS/BJP to explore the possibility of a joint candidate". "I had been in touch with a number of you. Now Mamataji has convened this meeting," he said. "I want to right away say clearly that the Congress party will play a constructive role in ensuring that the parties assembled here this afternoon arrive at a consensus candidate in the next few days. Let us be proactive and not be reactive. The Congress Party has no particular candidate in mind. It will sit together with all of you and arrive at a candidate acceptable to all," he added. He said the consensus candidate "should be someone committed to upholding the Constitution of India, its values, principles and provisions in letter and spirit, someone committed to guaranteeing that all institutions of our democracy function without fear or favour, someone committed to protecting the rights of all our citizens and preserving the secular fabric of our diverse society, someone committed to speaking out boldly against the forces of prejudice, hatred, bigotry and polarization and someone committed to being a powerful force for furthering social justice and empowerment". Kharge, who is Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said many opposition parties compete with each other in assembly polls but have come together for the meeting and that the spirit should continue. "I am aware that many of the parties around this table compete with each other in assembly elections. But that has not prevented this meeting from taking place. Each one of us has taken a larger national view and come here for a bigger cause. Let this spirit continue," he said. "This is all I wish to say for the moment. Let me close by saying that we must remain united and disciplined and not score political points against each other. The unity we demonstrate now will have implications going well beyond the presidential polls," he added. Kharge had said before the meeting of opposition parties that candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections cannot be elected without the Congress. Voting for presidential elections will take place on July 18. (ANI) Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday reviewed the security situation in the Kashmir valley. He arrived in Srinagar for a three-day visit from June 15 to June 17, during which he is scheduled to visit forward posts on the Line of Control (LOC) and the hinterland. The Army Commander, accompanied by Lt Gen ADS Aujla, Chinar Corps Commander, visited various locations and formations in the hinterland today. According to an official statement by the Defence PRO, Dwivedi was briefed on the counter-terrorism grid, development works and the current security situation in the Union Territory and also reviewed security and operational preparedness for Amarnath Yatra. Prior to him, Director General of police of the Union Territory Dilbag Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had also reviewed the pilgrimage slated to begin on June 30. The Yatra will culminate on August 11. Later, Dwivedi held a detailed briefing with all the stakeholders and appreciated the efforts being undertaken for a peaceful and incident-free Yatra. Earlier in the day, he also addressed the media on the contours of the 'Agniveer' initiative of the Armed Forces. 'Agnipath' is a pan India merit-based recruitment scheme for enrolling soldiers, airmen and sailors. The scheme provides an opportunity for youth to serve in the regular cadre of the armed forces. All those recruited under the 'Agnipath' scheme will be called 'Agniveers'. During his interaction with the troops over tea, he complimented the soldiers for the conduct of just-held operations with precision and ensuring zero collateral damage. He was also appreciative of the excellent Soldier-Citizen connect activities, which resulted in the overall reduction of the terrorist recruitments in the valley. He was later briefed by Lt Gen ADS Aujla, GOC Chinar Corps on the overall security situation and measures instituted to counter adversaries' design at the Chinar Corps Headquarters later in the day. (ANI) Mir Shafiqa, who recently resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party Jammu and Kashmir unit, has stirred up a controversy by her remarks in a video against Hindu practices and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The leader said idol worship by Hindus was wrong and alleged that the UP CM was an extremist. "The one who tries to destroy Islam will themselves get destroyed. Those who tampered with Islam themselves got destroyed. Note what I am saying. If I am arrested, I am ready for it. The Hindus will have to be made to understand that worshipping idols is wrong. We believe in Allah and we are not scared of anybody. Allah is with us. We are not scared of FIRs, arrests or even capital punishment. We will keep talking about rights," she said. Calling for Muslim unity, Shafiqa claimed that the community is getting "weakened" because of division within. "I am even miffed with the Kashmiri Muslims that we are not together. All the Muslims will have to get united. The Muslims are getting weakened because we are divided," she added urging the Muslims to unite. In another incident of alleged hate speech, Maharashtra Congress leader Sheikh Hussain who has been charged in a police FIR filed in Nagpur for his alleged offensive comments against the Prime Minister on Wednesday said that he does not regret his statement and that his party will fight against any action taken against him. Speaking to ANI, Hussain said, "I have not said anything that an FIR should have been registered. I delivered the speech based on the party line. The last sentence that I said, I used an idiom. There are so many things that are said as idioms, I just said that." He also said there was nothing "regrettable" about his remark. "I have said nothing regrettable. Our leaders are being served ED notices everyday. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been summoned. Aren't there people in the BJP? And the people who switch from BJP to Congress are given ED notices, while the opposite is happening when someone switches from Congress to BJP," he said. "If there will be action, we will see how our party fights against it. The party will fight. I did not speak anything derogatory. I did not make any personal remark," the Congress leader said. (ANI) Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday declined the Opposition leaders' proposal to become the candidate for election of President of India. Taking to Twitter, he wrote, "I sincerely appreciate the leaders of opposition parties for suggesting my name as a candidate for the election of the President of India, at the meeting held in Delhi. However, I like to state that I have humbly declined the proposal of my candidature." Leaders of several opposition parties met here on Wednesday to discuss forthcoming presidential elections and urged Sharad Pawar to be the joint candidate but the senior NCP leader declined the offer. In another tweet he added, "I am happy to continue my service for the well-being of the common man." The meeting adopted a resolution to field a common candidate in the election slated for July 18. The meeting was called by Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The meeting was attended by leaders from 17 opposition parties. It coincided with the date of notification for the presidential polls. "In today's opposition meeting, all parties proposed the name of Sharad Pawar for presidential poll, but he said he cannot take this up now due to his health. All parties requested him to reconsider his decision," CPI leader Binoy Viswam told ANI. Sudheendra Kulkarni said opposition parties are keen on a candidate "who can truly serve as custodian of the constitution and stop Modi government from doing further damage to Indian democracy and India's social fabric". Congress participated in the meeting along with 16 other political parties. Apart from TMC, Congress and NCP, the parties which attended the meeting included CPI, CPI(M), CPIML, RSP, Shiv Sena, RJD, SP, National Conference, PDP, JD(S), DMK, RLD, IUML and JMM. They participated in the meeting held at the Constitution Club of India here. The polling for the presidential election is slated for July 18 and votes will be counted on July 21. (ANI) The opposition BJP in Telangana on Wednesday sought intervention of Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan in rendering justice to those displaced by the Gauravelli project in Siddipet district. The BJP also demanded action against the police officers who 'perpetrated brutalities on the innocent villagers of Gudatipally'. A delegation of BJP leaders led by state party president Bandi Sanjay Kumar met the governor at the Raj Bhavan to make a representation. They demanded that evacuees should be paid compensation under suitable Rehabilitation and Resettlement package by the state government. The BJP alleged that the police resorted to indiscriminate lathi-charge on the land evacuees of Gauravelli-Gandipalle project in Husnabad assembly constituency in Siddipet district after midnight of June 13. More than 500 police personnel swooped on Gudatipalli village at around 3 a.m., cut the power supply, barged into the houses of the evacuees, pulled them out and resorted to lathi-charge indiscriminately, it said It alleged that the police roughed up the people without sparing even children, women and elders. They did not follow even the basic norm of deploying women police while arresting women. "Many villagers were injured in the police attack and several women had fallen unconscious. On the following day (June 14), when the villagers were staging a silent and peaceful protest, the police instigated the Telangana Rashtra Samithi workers against them. Instead of coming to the rescue of peaceful protesters, the police caned them again, injuring many of them," the memorandum said. The BJP delegation took seven of those injured to Raj Bhavan "The only crime committed by these villagers was to ask for a R&R package as per law. Though the villagers made it clear to the government that they were not against the project and all that they wanted was proper compensation, the police did not heed to their appeal and assaulted them indiscriminately," said a memorandum submitted to the governor. The governor was told that more than 1,000 evacuees have been fighting for justice for several years. In the meantime, some of the minors have grown into majors and became eligible for compensation. Even the old people have not got their R&R package. Many issues pertaining to land evacuation still remain unresolved. --IANS ms/skp/ ( 377 Words) 2022-06-15-19:14:02 (IANS) The nurses wrote to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accusing medical superintendent Deepak Maravi of indecent behaviour, especially during the night shifts, and demanded action in the matter. Taking note of the allegations levelled by the nurses of the biggest state-run hospital in Madhya Pradesh, the government has ordered an inquiry into the matter. State Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang confirmed with mediapersons that a complaint has been received against Deepak Maravi following which a probe has been ordered. "The probe will be conducted by divisional commissioner Gulshan Bamra," Sarang said. Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) has served a notice to the Commissioner (Health) of the state government seeking a reply within 10 days. The opposition has also raised this issue and demanded an inquiry into the matter. State Congress chief and former Chief Minister Kamal Nath said, "An incident of indecent behaviour with 50 nurses in Bhopal's prestigious Hamidia Hospital has come to light. This is a very serious matter related to the safety of women at the workplace." Citing the recent incident in Bhopal wherein the face of a woman was slashed for standing up to eve-teasers, Kamal Nath said, "Madhya Pradesh tops the country when it comes to crimes against women and minor girls. Even little girls are not safe. Is it good governance? Is this good law and order?" --IANS pd/arm ( 260 Words) 2022-06-15-19:48:06 (IANS) A sharpshooter of the Neeraj Bawania gang, who was planning a big incident in the national capital, was arrested by the Delhi Police, an official said on Wednesday. The accused, identified as Aatish alias Lala (23), a resident of Delhi, was involved in several cases of murder, attempt to murder and public firing. Sharing details, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka district) M Harsh Wardhan said information was received on June 13 that a criminal wanted in murder cases and many attempt to murder cases was roaming in the area of Chhawla police station. Subsequently, a raid was conducted near Samta Enclave Goyla Dairy and the accused was arrested. One country-made pistol and three live cartridges were recovered from his possession. "He was about to execute some incident on the direction of his gang leader and that has been averted," the DCP said. Sharing a brief history of the accused, the DCP said he was first arrested in an attempt to murder case. "In jail, Lala came in contact with members of Neeraj Bawania gang. After release from jail, he murdered Pradeep Sansi as Pradeep had murdered his brother. He has been absconding in this case. Lala carried out several firing incidents to terrorise people for extortion etc," said the official. --IANS uj/uk/bg ( 223 Words) 2022-06-15-20:02:04 (IANS) A day after JD-U sacked four leaders belonging to the R.C.P. Singh camp, one of the expelled leaders, Jitendra Niraj, said on Wednesday that he will launch a 'Party Choro' campaign across the state. JD-U's state unit chief Umesh Kushwaha issued a notice on Tuesday expelling Niraj from the primary membership of the party for alleged anti-party activities. "I was in Delhi when I learnt about the development. The party did not issue any show-cause notice before sacking us. It was an unfortunate decision. We were ground workers of the party who always looked to strengthen the organisation. We were working on the lines of 'Party Jodo', but and from now on we will start a 'Party Choro' campaign," Niraj said. Niraj also compared Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with 'Dhritarashtra', who couldn't see anything. Besides Niraj, the JD-U on Tuesday sacked state spokesperson Ajay Alok, Anil Kumar and Vipin Kumar Yadav. "We will not tolerate anyone violating party discipline. Those who present a different ideology before party workers and the public will face action," Kushwaha said. He added that R.C.P. Singh should resign from the post of Union minister, saying: "If he goes against the party, our top leadership will initiate action against him." The Rajya Sabha tenure of R.C.P. Singh is ending on July 7. Since the party did not give a ticket to him, he will not be eligible to retain the post unless the Prime Minister extends his tenure by six months. --IANS ajk/arm ( 260 Words) 2022-06-15-20:12:03 (IANS) Congress leader and senior lawyer Vivek Tankha on Wednesday issued notices to Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for using the Enforcement Directorate as a 'tool of political vendetta,' amid the ongoing interrogation of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by the probe agency for the third consecutive day. In the notices issued on behalf of the legal cell of the All India Congress Committee, Tankha urged the government to desist from illegal disclosure of information by the ED pertaining to Rahul Gandhi. "The Indian National Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi will never bow down to this kind of abuse of process and threats and will fight to protect the constitution and the freedom enshrined in it till the last breath," read the notice. The notice contended that the case that has been foisted is utterly hopeless and has no basis in law. It stated that the ongoing probe in connection with the Associated Journals Ltd. began in 2013/14 on a complaint by Subramanian Swamy, a person well known for his animosity towards the Gandhis. "It is shocking that a case of money laundering is being probed where no transfer of money or assets is involved," it said. It stated that there is no allegation that money has either been laundered or that proceeds of crime exist. No predicate offence has been made out either. The reality is that the government changed the head of the ED in 2015 precisely because the view within the agency was that there is no case of money laundering and that the case ought to be closed. Emphasizing the cooperation from Rahul Gandhi in the matter, the notice alleged that some media outlets broadcast news against him saying, "Rahul Gandhi not cooperating with the ED." The media publishes statements that outrightly hold the suspect or the accused guilty even before such an order has been passed by the court, it said. It said the ED and the Government should stop this charade and sham investigation and in the meantime cease and desist from leaking false information to media houses selectively. The notice added that three notices were issued to ensure the ED should immediately stop spreading false narratives about Rahul Gandhi for ulterior political motives, and as a tool to settle political scores. --IANS jw/bg ( 404 Words) 2022-06-15-20:36:03 (IANS) After a firm 'no' by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar, the NCP on Wednesday officially expressed its gratitude to all the 17 major Opposition parties for unanimously recommending his name as the candidate for the upcoming Presidential election. "I sincerely appreciate the leaders of Opposition parties for suggesting my name as a candidate for the election of the President of India at the meeting held in Delhi. However, I would like to state that I have humbly declined the proposal of my candidature," Pawar tweeted on Wednesday evening. He has also requested all the Opposition leaders to consider more names as potential candidates for the country's top post when they converge again in Delhi on June 21. "A joint meeting of the united Opposition was called by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee to discuss and unitedly recommend one name as the Opposition's candidate for the post of the President of India. NCP thanks all the 17 political parties who unanimously recommended the name of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar as the Opposition's candidate," NCP's chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said in Mumbai. He said it was gratifying that all the Opposition parties felt that Pawar's candidature was the "most suited for the President's post owing to his long political experience and unshakable faith in the Indian Constitution". The leaders were also optimistic that Pawar's name would find favour with many other political parties who are currently with the BJP, said Tapase, reiterating the NCP's known official stance on the issue since the past few months. Nevertheless, Maha Vikas Aghadi ally Shiv Sena remains a strong proponent for the NCP supremo as a united Opposition nominee for the top Constitutional office with Sena MP Sanjay Raut even saying "Pawar will not be a rubber-stamp President". --IANS qn/arm ( 313 Words) 2022-06-15-20:42:03 (IANS) Within 24 hours of the announcement of the scheme, protests have started in Jaipur as youth preparing for army recruitment tests gathered in large numbers and blocked the Delhi-Ajmer highway, raising slogans against the Agnipath scheme. The protesters blocked the highway for more than an hour, leading to 2 km-long traffic jams on both sides, much to the dismay of the commuters. Later, the police had to intervene to remove the road blockage. The Union Cabinet had on Tuesday approved the Agnipath recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the armed forces. Soldiers recruited under the scheme will be inducted into the armed forces as 'Agniveers'. The 'Agnipath' model will foresee the recruitment of personnel below officer rank (PBOR) in army, air force and navy for four years, including six months of training. --IANS arc/arm ( 180 Words) 2022-06-15-21:56:03 (IANS) The MLC elections from four teachers' and graduates' constituencies threw up mixed results for Karnataka's ruling BJP, as it won only the West Teachers' constituency while the opposition Congress bagged the North-West Teachers' constituency. The results of South and North-West Graduates' constituencies are yet to be announced as counting is underway. Congress leader and former minister Prakash Hukkeri defeated young BJP leader Arun Shahapur, who was aspiring to register a third consecutive win, in the North-West Teachers' Constituency The result is a setback for the BJP which had ridiculed the age and educational qualifications of Hukkeri, and comes in a region considered its strong bastion. Among 33 constituencies, BJP has 22 MLAs. Former Speaker Basavaraj Horatti has registered his 8th consecutive win from the West Teachers constituency. It was a do or die situation for Horatti who had joined the BJP from the JD-S recently. In South Graduates' constituency. Madhu G Madegowda of Congress is leading ahead of former MLC M.V. Ravishankar of the BJP and H.K. Ramu of the JD-S. North-West Graduates' constituency is seeing a direct faceoff between BJP' Nirani Hanumant Rudrappa and Congress' Sunil Annappa Sanak. The BJP, buoyed by winning 3 seats in Rajya Sabha elections, is upbeat about performance in these elections to the upper house of the state legislature. A total of 2.84 lakh voters formed the electoral college for these polls and voting was held across 607 polling stations. North-West Graduates constituency saw 50 per cent polling, South Graduates 70 per cent, North-West Teachers 80 per cent and West Teachers constituency saw a turnout of 84 per cent, according to the statistics provided by the Election Commission. While the BJP and Congress contested all seats, while the JD-S did not contest in North-West Graduates constituency. The results are decisive for the BJP to hold the majority in the 75-member Legislative Council. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had involved himself in extensive campaign exercises for BJP candidates. Ruling BJP held 2 and JD-S held 2 seats earlier. The elections are also seen as run up to the upcoming Assembly elections. --IANS mka/vd ( 358 Words) 2022-06-15-22:20:03 (IANS) The use of artificial intelligence (AI) for war has been a promise of science fiction and politicians for years, but new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology claims to show the value that AI can automate only a limited subset of human judgment. "All of the hard problems in AI really are judgment and data problems, and the interesting thing about that is when you start thinking about war, the hard problems are strategy and uncertainty, or what is well known as the fog of war," said Jon Lindsay, an associate professor in the School of Cybersecurity & Privacy and the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. "You need human sense-making and to make moral, ethical, and intellectual decisions in an incredibly confusing, fraught, scary situation." AI decision-making is based on four key components: data about a situation, interpretation of those data (or prediction), determining the best way to act in line with goals and values (or judgment), and action. Machine learning advancements have made predictions easier, which makes data and judgment even more valuable. Although AI can automate everything from commerce to transit, judgment is where humans must intervene, Lindsay and University of Toronto Professor Avi Goldfarb wrote in the paper, "Prediction and Judgment: Why Artificial Intelligence Increases the Importance of Humans in War," published in International Security. Many policymakers assume human soldiers could be replaced with automated systems, ideally making militaries less dependent on human labor and more effective on the battlefield. This is called the substitution theory of AI, but Lindsay and Goldfarb state that AI should not be seen as a substitute, but rather as a complement to existing human strategy. "Machines are good at prediction, but they depend on data and judgment, and the most difficult problems in war are information and strategy," he said. "The conditions that make AI work in commerce are the conditions that are hardest to meet in a military environment because of its unpredictability." An example Lindsay and Goldfarb highlight is the Rio Tinto mining company, which uses self-driving trucks to transport materials, reducing costs and risks to human drivers. There are abundant, predictable, and unbiased data traffic patterns and maps that require little human intervention unless there are road closures or obstacles. War, however, usually lacks abundant unbiased data, and judgments about objectives and values are inherently controversial, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. The researchers argue AI would be best employed in bureaucratically stabilized environments on a task-by-task basis. "All the excitement and the fear are about killer robots and lethal vehicles, but the worst case for military AI in practice is going to be the classically militaristic problems where you're really dependent on creativity and interpretation. But what we should be looking at is personnel systems, administration, logistics, and repairs," Lindsay said. There are also consequences to using AI for both the military and its adversaries, according to the researchers. If humans are the central element to deciding when to use AI in warfare, then military leadership structure and hierarchies could change based on the person in charge of designing and cleaning data systems and making policy decisions. This also means adversaries will aim to compromise both data and judgment since they would largely affect the trajectory of the war. Competing against AI may push adversaries to manipulate or disrupt data to make sound judgment even harder. In effect, human intervention will be even more necessary. Yet this is just the start of the argument and innovations. "If AI is automating prediction, that's making judgment and data really important," Lindsay said. "We've already automated a lot of military action with mechanized forces and precision weapons, then we automated data collection with intelligence satellites and sensors, and now we're automating prediction with AI. So, when are we going to automate judgment, or are there components of judgment cannot be automated?" Until then, though, tactical and strategic decision-making by humans continues to be the most important aspect of warfare. (ANI) India on Tuesday welcomed the appointment of two female judges - Farimata Sanou Toure of Burkina Faso and judge Margaret deGuzman of US to the judicial roster of International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. Dr Kajal Bhat, Counsellor/Legal Adviser in India's Permanent Mission to the UN speaking at the UNSC meeting on International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) said, "We welcome the appointment of judge Farimata Sanou Toure of Burkina Faso and judge Margaret deGuzman of US to the judicial roster of the Mechanism. The appointment of female judges to the Mechanism is a positive step to gender parity at the highest levels in UN bodies." President Carmel Agius presented the Mechanism's twentieth progress report, as well as its fourth review report, to the United Nations Security Council. President Agius emphasised the Mechanism's substantial reduction of judicial workload in recent years, and he reported that following the delivery of the appeal judgement in the Fatuma et al. case later this month, there will be only two main cases left. In this regard, the President explained that the Stanisic and Simatovic appellate proceedings remain on track to be completed by June 2023, while in the Kabuga case the Trial Chamber issued its decision yesterday concerning the accused's fitness to stand trial and commencement of proceedings accordingly. "The residual mechanism is in line with the mandate of the Security Council and has played an important role in supporting the concerned member states in addressing issues related to impunity, justice and reconciliation. In this context, my delegation appreciates Judge Carmel Agius for his able stewardship as President of IRMCT and for ensuring that the mechanism remains on track and continues to deliver," said Dr Bhat. She also commended the Mechanism efforts made towards ensuring business continuity to the extent possible under extraordinary circumstances. "The coordination between the three principles organs - Chambers, Prosecutor and Registry in ensuring fulfilment of the mechanism, result-oriented mandate deserves appreciation," said the Indian representative. "We are hopeful that these efforts will positively help in adhering to the timelines laid down for case completion. We reiterate the importance of implementing of the mandate by Mechanism strictly in accordance with the principles of justice, impartiality and fairness. We acknowledge the progress made, either judicial matters during the reporting period such as the variation of protective measures, access to confidential materials for use in cases before domestic jurisdictions and relocation of acquitted and released persons," added Dr Bhat. She also highlighted the work of the prosecutor's office in its other residual functions and said that India looks forward to early resolution of the impasse posed in the context of acquitted and released persons relocated to the Republic of Nigeria. "This is a humanitarian issue that needs to be addressed with urgency and sensitivity," said Dr Bhat. The Indian representative further welcomed the efforts made by the Mechanism towards resolving their predicament. "We firmly believe that the situation can be successfully addressed by collective use of Mechanisms - political, diplomatic and administrative efforts. The Mechanism should continue to make headway in its remaining residual functions, including protecting victims, and witnesses, cracking the remaining fugitives of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda, extending assistance to national jurisdiction and managing the archives of the ad hoc tribunal and the Mechanism," she added. President Agius underscored the major recent advances in the tracking of fugitives of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). (ANI) Tirumurti met US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Australian Ambassador Mitch Fifield, and Japanese Ambassador Kimihiro Ishikane. "Following the Quad Leaders' Summit in Tokyo, @UN Ambassadors from the Quad (Australia, India, Japan & the United States) met again in New York today. We discussed ways to strengthen the rules-based international order and reinforce efforts at the UN to tackle global challenges," tweeted Tirumurti. All four nations find a common ground of being democratic nations and common interests of unhindered maritime trade and security. Amid reports of China and Russia coming closer, the US has planned to "enhance cooperation, engagement, strategic and economic ties" with its Quad partners. As competition continues between China and members of the Quad, it will be critical to find ways to creatively engage in ways that mitigate risk. Members share a vision of an open and free Indo-Pacific. Each is involved in the development and economic projects as well as in promoting maritime domain awareness and maritime security. It is one of the many avenues for interaction among India, Australia, Japan and the US and should not be seen in an exclusive context. There is a general understanding that the Quad would not take on a military dimension against any country. The strategic community in China, nevertheless, had branded it an emerging "Asian NATO". Notably, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe's "Confluence of Two Seas" address to the Indian Parliament gave a fresh impetus to the Quad concept. This recognised the economic rise of India. (ANI) "I have no personal enmity or tussle with Pervez Musharraf. I do not want anyone else to suffer the traumas that I have to endure for my loved ones," the three-time prime minister stated on Twitter. Nawaz added that he is praying for the health of the former dictator, adding that if he wishes to come home, then the government should facilitate his return, reported Geo News. Hours before Nawaz's tweet, Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar also said that the military leadership believes that the former army chief should return to Pakistan. "We have contacted his family. Once his family responds, we can make the required arrangements," the military's spokesperson said as he prayed for Musharraf's speedy recovery. Musharraf, 78, is critically ill these days as he is suffering from a condition called amyloidosis, his office said Friday. Last week, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) -- the political party established by Musharraf -- said that he was taken back to his residence after three weeks of being admitted to the hospital, refuting the news of his death or him being on a ventilator. (ANI) The Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) in a statement to the media condemned the violent attack of Pakistan forces on the peaceful vigil of the families of forcibly disappeared persons and other peaceful protesters in Karachi. The FBM has urged the international community to take notice of the violence of the Pakistani forces against Baloch women and children adding that, "the world should realize that Pakistan has illegally occupied Balochistan and to sustain its illegal colonisation, Pakistan is resorting to inhuman and brutal violence against the Baloch nation and rampaging international laws." The Karachi police on Monday night arrested dozens of protesters, including women, who were staging a sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly against the abduction of the two missing students. According to Pakistan media reports, authorities' heavy-handed approach against Baloch protesters went viral on social media as people call for action to be taken against police brutality. The spokesperson of the Free Balochistan information department said that the case of Balochistan is similar to that of East Timor's occupation and forcible annexation to Indonesia in 1975. It also declared East Timor its 27th province. Like Today's Pakistan in Balochistan, Indonesia had resorted to violence and killed thousands of people in East Timor to maintain its occupation. Pakistan occupied Balochistan in 1948 and has been involved in atrocities against Baloch ever since, read the statement. The spokesperson further explained that the violence perpetrated by Pakistan includes enforced disappearance of Baloch people, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial murder, in-custody torture and murder and fake encounters in which hundreds of unarmed Baloch have been killed in cold blood. The latest indiscrimination against Baloch students and racial profiling of Baloch youth at Education centres in Punjab has brought Pakistan's hatred against Baloch people to a new level, added the statement. Pakistani forces' brutalities against families of enforced-disappeared persons have become a common occurrence in Balochistan. The spokesperson said that the current situation in Balochistan and the oppression of Baloch people by Pakistan call for international attention and intervention in Balochistan to stop Pakistan's atrocities. FBM statement further maintained in 1978 the then Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser recognised East Timor's annexation by Indonesia and termed it de facto and later the Australian-led peace forces intervened and liberated East Timor from Indonesia. The Baloch people expect the international community to act like Malcolm Fraser and Australia and intervene in Balochistan to stop Pakistani aggression and atrocities on Baloch people and help the Baloch nation to free itself from the yoke of Pakistan's tyranny and occupation. (ANI) "Pleasure to welcome FM @Menlu_RI of Indonesia for the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting and Delhi Dialogue XII. An opportunity to strengthen Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," Bagchi tweeted. India will host the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting (SAIFMM) on June 16 and 17, marking the 30th anniversary of India-ASEAN dialogue relations and the 10th anniversary of the country's strategic partnership with ASEAN. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who is India's Country Coordinator, will co-chair the meeting. Foreign Ministers of other ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretary-General will participate in the SAIFMM. This year has been designated as ASEAN-India Friendship Year. ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of sectoral partnership in 1992 which graduated to full dialogue partnership in December 1995, Summit level Partnership in 2002, and Strategic partnership in 2012. A Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) release said that ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership today stands on a strong foundation and ASEAN is central to India's Act East Policy and its vision for the wider Indo-Pacific. "This multi-faceted partnership encompasses many sectoral dialogue mechanisms and working groups that meet regularly at various levels and include annual Summit, Ministerial and Senior Officials' meetings. The ongoing India-ASEAN collaboration is guided by the Plan of Action 2021-2025 which was adopted in 2020," the release said. While ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting (FMM), hosted by ASEAN Chair, is an annual event, the SAIFMM would be the first ASEAN-India FMM to be hosted by India in New Delhi. The SAIFMM will be preceded by 24th ASEAN-India Senior Officials Meeting on June 15. The release said that SAIFMM will be accompanied by the 12th edition of Delhi Dialogue, a premier Track 1.5 Dialogue in ASEAN-India calendar, which will be hosted by India on 16-17 June 2022. The theme of DD-XII is 'Building Bridges in the Indo-Pacific'. The ministerial session of DD-XII will be attended by EAM and the ASEAN Ministers. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar welcomed Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares who arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday. This is the first official visit of the Spanish Foreign Minister to India. "Glad to welcome FM @jmalbares of Spain in New Delhi. Our discussions today will take our partnership forward," Jaishankar tweeted today. "Warm welcome to Foreign Minister @jmalbares of Spain on his first official visit to India. The visit will further strengthen our multifaceted partnership," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Wednesday. A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday said that Albares will hold talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on bilateral, regional, and international issues of mutual interest. The bilateral ties got a fresh impetus after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Spain in 2017. "Albares's visit will be an opportunity to review the entire gamut of our bilateral relations and further deepen the partnership across various areas including trade, defence, science & technology, innovation, climate, and culture sectors," the statement said further. Meanwhile, in January this year, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the signing of an agreement between India and Spain on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters. According to a press statement from the Cabinet, "the agreement will help in making available, reliable, quick and cost-effective information and intelligence for the prevention and investigation of Customs offences and apprehending of Customs offenders." The Agreement would provide a legal framework for sharing of information between the Customs authorities of the two countries and help in the proper administering of Customs laws and detection and investigation of Customs offences and the facilitation of legitimate trade. Customs offence concerning the illegal movement of the following: Arms, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices; Works of art and antiques, which are of significant historical, cultural or archaeological value; Toxic materials and other substances dangerous to the environment and public health; Goods subject to substantial customs duties or taxes; New means and methods employed for committing Customs offences against Customs legislation, the statement added. (ANI) The "brotherly relationship" between China and Russia may be spoiled as Beijing barred Moscow's airlines from flying foreign-owned jetliners into its airspace. China has repeatedly shown its reluctance to provide more support to Moscow amid the ongoing war with Ukraine, in order to protect its own interests in trade, economy and other areas, The Hong Kong Post reported. With Beijing's latest move, Russia appears to have lost confidence in China now. The latest report in the Washington Post is evidence of growing frustration among Russian officials towards China. Citing the report, The Hong Kong Post reported that the Russian officials are becoming "increasingly frustrated" with China's apparent refusal to provide more support to Moscow amid the war with Ukraine. Quoting a Chinese official, it reported that the development is significant in the wake of the fact that China and Russia had proclaimed that their bilateral ties had "no limits" before Kremlin announced its military operation in Ukraine in February. According to experts say that China chose to distance itself from Russia's war and avoid steps that might invite penalties for its companies. The Hong Kong Post citing a Russian media outlet said that Russian airlines couldn't provide documents showing their aircraft were "de-registered abroad" and were barred from Chinese airspace. After Russia's military actions in Ukraine, China had refused to supply parts to Russia and now barred Russian aircraft from using Chinese airspace. This can be a sign of a crack in support for Putin in Beijing. China had earlier stated that the action in Ukraine was "deeply worrying" and that it would take a lead in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. China has strategically avoided taking a side due to diplomatic ties with Russia and has not condemned the actions. On the contrary, it has blamed the NATO and the US for pushing Russia to "breaking point". Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijan had stated that China's position on the war is "consistent and clear cut". He had also stated that the US needs to take China's concerns about sanctions seriously, warning they "will never bring peace and security". Russian diplomats had long been claiming that the relationship between Beijing and Moscow was better than an alliance and has withstood the pressure triggered by the ongoing Ukraine war. Russia's ambassador to China Andrey Denisov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier said that the Ukraine crisis has pushed Moscow and Beijing closer together. After China barred Russian airlines from flying foreign-owned jetliners into its airspace, Russian diplomats are likely to revise their views on China and its actions. (ANI) The two officers from the El Monte Police Department were immediately fired upon when they arrived at the Siesta Inn in El Monte, east of Los Angeles, around local time 4:45 p.m. (2345 GMT), said Ben Lowry, El Monte Interim police chief, on Tuesday evening. The two officers, a 22-year veteran and a rookie with less than a year in office, were not identified. They confronted the suspect, and there were two exchanges of gunfire, one inside a motel room and a second in the motel parking lot, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau. The killings came just one day after a California Highway Patrol officer was shot and critically wounded during a traffic stop in the Studio City area of Los Angeles. (ANI/Xinhua) Appointed during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) tenure, Islamabad's ambassador in Washington, Masood Khan met US President Joe Biden on his visit to the White House for a 'meet and greet ceremony' on Tuesday as a part of the traditional ceremony where new envoys present their credentials to the head of state conforming to their appointment, Dawn reported. According to a press release issued by the Pakistan Embassy in the US, Khan visited the White House for a "meet and greet" and an official photograph with the US president, an established tradition for newly appointed envoys. "During the ceremony, the US President and the ambassador had a brief conversation on building a strong basis for moving the US-Pakistan ties forward," the statement said. On his arrival in Washington earlier this week, Khan received a letter from the chief of protocol at the US State Department, endorsing his appointment as Pakistan's 'working ambassador' in Washington. According to Dawn, Khan was sent to Washington on March 25, when the PTI government was still in power, but after former prime minister Imran Khan's ouster on April 11, there was speculation that the change in Islamabad would also impact diplomatic appointments. However, in a statement, Pakistan's envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Munir Akram, explained that incumbent ambassadors continue to represent the country in foreign capitals unless specifically asked by the new government to return home and neither Ambassador Khan nor Ambassador Akram was asked to do so, the Pakistani media outlet added. The US government follows a tradition whereby after the appointment of new ambassadors to Washington, a ceremony is held at the White House where new envoys present their credentials to the head of state conforming to their appointment. Islamabad's ambassador received a letter from the US president's office on April 19th, formally confirming his appointment. Meanwhile, the statement issued today said that forty-six other ambassadors were also present there for the official photograph with the President, which was taken one by one. "They too had not been able to call on the President for more than a year because of the Covid-19 restrictions," the statement read. (ANI) China's discovery of archaeological sites in Tibet from pre-historic periods is used as proof destroying the narrative of Lhasa having its own history and giving emphasis on the fact that it was always an integral part of Beijing. Archaeological discoveries are being made in China every month and like many other aspects, this is also being used as a political venture by the Chinese Communist Party. It is to be noted that China has led large excavation and mining projects to rob Tibet off its abundant source of natural resources. The excessive mining projects have not only lessened the existence of precious resources but have also resulted in the land and the soil in losing their quality. Another such expedition that has grown popular over the years is China's interest in Archaeology. Li Qun, the head of China's National Cultural Heritage Administration announced on January 17 this year that Beijing will lay out and administer plans for archaeological works in the 14th five-year period plan as well, Tibet Press reported. The Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is at the top in the list of institutions that conduct ambitious excavations in China as of now. Gu Jiegang, a Chinese philosopher recommended the need for archaeological evidence to come to a legit stand and proof to classify China's history. Li Ji, another Chinese scholar is however known as the "father of Chinese archaeology" and is given the credit for taking the lead of the Yin ruins excavation that confirmed the existence of the Shang dynasty capital. The Chinese Communist party lays much emphasis on the history of their land as a political aspect and also considers it an important part to keep a tight hold on how the past is understood and interpreted, according to Tibet Press. China leads such excavations in Tibet and still plans to use these archeological expeditions to use the findings to link Tibet to their own predominant history. Even imple findings will prove essential in their favor to strengthen the claims that they have made from the beginning regarding how Tibet was never a separate country but a part of the Chinese mainland. (ANI) The World Trade Organization (WTO) has announced the extension of its ongoing four-day ministerial by a day, till June 16. The WTO 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) that began on June 12 was scheduled to end on June 15. This decision was to extend the high-level meeting till June 16, 3 pm was taken following consultations with the MC12 Chair, Vive Chairs and Minister Facilitators. A day earlier Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had proposed to extend the ministerial meeting in Geneva by another day. The WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) started on June 12 and was scheduled to last on June 15 at WTO headquarters in Geneva. However, after the proposal by DG WTO, it may continue till June 16. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the first African official and the first woman to hold the position. At the ongoing ministerial, India made a strong pitch for protecting the interests of the developing and under-developed countries at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal on Monday did some plain speaking at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Geneva. He raised concerns about the "skewed" WTO reforms proposal, the imperative need to retain the Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) provisions for the developing world, global inequities in COVID vaccination and Public Stockholding of food grains, read Ministry of Commerce & Industry press statement. He also highlighted the COVID-19 pandemic that exposed the inability of the world to promptly respond to any crisis, whether on food security or health, economic well-being or open supply chains. Goyal argued that while negotiating the fisheries subsidies, the livelihood of traditional fishermen cannot be compromised. Further, a delegation of parliamentarians presented Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with a statement on Tuesday, expressing strong support for the multilateral trading system and calling for the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) to act as a starting point for modernizing the WTO. The statement was submitted to the DG by MEP Bernd Lange, Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, who was accompanied by three other members of the Committee. Ministers from across the world use this event to review the functioning of the multilateral trading system, make general statements and to take action on the future work of the WTO. The Conference is co-hosted by Kazakhstan and chaired by Timur Suleimenov, Deputy Chief of Staff of Kazakhstan's President. Kazakhstan was originally scheduled to host MC12 in June 2020 but the conference was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world's trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The WTO has 164 members (including European Union) and 23 observer governments (like Iran, Iraq, Bhutan, Libya etc). The structure of the WTO is dominated by its highest authority, the Ministerial Conference, composed of representatives of all WTO members, which is required to meet at least every two years and which can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. (ANI) The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised concerns about the increasing human rights violation in Afghanistan. On June 7, Afghan vlogger Ajmal Haqiqi - well known for his YouTube channel and modeling shows - appeared in a very different kind of broadcast. Taliban officials arrested Haqiqi and his three colleagues and released a video showing the men, with bruised faces and clearly under duress, apologizing for encouraging "prostitution" and "insulting verses of the Quran." On May 28, the four had posted a YouTube video in which they recited Quranic verses in Arabic in a comical tone. Within a week, the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) had detained them. "We have been promoting Western culture and values, and for this I apologize," Haqiqi said in his evidently scripted "confession." As of mid-June, the men remained in custody. According to HRW, no charges have been filed against them, and no lawyers or family members have been able to see them. "These arrests are among the latest in the Taliban's crackdown on free expression," said Fereshta Abbasi, Researcher, HRW Asia Division. On May 24, Taliban authorities detained Mirza Hassani, director of Radio Sedai Aftab, at a checkpoint in Herat city, accusing him of supporting opposition groups. On May 10, GDI officials detained Khan Mohamad Sayal, a TV journalist, in Urzugan, without explanation. By mid-June, neither man had been released. A Kandahar journalist who had been detained for four days in April for broadcasting music told me he had been accused of working with foreigners. His "confession" was also forced: "They were beating and telling me that I had to admit it," he said. "The Taliban have used various measures to silence media in Afghanistan, ranging from establishing restrictive guidelines to sending intelligence officials to meet with media staff. Forcing media workers to confess to dubious crimes sends a message to others to adhere to the Taliban's rules - a tactic also used against women protesters who were detained and compelled to confess," said Fereshta Abbasi. A media worker in Herat recently told Abbasi, "Freedom of speech has died in Afghanistan." For journalists, social media activists, and others publicly resisting the Taliban's onerous restrictions, his words seem all too true. (ANI) The three-day meeting of the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) of SCO was inaugurated on Wednesday in Delhi. The delegation, including senior officers from military and security agencies, arrived for a close-door meeting. The meeting will culminate on June 17. In the meeting, the security situation in Afghanistan will be discussed. The SCO comprises eight member states, namely India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyz, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan is among the observer states of the SCO. Back in May, a four-day meeting of SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure was held in the national capital. The participants of members of the SCO grouping took part in the meeting between May 16-19. The SCO is one of the largest plurilaterals, covering around 40 per cent of the global population and 30 per cent of the global GDP. Uzbekistan is the SCO chair in 2022 and will hold the summit in September. India will hold the SCO summit next year. (ANI) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that it is in his personal interest and commitment to build the economic zone in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sharif made this statement during his visit to Rashakai Special Economic Zone, a flagship project under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework. This 1,000 acres Special Economic Zone is developed by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) in a joint venture with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC), Geo News reported. Referring to Chinese investors, Sharif said that Pakistan can send their delegates from Rashakai to China and can have road shows there to attract them to these places. "We would like to engage Chinese companies to provide expertise and experience to manage other new economic zones in Pakistan," he said. Earlier, the PM said both countries were moving toward the second phase of CPEC, which comprised regional cooperation and industrialisation through establishing industrial zones, reported Geo News. In an interview with Chinese media, Pakistan's PM claimed that their country's skilled and semi-skilled labour was comparatively cheaper. And the joint venture of Chinese technology and their country's labour and investment would help both the countries to make production at competitive rates and export their products to other countries. Sharif said that the first phase of CPEC featured road and energy projects to meet Pakistan's power needs which transformed friendly relations into unique ones where people-to-people contacts had seen a new phase. During the interview, Pakistan PM further said that he and China had enjoyed a time-tested friendship which had attained more heights under the leadership of President Xi Jinping. He said in form of CPEC, Pakistan had been the first beneficiary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), according to Geo News. Responding to a question over problems in CPEC projects, Sharif said that they had faced some hiccups during the last three to four years, however, the incumbent government was resolved to take it to "Pakistan Speed" to fill the gap. (ANI) India and Vietnam signed a "Joint Vision" document to "significantly enhance the scope and scale" of bilateral ties by 2030 during the recent Vietnam visit of Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Vietnam. The two countries have many things in common. Both of them are listed among the fastest-growing economies of Asia and both aim at enhancing peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region through multi-faceted cooperation. India and Vietnam have a broad convergence of interest as the emerging economies and important countries with respect to creating alternative supply chains in Asia after global disillusionment with the China-centric supply chain during the Covid pandemic. Besides, the two countries are equally concerned about the aggressive and expansionist policies of China in the Indo-Pacific region. The two countries also share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership since 2016 and defence cooperation is a key pillar of this partnership. Bilateral defence engagements have expanded over a period of time to include wide-ranging contacts between the two countries, including Defense Policy Dialogue, military-to-military exchange, high-level visits, capacity building and training programmes. The two countries have also cooperated in UN peacekeeping, ship visits and bilateral exercises. The Indian Defence Minister, during his visit, had a wide-ranging discussion with his Vietnamese counterpart, General Phan Van Giang, at Hanoi to jointly pursue effective and practical initiatives to further expand bilateral engagements. The two countries signed an MoU on mutual logistics support, the first of its kind that Vietnam has signed with any country. India and Vietnam also agreed to the early finalization of the USD 500 million defence line of credit to Vietnam by India. The Indo-Vietnam Cooperation assumes significance in view of the US and several world powers' efforts to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific region, especially at a time when China has shown scant respect for international laws to resolve the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China claims a major chunk of the disputed China Sea despite cross-claims by other countries in the neighbourhood including Taiwan, The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. One of the main concerns of India in the region is that it has exploration projects in the Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea. The two countries have boosted their maritime security cooperation in the last few years to protect common interests. The relations between the two countries were elevated to the level of "Strategic Partnership" in 2007 when Vietnam's then Prime Minister Nguyan Jan Dung visited India. The relations were further upgraded to "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" in 2016, as Vietnam serves as an important partner in India's "Act East" Policy and Indo-Pacific vision. The two countries had signed a cultural agreement in 1976 and since then, it has led to the creation of many channels of cultural cooperation. A recent development in this regard is the establishment of the Swami Vivekananda Indian Cultural Centre in Hanoi in 2016. Earlier, the Institute of Indian and South-West Asian Studies under the aegis of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences was inaugurated in Hanoi in 2012. Around 1,69,000 Indians visited Vietnam and 31,000 Vietnamese visited India before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Vietnam is the 15th largest trade partner of India and India is its 10th largest partner with bilateral trade standing at USD 11.12 billion in 2020-21. There is an upswing in India-Vietnam relations and it is rising up to new heights. (ANI) The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has strongly condemned the recent cycle of abductions and manhandling of Baloch students from Karachi University. The Karachi police on Monday night arrested dozens of protesters, including women, who were staging a sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly against the abduction of the two missing students, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The HRCP, in a statement, said the Baloch students are allegedly being picked up by law enforcement personnel, and those who demand their release are roughed up and arrested. "In the case of two students who have just been released after pressure from their kin and civil society, it is noteworthy that their whereabouts remained unknown until the time of their release. Such enforced disappearances are not only illegal but inhuman," the group said. It also expressed grave concern over the excessive use of force by the Sindh police against the relatives, activists and friends of the disappeared students. "These peaceful protesters, which included women and children, had gathered outside the Sindh assembly to demand the safe recovery of their loved ones, but were met with violence and forcibly dispersed by the police," the group said. They also reiterated their demand that enforced disappearances must be criminalised in line with the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. "Not only must this heinous practice be recognised as a distinct, autonomous offence and the perpetrators held strictly accountable, but the victims and their families must also be compensated for all they have suffered," the HRCP said. Human rights activists allege that the law enforcement agencies in Pakistan are responsible for the cases of forced disappearance in the country. Enforced disappearances are used as a tool by Pakistani authorities to terrorize people who question the all-powerful army establishment of the country, or seek individual or social rights. Earlier this week, a London-based rights organisation strongly condemned the use of excessive force by the police to disperse peaceful protesters at a sit-in against the enforced disappearance of two Baloch students outside the Sindh Assembly. "Violently cracking down on families demanding answers to the whereabouts of their loved ones only compounds the cruelty of the heinous practice of enforced disappearances," the group said in a Twitter post. (ANI) This comes ahead of the special India-ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting slated to be held on June 16, and 17. The meeting saw the participation of Senior Officials from the other ASEAN Member States, the MEA in a statement. The SOM reviewed the ASEAN-India strategic partnership and its future direction. As India and ASEAN celebrate the 30th anniversary of their Dialogue Relations, the SOM leaders made their assessment on the progress of cooperation under all three pillars of Partnership - political-security, economic and socio-cultural. The meeting also deliberated on the steps for further implementation of the ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2021-2025). The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest including the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic recovery. Secretary (East) welcomed the positive contributions and continued support of Singapore in strengthening ASEAN-India Relations as the Country Coordinator. Underlining the centrality of ASEAN in India's vision of the Indo-Pacific, he emphasized the implementation of the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) to strengthen the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership. The ASEAN side appreciated India's support to ASEAN and ASEAN-led architecture in the region. The two sides also took stock of the calendar of activities to celebrate the year 2022 as ASEAN-India Friendship Year to mark the 30th anniversary of the ASEAN-India Partnership. The strong historical and cultural ties between India and ASEAN continue to provide a solid foundation for ASEAN-India partnership as it enters in its fourth decade. Foreign Ministers of Singapore and Vietnam, Vivian Balakrishnan and Bui Thanh Son respectively, arrived in Delhi on Wednesday for the special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting (SAIFMM). ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of sectoral partnership in 1992 which graduated to full dialogue partnership in December 1995, Summit level Partnership in 2002, and Strategic partnership in 2012. (ANI) Taliban forces in Afghanistan's Kandahar city have compelled the shopkeepers to instal their group's white flag in their shops and buildings. Health clinics and public baths have too been asked to follow the suit. Taking to Twitter, Reporterly, a local media outlet in Afghanistan, said, "#Taliban in #Kandahar forced the installation of the group's white flag on shops and public places, local sources reported." The order has been issued by the Taliban officials in PD9 of Kandahar Municipality in a letter to shopkeepers and businessmen, according to Reporterly. Meanwhile, the Taliban forces in Herat province warned the shopkeepers not to allow women in their shops without a male guardian. Taking to Twitter, local media said, " The #Taliban in #Herat province have warned shopkeepers not to allow women into their shops without Muharram (male guardian), and the group has expelled women who were shopping alone, sources said. The Taliban have called for this action to prevent "sin and immoral cases." This is not the first time when Taliban forces tried to attack women's rights. Taliban imposed a number of restrictions on women and girls after taking power last year in Afghanistan. Earlier, in May, the Taliban-led government issued a decree making the hijab compulsory for women when being in public. Women working in government agencies who break this rule will be dismissed, and the same measure will be applied to men if their wives or daughters do not follow the dress code. In another clampdown on Afghan women, the Taliban have ordered girl students at the Herat University not to wear make-up and short clothes. The group has also restricted the women from recording the voices of male professors who are "non-mahrams", that is, the person who is not in your relationship, reported Afghanistan-based media outlet, Payk Media. The Taliban didn't stop there. In the month of March, the Taliban issued a decree banning female students above grade six from participating in their classes. The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated drastically since the Taliban took control of Kabul. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national President JP Nadda will hold a meeting with the visiting Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan, on Thursday at the party's headquarters in Delhi. The two leaders will discuss ways to strengthen the India-Singapore strategic partnership and exchange views on regional and international developments. Speaking to ANI, the In-Charge of the Foreign affairs department, Vijay Chauthaiwala, said, "This is a continued effort of the BJP to reach out to the international community including politicians as well as other dignitaries about what the party stands for and its rise over the years." "The meeting between the visiting Foreign Minister and the BJP national president JP Nadda will then be followed by a detailed interaction between the Singaporean Minister and six young leaders," he added. The Singaporean External Affairs Minister is on an official visit to India for bilateral and multilateral discussions on ASEAN with the government of India. His visit marks the 30th anniversary of the ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations. This will be the first visit of Singapore FM with the BJP National President for informal discussions and a better understanding of India's political situation. Nadda has, in recent months, hosted a series of meetings with the Diplomats/heads of Missions of 47 countries including the European Union. He recently held dialogues with the diplomats of 13 countries as part of the fourth phase of the 'Know BJP' campaign. During the meeting, the In-Charge of the Foreign affairs department Vijay Chauthaiwala and BJP national vice president Baijayant Jay Panda, and other BJP leaders will be present. Marking the 30th anniversary of India-ASEAN dialogue relations and the 10th anniversary of the country's strategic partnership with ASEAN, India will host the special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting (SAIFMM) on June 16 and 17. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Singapore FM Vivian Balakrishnan, who is India's Country Coordinator, will co-chair the SAIFMM. Foreign Ministers of other ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretary-General will participate in the SAIFMM. This year has been designated as ASEAN-India Friendship Year. SAIFMM will be accompanied by the 12th edition of Delhi Dialogue, a premier Track 1.5 Dialogue in the ASEAN-India calendar, which will be hosted by India on 16-17 June 2022. The theme of DD-XII is 'Building Bridges in the Indo-Pacific'. The ministerial session of DD-XII will be attended by EAM and the ASEAN Ministers. (ANI) Long queues were seen at Ganden Tegchenling Monastery, the centre of Mongolian Buddhists in the capital Ulaanbaatar on Wednesday as a large number of people gathered to get a glimpse and pay obeisance to the four 'Kapilavastu' Relics of Lord Buddha brought from India for public display. The 'Kapilavastu' relics have been put on display for 11-days at the monastery where devotees, both old and young gather in large numbers from early morning. A woman devotee expressing her happiness said: "I am very happy that the holy relics of the Lord Buddha are being brought from India. I am a Buddhist and have come here to pay my respects". Another young visitor said, "We are really glad to see Buddha's relics brought from India. It's very sacred and we are a Buddhist and happy to see it." The relics are being displayed at India's 'spiritual neighbour' Mongolia, a Buddhist majority nation. Lord Buddha lived in India and attained Mahaparinirvana or ultimate salvation in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh. Earlier in the day, the President of Mongolia, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, along with an Indian delegation, headed by the Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, paid obeisance to Holy 'Kapilavastu Relics' of Lord Buddha at Ganden Tegchenling Monastery. The four relics from India were brought to the Mongolian capital in a special flight on Monday in a gesture to strengthen cultural and spiritual ties between the two countries. The display of sacred `Kapilavastu relics' at Ganden Tegchenling Monastery is being termed as a historic milestone in India-Mongolia relations and aimed at further boost cultural and spiritual relations between the two countries. India's relations with Mongolia got a boost after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Mongolia in 2015. He had visited the Ganden Monastery, where the relics are being displayed for the common people. (ANI) Taliban forces in Afghanistan have beaten up a former reporter of Kabul News at a checkpoint of PD-5 Kabul city because he was wearing trousers, a local media reported. Taking to Twitter, Reporterly, a local media outlet in Afghanistan, said, "Reports indicate that Akram Esmati, former reporter of Kabul News, has been beaten up by the Taliban at a checkpoint in PD-5 of Kabul city, as he was wearing trousers. He said that the Taliban took his phone as well." This is not the first time when Taliban attacked the reporters. Earlier, the Taliban had arrested a Panjshiri journalist in Kabul while he was doing his job, local media reported amid the growing incidence of human rights violations in the country. Farhad Amiri's family members said that they have no information about his whereabouts, Aamaj News reported. The news comes as relatives of human rights activist Maiwand Wafa told Aamaj News that the intelligence forces of the Taliban arrested him nine days ago. Earlier in May, Khairkhah, a photojournalist and reporter with the local Subhe Kabul newspaper, disappeared from the Kote Sangi area of District 5 in the capital of Kabul, according to his nephew Mohammad Abbasi, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview, and media reports. Khairkhah told his family that he was going to the area to report and would attend his evening university classes, his nephew said, adding that his uncle did not attend the classes and they could not find any information about him in the hospitals, police districts, or the Kabul police command. In a separate incident, on May 19, Naimulhaq Haqqani, the Taliban's director of information and culture in western Herat province, told his personal assistant to expel Marjan Wafa, a reporter with the independent local Radio Killid station, from his press conference, according to CPJ. Wafa, the only female journalist at the press conference, reportedly was complying with the Taliban's dress code by wearing a face covering that exposed only her eyes. Haqqani's personal assistant did not give her any reason for the order to leave. Wafa's expulsion came amid a broader crackdown on women reporters, with Taliban ministries ordering female TV journalists to wear masks while on air. (ANI) The mock drill comes in wake of the increased aviation accidents in the Himalayan Nation which has been blacklisted by the European Union due to low standard safety rules on the flight. In the simulation conducted on the edge of the airfield, an en-route passenger aircraft with 125 people on board relays a "may-day" message and burst out in flames upon landing. The aircraft quickly gets enveloped in a blaze when an emergency rescue team present at the airport starts working just before fire extinguishers are called out. Nepal Army (NA), ambulances, Nepal Police and other people present at the airport begin to rescue the injured and take them to nearby hospitals in the ambulance as well as a helicopter. Issuing a notice a day earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Tribhuwan International Airport ceased the operations for nearly an hour from 3 PM (NST). According to the rule of The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), every international recognized airport should conduct a 'full-scale emergency exercise' every two years. (ANI) Taking to Twitter, Jaishnakar said that India and Singapore will co-chair the ASEAN-India meeting and take forward the bilateral agenda of the two countries. "Warm welcome to my friend FM @VivianBala of Singapore. Will have the ASEAN-India co-chair meeting and take forward our bilateral agenda," Jaishankar tweeted. India will host the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting (SAIFMM) on 16-17 June 2022 to mark the 30th anniversary of our dialogue relations and the 10th anniversary of our Strategic Partnership with ASEAN. Jaishankar and Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Singapore, India's Country Coordinator, will co-chair the meeting. Foreign Ministers of other ASEAN Member State and ASEAN Secretary-General will participate in the SAIFMM. The year 2022 has been designated as ASEAN-India Friendship Year. ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of sectoral partnership in 1992 which graduated to full dialogue partnership in December 1995, Summit level Partnership in 2002, and Strategic partnership in 2012. "Today, ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership stands on a strong foundation. ASEAN is central to India's Act East Policy and its vision for the wider Indo-Pacific. This multi-faceted partnership encompasses many sectoral dialogue mechanisms and working groups that meet regularly at various levels and include annual Summit, Ministerial and Senior Officials' meetings. The ongoing India-ASEAN collaboration is guided by the Plan of Action 2021-2025 which was adopted in 2020," the MEA said in an earlier statement. While ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting (FMM), hosted by ASEAN Chair, is an annual event, the SAIFMM would be the first ASEAN-India FMM to be hosted by India in New Delhi. The SAIFMM will be preceded by 24th ASEAN-India Senior Officials Meeting on 15 June 2022. The SAIFMM will be accompanied by the 12th edition of Delhi Dialogue, a premier Track 1.5 Dialogue in ASEAN-India calendar, which will be hosted by India on June 16-17. The theme of DD-XII is Building Bridges in the Indo-Pacific. The Ministerial Session of DD-XII will be attended by EAM and the ASEAN Ministers. (ANI) Pakistan's former military leader Pervez Musharraf, who has been living in Dubai since 2016, has expressed his desire to spend the "rest of his life" in his home country, local media reported. The Express Tribune newspaper reported that the ailing former president wants to return to Pakistan as soon as possible. The report said his close associates have approached "powerful quarters" and government officials to remove any obstacle in his return to the country. Musharraf, who has been hospitalized for the last three weeks due to health-related complications, is set to return home from self-imposed exile, the Voice of America (VOA) reported this week. However, the exact date of his arrival in Pakistan was not immediately disclosed. Officials in Pakistan are making arrangements to allow the return of the 79-year-old former general, highly placed government sources told VOA. An air ambulance will bring Musharraf back from a Dubai hospital given the consent of his family and doctors, the report added. Since 2016, Musharraf has been living in the UAE when he was allowed to travel abroad on bail for medical treatment. At the time, he was being tried in Pakistan on treason charges which got later overturned by a high court ruling. Last week, media reports spoke about the deteriorating health of Musharraf. On Twitter, Musharaf's family refuted reports that he is on the ventilator and said he is going through a difficult stage of recovery as his organs are malfunctioning. "He is not on the ventilator. Has been hospitalized for the last 3 weeks due to a complication of his ailment (Amyloidosis). Going through a difficult stage where recovery is not possible and organs are malfunctioning. Pray for ease in his daily living," his family said in a Twitter post. The aliment Musharaf is suffering from is called Amyloidosis. It is a rare form of condition caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body. The build-up of amyloid proteins (deposits) can make it difficult for the organs and tissues to work properly. Without treatment, this can lead to organ failure, according to National Health Service, UK. Musharaf seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, ousting the then-elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He later declared himself president and went on to rule Pakistan until after his political allies lost the 2008 general elections, forcing him to step down to avoid impeachment by the new parliament. (ANI) Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) President Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe met Nepali President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Wednesday during his three-day visit to the country. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said in a statement that Dr Sahasrabudhhe is on a visit to Nepal from June 14-16. He called on the state and government heads on Wednesday. The ICCR President also met Nepali Minister for Education, Science & Technology Devendra Paudel and discussed the promotion of cultural ties and strengthening educational exchanges. "If we embark on this knowledge yatra and try to first of all, conserve our traditions our culture. Cultivate newer dimensions in the contemporary context in the context of describing the similar culture and traditions that we have whether in India or in Nepal. It is said that these similar cultures are ever rich and never old," Dr Sahasrabudhhe said while addressing the 'Sampark India-Nepal Alumni Network.' During the event, Dr Sahasrabuddhe also interacted with over 200 members of the 'Sampark India-Nepal Alumni Network,' which connects Nepalese who have studied in India including many under ICCR scholarships. Prior to the event, Dr Sahasrabuddhe attended the curtain raiser of International Day of Yoga 2022 on 15th June at the premises of the UNESCO heritage site Pashupatinath Temple. The event was organized by Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center (SVCC), Embassy of India, Kathmandu in association with Pashupati Area Development Trust and Patanjali Yogpeeth, as part of the ongoing Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. On three days visit to the Himalayan Nation, Dr Sahasrabuddhe will be meeting prominent educationists and academicians including Vice-Chancellors of Kathmandu University, Lumbini Buddhist University and Director, Center for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS) to discuss specific initiatives and the role ICCR can play in this regard. (ANI) Taiwan on Tuesday said that China's claim of Sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait is false and the only waters over which any country has full sovereignty are its 12-nautical mile territorial waters. While accusing Beijing of distorting international law, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokeswoman, Joanne Ou said that by ignoring Taipei's sovereignty claim over the Taiwan Strait and downgrading the strait to its own exclusive economic zone (EEZ), China revealed its ambition to annex Taiwan, Focus Taiwan reported. Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded countries to jointly uphold rule-based international orders and promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, she added. She reiterated that Taiwan Strait consists of international waters, except for areas that can be defined as territorial waters. "Our government has always respected any activities conducted by foreign vessels in the Taiwan Strait that are allowed by international law. We understand and support the freedom of navigation operations conducted by the US as these operations promote peace and stability in the region," Ou added. Ou's comments come as a response to her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wenbin, who claimed on Monday that waterway fell within China's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and domestic law, Focus Taiwan reported. Wang denied the US claims that the channel should be treated as international waters and said that Beijing has sovereign and administrative rights to the Taiwan Strait. "China enjoys sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait while respecting the legitimate rights of other countries in the relevant maritime areas." "There is no such thing as 'international waters' in UNCLOS. By claiming that the Taiwan Strait is international waters, some countries intend to create an excuse for its manipulation of the Taiwan issue and threaten China's sovereignty and security," Wang said. According to UNCLOS, countries can claim an area 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) from the coast as their territorial seas, where they have full sovereignty. They can also claim waters up to 200 nautical miles from the coast as an EEZ, where they have a sovereign right to the water column and sea floor as well as resources, but other countries still have the right to sail through or fly over the waters, Focus Taiwan reported. Though UNCLOS does not define international waters, it does define the High seas as referring to waters that are beyond the territorial sea or to areas outside EEZs that do not belong to any state's jurisdiction. Most of the Taiwan Strait is less than 200 nautical miles wide, resulting in overlapping EEZ claims in the waterway by Taiwan and China, Focus Taiwan reported.(ANI) Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday afternoon held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and exchanged views on the Ukraine issue. Xi emphasized that China has always independently assessed the situation on the basis of the historical context and the merits of the issue, Xinhua news agency reported. All parties should push for a proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis in a responsible manner, Xi said, adding that China for this purpose will continue to play its due role. During their conversation, Xi noted the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has made steady progress and added that the Heihe-Blagoveshchensk cross-border highway bridge has opened to traffic, creating a new channel connecting the two countries. The Chinese side stands ready to work with the Russian side to push for steady and long-term development of practical bilateral cooperation, Xi said. According to a Kremlin statement, Putin and Jinping stated that Russian-Chinese relations are at an unprecedented high level and are constantly improving. "Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation with President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping, during which a thorough exchange of views was held on a wide range of issues on the bilateral and international agenda. The leaders stated that Russian-Chinese relations are at an unprecedented high level and are constantly improving. They reaffirmed desire to consistently deepen comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation in all areas," the statement says. According to the Sputnik news agency, Putin, in a conversation with Xi Jinping, outlined his fundamental assessments of the situation in Ukraine and the tasks being solved during the "special military operation." "Vladimir Putin outlined his fundamental assessments of the situation in Ukraine and the tasks being solved in the course of a special military operation. The Chinese President noted the legitimacy of Russia's actions to protect fundamental national interests in the face of challenges to its security created by external forces," the statement says. Putin and Xi stressed that Russia and China had common or very close positions on many international issues and reaffirmed their readiness to tighten coordination and mutual support at the UN platform. (ANI) The two leaders also exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine conflict. "Warm and productive discussions with Foreign Minister @jmalbares of Spain. Discussed our growing engagements in political, defense, economic and cultural domains. Envisage enhanced collaboration to support self-reliance and resilient supply chains," Jaishankar said in a tweet. "Exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific, the Ukraine conflict, Afghanistan, North Africa and South Asia. Agreed to work closely in multilateral forums," he added. This is the first official visit of the Spanish Foreign Minister to India. A statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry on Tuesday said that Albares will hold talks with his Indian counterpart on bilateral, regional, and international issues of mutual interest. The bilateral ties got a fresh impetus after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Spain in 2017. "Albares's visit will be an opportunity to review the entire gamut of our bilateral relations and further deepen the partnership across various areas including trade, defence, science and technology, innovation, climate, and culture sectors," the MEA statement said. The Union Cabinet has last year approved the signing of an agreement between India and Spain on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters. (ANI) Pakistan must negotiate with the proscribed terror outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from a position of strength, and ensure that all agreements are in line with the country's constitution, a Pakistan based-report said. A policy note titled "Pakistan, the TTP, and the Impetus for Internal and External Peace" published by a Pakistani think tank said that the demands of TTP are unviable as they would amount to handing over constitutional control in these areas to the TTP, the Dawn reported. It suggested the Pakistan government to treat its demands as non-negotiable saying that any agreement that does not result in the disbandment and the demilitarisation of the TTP cannot be considered a success. The report analyzed Pakistan's ongoing negotiations with the terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and identified the key stakeholders, and the most viable path forward for the government of Pakistan, the Dawn reported. TTP's demands include the reversal of the merger of erstwhile Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as per the 25th Constitution Amendment; withdrawal of all military presence from the region; enforcement of Shariah law in the Malakand division; the release of 102 commanders and fighters and presidential pardon to two key militant commanders; and complete freedom of movement for the TTP's members in the Malakand division. Meanwhile, the government's demands include the complete dissolution of the TTP, disengagement from other militant groups, a renunciation of violent activity, and re-emergence as a legitimate political entity within the constitutional norms of the country. The report said that Pakistan should capitalize on internal pressures within the TTP for repatriation of their families currently displaced to Afghanistan, the Dawn reported. Notably, the banned TTP formally announced an indefinite ceasefire with Pakistan following two days of talks with a grand tribal jirga in Kabul this month, with a major condition of reversal of the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to cut any peace deal with Pakistan. It was earlier reported that in response to the demands of the TTP, Islamabad has already agreed to release hundreds of detained and convicted TTP members and withdraw court cases against them. Under the negotiation, a large portion of thousands of Pakistani troops stationed in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) -- where the TTP first emerged as an umbrella organization of small Taliban factions in 2007 -- will be withdrawn. However, the two sides have yet to agree on retracting democratic reforms and the merger of FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and whether thousands of TTP terrorists can return with their arms and keep their organization intact. Moreover, Islamabad has also agreed to implement Islamic Shari'a law in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Malakand region lately. Earlier this month, a 57-member jirga of notable tribal leaders negotiating with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) arrived in Kabul for a peace effort between Pakistan and the proscribed terror outfit TTP. However, it returned to Pakistan without any major breakthrough over the group's demand for the reversal of FATA's merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The jirga consists of tribal elders, politicians, and parliamentarians who met with senior TTP leaders at Kabul's Inter-Continental Hotel for two days and held threadbare discussions over demands, including the most contentious issue of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)'s merger. (ANI) Despite the importance of China-Africa alliances based on "mutual prosperity," China's engagement with African countries is mired in deep-rooted racial prejudices leading to violation of human rights, injustice, and exploitation, reported a Canada-based think tank, International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS). The report said that China which has become the biggest trading partner for most of the African countries and provides funds for infrastructure projects like rail-road as well as the development of natural resources continues to engage in the exploitation of its employees and labourers in their own country. The trade partnership between China and Africa has caused many adverse effects including debt traps, over-dependence, and violation of workers and human rights in several countries of Africa. The African workers in their own country are enslaved by their foreign employers. The report suggests that there are significant cases of labour abuses that have taken place. Local workers are not provided with protective equipment in the mining and infrastructure sectors. When suffering from severe injuries, they are not provided with compensation or aid. Most of the employees are working without an official contract and do not have proof of employment. This leaves them vulnerable to unfair termination. In 2021, a Kenyan waiter was awarded more than USD 25,000 in damages after he was whipped by his Chinese restaurant owner. The abuse was captured on video and showed the boss laughing while the waiter begged for forgiveness. A Kenyan court found the man had also suffered "continuous sexual harassment, corporal punishment, verbal abuse, and confinement" while working at the restaurant, said the report by IFFRAS. China's exploitation is not limited to the exploitation of its workers, several cases of sexual abuse of local women have also been reported. Over a dozen single women in Uganda are struggling to raise children after the Chinese 'fathers' abandoned them, said the report. Citing such an example, the report said that a local employee of a Chinese construction company was fired after getting pregnant by a Chinese employee and being deemed unfit to continue work. There is increasing outrage against the Chinese companies in Africa for maltreatment of local staff but investigations and inspections revealed that Chinese companies turn a blind eye toward such actions. They have created a small kingdom in which they run roughshod over African workers. (ANI) US President Joe Biden on Wednesday spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and informed him of the US providing another USD 1 billion, artillery, and advanced rocket systems to fight against the Russian aggression. "I informed President Zelenskyy that the United States is providing another USD 1 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, including additional artillery and coastal defense weapons, as well as ammunition for the artillery and advanced rocket systems that the Ukrainians need to support their defensive operations in the Donbas," read White House press release. President Biden spoke with Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy to discuss Russia's brutal and ongoing war against Ukraine. "I reaffirmed my commitment that the United States will stand by Ukraine as it defends its democracy and support its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of unprovoked Russian aggression," said Biden. Both leaders also discussed US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin's efforts in Brussels to coordinate additional international support for the Ukrainian armed forces. US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, Austin and Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov attend the Ukraine Defense Contact group meeting ahead of a NATO defense ministers' meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday. "Was glad to see great friend of Ukraine @SecDef Lloyd Austin III. Our 4th bilateral meeting this year. We discussed security situation in Ukraine and arms supply for the #UAarmy," tweeted Reznikov. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said that the Allies will take decisions to "keep NATO strong in a more competitive world" in the upcoming summit in Madrid. The Madrid summit is scheduled to take place from June 28-30 and will include discussions on areas including NATO force posture and support for Ukraine. President Biden also reiterated the US commitment to support the Ukrainian people whose lives have been ripped apart by this war. "Today, I am also announcing an additional USD 225 million in humanitarian assistance to help people inside Ukraine, including by supplying safe drinking water, critical medical supplies and health care, food, shelter, and cash for families to purchase essential items," said Biden. The US President further highlighted the bravery, resilience, and determination of the Ukrainian people and said that their efforts continue to inspire the world. "And the United States, together with our allies and partners, will not waver in our commitment to the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom," added Biden. Following Russia's "special military operation" launched on February 24 against Ukraine, NATO has boosted its presence in the Baltics. (ANI) "The secretary-general expresses his sincere condolences to the bereaved families of the victims, as well as to the people of Burkina Faso," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement. According to Dujarric, the appalling attack happened on the night of June 11, against the town of Seytenga in Burkina Faso's Sahel region, which resulted in the deaths of scores of civilians and the displacement of large numbers of people from their homes. Security in Burkina Faso has worsened since 2015 as attacks have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than 1.9 million others in the West African nation. Guterres called on the Burkinabe authorities to spare no effort in identifying and bringing the perpetrators of the latest attack to justice, Dujarric said in the statement. "He reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to continue to support Burkina Faso in its efforts to end insecurity and foster social cohesion," the statement said. (ANI/Xinhua) Beijing has slammed American Pacific Army's General Charles A Flynn after he raised alarm over China's infrastructure build-up near the Indo-Tibet border near Ladakh. Choekyi Lhamo, writing in Phayul reported that China on Thursday accused the general of attempting to "fan flames" through his statements. General Charles A Flynn on Wednesday had said that the defense infrastructure constructed by China near the Indian border is "alarming", and "eye-opening". The Chinese foreign minister spokesperson Zhao Lijian responded with strong dismissal, "Some US officials have pointed fingers and sought to fan the flame and drive a wedge between the two countries. This is disgraceful. We hope the US could do more things that contribute to regional peace and stability," reported Phayul. Zhou further said that the border issue was a matter to be solved between the two countries, "Both sides have the will and capability of resolving the question through dialogue and consultation". The Chinese embassy in New Delhi also addressed the matter by noting that the allegations against China were "without any factual basis" and accused the US of violating the norms of "basic principles of diplomacy". The construction of a Chinese bridge, termed highly 'strategic' by analysts, was completed on the Pangong Lake's border territory in Khurnak, which extends across Ladakh and Tibet. In February this year, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan had informed the Lok Sabha a bridge was being constructed by China on Pangong lake in areas that have continued to be under the illegal occupation of China since 1962, adding that the Government of India has never accepted this "illegal" occupation. In the summer of 2020, the Ladakh border standoff between India and China erupted following a clash of the Armies in the Pangong area. The situation escalated after the Galwan Valley clashes in June of the same year. Both the countries shave held 15 rounds of talks for disengagement to defuse the tensions in the area. As a result, India and China have disengaged their troops in the Gogra Heights area of eastern Ladakh. The troops of the two sides also disengaged in the Pangong Lake area in February last year. Meanwhile, after China constructed a bridge over the Pangong lake in Ladakh, a senior official of the Chushul region has claimed that it has now installed mobile towers near its side of the border. Chushul Councillor Konchok Stanzin in a tweet flagged the issue and claimed that three mobile towers have been installed near China's hot spring very close to the Indian territory. (ANI) LONDON (Reuters) -Russia's defence ministry on Wednesday accused Ukrainian forces of disrupting efforts to allow civilians to escape from a chemical plant in an eastern Ukrainian city where a battle has been raging for weeks. Russian forces are trying to grind down Ukrainian resistance in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, part of a wider push to drive Kyiv's forces out of two separatist regions which Russia backs and has recognised as independent states. Russian-backed separatists say up to 1,200 civilians may still be taking shelter in the sprawling Azot ammonia plant. Moscow said it had opened a humanitarian corridor from the plant on Wednesday to allow civilians to escape to Russian-controlled territory. It accused Ukrainian troops of violating the ceasefire and effectively using civilians as human shields. "There are no obstacles for civilians to leave ... except for the decision in principle by the Kyiv authorities themselves," the ministry said in a statement. Reuters was unable to verify that claim. Ukraine has denied Russian claims that it uses civilians as human shields. A day earlier, Russia said it dismissed a Ukrainian request for a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians to Kyiv-controlled territory. Rodion Miroshnik, an official in the Russian-backed self-styled separatist administration of the Luhansk People's Republic, said earlier on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces in the plant numbered up to 2,000 people. Ukraine says the number of civilians at the plant is closer to 500. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that the main immediate reason for what he casts as a "special military operation" was to protect the Russian-speakers of Donbas from persecution and attack. Ukraine and its Western backers say Russia is waging an unprovoked war against a sovereign state which is fighting for its existence. Kyiv says Russia's claim of persecution of Russian-speakers is a baseless pretext for the invasion. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and David Ljunggren; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Toby Chopra) Reuters The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday made it harder for prosecutors to win convictions of doctors accused of running "pill mills" and excessively prescribing opioids and other addictive drugs by requiring the government to prove that defendants knew their prescriptions had no legitimate medical purpose. The 9-0 ruling, authored by liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, sided with Xiulu Ruan and Shakeel Kahn, who argued that their trials were unfair because jurors were not required to consider whether the two convicted doctors had "good faith" reasons to believe the numerous opioid prescriptions were medically valid. The Daily Beast Ukrainian State Emergency Service / Handout/Anadolu Agency via GettyRussia fired a series of rockets at a shopping center in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, on Monday, raising fears that Russia is stepping up its attacks on civilian structures regardless of the loss of life.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday there were more than a thousand civilians inside the shopping mall and the casualties to come might bring even more shock and horror to Ukrainian people already confronting so much deat An Alzheimers patient in Japan who says he cannot remember killing his granddaughter nearly two years ago has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Susumu Tomizawa, 88, got into an argument with his 16-year-old granddaughter, Tomomi, in their home in Fukui Prefecture on Sept. 9, 2020. On the same night, he took a 6.69-inch-long kitchen knife and went into her bedroom, where he repeatedly stabbed her in the neck. Police responded to the scene after Tomizawa called his eldest son and claimed he found Tomomis bloodied body. Tomizawa has admitted to killing his granddaughter, but he said he could not recall what their fight was about nor remember killing her due to his Alzheimers disease. More from NextShark: Family-Owned Hmong Store Targeted by Alleged Racists in Wisconsin The 88-year-olds mental state became a major factor in his closely watched trial as judges debated whether or not he knowingly killed Tomomi. Tomizawa had also been heavily drinking on the night of the incident. Hiroki Nakagawa, a forensic psychiatrist, confirmed that Tomizawas condition likely did not influence his crime based on his past medical records. His actions were purposeful and consistent with his intent to kill, Nakagawa told the court. He had a motive for committing the crime, such as quarreling with Tomomi, and his actions were purposeful and consistent with his intent to kill, as he stabbed her in the neck. More from NextShark: Indian American Gitanjali Rao, 15, is TIMEs First-Ever Kid of the Year Judge Yoshinobu Kawamura ruled that the elderly man was able to control his actions, citing the phone call he made to his son after killing Tomomi. The defendant was in a state of mental exhaustion at the time of the crime and he had great difficulty in judging right or wrong or in dissuading himself from committing the crime, but he was not in a state where he was unable to do so, Kawamura said. Tomizawa was sentenced to four years and six months in prison by the Fukui District Court on May 31. Japans law punishes murder with a minimum sentence of five years that can be increased to life imprisonment or the death penalty. Tomizawas sentence was reduced due to his illness. Story continues More from NextShark: China peddles pro-Putin documentary as world condemns Russia for atrocities in Ukraine Featured Image via Getty Images More from NextShark: Asian Man Fights for His Life After Getting Stabbed Over a Dozen Times in Brooklyn A dad is a dad is a dad, whether he lands in 1950, 1991, or 2022. Like Spencer Tracy and Steve Martin before him, Andy Garcia's Billy is not remotely prepared to watch his daughter say "I do." And so he makes the maximum mess a middle-aged man can in Father of the Bride (on HBO Max June 16), a sunny, warmhearted family comedy about a flailing patriarch doing his Boomer best not to lose both his little girl and his mind before the reception wraps. That the film is centered on a Cuban-American clan in Miami is probably the most notable update in director Gary Alazraki's adaptation, though he handles it so breezily that the film feels less like a market-tested corrective than a fizzy celebration of a tale as old as time (or at least 20th-century wedding mores). There's still a generation gap as wide as a turnpike, a slapstick series of self-imposed but always-surmountable obstacles, and the reassuring promise of happily-ever-after by the closing credits. For all its adherence to the featherweight farce of the source material, though, there's one early twist that the previous versions didn't touch: As the movie opens, Billy and his wife Ingrid (Gloria Estefan) are on the verge of divorce. ANDY GARCIA as Billy and ADRIA ARJONA as Sofia in Warner Bros. Pictures' and HBO Maxs "FATHER OF THE BRIDE. Claudette Barius/Warner Bros. A successful architect who never tires of recounting his immigrant-bootstraps origin story (if Coral Gables ever got snow, he would have walked uphill from Havana both ways), he's adamant that hard work and solvency are the only things that matter; she's had enough of his firm and the Fishing Channel taking up more bandwidth than their marriage. But when their eldest child Sofia (Morbius's Adria Arjona), a newly minted New York lawyer, abruptly announces on a trip home that she's met the love of her life and intends to marry him within the month, Ingrid reluctantly agrees to put their own news on pause until the wedding goes through. Billy wastes no time broadcasting his strenuous objections to the whole plan, and the arrival of Sofia's fiance Adam (Luis Miguel: The Series' Diego Boneta, handsomely bland) sends him into a true tailspin: Who is this soft baby-man with his talk of yoga and hiking and working at a nonprofit? And why do they have to move to his native Mexico? He has a lot of questions and little patience for the answers, though the only person who seems capable of interrupting his ongoing monologue is the wedding planner (Saturday Night Live's Chloe Fineman), a blond whirlwind who swings blithely between cheerful TikTok aphorisms and severely misguided cultural hot takes. (She says "Latinx" like it rhymes with "sphinx," and suggests a "flamenco and flamingos" theme.) Story continues As the date gets closer and the colorful in-laws begin pouring in, Billy descends into full Dadzilla mode, a man increasingly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. That doesn't leave a lot for the supremely competent women in his life to do, other than look on disapprovingly and try to contain the wreckage, though the actresses (including Sicario: Day of the Soldado's Isabela Merced as the bohemian younger sister) are universally likable in their roles. The screenplay, by Matt Lopez, leans bright and broad, but there are sweetly specific moments scattered throughout, from a whisper-fight over dominoes at the local social club to the frequent snatches of Spanish woven into the dialogue. Like 2018's Crazy Rich Asians, Alazraki's take combines glossy escapism with storytelling that centers a demographic long relegated to the sidelines in mainstream American movies. Two-plus decades into the new millennium, that shouldn't be news, though Father is surely important for all those reasons; mostly, it's just fun. Grade: B+ Related content: An anti-Rwanda rally in the eastern DR Congo city of Goma boiled over into looting Wednesday, as bare-chested men ransacked shops and searched cars they suspected of transporting Rwandans. Several thousand people took to the streets to protest Rwanda in the morning a day after the Congolese government reiterated claims that Kigali backs the M23 rebel group. The demonstrators, some stripped to the waist, rushed the border with Rwanda, chanting slogans against Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Riot police fired teargas to disperse the crowd, according to an AFP reporter, who said that at least one protester had been injured. Later in the day, protesters pillaged Rwandan-owned shops in a commercial district in Goma. Some also stopped and searched vehicles for Rwandans -- many of whom made a bid to escape across the border during the chaos. "We are calling on the government to give us uniforms and weapons so that we can fight" the Rwandan army, a demonstrator who gave his name as Eric told AFP, to the applause of other demonstrators. Friction between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its eastern neighbour has surged in the past few weeks over the M23 rebel group. A primarily Congolese Tutsi militia that is one of scores of armed groups in eastern DRC, the M23 leapt to global prominence in 2012 when it captured Goma. It was forced out shortly afterwards in a joint offensive by UN troops and the Congolese army. But the militia has recently made a comeback, clashing frequently with Congolese troops in violence that has inflamed tensions in Central Africa. - 'Every centimetre' - On Tuesday, hundreds of people protested in the capital Kinshasa, more than 1,500 kilometres to the west, where they urged the DRC break off diplomatic relations with Rwanda. The government said the same day that it "condemned" Rwanda for its alleged support of the M23 and promised to defend "every centimetre" of Congolese territory. M23 rebels captured the key border post of Bunagana this week, following weeks of escalating clashes with the Congolese troops. Story continues After years of relative calm, the group took up arms again in late November having accused the Kinshasa government of failing to respect a 2009 agreement that involved incorporating its fighters into the army. Clashes then intensified in March, causing thousands of people to flee. The DRC has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the rebels and in late May it banned flights from Rwanda's national carrier in protest. Rwanda denies any involvement, and both sides have accused each other of cross-border shelling. Relations between Kinshasa and Kigali have been strained since the mass arrival in DRC of Rwandan Hutus accused of slaughtering Tutsis during the 1994 Rwanda genocide. The African Union, the United Nations and others have appealed for calm. hmb-mbb/at/eml/jj The Aphasia Community Center in Sarasota will celebrate the grand opening of its new location at Concordia Lutheran Church on June 18. The Aphasia Community Center in Sarasota will celebrate the grand opening of its new location at Concordia Lutheran Church on June 18 and is promoting public awareness of aphasia during National Aphasia Awareness month in June. The grand opening and open house event is 10 a.m. to noon. at the Aphasia Community Center, 2185 Wood St., Suite 5. Aphasia is a disorder of communication characterized by a loss of all or some ability to use words, understand words, read, and write. Aphasia primarily affects adults after stroke but may also result from a traumatic brain injury or other underlying conditions causing damage to the brain. Two million people in the United States have aphasia. During the open house, attendees will meet those living successfully with aphasia and their co-survivors. Aphasia Community Center board members will welcome attendees, answer questions about aphasia, and provide information about becoming an Aphasia Community Center member. Membership is free. Weekly class sessions are available for members at no charge. Resources will also be provided to those new to the aphasia journey. The Aphasia Community Center in Sarasota was founded in 2018 to improve or maintain communication skills in persons with aphasia, reduce social isolation, educate individuals, businesses, and organizations about aphasia, and provide aphasia awareness events. For more information, visit aphasiasarasota.org or email aphasiacommunitycenter@gmail.com. Submitted by Dr. Donna Polelle This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Aphasia Community Center celebrates Aphasia Awareness Month After meeting in Brussels with defense officials from Ukraine and other countries that support Ukraines fight against Russias invasion, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin outlined an additional $1 billion in U.S. assistance that was announced on Wednesday by President Biden. Video Transcript LLOYD AUSTIN: And I'm especially pleased to be able to announce today that the United States will provide an additional $1 billion security assistance package for Ukraine. And that includes our 12th drawdown from DOD inventory since August of 2021. And it includes guided MLRS munitions, 18 more M777 howitzers, and the tactical vehicles to tow them, and 36,000 rounds of 155 millimeter ammunition. This package also includes $650 million in Ukraine security assistance initiative funds. And that will help Ukraine defend itself with two additional harpoon coastal defense systems and thousands of secure radios, and night vision devices, and thermal sites, and other optics. SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's foreign minister will travel to the Solomon Islands on Friday to meet with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare amid concern over the regional impact of a security deal between the Pacific islands nation and China. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a news release that she would travel to the Solomon Islands and New Zealand, in her third visit to the Pacific since being sworn in last month. Australia was committed to deepening cooperation with the Solomon Islands on shared challenges including climate change, and Wong would meet with Sogavare, the statement said. "I look forward to discussing the ways we can continue to make progress on pandemic recovery, economic development and labour mobility priorities, and addressing our shared security interests," she said. The Solomon Islands security pact, as well as a proposal by China for a sweeping security and trade agreement with 10 Pacific islands nations, will be discussed at next month's Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Suva, several island nations have said. China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, met with Sogavare in Honiara last month, as part of an eight-nation Pacific tour, agreeing to deepen cooperation between China and Solomon Islands in fisheries, mining, infrastructure and trade. Wang said the security pact with the Solomon Islands would improve policing and protect Chinese citizens and institutions there. "China supports Pacific Island countries in strengthening security cooperation and working together to address regional security challenges," he said during the visit. Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United States have said they are concerned Beijing could establish a military presence in the Pacific, although Sogavare has denied the pact would allow a military base. Fiji told a security conference in Singapore over the weekend that climate change was the most pressing security concern for the Pacific islands. In New Zealand, Wong will discuss regional security and climate change with her counterpart. "New Zealand is an indispensable partner in our ambitions for a stronger Pacific family," she said. (Reporting by Kirsty Needham. Editing by Gerry Doyle) James Patterson Rick Kern/FilmMagic James Patterson has apologized over his controversial remarks about white male writers being victims of racism in the publishing industry. The novelist issued an apology on Twitter for "saying white male writers having trouble finding work is a form of racism" in a recent interview. "I absolutely do not believe that racism is practiced against white writers," Patterson said. "Please know that I strongly support a diversity of voices being heard in literature, in Hollywood, everywhere." Patterson, the author of books like the Alex Cross series, made his original comments in an interview with the Sunday Times, claiming white male writers have more difficulty finding work now, which is "another form of racism." "Can you get a job? Yes," he said. "Is it harder? Yes. It's even harder for older writers. You don't meet many 52-year-old white males." Patterson quickly faced blowback for the remarks, with author Roseanne A. Brown tweeting, "I too wish to struggle like James Patterson and his 86 million book deals are struggling." Author David A. Robertson also wrote, "Who's going to tell James Patterson that about 75 percent of published books are by white writers?" In the same Sunday Times interview, Patterson also controversially complained about his publisher canceling a memoir by Woody Allen, who has been accused of sexual abuse by his daughter. "I hated that," Patterson said, arguing the director had "the right to tell his own story." You may also like Russia's growing Ukraine occupation partisan resistance problem U.S. stores experience tampon shortage, 1 company blames comedian Amy Schumer Lizzo changes song lyric after backlash over 'ableist slur' Airport queues UK airlines have been told to cancel flights they can't deliver this summer to stop a rerun of May's travel chaos. The government and the aviation regulator wrote to carriers on Tuesday telling them to ensure their summer timetables were "deliverable". They added that earlier cancellations were "better" than axing flights at the last minute. It comes after tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by cancellations and delays at airports. The problem was particularly bad during Easter and last month's half-term school holiday, and British Airways, TUI and Easyjet have apologised. Staff shortages have been blamed, after thousands of airline jobs were cut during the pandemic and have yet to be replaced despite a spike in post-pandemic travel demand. In their joint letter, the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority set out five "specific expectations" for the sector. They wrote: "We think it's important that each airline reviews afresh its plans for the remainder of the summer season until the end of September to develop a schedule that is deliverable. "Your schedules must be based on the resources you and your contractors expect to have available, and should be resilient for the unplanned and inevitable operational challenges that you will face. "While cancellations at any time are a regrettable inconvenience to passengers, it is our view that cancellations at the earliest possibility to deliver a more robust schedule are better for consumers than late notice on-the-day cancellations." EasyJet is one of the airlines to have cancelled flights The letter stated that airlines must "keep consumers informed" about their rights during disruption, such as having "sufficiently staffed call centres and user-friendly digital channels". It also urged airlines, ground handlers, air traffic control and the Border Force work more closely to try to prevent problems. Story continues 'Problems to persist' Airlines and unions told MPs on the Commons Business Committee on Tuesday that the staffing shortages blighting the industry were likely to persist this summer. Oliver Richardson, national officer for civil air transport at the Unite union, told MPs it was unlikely the situation would be fixed "unless we work together". Representatives from BA, Easyjet and ground handling firm Swissport said they also faced long delays to get security clearance for new staff. Swissport's UK boss, Jude Winstanley, said it had hired 3,000 people since the start of the year, but it was taking up to 90 days to get them a full airside pass due to the referencing process. Holidaymakers and travellers sit outside the Covid-19 Test centre at Terminal 3 of London Heathrow Airport in west London According to the CAA, up to 4% of UK flights were cancelled during half term and the Platinum Jubilee weekend - up from the usual rate of 1%. Boss Richard Moriarty called the situation distressing and unacceptable, adding that the industry needed to get a grip - although he said it was "not solely a UK specific issue". There have been calls for EU aviation workers to be added to the government's shortage occupation list, but aviation minister Robert Courts denied this would help. He told the committee that EU HGV drivers - another industry facing shortages - had been offered up to 5,000 visas to fill gaps in the UK, and only 27 had come forward. "If there were spare workers in Europe they would be in Schiphol [Amsterdam airport]," he said. Banner saying 'Get in touch' Do you work in the aviation industry? Are you a passenger affected? Share your experiences by emailing 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. By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jarrett Renshaw WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden, under pressure over sky-high gasoline prices, on Wednesday demanded oil refining companies explain why they are not putting more fuel on the market as they reap windfall profits. Biden wrote to executives from Marathon Petroleum Corp, Valero Energy Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp, and complained they had cut back on oil refining to pad profits, according to a copy of the letter https://docsend.com/view/qpg3e8a2s3fbxi3a seen by Reuters. The letter was also sent to Phillips 66, Chevron Corp, BP and Shell, a White House official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. "At a time of war, refinery profit margins well above normal being passed directly onto American families are not acceptable," Biden wrote, adding the lack of refining was driving up gas prices faster than oil prices. Biden said the industry's lack of action is blunting the administration's attempts to offset the impact of oil-rich Russia's invasion of Ukraine, such as releases from the U.S. oil reserves and adding more ethanol to gasoline. Energy companies are enjoying bumper profits since the invasion, which added to a supply squeeze driving crude prices above $100 a barrel. Fuel demand has remained robust despite record-high gasoline prices. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said refiners have a "patriotic duty" to increase supplies and cut consumer costs. "We are calling on them to do the right thing, to be patriots here," she told reporters. U.S. refining capacity peaked in April 2020 at just under 19 million barrels per day (bpd), when prices tanked during the pandemic and refiners shut several unprofitable facilities. As of March, refining capacity was 17.9 million bpd, but there have been other closures announced since then. U.S. refiners are running at near-peak levels to process fuel - currently at 94% of capacity. They say there is little they can do to quickly satisfy Biden's demands. Story continues "Our refineries are running full out," Bruce Niemeyer, corporate vice president of strategy and sustainability at Chevron, said on the sidelines of a Reuters energy transition conference on Tuesday, before the letter was made public. Shell is "producing at capacity" and looking at options to increase oil and gasoline production, a spokesperson said. Exxon, the focus of the president's ire against oil companies last week, has invested to expand its refining capacity by 250,000 bpd, the equivalent of a medium-sized refinery, said spokesman Todd Spitler. Spitler said the administration in the short term could lift the Jones Act provisions that force domestic shippers to use U.S. flagged vessels that employ union labor, or waive fuel regulations. The U.S. government has waived summertime bans on the use of cheaper, smog causing fuel components in emergency cases. The administration recently used emergency powers to lift the ban on gasoline with higher blends of ethanol. Phillips 66, Valero and Marathon Petroleum said they would work with the administration. Chevron and BP did not immediately comment. HIGH INFLATION Biden has escalated his rhetoric against oil companies as pump prices have raced to record highs above $5 per gallon. Privately, White House officials have been asking refiners about idled plants and spare capacity and whether there are other ways to increase gasoline supply, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. Rising gas prices have helped drive unexpectedly persistent consumer price inflation and voter anger before Nov. 8 midterm elections where Biden's Democratic Party is defending its control of Congress. Biden has attributed rising oil prices primarily to U.S.-led sanctions that took Russian energy supplies off the global market. He has also blamed major oil companies riding rising energy prices to record earnings, and giving profits to investors rather than spending on new drilling and refining capacity. "Exxon made more money than God this year," Biden said last week, after the major's first quarter profit doubled from the previous year to $5.48 billion. Exxon's Spitler said the top U.S. producer has invested more than $50 billion over the past five years that resulted in a nearly 50% increase in U.S. oil output. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm plans to host an emergency meeting on how refiners can respond to higher prices, Biden said, asking oil companies to provide "concrete ideas" to increase oil refining and explain why they may have cut such capacity in the last two years. Granholm has requested a meeting with refinery executives no later than June 21, two sources familiar with the request said. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Jarrett Renshaw, David Gaffen, Ron Bousso and Gary McWilliams; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Heather Timmons, Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio) Joe Biden Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images President Biden will sign an executive order "Advancing Equality for LGBTQI+ Individuals," the White House announced Wednesday. In a statement, the administration said the order cracks down on the "discredited and dangerous practice" of conversion therapy, directs the Department of Health and Human Services to help prevent LGBT youth suicide by expanding access to mental health resources, and calls on HHS to "study and address the disproportionate rates of child removals that LGBTQI+ parents face, especially women of color." "I have no room in my heart for hatred and I have no time for intolerance, but we don't live in a world where everyone feels that way, and this administration understands that more action is needed," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine, who is transgender. Ryan T. Anderson, the president of the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center, called the proposal "Orwellian." Biden's order, Anderson wrote, "would prevent efforts to help girls identify as girls. That's what they're calling 'conversion therapy.' Meanwhile it'll expand efforts to give girls puberty blockers and testosterone. That's what they're calling 'gender affirmation.'" Politico notes that the order "comes on the heels of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' move to end gender-affirming care for minors." Earlier this month Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, asked the Florida Board of Medicine to "establish a standard of care" that would prohibit doctors from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-reassignment surgery to minors. You may also like The Ezra Miller accusations, explained Microsoft shuts down Internet Explorer after nearly 30 years New Jan. 6 committee emails link Trump election lawyer John Eastman to Supreme Court, Ginni Thomas President Biden on Wednesday announced plans to send another $1 billion security assistance package to Ukraine that will include artillery, coastal defense weapons and ammunition to help the country fight off Russian forces. Biden also said he would send an additional $225 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine to provide drinking water, medical supplies, food and shelter for families inside Ukraine grappling with the impact of the months-long Russian invasion. The president said in a written statement that he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday to inform him of the additional assistance, which is a sliver of a massive $40 billion aid package passed by Congress last month. The call Wednesday morning between the two leaders lasted about 40 minutes, according to the White House. I reaffirmed my commitment that the United States will stand by Ukraine as it defends its democracy and support its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of unprovoked Russian aggression, Biden said. The U.S. has sent billions in weaponry, humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine to help forces blunt the Russian attack since the start of the war at the end of February. The administration quickly depleted the first $13.6 billion emergency aid package Congress approved for Ukraine in March. According to the White House statement, the latest assistance package will include ammunition for artillery and the advanced rocket systems that the U.S. already sent to Ukraine. Biden said two weeks ago that he would send High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to help Ukrainian forces strike targets from a longer distance, though administration officials said they received assurances the rocket systems would not be used against targets inside Russia. The systems were included in a $700 million package unveiled earlier this month. Word of the new assistance came as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were meeting in Brussels with members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Story continues Speaking at a news conference, Austin said that the package would include guided Multiple Launch Rocket System munitions, 18 howitzers and tactical vehicles, and 36,000 rounds of 155 mm ammunition. Ukraine has pleaded for weapons as they face a sustained attack from the Russians in the eastern part of the country. Ukraines foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed the assistance on a phone call with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. I thanked for the crucial military assistance that the U.S. has already provided to Ukraine and emphasized that we urgently need more heavy weapons delivered more regularly, Kuleba tweeted. We also coordinated next steps to ramp up sanctions pressure on Russia. Updated: 2:31 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Boise Police Department released the name of the 39-year-old Boise man who was shot and injured after exchanging gunfire with multiple law enforcement agencies last week. On June 9, authorities alleged Jake Cottrell who is still at the hospital was involved in two shootings about 10 miles apart, in northwest Boise and downtown Meridian, according to a news release from the Boise Police Department and prior Statesman reporting. At 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Boise police were informed that two Idaho Department of Correction parole officers were involved in a shooting. The Department of Correction confirmed the shooting in a tweet but hasnt provided additional details. Cottrell allegedly stole a car and authorities pursued him before exchanging gunfire on Broadway Avenue. Cottrell was taken to a local hospital after officers shot him. Cottrell will be booked into the Ada County Jail on seven felonies once he is released from the hospital, according to the news release. Boise police said they didnt have an update on Cottrells condition. The Statesman has reached out to spokesperson Haley Williams for additional information. Boise police name officers involved Seven officers were involved in the shooting, but only the three Boise officers names have been released: Cpl. Brek Orton, a 23-year veteran of Boise police; Sgt. Kirk Rush, whose been with the department for 17 years; and Officer Connor Burch, who has been an officer for nearly four years. The Meridian Police Department released the age, ranks, and experience level of the two Meridian police officers involved in the shooting but said their names wouldnt be released until after the Critical Incident Task Force investigation was completed. CITF investigation can take several months to complete. The Meridian officers involved were a 26-year-old male Meridian officer with five years of experience, three of them in Meridian, and a 41-year-old male Meridian sergeant with 21 total years, 17 of them in Meridian, Meridian police previously said. Story continues No Meridian or Boise officers were injured, Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea previously said. Department of Correction has not released any additional details regarding its parole officers or identified them and its unclear why the department was involved in the shooting. Spokesperson Jeff Ray declined to comment Wednesday. According to the Department of Correction and online court records, Cottrell pleaded guilty to domestic violence in the presence of a child in 2012. He was on probation at the time of last weeks shooting. Cottrell was arrested on suspicion of assault or battery upon certain personnel, two counts of grand theft, robbery, unlawful possession by a convicted felon, eluding a police officer, and an enhancement for use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a crime. The investigation is being led by the Garden City Police Department. A Boston police officer was arraigned earlier this week for charges of assault and battery on a family member. According to District Attorney Kevin Hayden, Officer Andrew Blake was released on his own recognizance and ordered that he stay away from and have no contact with the victim. Blake was arrested by the Boston Police Domestic Violence Unit around 3:55 a.m. Saturday on a charge of assault and battery. Blake joined the Boston Police Department in 1998. Members of law enforcement are entrusted to uphold the law and protect members of the community. When a sworn officer violates the law and particularly when an officer is accused of an act of violence it harms the publics trust in not only that individual officer but in law enforcement as a whole, Hayden said. Im grateful to the Boston Police Department for taking swift action and sending the message that no one is above the law. Blake was one of two Boston Officers to be arrested over the weekend for domestic incidents. Two Boston police officers arrested in domestic incidents Walter Suprey was arrested in Danvers around 2:51 a.m. Saturday on a charge of assault and battery on a household member. Suprey has been a Boston police officer since 2008. The officers have been placed on administrative leave, and the Boston Police Anti-Corruption Unit is investigating both matters. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW A suspect was taken into police custody Tuesday after an hours-long manhunt following the shooting of a California Highway Patrol officer during a traffic stop in Los Angeles, authorities said. Authorities identified Pejhmaun Iraj Khosroabadi, 33, as the man who allegedly opened fire on the CHP officer in Studio City. The officer remains hospitalized in serious condition, a CHP spokesman said during a news conference. He is expected to recover. He was only identified as a 27-year-old man who has been with the law enforcement agency for just under a year. MEXICAN NATIONAL, FORMER LA RESIDENT GETS 15 YEARS FOR PRODUCING CHILD PORN, THREATENING MINOR'S FAMILY Khosroabadi and an alleged accomplice were seen being taken into custody near a homeless encampment in the Van Nuys neighborhood, Fox Los Angeles reported. He was taken to a hospital for an injury to his hand. He was tracked down by a 4-year-old police bloodhound K-9 named Piper, who picked up the scent of his blood, authorities said. The shooting occurred just before 8 p.m. Monday. The CHP spokesman did not know what initiated the stop. After the gunfire, the suspect fled. The Los Angeles Police Department was led to an apartment building after finding a white Ford Fusion that matched the description of the suspected shooter's vehicle. The suspect was believed to have barricaded himself inside. Residents in the building were evacuated and a search of the complex came up empty. Khosroabadi was not found but his roommate was detained for questioning. Associated Press Former South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, in his first public comments since being removed from office last week, appeared before a state ethics board Monday to press for an investigation of fellow Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, the person he blames for his impeachment over his conduct surrounding a 2020 fatal car crash. As attorney general, Ravnsborg last year filed a pair of complaints against Noem to the state's Government Accountability Board alleging she abused the powers of her office by interfering in a state agency as it evaluated her daughters application for a real estate appraiser license and by misusing state airplanes. The board, which is comprised of retired judges, has not decided whether to investigate Noem and is working with an attorney to evaluate the merits of the complaints. PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) Prime Minister Hun Sens Cambodian Peoples Party has sued the vice president of the opposition Candlelight Party for $1 million in compensation for comments he made in an online interview alleging that this months local elections were unfair, a spokesman for the governing party said. A lawyer for the Cambodian Peoples Party filed the lawsuit on Tuesday against Son Chhay for saying that the nationwide commune elections were unfree as well as unfair, according to documents filed with the Phnom Penh municipal court. Son Chhay charged that the National Election Committee was biased in favor of the governing party and that there had been vote-buying and intimidation of voters. His allegations have been denied by the government. Son Chhays comments spread false information with malicious intent and were slanderous, which was seriously damaging to the reputation of the Cambodian Peoples Party, which won the election, said the complaint filed by the lawyer, Ky Tech. For several years, long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sens government has aggressively pursued legal action against its opponents, hindering their ability to operate freely, and sometimes hounding them into exile or jailing them. In 2017, the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved by the Supreme Court on a charge of treason that was widely seen as politically motivated to ensure a victory for the Cambodian People's Party in the 2018 general election. Before its dissolution, the opposition party had been expected to mount a strong challenge, but with it off the ballot, Hun Sens party won all the seats in the National Assembly. Sok Eysan, a spokesperson for the governing party, said in social media posts that Son Chhays allegations contradicted the will of the voters and insulted state institutions. Son Chhay said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday that the governing party was seeking to weaken his Candlelight Party so they would not need to dissolve it. Son Chhay holds dual Cambodian and Australian citizenship, and another party official, Thach Setha, said he left Cambodia for Australia on Saturday, before the lawsuit. Thach Setha said it would be better to solve the dispute by having the politicians involved talk face-to-face rather than filing a lawsuit. He added that if there was a legitimate complaint, it should be handled by the National Election Committee instead of the courts. Asked about Son Chhays prospects if the case goes forward, he replied: As everybody knows, whenever there is a lawsuit filed by the government or ruling party against opposition politicians, we have never won any case. Even if you have a very, very good lawyer from heaven, you still lose in court. A man accused of a June 10 murder in the Pine Knolls neighborhood near downtown Chapel Hill turned himself in to police Wednesday night. Nathaniel Shamone Byrd, 41, of Chapel Hill, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 50-year-old Ezzard Charles Stroud Jr., according to a town of Chapel Hill news release. He also was charged with robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, the release said. Byrd was taken to the Orange County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond, pending a court hearing on Thursday, officials said. Police reported finding Stroud dead inside his home on Creel Street around 5:30 a.m. on June 10. A cause of death has not been identified, but police told The News & Observer last week that the officers who found Stroud were responding to a call about a victim with a gunshot wound. Police investigators identified Byrd as a possible suspect during their investigation, which is continuing, the release said Wednesday. Police have not released any other information at this time. Anyone with information about Strouds death is asked to call 911 or to contact the Chapel Hill Police Department at 919-968-2760 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays. Callers can remain anonymous by calling Chapel Hill-Carrboro-UNC Crimestoppers at 919-942-7515. Information that leads to an arrest could be eligible for a reward up to $2,000. The Orange Report Calling Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough readers! We've launched The Orange Report, a free weekly digest of some of the top stories for and about Orange County published in The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun. Get your newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday at 11 a.m. featuring links to stories by our local journalists. Sign up for our newsletter here. For even more Orange-focused news and conversation, join our Facebook group "Chapel Hill Carrboro Chat." Chinese diplomatic observers have expressed concern that the United States is shifting its policy on Taiwan as Beijing again warned that the issue was undermining the relationship between the two sides. China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan held their third meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. Yang warned Sullivan that there would be an "overturning effect" if the Taiwan problem was not handled properly, according to the state news agency Xinhua. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. "This risk will increase if the US continues its approach of 'using Taiwan to contain China' and Taiwan's adoption of 'relying on the US for independence'," Yang said. According to a statement issued by Beijing, Yang criticised the US for trying to contain and suppress China, saying it "puts China-US relations into a very difficult situation". The two sides also discussed issues including North Korea and Ukraine, according to statements issued after the meeting. Sullivan underscored the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to manage competition between the two countries, according to the US side. The statement also said Sullivan "reiterated concerns that the United States has raised repeatedly with China with respect to certain kinds of assistance to Russia" in Ukraine - an accusation Beijing has denied. The warning by Yang came just a day after Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that Beijing will fight "at all costs" against any efforts to make Taiwan independent. Yang Jiechi and Jake Sullivan meet for further talks in Luxembourg on Monday. Photo: Xinhua alt=Yang Jiechi and Jake Sullivan meet for further talks in Luxembourg on Monday. Photo: Xinhua> Story continues Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said Washington's long-held policy of strategic ambiguity over Taiwan - where the US leaves it uncertain whether it would intervene militarily to protect the island - was obviously being eroded. Shi noted US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had told the Shangri-La forum that the US would maintain the capacity to resist any use of force that jeopardised the security of the Taiwanese people, saying: "It cannot be seen as insignificant. A new formal policy is perhaps emerging." Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have continued to rise in recent months, with the People's Liberation Army holding three drills in the area following a visit by US senators and President Joe Biden's comments last month that the US would intervene militarily if mainland China tried to take the island by force. Wu Xinbo, director of the Centre for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said US policy towards Taiwan had "seriously regressed" since 1972 when Washington first reached out to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing. "It should be said that in the past year, we have seen the Biden administration stray further in its policy towards Taiwan ... the US policy towards Taiwan has taken the most serious setback since 1972," Wu said. "Since the beginning of this year, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has, in a sense, spurred the US into adjusting its policy towards Taiwan ... Biden didn't stop [Vladimir] Putin, now he wants to stop the mainland's use of force against Taiwan." Wu also said the US wanted to work with China over issues such as North Korea, following Beijing's decision to join Russia in vetoing further United Nations sanctions last month. But Wu questioned Washington's "sincerity" in handling relations with Beijing and expressed doubt at the prospect of Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting any time soon. "Even if there will be a meeting, it is doubtful whether it can improve relations," he said. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2022. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department gave an update Friday morning on the 2020 mass shooting in west Charlotte. Friday marks two years since gunmen fired more than 180 rounds into a crowd of people at a block party on Beatties Ford Road. Nine people were shot and three of them died. Another person was killed after being hit by a car trying to escape the gunfire. The victims were identified as Kelly Miller, 29, Christopher Gleaton, 28, Jamaa Keon Cassell, 39, and Dairyon Stevenson, 31. Police said about 400 people were at the party but since the shooting, they have not made any arrests. PREVIOUS: No arrests made 1 year later after deadly shooting at Juneteenth party On Friday, CMPD announced they are increasing the reward for information in the case up to $30,000. Thats on top of the more than $17,000 that the ATF is offering, which makes the total reward $47,300. Investigators said someone needs to come forward to bring these victims families justice. Over the last two years, CMPD and their partners have worked relentlessly to try and find the individuals responsible and to hold them accountable, said LT. Bryan Crum. We really ask that anyone that has information regardless of how small they think it may be to give us a call. Thank you @FBICharlotte, @ATFCharlotte @CLTCrimeStopper, and our private donors for contributing to the total reward of $47,300. We will not stop investigating until we have justice for the victims and their families. https://t.co/bbC1N4ZdTO CMPD News (@CMPD) June 17, 2022 A father of one of the victims said because its unsolved, he cant pay proper respects to his son. Story continues As a father to the day my family goes down to visit my sons grave. I cant go. And Im hoping one day that he gets the justice that he deserved, said Charles Billings. Hes been pushing for more information from police about that June night. I was hoping that I will be in court facing that family, that person that murdered my son, Billings said. But that hasnt happened. At this point, police said they have surveillance video of multiple shooters firing into the crowd. In October 2021, police arrested a convicted felon at a club, allegedly carrying a stolen gun. They later connected that gun to the shooing, but he was never tied to the shooting itself. Just this month, Channel 9 learned that the charges against him were dropped. The district attorneys office said there were several reasons for dropping the charges. They said the gun was recovered inside a car that was occupied by several people and that they were unable to do a DNA comparison. They didnt believe there was enough evidence for success at trial. MORE PREVIOUS COVERAGE: That was the latest update Channel 9 got on the investigation. Families of the victims said they rarely hear from investigators. Im gonna keep talking to my son, praying, hoping that before I leave this earth, I hope God (gives) me that answer, Billings said. Community activist Mario Black said he was there the night of the shooting, recording on Facebook Live. Now, he comforts the families. Just loved on them, let them know that there were people in the community that were praying with them, and for them during this tragic time, Black said. (WATCH BELOW: Families question why city removed memorial for victims of deadly block party shooting) Uber and Lyft received a drubbing at the hands of the Massachusetts high court in their effort to gut the state's labor laws. (Associated Press) Following their successful effort to gull California voters into endorsing their method of exploiting their drivers and field workers, Uber, Lyft and other gig companies expanded their campaign to gut labor protections into other states. That included Massachusetts, where the companies managed to get two measures resembling California's Proposition 22 certified for the state ballot. On Tuesday, the state's Supreme Judicial Court threw them out. The high court's reasoning was similar to that of Judge Frank Roesch of Alameda County Superior Court, who ruled Proposition 22 unconstitutional in August: The Massachusetts initiatives were overly greedy, and designed to confuse voters about their real purpose. [Proposals ] that bury separate policy decisions in obscure language heighten concerns that voters will be confused, misled, and deprived of a meaningful choice. Massachusetts Justice Scott Kafker Indeed, the Massachusetts justices wrote, they themselves found untangling the obscure language of the proposed ballot measures to be "no simple task." The gig companies say they will now try to persuade the state Legislature to enact the provisions they tried to sneak past the voters. "We hope the Legislature will stand with the 80% of drivers who want flexibility and to remain independent contractors while having access to new benefits, Conor Yunits, a spokesperson for Flexibility and Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers, the campaign group for the gig companies, told me by email. That's not a promising option, as we'll explain. Politicians in other states, such as New York, are showing less willingness to bow down to the companies' assertions that their business models are good for consumers and workers alike. Fares are rising in some cities, in part because as public companies, rather than venture-funded startups, Uber and Lyft are under greater pressure to start showing profits. (Neither company has ever turned a dime of profit.) Organized labor is also responding more aggressively to the threat the companies pose to the well-being of their workers. Story continues Here's the background to the gig companies' ballot campaigns. By spending a stupefying $205 million the largest sum spent on a ballot initiative in American history the gig companies managed to persuade California voters in 2020 that Proposition 22 would be a boon for their drivers and delivery staffers. The measure designated those workers as independent contractors, overturning rulings by state regulators and judges that they were employees entitled to all the benefits of employment. These include overtime pay, workers' compensation and unemployment benefits, the assurance of a living wage and the right to unionize. Instead, the companies were able to maintain a business model that involves sticking the workers with expenses that customarily are paid by employers, such as fuel, insurance and upkeep of their vehicles. The companies maintained in their campaign that the workers got something more valuable in return "flexibility" to set their own work schedules. As it happens, soon after Proposition 22 passed, Uber started withdrawing some of the flexibility options it had granted drivers to win their support during the initiative campaign, and even took steps that drivers said reduced their income. Then came Roesch's ruling. He observed that the state Constitution requires ballot initiatives to be limited to a single subject. The measures own text identified its subject, in Roeschs words, to be protecting the opportunity for Californians to drive their cars on an independent contractor basis, to provide the drivers with certain minimum welfare standards, and to set minimum consumer protection and safety standards. The initiative, however, includes language that obliquely and indirectly prevents drivers and delivery workers from unionizing, which is not a stated goal of the legislation, Roesch found. Instead, it appears only to protect the economic interests of the network companies in having a divided, ununionized workforce. Roesch also found that the measure infringes on the Legislatures right, granted by the state Constitution, to set workers compensation rules, such as determining which workers are eligible. The proposition was greedy, it tried to cement the companies business model and to take away all rights of workers in this sector, Veena Dubal, a professor at UC Hastings College of the Law and a longtime critic of the gig companies, told me after Roesch ruled. Weve never seen an initiative try to do what this initiative tried to do. The companies are appealing Roesch's ruling, but Proposition 22 remains in effect pending action by the appeals court. This brings us back to Tuesday's action by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which applied to certifications by state Atty. Gen. Maura Healey of two almost identical ballot measures modeled on Proposition 22. The unanimous decision written by Justice Scott Kafker cited a Massachusetts rule similar to California's, that a ballot measure must have only one subject. The court found that the proposed initiatives had two unrelated goals, "one of which is buried in obscure language at the end." The declared purpose, Kafker observed, was to cement in place the designation of gig drivers as independent contractors. The concealed purpose, however, was to immunize the companies from lawsuits by people who had been injured by drivers say by assaults or in traffic accidents. Normally, the employing company would be liable for the actions of its workers while on the job; the proposals would entirely remove that liability by stating that the drivers were acting on their own. Proposals "that bury separate policy decisions in obscure language heighten concerns that voters will be confused, misled, and deprived of a meaningful choice," Kafker wrote. Voters "may not even be aware" of what they're voting on. That was exactly what happened here, he wrote. As for the companies' efforts to obtain a legislative solution, indications are that the Democratic-controlled state Legislature is turning more hostile to the idea. When the companies tried to gain admission to the state Democratic convention earlier this month, they encountered strong opposition from hundreds of delegates, including Healey, a candidate for governor; and all the candidates seeking nominations for lieutenant governor, attorney general and state auditor. The party already had voted to oppose the ballot initiatives. In her role as attorney general, moreover, Healey has sued Uber and Lyft, charging that by misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors, they're violating Massachusetts wage and hour laws. The companies' success with Proposition 22 is beginning to look like a Pyrrhic victory: It opened the eyes of officials outside California to what really is at stake in the companies' efforts to gut employment law for their own interest. That can't be the outcome they were hoping for. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder won't appear at a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform after declining its request Wednesday, according to a four-page letter obtained by Axios. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, however, will appear before the committee remotely to discuss his league's most scandal-plagued team, per Mark Maske of the Washington Post. Snyder and Goodell were both asked on June 1 to testify at the hearing, which was scheduled for June 22, stemming from the committee's investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct within the Commanders' organization as well as the NFL's internal probe of the allegations. Karen Patton Seymour, Snyder's attorney, wrote that the Commanders owner remains "fully willing to assist the Committee in its investigation" but Snyder declined the invitation to testify because the committee refused to change the date of the hearing or allow Snyder to send someone else to testify in his place. Seymour also cast doubt on the committee's promise to focus on only the "historical workplace culture issues" and criticized the committee's refusal to reveal the identities of its witnesses. A committee spokesperson told the Washington Post the committee plans to "move forward with this hearing" and is "currently reviewing Mr. Snyder's letter and will respond." Daniel Snyder declined to appear before Congress regarding its investigation into the Commanders. (Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images) The attorneys for more than 40 former Commanders employees released a statement condemning Snyder's decision to not appear at the hearing: "We, along with our clients, are disappointed but not surprised that Dan Snyder does not have the courage to appear voluntarily. We fully expect the Committee will issue a subpoena to compel Mr. Snyder to appear. It is time that Mr. Snyder learns that he is not above the law." How Snyder got here This hearing is the result of Congress' months-long investigation into the Commanders following allegations of a toxic work environment and sexual harassment that took place over years and were revealed by the Washington Post in a 2020 article. Story continues The committee asked the league and the team in November to turn over all relevant documents pertaining to its own investigation after the league fined the Commanders $10 million and stripped Snyder of day-to-day responsibilities. The Commanders are also facing allegations of fraud against the 31 other NFL teams. More bad news for Commanders Nothing has gone well for the Commanders this month. Last week, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio caused an uproar when he called the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol a "dust-up." Players around the NFL reacted angrily and the NAACP called for Del Rio to resign or be fired. Head coach Ron Rivera fined Del Rio $100,000 for his comments. Star receiver Terry McLaurin is also holding out of mandatory minicamp this week while seeking a new contract. TheStreet.com Visiting a Walt Disney theme park may not be quite as magical as the commercials suggest. Parents, or even adults not visiting Disneyland or Disney World with kids, often have to carry a lot of things with them. You may need an umbrella or poncho for the inevitable rain at Florida's theme parks or multiple layers for temperature differences from early morning to evening. The Chinese fast fashion retailer Shein is known for its low prices. Shein.com A conspiracy theory that workers at Shein are attaching pleas for help on clothing tags went viral. One viral TikTok video featured examples from other companies not tied to Shein over the last decade. There's no evidence to support this particular theory, despite criticism of Shein's business model. A conspiracy theory claiming that workers at the Chinese fast fashion retailer Shein were enclosing secret messages in packages to ask customers for help has racked up millions of views online, but there's no evidence to support the widely spread allegations. TikTok videos promoting the theory offered as evidence one tag sewn into some clothing that read "Do not dry clean due to water saving technology, need your help washing with the soft detergent the first time," Rolling Stone reported on Wednesday. The videos claimed the "need your help" text was a coded plea for assistance, when the tag is most likely just a poor translation of cleaning instructions, and there's no evidence it's tied to a worker sending a secret message. The same claims have also spread on Twitter, racking up tens of thousands of likes and retweets. The claims have also been debunked by the fact-checking website Snopes, which last week labeled the claims "mostly false" and noted it was unclear what brand of clothing that particular tag was attached to. One video on TikTok that made the claim has more than 41 million views and has been liked over 6 million times since it was posted last month. Fact-checkers found that it cobbled together several disparate events and unrelated incidents over the past decade, while excluding further context. One of the clothing tags shown in the video features the words "HELP ME" but is not from Shein. It instead appears to be an item from Romwe, another Chinese fast fashion brand. Romwe issued a statement in 2018 that the tags were not messages from workers but simply used to indicate the item's name, which was the "Help Me Bookmark." Story continues Another tag featured in the video had the phrase "I have dental pain" sewn into the tag, though that image was posted on Reddit eight years ago and appears entirely unrelated to Shein. The TikTok video also showed a clip from a local newscast that detailed a 2015 incident where a woman in Michigan found a plea for help placed into a package of underwear. That underwear was made in the Philippines by Handcraft Manufacturing Corporation, a New York company, according to a local news report. Another image shown in the video showed a yellow piece of paper with "SOS! SOS! SOS!" written on top with a message in Chinese written underneath. That piece of paper was discovered by a customer who purchased clothing from Primark, the fast fashion retailer based in Ireland, in 2014, according to a news report from ITV that year. Another example shown the video is a stock photo of a clothing tag, according to Snopes. Shein has denied the allegations made in the videos in a statement posted to its TikTok account. "Recently, several videos were posted on TikTok that contain misleading and false information about SHEIN," the company said, "We want to make it very clear that we take supply chain matters seriously. Our strict Code of Conduct prohibits suppliers from using child or forced labor and we do not tolerate non-compliance." Although these particular claims appear to be false, Shein and other fast fashion companies have come under scrutiny for their impact on the environment and working conditions. A report last year from the Swiss watchdog Public Eye alleged working conditions at Shein and some of its partner companies violated Chinese labor law. Some of Shein's partner facilities were set up informally in residential buildings and did not have proper emergency exits or windows, Business of Fashion reported last year. Workers told the watchdog group they worked for 75 hours each week and were only allowed one day off every month, according to the report. Workers at a Shein packaging facility told Public Eye they worked for up to 28 days a month and for up to 14 hours a day, according to the report. The company has also regularly been accused of stealing its designs from other designers, NPR previously reported. Shein is known for its extremely low prices, offering products for as little as $1. The company this year was valued at over $100 billion after a recent fundraising round, making the company more valuable than its rivals H&M and Zara combined. The Chinese retailer last year overtook Amazon to become the most downloaded shopping app in the US, according to data from App Annie and SensorTower. The company's business model relies on overconsumption, Insider previously reported, as its customers are rewarded with more perks based on how much they spend. On its website, Shein claims that all of its workers are paid "living wages," and says it "strictly" abides by laws prohibiting child labor. It also says it prohibits slavery in its facilities or its partner facilities, citing a "strong belief" in ethical labor. The conspiracy theory is not the first time an online retailer has faced similar accusations. In 2020, people across social-media platforms, including on TikTok and Twitter where users mainstreamed the theory, spread the baseless rumor that the online furniture retailer Wayfair was engaging in human trafficking by selling children under expensive listings for cabinets and pillows. That rumor, which was entirely false, was connected to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, and originated from a QAnon influencer, as Insider previously reported. Read the original article on Business Insider The Erie School District's state-mandated financial improvement plan, approved in 2019, recommends annual tax increases of 2.46% to balance the district's budget and keep the district solvent. The plan did not contemplate a global pandemic, however, a point that several Erie School Board members have raised as they consider passing a 2022-23 budget with a tax increase of 4.45%. Those school directors favor the increase, which Erie schools Superintendent Brian Polito is recommending. They see the big tax hike it would be the Erie School District's largest in nearly a decade as necessary to build up the district's budget to continue to pay for additional student support services once the tens of millions of dollars of federal pandemic aid runs out for the district in September 2024. The supports which pandemic aid is funding now include the addition of 15 mental health specialists, summer school and after-school programs and the addition of teachers to reduce class sizes. The programs added during the pandemic are designed to help students who suffered academically due to the lack of in-person instruction during much of the COVID-19 outbreak. Whether the 4.45% increase goes into effect for 2022-23 is expected to be a matter of debate at the School Board's regular monthly meeting on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at East Middle School. On the agenda is a vote on the 2022-23 budget, estimated at $250 million, including the 4.45% tax increase. The board must pass a final budget by June 30, the end of the 2021-22 fiscal year. Superintendent's proposal:4.45% tax hike proposed to retain Erie School District programs added during pandemic Effect on property taxes The proposed tax hike would increase school property taxes by $78.85 for the owner of a home assessed at $100,000. A 4.45% tax increase would also raise about $2.3 million in additional revenue in 2022-23. Polito said the actual effect of a 4.5% tax increase on a home assessed at $100,000 would be negative because of additional relief for homeowners enrolled in the homestead exemption program. Even with a 4.45% tax increase, the additional homestead relief would mean the owner of home assessed at $100,000 would come out $10 ahead, according to district records. Story continues The state gives homestead exemption reductions using gaming revenue. Homeowners must apply for the exemptions for their primary residences. A 4.5% tax increase nonetheless would be the largest in the district since a 7.3% hike in 2013, when the district was trying to offset a multimillion-dollar deficit in an unsuccessful attempt to hold off what turned into a protracted financial crisis. The 4.45% increase is also two percentage points higher than the minimum 2.46% increase recommended in the district's state-mandated financial improvement plan. The district approved the plan in May 2019 as a condition of it receiving $14 million in additional annual state aid to stay solvent and end its financial crisis. The state General Assembly approved the additional funding in 2017. Polito in November petitioned the state Department of Education to remove the Erie School District from the financial improvement plan, citing the district's financial stability. The request is pending. The School Board raised taxes 3% a year ago, for the 2021-22 budget. In June 2019, dealing with its first budget under under the financial improvement plan the School Board in approved a tax increase of 2.46% for 2019-20. At Polito's request, the board in June 2020 approved no tax increase for 2020-21 to ease residents' financial burdens due to the pandemic. End of watch:Erie School District aims for new era, asks state to end financial oversight, citing stability Budget debate This May, during its regular monthly meeting, the School Board unanimously approved the 2022-23 preliminary budget, with the 4.45% tax increase. Preliminary budget:4.45% tax increase, new Edison School advance with Erie School Board votes The nine-member board discussed the budget again at its monthly nonvoting study session this past Wednesday. School Director Leatra Tate said she supports the higher increase. "I can't imagine that (the) 2.46% accounted for COVID and the impact that (it) would have," Tate said. Two school directors expressed qualms about the 4.45% tax increase. School Director Rosemary Sheridan said the issue was complicated because the school district did not yet have data on the effectiveness of the new support programs. Polito responded that the district could alter the programs once the data is available. Six-year-olds Nick Wisniewski, left, and Londyn Williams, right, work on math problems with Mercyhurst University senior Sydnee Hitchcock at the Booker T. Washington Center in Erie in March. The Erie School District is using federal pandemic-relief funding to pay for after-school programs at the city's community centers, and the School Board is considering raising taxes by as much as 4.45% to continue funding the after-school programs and other student support services once the federal aid runs out in the 2024-25 school year. "If we find they aren't effective, we will adjust accordingly," Polito said. Sheridan also referred to the concerns of an Erie resident who spoke at the study session, Richard Gorski, who said the 4.45% increase would burden retirees like him. "The citizens of Erie cannot afford it," Gorski told the board. School Board Vice President John Harkins said he appreciated the reasoning behind the proposed 4.45% increase, but said he was more inclined to vote for the 2.46% increase. Harkins suggested that the board wait to vote on the budget until the state passes its budget for 2022-23. Harkins said the new state budget, also effective July 1, could include enough funding for the Erie School District to set aside future funding for the support services and still approve a tax increase of less than 4.45%. The School Board on Wednesday night could vote to table final approval of the district's 2022-23 budget until later in June, pending the passage of the final state budget. Polito is one of 60 school district superintendents statewide calling on the General Assembly to boost funding for the districts through the state's year-old Level Up initiative. It provides more state funding to the state's poorest school districts, including the Erie School District, with about 10,000 students. Other options? In the discussion about the 2022-23 budget, some school directors asked Polito whether the board could continue to fund the support programs beyond 2024 by passing a tax increase of less than 4.45%. Polito said he recommended an increase of that size because lesser increases would fail to raise enough revenue to keep the programs beyond 2024 without the district cutting other programs to save money. The district would have to spend $9.3 million of its own money to keep those supports fully funded starting in 2024-25, the district's first full year without the pandemic aid. The federal pandemic aid allocation for the Erie School District is $97.6 million. The district has used the bulk of the money on building improvements, such as upgrades to ventilation systems. It also used more than $1 million to improve security, including the addition of metal detectors at its two high schools and three middle schools, in response to the shooting at Erie High on April 5. Aftermath:'Guilt and terror': In letters to judge, teachers reflect on shooting at Erie High Polito said the district must continue to fund the support programs, once the federal money runs out, for the benefit of the students and staff as they continue to need help recovering from the pandemic. School Director Jay Breneman said he agreed with Polito that the 4.45% tax increase is necessary to keep the mental health programs and similar initiatives in place for the long term. "These issues aren't going away," Breneman said told the board. Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie School District budget: Board mulls tax hike to counter pandemic Uvalde Families Grieve For Loved Ones Killed In School Mass Shooting Gifts and makeshift crosses are seen at a memorial dedicated to the 19 children and two adults killed on May 24 during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 31, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. Credit - Brandon BellGetty Images With the memory of the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, still fresh, Senate negotiators on Sunday night proposed a cautious bipartisan compromise on gun control legislation. The framework includes measures both to bolster background checks for those under age 21 and strengthen security at schools. While the latest catastrophic flare-up of gun violence may have mobilized lawmakers, the tragedy at Robb Elementary School on May 24, which claimed the lives of 19 children and 2 adults, was far from the first fatal school shooting in recent years. But precisely how many lives have been lost to those shootings is a figure for which there is little consensus. There is no federal definition for such incidents, leaving it up to researchers, advocacy groups, and publications to craft their own. To examine why it is so difficult to agree on this grim tally, TIME reviewed the roster of nearly 1,000 incidents of gunfire at schools and colleges published by the gun-control advocacy non-profit Everytown for Gun Safety, spanning the nearly 10 years since the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Everytowns figures are commonly citedalongside a handful of organizations that comb and aggregate media accounts of gunfire on school groundsand use a broad definition of any time a firearm is discharged inside a school building or on a school campus or grounds. Read more: Mass Shootings Are Only a Small Part of Americas Deadly Problem With Kids and Guns Other organizations commonly filter such lists based on a handful of variables such as the number of casualties and the time of day, often focusing on Newtown-like events. Advocacy groups like Everytown, meanwhile, argue that such a lens discounts many traumatic events and lost lives that occur in contexts like school sporting events. Story continues To capture this tricky calculus, TIME took the 101 incidents on Everytowns list of on-campus gun violence at preschools and K-12 schools that involve an assault and at least one fatality, and coded each by the variables that are commonly used to arrive at a measure of the impact of school shootings. You can adjust this filter to see how the tally changes based on any given distinction in what constitutes a school shooting. The above incidents are only a subset of the Everytown universe, which also includes nearly 250 events in which no one was killed but at least one person was wounded, sometimes severely. The list also includes a number of episodes in which a personusually a studenttook their own life on campus, often during the school day, as well as a number of accidents, typically when a student brought a gun to school and discharged it in the course of showing it to another. The above visualization is not meant to discount the impact of such incidents, but is limited by the often spare information available as to when and where they took place and who was involved. Notably, a fair portion of gunfire on school grounds involves confrontations between adults, often at night and on weekends and almost always outside. But any effort to draw a clear distinction between these episodes and ones that endangered a student turn up borderline cases. Of the 101 incidents on this list, 50 occurred outside school hours (school hours here includes school-sponsored sporting events), and of the 53 people killed in those incidents, 11 were under age 18. On a Monday afternoon last October, for example, a 21-year-old opened fire in front of a pizza shop directly across the street from Lincoln High School in Philadelphia, critically injuring a 16-year-old student and killing a 65-year-old man who had just dropped off a dress for his granddaughter. Such an incident will fall under some definitions of a school shooting and not others, though activists and gun control proponents argue that such incidents are less different than a typical school shooting than they may seemeven when a shooting occurs long after students have departed for the day. I would contend that children know what happened on the school grounds, says Sarah Burd-Sharps, senior director of research at Everytown. Theyre each different, and children receive them differently. Read more: School Shootings Are Raising Anxiety and Panic in U.S. Children Whats most apparent from this list is the urgent need to protect schools, even from violence in which students were never the intended targets. Most of the shooters who shoot in schools are students or former students at that school. Its where theyve spent time, its where they have their relationships, its sometimes where theyve had failures, says Burd-Sharps. Schools, further, are a harder space to close off and protect than many other venues. On a statistical scale, school shootings are still sufficiently rare that, even by the broadest definition, they tend to defy the efforts of traditional data analysis. Some months and years are much worse than others. And any effort to trim the list to a smaller number of qualifying events, while not to the liking of the activists who compile them, involves a certain practical, and tragic, recognition on the part of those doing the counting: Any attempt to tally American school shootings without excluding any is likely to fail. At some point, there are just too many to count. Christina Neuman Berg The Illinois man facing charges for allegedly drowning his three children in a bathtub left a chilling note for his estranged wife to find, prosecutors said Wednesday. Mr. Karels left a note in the home, which stated, If I cant have them, neither can you, Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart said during a Wednesday court hearing for Jason Karels. Karels, 35, has been charged with murder for the Monday deaths of his three young children5-year-old Bryant, 3-year-old Cassie, and 2-year-old Gideon. On Wednesday, a Lake County judge set the fathers bail at $10 million. Prosecutors allege that after Karels drowned his kids one at a time in the bathroom, he penned the grisly note intended for his estranged wife, Debra Karels. Hours later, Debra called the police asking them to perform a welfare check at his house. The devastated mother, who spoke exclusively to The Daily Beast on Tuesday, said she intended to pick up her children for a doctors appointment. In Disbelief: Stunned Mom Speaks After Estranged Husbands Accused of Drowning Their Three Kids When Round Lake Beach police entered the Camden Lane home, they found the three children dead and their father missing, spurring a massive search. Karels was ultimately tracked down in his red Nissan Maxima on a local highway and was arrested after a 17-minute, high-speed chase that ended in a crash. After the crash, Karels made statements to police officers involved in the chase and wearing body-worn cameras indicating he was responsible for the deaths of the children at the Round Lake Beach home, Round Lake Beach Police Chief Gilbert Rivera said during a Tuesday press conference announcing the charges. He also said he attempted to commit suicide several times after the deaths of the children but was unsuccessful during these attempts. Authorities have indicated that the shocking murders were motivated from a domestic situation. Debra Karels sister-in-law, Christina Neuman Berg, told The Daily Beast on Wednesday that Jason had severe mental issues and refused to get help. Story continues Debra Karels told The Daily Beast on Wednesday that she is disappointed by the news that her estranged husband, whom she was in the process of divorcing, received bail given the nature of the crime. She added that she was aware of the note but has not seen it in person. I dont want to see it, she said. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. DENNIS Anne Levine is an unlikely ally to Ukrainians 4,900 miles away fighting for their lives against the Russian army. The 61-year-old DJ with WOMR has found a way to tell the stories of Ukrainians thrust into the hellhole of battle. And she is doing it one story at a time, one week at a time, shining a light on the bravery of what some ordinary citizens are doing to save their country from the unprovoked attack. Among the people she has interviewed are an emergency room doctor, a soldier who lost his eyesight fighting in Mariupol, a general manager of Kraina FM in Ukraine, a travel blogger, and a social influencer. Anne Levine (with husband Michael) is a DJ for WOMR and has been working with Kraina FM, a Ukrainian radio station, to get the word out about what is happening during the Russian invasion. Her show, Ukaine242, is done from her Dennis home and has been picked up by Pacifica Network. Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times This is a story about the power radio and of a people who have joined forces to fight off the Russians.. Levine's stories have shown the strength and resilience of so many ordinary citizens doing what they can with what they have where they are, for the survival of their country. Its about the power and global reach of radio, and the decision by Pacifica Network executives to make her show free to all listeners. And its about the effect her show has had; donations have come in to support soldiers on the front lines, and people caring for children and animals left behind. Art historian and activisit: Oleksandra Kovalchuk to discuss Ukranian museum and culture Levine has been a WOMR DJ for 15 years. An article in the New Yorker in March motivated her to reach out to her peers at Kraina FM, a radio station with a reach across Ukraine and several neighboring countries. Prior to Feb. 24, the station transmitted mainly pop, rock and top-40 music all in the Ukrainian language. The station went underground after Feb. 24, transmitting from various undisclosed locations to avoid Russian detection. It hit me that radio people took this powerful medium and turned it into something the army can use, Levine said. She reached out to Kraina FM and said she wanted to help. Story continues It wasnt easy. Artwork in response to the war in Ukraine done by Deidre Morgan on display in the main lobby of the Wilkins Library at Cape Cod Community College in April. Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times It took days to make contact with Kraina FMs General Manager Bogdan Bolkhovetsky. He and Programming Director Roman Davydov were hiding in an undisclosed location. There were, and continue to be language and time zone considerations. Levine relied on Ukrainians to feed her contact information, then set up interviews. Kraina FM brought in two voice actors to reenact scripts for Levine. "Ive been feeling my way along the walls, Levine said. I dont know what Im doing. 'Shared creation': More art for Ukraine, more theaters reveal seasons, more arts news But Ursula Ruedenberg, manager of the Pacifica Affiliate Network, discovered Levines show and sent her a Facebook message. Pacifica is a nonprofit dedicated to grassroots community radio. After one Zoom meeting, Ruedenberg was impressed enough to agree to edit Levines shows and post them on the affiliates network, which has more than 200 member stations. Then she decided to make the posts password free to any station that wanted to run them. I was looking for a way to provide good content about Ukraine, Ruedenberg said. She (Levine) did the legwork. That was pretty hard. Were always looking for media connections to report responsibly. A man plays the cello between bombed buildings in "Is Anyone Listening," an image created by Cape artist Heather MacKenzie to raise money to help the people of Ukraine. Ruedenberg said Levines show is a template for what her network would want in other parts of the world where conflicts are ongoing. She mentioned Russias participation in Syrias civil war and conflicts in Africa. "Its hard to cover because we dont have media partners there, she said. Kraina FM was perfectly situated, established, had boots on the ground, and millions of listeners. WOMR Station Manager John Braden said there is power in radio. While electricity and transmitters can be shut down or bombed, there is a simplicity to radio. While power to the internet can be turned off, radio remains. People don't have to have a computer or electricity to listen to radio as long as they have transistor radios and batteries. They can listen in bomb shelters and basements. WOMR expands its reach beyond the Cape and South Shore WOMR operates on 6,000 watts and reaches listeners on most of the Cape and South Shore. The Pacifica Network with its 220 member stations has about 86.5 million listeners, according to a 2019 survey, Ruedenberg said. Kraina FM is broadcast in 24 Ukrainian cities, with reach into neighboring Poland, Moldova, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia, though Russia has stopped broadcasts in Eastern Ukraine and Russia. Levines first show was an interview with Krainas Bolkhovetsky, who rebranded the station as Ukraines Radio of National Resistance after the Russian invasion. He offered the station as a vehicle for military listeners to call in and request items they needed, such as socks, binoculars, printers, or laptops. 'I have to do something': Cape Cod artists mobilize to raise money for Ukrainian people Children's story programs are aired in the early evenings and weekends. The station also had psychologists give advice on how to handle stress and trauma. Everything was geared to helping the people of Ukraine survive the war, Levine said. She interviewed Dr. Stanislav Onyshchuk, chief at a volunteer surgical hospital, and a Ukrainian soldier who was held by Russian forces in Mariupol. He received no treatment for a broken leg and loss of sight until he escaped. She talked with Ukrainian television star and vlogger Anton Ptushkin. One of her most visceral interviews was with social influencer Nastya Mishouska who talked about the siege of Mariupol, and Russias deportation of her uncle and family. She is caring for children in an orphanage and goes from pharmacy to pharmacy trying to get any available medicine. 'Where is our credibility if Ukraine fails?': Polish leader urges more help from NATO; US Open gives OK to Russians. Radio broadcaster Volodymyr Anfimov spoke about how Ukraines celebrity figures are laying down their instruments and taking up arms at the front. Ukraine Under Siege: Russias Unforgiveable War is a new five-minute segment detailing the latest news regarding Russian military movements as well as losses. Mondays show broadcast the number of Russian aircraft, missiles and helicopters lost since the war began. It reported on the billions in euros that Russia earned from sales of its fuel. The nation has also stolen 500 tons of grain, prompting warnings about a famine on a global scale, according to the show. People are doing what they can with what they have, Levine said. From growing potatoes to fixing cars, feeding children to taking in stray animals, everyone is on board with resisting Russias advances. Levine thinks her work is more important than ever. Every day the war drags on, fatigue sets in and listeners start to feel less urgency. As a result, broadcasting to western audiences is so important, she said. How it's unfolding in maps: Russia gaining control of another crucial eastern Ukraine city Levine's shows have raised money for hospitals and orphanages. Theyve been able to get money to soldiers on the front lines, something nongovernmental agencies cannot do. Samaritans Purse has stockpiles worth millions theyve raised sitting in a warehouse in Lviv, Levine said. "A whole field hospital is empty because they cant give it to soldiers, she said. Ptushkin has turned his focus to western audiences because of what he calls Russias brainwashing. The western audience can change something, he told Levine. Levines show can be heard at https://ukraine242.com/. Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @DeniseCoffeyCCT. This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod radio DJ connects with Ukrainians at war via airwaves UPDATE: This story has been updated to include the names of the victim and the man who Gratiot County sheriff's deputies believe to be the main suspect. NORTH SHADE TWP. A St. Johns man who died by suicide is the Gratiot County Sherriff's Office's main suspect in connection with the shooting death of a Portland woman and the wounding of her boyfriend, a case which deputies believe was a murder-suicide. Sheriff's deputies believe Christopher Szafran, 22, took his own life after fatally shooting Reagan Torp, 23, according to an updated press release. Sheriff's deputies were dispatched about 3:25 a.m. to the 8000 block of West Cleveland Road in North Shade Township in response to reports of a homicide, according to a Tuesday release. According to deputies, Szafran parked his car and entered the home of a 34-year-old North Shade Township man, before shooting Torp, who had been dating the man, once in the head. Szafran then also shot the 34-year-old in the head, per the release. Afterward, the release said, Szafran turned the gun on himself and died by suicide. Both Torp and Szafran were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the release. "Investigation shows that the suspect and the female had been in a previous relationship," the release said. The 34-year-old was grazed by a bullet and survived, the release said. Contact reporter Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or jtweber@lsj.com. This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: 2 dead, 1 wounded in suspected Gratiot County murder-suicide Stephen Colbert reckons Donald Trump Jr.s mail-order meat promotion sounds more frightening than it does appetizing. Until they face consequences, the ex-presidents family is still out there peddling their wares, Colbert said on Tuesday nights Late Show. For example, Trump Jr. recently made a post on Instagram promoting Good Ranchers, a MAGA-friendly mail-order meat company. If you havent heard about Good Ranchers before, you need to. Theyre one of the only companies out there delivering 100% American meat to your door 100% of the time, Trump Jr. said in the video, which offered the code MAGAKING for two free ribeye steaks. Colbert was a little disturbed by this vow. One hundred percent of the time, there will be meat at your door. Every time you open it Boom! More meat. Like it or not, meat there! Youre gonna have to walk over the meat every time you open your door, he joked. That sounds less like a delivery and more like a threat. Hey, snitches get rib tips. All Im saying is Id hate to see your wife and kids end up with infinite meat. Given this familys whole deal, whats the grift here? Is it gopher meat? Colbert added. As it turns out, the business saw its Better Business Bureau accreditation revoked last year after it failed to deal with numerous customer complaints with integrity, good faith and intent to do what is reasonably expected, among other issues. Watch more of Colberts monologue below: This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge lay a wreath at a memorial service at the foot of Grenfell Tower in London, on June 14, 2022. (POOL/AFP via Getty Images) The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined Grenfell survivors and the bereaved at a memorial service in London on the fifth anniversary of the fatal tragedy. Kate and William's attendance has been called "huge" for the community and showed they "shared that feeling" of mourning, according to a local resident. The royal couple were among those who observed a 72-second silence at the bottom of the tower in north Kensington in London on the evening of 14 June, in memory of the 72 men, women and children who lost their lives in the fire half a decade ago. The pair laid a wreath in tribute to those who died and listened to speeches at the service, which included calls for the arrests of those responsible for the fatal fire, as well as criticism of the government's Rwanda immigration policy. Kate and William chatted with attendees before taking their seats for the multi-faith service. This followed a private meeting earlier in the day with those directly affected by the fire. Read more: Grenfell Tower tribute: 'I still have survivor's guilt' The royal couple speak with survivors and bereaved children on the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire where 72 people lost their lives. (POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Mother-of-five Muna Hussain said her children went to the same school as five of those who lost their lives, with her household evacuated shortly after the devastation. On William and Kate's appearance at the service, Hussain, 50, told PA news agency, "I was happy. I was glad to see at least they know how we are feeling as a community, and they shared that feeling. It makes me very happy. Its massive, its huge for us. It makes you feel better. Hussain said she and her son, just 13 years old at the time, witnessed the fire, and had visited the tower and memorial every day since being allowed back home. The names of the 72 people who lost their lives in Britain's worst residential fire since World War II were read out. (AFP via Getty Images) Father Gerard Skinner, parish priest of St Francis of Assisi church in Notting Hill, was among those to speak. He said Grenfell Tower has become a symbol of suffering for those who died, their loved ones, survivors and the community, and a symbol of shame for liars and deceivers. Many of those at the service wore green scarves and clothing, similar to that of the green hearts on the wall, and on the tower, which have come to symbolise the tragedy, with Grenfell thought to be an adaptation of the words 'green field'. Story continues During the service, 18 green balloons were released to remember the children who lost their lives, while there were also choir performances, prayers, readings and the unveiling of a white heart sculpture made of hands. The wider community were able to watch live on nearby screens. In a moving moment, Ayeesha, eight, who survived the fire, recited a poem she wrote called 'Never Forget'. We will stay strong, we will rise up as a community, we will fight for justice together, we will always remember our friends and our neighbours, we will always remember our home," she said. We cant change the past but we can change the future. Never forget. Read more: Play about Grenfell Tower fire set to air on Channel 4 The service service called for the arrests of those responsible for the tragedy. (POOL/AFP via Getty Images) She smiled while ending the poem, with the duke and duchess smiling back as they joined in the applause. The royal couple and the London Mayor Sadiq Khan laid floral tributes at the base of the tower at the end of the service, with Kate laying down a wreath with white flowers, William looking on, before bowing their heads and standing for a moment of reflection. As they left in a black car, Kate waved to onlookers from inside as they were driven down Grenfell Road. On the day, politicians also attended a Westminster Abbey service, and music artists like Big Zuu and Lowkey marched a silent two-minute circuit led by those directly affected by the fire. Five years on since the 72 people lost their lives in the fire, nearly 10,000 tower blocks still have unsafe cladding or other associated fire risks, making the service one of remembrance and one still demanding both justice and safe homes. Additional reporting PA. Duval County Public Schools top educator has a new contract and a $300,000 salary after the school board approved a nearly 10% raise. The superintendent in Duval County has been making $275,000 since 2005. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] $275,000 isnt what it used to be, board member Cindy Pearson, representing District 3, said. That comment and discussion rubbed some teachers the wrong way. With her just worrying about the superintendent who makes over a quarter-million dollars, its just tone-deaf at the highest order, Chris Guerrieri, a veteran teacher at DCPS, said. He said after 21 years with the district, he gets about a sixth of Greenes new salary. Read: State Board carrying out controversial schools law In a statement to Action News Jax, Pearson said, I recognize that the statement was careless, and I apologize for that. My point was that the superintendents salary has not changed since 2005, and over that time, the value of that compensation has declined. I am sorry and will try to be more thoughtful with my words in the future. Even with the raise, Dr. Greenes salary is the lowest of Floridas largest districts, as shown below. 1. Miami-Dade: $370,000 2. Broward: $350,000 3. Hillsborough: $310,000 4. Pinellas: $308,000 5. Orange: $300,000 6. Palm: $300,000 7. Duval: $300,000 Pearson said the closest comparison when looking at district size is Pinellas County. Some board members argued for increasing the salary even higher to $310,000, saying it would help with recruitment the day Greene steps away from her role. She turned it down. Thank you, but I would prefer to stay in alignment with the teachers as a show of support for teachers, she said at the Tuesday, June 7 board meeting. One way I try to show leadership is walk the walk, talk the talk. And if I feel that (if) our teachers are No. 7, I should remain No. 7. Several board members argued the superintendents track record deserves a raise. Board member Warren Jones pointed out Greene helped pass the half-cent sales tax to improve the districts aging schools. Story continues Read: Change needs to happen now: Teen urges Congress to address gun violence Warren also credited Greene for leading the district through school renaming and COVID. Lori Hershey, representing District 7, said, We are moving in the right direction. We are seeing an increase in the graduation rate. The graduation rate has increased from just more than 70% in 2013 to nearly 90% in 2021. It broke a record under Dr. Greenes leadership after she started in Duval in 2018. The only board member who voted against the salary hike was Charlotte Joyce, representing District 6. I have a real issue with increasing the salary, especially with what we have going on with employment issues across the district, Joyce said. Greenes new contract extends another four years. You can check district grades across all of Florida here: https://www.fldoe.org/accountability/accountability-reporting/school-grades/. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS - An arrest has been made in connection to the grisly discovery of a dead woman inside a car parked on Asbury Avenue last Friday, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office on Tuesday. Jordan J. Vilcatoma-Correjo, 28, of Edison, is charged with second-degree desecration of human remains, said Mark Spivey, a spokesman for the Prosecutors Office. Vilcatoma-Correjo was taken to the Monmouth County Jail in Freehold Township on Saturday where he continued to be held on Tuesday night. The suspect is awaiting a detention hearing in state Superior Court in Freehold, Spivey said. The identity of the dead woman has been determined but is not being made public until after authorities notify her family, Spivey explained. Related: Investigation underway in Atlantic Highlands after woman found dead in car Details about the circumstances of the womans death also have not been disclosed. Borough police were called to Asbury Avenue between Navesink and Grand avenues about 7:45 a.m. Friday after the body was found in the car. The Prosecutors Office is asking for the publics assistance with this case. Anyone who can provide investigators with information about this crime is urged to contact Detective Thomas Manzo of the Prosecutors Office at 800-533-7443 or Atlantic Highlands Police Lt. Michael Zudonyi at 732-291-1212. Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Edison man charged with desecration of human remains at NJ Shore An explosion last week at a natural gas terminal is impacting the market, and President Biden prepares to visit Saudi Arabia. This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, were Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Explosion jolts natural gas market Last weeks explosion at Texas natural gas terminal Freeport LNG has injected further chaos into international energy markets as the U.S. has stepped up to replace Russian gas exports to Europe. Experts said that while the facility is offline, it will likely keep about 1.33 billion cubic feet (bcf) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per day off the market for the next three weeks. Before the explosion, it had a daily capacity of about 2 bcf. The new news: On Tuesday, the facility lengthened the forecasted shutdown period, saying it was aiming for a partial restart in 90 days, with full-service restoration not expected until late 2022. Freeport, which said no one was injured in the incident, has attributed the explosion to a fire caused by the rupture of an over-pressurized pipeline. This will contribute to a possible tightening of the market as it coincides with some Asian and South American buyers coming to market for volumes, said Eugene Kim, research director for American Gas at the energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. The incident, which remains under investigation, comes at a pivotal moment for U.S. natural gas production in the international market. The European Union sanctioned Russias gas industry in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a result, European nations have grown increasingly reliant on the U.S. to make up the difference. And the EUs final agreement on an embargo of Russian oil, reached in early June, is likely to further heighten the need. Story continues Natural gas prices plummeted Tuesday after the extension of the timeline. American natural gas dropped about 16 percent to $7.22 per million British thermal units. Meanwhile, European gas prices increased by about 21 percent. Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, said on a press call Tuesday that even in the absence of the Freehold terminal, other LNG producers may be able to fill in the gap. However, Frank Macchiarola, the American Petroleum Institute senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs, added that Freeport is a significant location for LNG production. Its about 17 to 18 percent of our current capacity, so that certainty is important in the tight market that we face right now, he said. Read more here. VIRTUAL EVENT INVITE Principled Profit: The Hills ESG Summit Wednesday, June 15 at 1 p.m. ET ESG investing is increasingly popular among investors seeking to make capital decisions based not only on likely financial return but also with an eye toward investing in companies perceived to be creating social good. Join The Hill for a conversation on the growing demand for ESG and how it is transforming the business and investment landscape. Former SEC chair Harvey Pitt, Rep. John Rose (R-Tenn.), Bank of America Merrill Lynchs Savita Subramanian. RSVP now Biden heads to Saudi Arabia amid high gas prices President Biden will visit Saudi Arabia in July on a trip that will include a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a senior administration official told reporters Monday night. The announcement that the president would meet Mohammed had been expected for weeks and has drawn scrutiny from human rights advocates and tacit approval from Democratic allies in Congress. The meeting is part of a wider trip to the Middle East, from July 13-16, where the president will also travel to Israel and the West Bank before flying to Jeddah for a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The senior official said that Bidens meeting with the crown prince will take place as part of engagement with over a dozen leaders, to include Saudi King Salman, the official leader of the Kingdom. The energy angle: The meeting comes as gasoline prices continue to rise, having reached a $5 national average in recent days. Although presidents tend to have little influence on gasoline prices, the situation has put pressure on the Biden administration as consumer feel pain at the pump. During a White House press briefing on Monday, prior to the trips official announcement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that a trip would be about diplomacy and to bring stability to the Middle East region. Asked more specifically about energy, she said: To view engagement with Saudi Arabia on energy security as asking for oil is simply wrong and a misunderstanding of both the complexity of that issue and our multi-faceted discussions with the Saudis. But, she also said that the administration talks about oil with the Saudis. She said that given its role in OPEC+ and as a major exporter, of course we discuss energy with [the] Saudi government as we do with oil producers around the world. The foreign policy piece: The presidents face-to-face with Mohammed marks a stark reversal from Bidens promise on the campaign trail to make the kingdom a pariah and to make them pay the price over the gruesome killing of the dissident Saudi writer and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Biden approved the release of a U.S. intelligence report concluding that Mohammed had approved a plot to capture or kill Khashoggi who was lured to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, where he was killed and dismembered. The president imposed bans on dozens of Saudi officials for the writers death. The senior official on Monday night said that while the administration sought accountability for Khashoggis death, it did not seek to rupture relations with the kingdom completely. The official called the crown prince critical to extending a cease-fire agreement until at least August in Yemens catastrophic seven-year civil war. Read more here from The Hills Laura Kelly. POLLUTION CUTS GLOBAL LIFE EXPECTANCY, REPORT FINDS Particulate air pollution is reducing life expectancy by 2.2 years globally compared to a hypothetical world that meets international health guidelines, a new report has found. Worldwide exposure to fine particulate patter PM 2.5, or particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less has an impact on par with that of smoking, more than three times that of alcohol use and unsafe water, according to the University of Chicagos 2022 Air Quality Life Index. The life expectancy effect of this type of pollution amounts to six times that of HIV/AIDS and 89 times that of conflict and terrorism, researchers observed. It would be a global emergency if Martians came to Earth and sprayed a substance that caused the average person on the planet to lose more than two years of life expectancy, Michael Greenstone, index co-creator and an economics professor at the University of Chicagos Energy Policy Institute, said in a statement. This is similar to the situation that prevails in many parts of the world, except we are spraying the substance, not some invaders from outer space, Greenstone added. Despite the fact that the economy incurred significant losses during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, average PM 2.5 pollution remained largely unchanged from the year before, the researchers stressed. Meanwhile, growing evidence has emerged that even low levels of air pollution can damage human health, the authors added. Read more from The Hills Sharon Udasin here. ON TAP TOMORROW The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee will hold a hearing to examine a series of coastal and habitat conservation bills The House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing titled The Role of Climate Research in Supporting Agricultural Resiliency WHAT WERE READING Wind and solar power are bailing out Texas amid record heat and energy demand (CNN) Wall Street firms face W.Va. boycott over alleged fossil fuel bias (Politico) Exclusive: OPEC sees global oil demand growth slowing in 2023, sources say (Reuters) On Climate Changes Front Lines, Hard Lives Grow Even Harder (The New York Times) Delusional: UN chief slams new fossil fuel funding and warns of climate chaos (CNBC) And finally, something offbeat but kind of on beat: Elephants arent people, apparently. Thats it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hills Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. Well see you tomorrow. READ FULL VERSION HERE For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The European Commission launched new legal action against Britain on Wednesday, accusing London of putting peace in Northern Ireland at risk by trying to overhaul the post-Brexit trade deal. "The UK government tabled legislation confirming its intention to unilaterally break international law," EU commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said. "More precisely to break an agreement that protects peace and stability in Northern Ireland," he said. "Opening the door to unilaterally changing an international agreement is a breach of international law, as well. So let's call a spade a spade. This is illegal." In London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman told journalists: "We are disappointed that the EU has taken this legal action today." And he insisted that European proposals to resolve the impasse were a "step backwards". On Monday, the British government introduced legislation to rip up post-Brexit trading rules for Northern Ireland, in an attempt to override the EU withdrawal treaty that it had signed. Johnson's government insists it is not breaking international law, citing a "necessity" to act to restore Northern Ireland's power-sharing institutions. - 'Radio silence' - But Brussels rejects this argument, and Sefcovic said that legal action would be taken, with two new cases joining one the commission had suspended. Sefcovic said the EU would revive a case it launched last year to control the export of certain food products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. "If the UK doesn't reply within two months, we may take them to the Court of Justice," he warned. "Second, we are launching two new infringements against the UK," he said, announcing cases that could see the British government brought before the European Court of Justice. "One for failing to carry out the necessary controls at the border control posts in Northern Ireland by ensuring adequate staffing and infrastructure. "And one for failing to provide the EU with essential trade statistics data to enable the EU to protect its single market." Story continues The cases brought by the EU do not directly tackle the proposed UK legislation, but rather seek to compel Britain to implement the existing agreements. Johnson's government has said it would still prefer a negotiated outcome with the European Union to reform the Northern Ireland Protocol. But it accuses Brussels of failing to engage on its concerns about measures to control goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Brussels counters that, with Northern Ireland remaining in the EU single market, European law must ultimately apply to goods arriving in the territory. And Sefcovic says that attempts to negotiate a compromise with Britain within the terms of the agreement Johnson himself hailed and signed have been met with "radio silence" since February. - 'Grave peril' - The spat comes at a bad time for the UK economy, with inflation at 40-year highs and rising household bills that have left many Britons struggling to make ends meet. But there are economic headwinds in the European Union too, and warnings that the West must not fall out over trade when trying to present a united front against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said Wednesday's EU action is "the result of a deliberate UK Government strategy of provocation over partnership". "Reckless UK decisions this week have forced the EU into responding to a threatened breach of international law with serious consequences." Jonathan Jones, the former head of the UK government legal service scoffed at Number 10's argument. Jones resigned after Northern Ireland minister Brandon Lewis admitted that unilaterally breaking the deal would "break international law in a very specific and limited way". "The concept of 'necessity' is an extremely high test. It applies only where a state must act to safeguard its essential interests against 'grave and imminent peril'," Jones said. "How can an agreement willingly entered into only in 2020, at what the Prime Minister described as a 'fantastic moment', be already proving so disastrous as to represent 'grave peril' to the country?" Meanwhile, the Democratic Unionist Party argues the protocol's creation of an effective border in the Irish Sea jeopardises Northern Ireland's status in the wider UK. The pro-British party is boycotting the local government in Belfast until the deal is scrapped or dramatically overhauled, putting at risk the power-sharing agreement that underlies the Northern Ireland peace agreement. dc/pvh WASHINGTON (AP) The House committee investigating the Capitol riot plans to focus its hearing Thursday on the pressure that Donald Trump put on his vice president, Mike Pence, in a last-ditch and potentially illegal plan to stop Joe Bidens election victory. Trump seized on the unorthodox proposal from conservative law professor John Eastman to have Pence turn back the electors when the vice president presided over Congress to certify the election results on Jan. 6, 2021. Traditionally, Jan. 6 is a ceremonial day, a procedural step tallying the presidential vote. But Eastmans highly unusual plan bold, he called it was to have alternative slates of electors submitted to Congress, leaving Pence no choice but to return them to the states to sort it out. Biden would be denied a majority and Trump could win. As the defeated Trump watched dozens of court cases challenging the 2020 presidential election collapse, he turned to the Eastman plan as a last resort to stay in office. John (Eastman) is one of the most brilliant lawyers in the country and he looked at this, Trump told thousands of supporters at a rally near the White House before sending them to the Capitol on Jan. 6. And he looked at Mike Pence, and I hope Mike is going to do the right thing. I hope so. I hope so because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election, the then-president said. The committee viewed the actions as potentially illegal and a threat to democracy. What President Trump demanded that Mike Pence do wasnt just wrong, it was illegal and it was unconstitutional, said the committee's vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in opening remarks last week. A look at the Eastman plan in the days before Jan. 6 and why it's central to the congressional investigation: THE PLAN Two days before the Capitol attack, Pence was summoned to the White House for an Oval Office meeting with Trump and Eastman to hear about the law professors plan to turn back the electors. Story continues With Trumps false claims of election fraud, Eastman had been circulating what was essentially an academic proposal challenging the workings of the 130-year-old Electoral Count Act that governs the process for tallying the election results in Congress. The six-point plan was gaining momentum among Trumps allies in Congress, including key senators, and outside activists. BOLD, Certainly, Eastman said in a memo included in a court filing from the Jan. 6 committee. But he said such an unusual step was needed, falsely claiming this Election was Stolen. If Pence would refuse to count some electors, then the threshold needed to certify the presidential election would drop from the regular 270-vote majority to a lesser number one presumably that Trump could reach. If Democrats in Congress objected, as Eastman predicted they would, then under current law the House would be called on to decide the presidency. In that scenario, because the House would vote by individual state congressional delegations, which were mostly Republican majority, the numbers would align for Trump to win. The illegality of the plan, declared the Jan. 6 committee in a court filing, was obvious. ___ HOW COULD THAT EVEN WORK? To set the plan in motion, Trump and Eastman convened hundreds of electors on a call on Jan. 2, 2021, encouraging them to send alternative electors from their states where Trump's team was claiming fraud. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and maybe even Nevada and New Mexico were on the list, according to testimony provided to the committee by Greg Jacob, who was counsel to Pence. Jacob, who is scheduled to testify Thursday before the House committee, was at the Oval Office meeting with Trump and Pence when Eastman outlined the plan on Jan. 4. Jacob received an email from Eastman late the following night. Major new development, Eastman wrote, attaching a letter signed by several members of the Pennsylvania legislature. It now looks like PA Legislature will vote to recertify its electors if Vice President Pence implements the plan we discussed. Jacob responded in lawyerly prose, asking if it is not unconstitutional." ___ HAD THIS EVER BEEN DONE BEFORE? While the every-four-year-ritual of certifying the election results has certainly come with objections, nothing of this magnitude had been proposed since the disputed election of 1876 that led Congress to pass the Electoral Count Act. Routinely, lawmakers from the losing side of a presidential election would wage protest votes during the ceremonial proceedings in Congress. Several Democrats, including then-Sen. Barbara Boxer of California and Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, joined a challenge to Ohio's electors after the 2004 election. But no defeated president had ever done what Trump did, mounting a wide-ranging campaign to overturn an election that included pressure on the vice president to change the outcome. When Eastman received Jacob's probing questions, he retorted that the counsel was being small-minded. The professor pointed to past instances in history when presidents essentially violated the letter of the law for a greater outcome, and he suggested such an action was warranted now because the Constitution was being shredded over the election. Jacob replied that he could not believe there was a single Supreme Court justice or any judge who would agree to toss election laws that have been followed without exception for more than 130 years. Eastman's theory, Jacob wrote, was essentially entirely made up. ___ PRESSURE BUILDS, TRUMP CALLS PENCE Pence's instinct was there was no way the Founding Fathers would entrust a single person with this authority to determine an election, Jacobs testified. Pence had asked questions of Eastman during the meeting, but never once did I see him budge from that view, he said. But a day after the Oval Office meeting, the pressure intensified. Rather than just turn the electors back to the states, Eastman said Pence should just throw out the states' tallies outright. "What Im here to ask you to do is to reject the electors Eastman said on Jan. 5, according to Jacobs testimony. On the morning of Jan. 6, as the vice president prepared to head to the Capitol to preside over the vote, Trump called. Trump told Pence he didn't think he had the courage to make a hard decision, according to testimony to the Jan. 6 committee by retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, a national security aide who was with Trump at the time and heard part of the conversation. Youre not tough enough to make the call, Trump said to Pence. ___ THE COUNT BEGINS The first objection during the joint session of Congress was raised by a Republican congressman from the Arizona, one of the states Trump most vehemently disputed was won by Biden. Congress began working its way through the procedural matter; rioters were closing in on the Capitol. In an email to Eastman after the attack began, Jacob closed his arguments against the plan, saying: And thanks to your bull, we are now under siege. At the time, Jacob was sheltering in the Capitol from the mob. ___ WHO IS JOHN EASTMAN? A former Chapman University law professor, Eastman is known in conservative circles for having clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court. Eastman also clerked for retired Judge Michael Luttig, who is also scheduled to testify Thursday. Luttig has called Eastman's ideas incorrect at every turn and had been providing legal counsel to Pence's team before Jan. 6. Ahead of Thursdays hearing, the vice chair of the House committee, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., released a video offering a glimpse of what's to come. In the video, Eric Herschmann, a lawyer at the White House, recounts a final conversation he had with Eastman the day after Jan. 6. I'm going to give you the best free legal advice you're ever getting in your life get a great effing criminal defense lawyer. You're going to need it," Herschmann recalled, saying. "And then I hung up on him. Eastman repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights not to testify during his interview with the committee. ___ For full coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege The claim: DUI charges against Paul Pelosi have been dropped The May 28 arrest of Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for allegedly driving under the influence in Napa County, California, has triggered claims on social media about his case. All charges have reportedly been dropped against Paul Pelosi for his DUI crash, reads a June 7 tweet shared on Instagram. Gavin Newsom reportedly intervened at the request of Nancy Pelosi and directly ordered the California Highway Patrol to drop all charges. The Instagram post, which contained a screenshot of the tweet, got nearly 5,000 likes in less than a week, and other versions of the claim spread widely across social media. A similar post was circulated by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., whose June 8 tweet about Paul Pelosi's charges was shared more than 14,000 times. But the Napa County District Attorney's Office has not yet decided whether to charge Paul Pelosi, so there aren't currently charges that could be dropped. The case remains under review, and officials have said the public will be notified when a charging decision is made. Fact check: False claim linking Paul Pelosi Jr., Hunter Biden and Burisma USA TODAY reached out to Boebert and other social media users who shared the claim for comment. None provided evidence to support the assertion that Paul Pelosi's charges have been dropped. Paul Pelosi and Nancy Pelosi attend the 44th Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on December 05, 2021 in Washington, DC. District attorney's office hasn't made a charging decision In a June 9 statement, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley said the office was "currently reviewing charges" after Paul Pelosi was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher. Haley said the office was working to determine "what, if any, charges will be filed" against Pelosi. She added that this was "standard protocol" for DUI cases in the county. Paul Pelosi is scheduled to appear in Napa County Superior Court on Aug. 3, Haley said. If criminal charges are filed, Pelosi would be arraigned at that time. Story continues In a June 10 message to USA TODAY, Assistant District Attorney Paul Gero confirmed no charges have yet been filed. Both Haley and Gero said the media and public would be notified when a filing decision is made, though neither offered a timeline in their statements. California Highway Patrol spokesperson Fran Clader told USA TODAY the agency does not file charges and that Speaker Pelosi's high profile has not had any bearing on how her husband's case is being handled. The CHP has treated this incident in the same manner as it does any case, Clader said in a June 9 email. Any claims to the contrary are patently false. Erin Mellon, a spokesperson for Newsom, told USA TODAY on June 8 the governor has had absolutely zero involvement in the case. The claim of dropped charges has also been debunked by various fact-checking outlets, including The Associated Press, AFP and PolitiFact. More: 'Grave evil': Pelosi denied Holy Communion by San Francisco archbishop for pushing abortion rights Our rating: False Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that DUI charges against Paul Pelosi have been dropped. The case remains under review by the Napa County Attorneys Office, which has not yet made a decision as to what, if any, charges will be filed against Pelosi. He currently has an Aug. 3 court date. Our fact-check sources: Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Napa County reviewing charges in Paul Pelosi DUI case Russian opposition leader and prominent Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has been transferred from a penal colony outside Moscow to a high-security prison with a reputation for abuse, leaving his supporters and allies concerned about his safety. On Tuesday, top Navalny aides reported that he had gone missing from the Pokrov colony, about 70 miles east of the Russian capital, where he had been serving his 2 year sentence for a parole violation. State media quoted the Public Monitoring Commission of the Vladimir Region as saying Navalny had been moved to a prison in Melekhovo, which is just a few dozen miles from Pokrov. Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is seen on a screen via video link from the IK-2 corrective penal colony in Pokrov, Russia, before a court hearing to consider an appeal against his prison sentence in Moscow, May 17, 2022. / Credit: EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/REUTERS Members of Navalny's team initially said they had no independent verification of his whereabouts and had been unable to arrange a visit, but later Wednesday his lawyers posted a message to his Instagram account that they said came from him, suggesting they'd had direct contact. "My space journey continues, I've switched ships. That is, hello everyone from the high-security prison," the message attributed to Russia's leading dissident said. "I was transferred to IK-6 Melekhovo yesterday." Russia declares Navalny's opposition movement "extremist" Navalny said during a court hearing in early May that he'd heard "a prison within a prison" was being prepared for him at the Melekhovo facility, which is infamous for its brutal conditions and reported systematic abuse of inmates. "My sentence has not yet entered into force, but the prisoners from the high-security colony Melekhovo are writing that they are equipping a 'prison within a prison for me,'" Navalny said after the court date in Moscow, during which he was sentenced to nine more years behind bars on fraud and contempt of court charges. The court also ordered at that time that Navalny be moved to a high-security facility as part of the punishment. Former Melekhovo prisoners have described horrifying abuse, including rape and humiliation at the hands of both correctional officers and fellow prisoners they say were tasked with intimidating new inmates. In 2018, a Novaya Gazeta newspaper investigation into the death of Gor Ovakimyan revealed that he likely died from injuries inflicted by Melekhovo prison guards. Penitentiary authorities first claimed Ovakimyan had died of pneumonia, but after his family shot video of severe wounds visible on his body, a criminal case was filed on death by negligence charges. Story continues "Gor told us that they put an empty bucket on his head, put a speaker from below and turned on the music or some siren sound to a deafening effect, and sprayed gas under this bucket to make it difficult to breathe," Ovakimyan's father told Novaya Gazeta of the abuses his son described from Melekhovo. "He was also hung from a lattice. His hands were pulled back behind the waist and hung like on a rack. And he would hang like that, for 10-12 hours he hung like that," the father told the newspaper. "And why did they all do it? Because he refused to cooperate with the administration or frame someone." Ovakimyan's case is just one stark example of the way inmates are said to be treated routinely at the Melekhovo prison often dubbed a "torture conveyer belt" by local media and other facilities in the Vladimir region. Human rights lawyers there have called for investigations into prison abuse for years. Navalny's representatives said they were concerned about his safety because, as long as he remains out of the public eye, it's impossible for them to independently verify how he's being treated. The problem with his transfer to another colony is not only that the high-security colony is much scarier. As long as we don't know where Alexei is, he remains one-on-one with the system that has already tried to kill him, so our main task now is to locate him as soon as possible (@Kira_Yarmysh) June 14, 2022 "The problem with his transfer to another colony is not only that the high-security colony is much scarier," Navalny's spokesperson Kira Yarmysh tweeted on Tuesday. "As long as we don't know where Alexei is, he remains one-on-one with the system that has already tried to kill him." The Kremlin said Wednesday that it "doesn't share" the Navalny team's concern about his transfer. "The monitoring of convicts' whereabouts and their transfers to various institutions of the penitentiary system is not a Kremlin prerogative," presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing. Navalny was immediately arrested upon returning to Russia in early 2021 from Germany, where he spent weeks recovering from poisoning with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. He blamed the attack on the Kremlin, a claim Russian officials have vehemently denied. Shortly after his arrest, a court sentenced Navalny to 2 1/2 years in prison over the parole violations stemming from a 2014 suspended sentence in a fraud case that Navalny insists was politically driven. He has remained President Vladimir Putin's most ardent foe even from behind bars and has harshly criticized the war in Ukraine during his multiple court appearances. In March, he slammed Putin as a "madman" who had launched a "stupid war" in Ukraine and said the current Russian leadership would "burn in hell" for its actions. Harvard graduate dedicates achievement to immigrant mom for her sacrifices Google puts engineer on leave after claiming artificial intelligence has become sentient Sneak peek: A Sister's Fight for her Brother RICHMOND, Va. (AP) A North Carolina charter school violated female students' constitutional rights by requiring them to wear skirts, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. A majority of the full U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the dress code at Charter Day School in Leland violated female students' equal protection rights, siding with parents who had argued that their daughters were put at a disadvantage by the requirement. Public schools have long been banned from enacting such mandates, but the court's majority concluded that public charter schools, since they receive public funds, are also state actors and are therefore subject to the Constitution's equal protection clause. The court also ordered further hearings should be held by a lower federal court on claims that the policy violated the federal Title IX anti-discrimination law. Tuesdays ruling came after an en banc hearing before 16 judges of the 4th Circuit. It overturns a previous decision by a three-judge panel of the same court that had found the public charter school wasnt subject to the equal protection clause because it didnt meet all criteria to be considered a state actor. The plaintiffs, who were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, hailed the decision. Im glad the girls at Charter Day School will now be able to learn, move, and play on equal terms as the boys in school, Bonnie Peltier, a plaintiff whose daughter attended the school, said in a statement. In 2022, girls shouldnt have to decide between wearing something that makes them uncomfortable or missing classroom instruction time. Galen Sherwin, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Womens Rights Project, said in a statement that the ruling could have an impact beyond North Carolina. Todays decision is a victory for North Carolinas students attending public charter schools, and should put charter schools across the country on notice that they must follow the same rules as traditional public schools when it comes to guaranteeing students equal educational opportunities, Sherwin said. Story continues The students who challenged the policy were in grades kindergarten through eighth. They argued that they were receiving unequal treatment to male students, noting that the dress code limited their ability to participate in recess and made them uncomfortable in some situations such as emergency drills in which they had to crawl on the floor. In considering the state actor question, the courts majority opinion, written by Senior Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, noted that the charter school receives funding from the state, is subject to state educational requirements and is referred to as a public school in state statutes. Thus, Keenan wrote that the state has delegated to charter school operators like CDS part of the states constitutional duty to provide free education. Charter Day School had argued that it was merely a private entity fulfilling a contract with the state. School founder Baker Mitchell had argued that the dress code was intended to promote chivalry by the male students and respect for the female students, court documents said. Mitchell, according to the ruling, described chivalry as a code of conduct where women are treated, theyre regarded as a fragile vessel that men are supposed to take care of and honor. He said that the requirement was also intended to ensure that girls are treated courteously and more gently than boys, according to court documents. Keenan wrote that the schools rationale was based on an impermissible gender stereotype. The school has imposed the skirts requirement with the express purpose of telegraphing to children that girls are fragile, require protection by boys, and warrant different treatment than male students, stereotypes with potentially devastating consequences for young girls, she wrote. Aaron Streett, an attorney representing Charter Day School, issued a statement saying that the legal team disagrees with the majority opinion and noted issues raised in a dissent. He said that the school is evaluating next steps in the legal case. As the six dissenting judges powerfully explain, the majority opinion contradicts Supreme Court precedent on state action, splits with every other circuit to consider the issue, and limits the ability of parents to choose the best education for their children, the statement said. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol House Chamber March 1, 2022 in Washington, D.C. In his first State of the Union address, Biden spoke on his administration's efforts to lead a global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, work to curb inflation, and bring the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic. A northern Michigan man who already served prison time for threatening to kill President Barack Obama is back in federal court this time for threatening the life of President Joe Biden and wanting to blow up the White House, according to an indictment filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. The one-page indictment offers very little information about the latest allegation, beyond stating that Timothy Findlay made the threat in Arenac County on April 28 the same day the Biden administration asked Congress for $33 billion in military and humanitarian aid for war-torn Ukraine. More: Dr. Anthony Fauci has COVID-19 More: Here are coveted Michigan mushrooms that aren't morels "On April 28, 2022, Timothy Heath Findlay ... knowingly and willfully made a true threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm upon the president of the United States, specifically, to bomb the White House and kill everyone," the indictment states. Findlay, 48, of Prescott a village of about 270 people that's located about 22 miles south of West Branch, is in custody. Findlay's alleged threat on Biden's life comes one decade after he made the same threat on Obama's life a federal crime he eventually pleaded guilty to and got 15 months in prison for. According to his 2014 plea agreement, Findlay was in the Ogemaw County jail in 2013 for unrelated bomb threat charges when he wrote on the walls of his jail cell: "F------ kill the president B------" and "Kill Obama." Timothy Heath Findlay, 49, of northern Michigan, was charged on June 15, 2022 with threatening to kill President Biden and bomb the White House. He previously served 15 months in prison for making the same threat against President Obama. Findlay also wrote two notes that were read by jail staff. They read: "I want to kill Judge Nobile and the president with a bomb." The second note said, "I want to bomb the white house." On Sept. 13, 2013, Findlay also told a Secret Service agent that if he were drunk, he would "definitely try to kill the president," and stated that once he got out of prison he would "get a rifle, borrow a car, drive to Washington D.C. and kill the President," the plea agreement states. Story continues Findlay also wrote a letter to the president around 2011 or 2012 saying he was going to kill him, though a relative talked him out of sending it, the plea agreement states. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Findlay faced 12-18 months in prison. He got 15 months and three years of supervised release, though he wound up in prison after serving his sentence. According to court records, a warrant was issued for his arrest in 2017 for a violation of his supervised release: He wasn't reporting to his probation officer. In 2019, Findlay got an additional four months in prison for the probation violation. Findlay is currently in state custody for an unrelated matter and is due to be arraigned on his latest charge on June 27 in U.S. District Court in Flint, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Feds: Michigan man threatened to kill Biden, bomb White House Fire officials are investigating a blaze that was intentionally set at a vacant Memphis apartment building. The fire broke out Tuesday night in the 3900 block of Camelot Lane at five units, according to Memphis Fire officials. No civilians were injured. One firefighter was taken to a hospital in non-critical condition for a hand injury, officials said. Media Release: Apartment Fire 3982 Camelot Lane. pic.twitter.com/yWdCHtVoPb Memphis Fire Department (@MEM_Fire) June 15, 2022 The building sustained $450,000 in damage. MFD said the blaze was intentionally set inside an apartment. Anyone with information about the incident should call CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH or the State Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017. You could be eligible for a cash reward, MFD said. Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Trending stories: BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) Devastating floodwaters that wiped out miles of roads and hundreds of bridges in Yellowstone National Park and swamped scores of homes in surrounding communities moved downstream Wednesday and threatened to cut off fresh drinking water to residents of Montanas largest city. Heavy weekend rains and melting mountain snow had the Yellowstone River flowing at a historically high level of 16 feet (4.9 meters) as it raced past Billings. The city gets its water from the river and was forced to shut down its treatment plant at about 9:30 a.m. because it can't operate effectively with water levels that high. None of us planned a 500-year flood event on the Yellowstone when we designed these facilities, said Debi Meling, the citys public works director. Billings had a just a 24- to 36-hour supply of water and officials asked its 110,000 residents to conserve while expressing optimism that the river would drop quickly enough for the plant to resume operations before the supply ran out. The city also stopped watering parks and boulevards, and its fire department was filling its trucks with water from the Yellowstone River. Cory Mottice, with the National Weather Service in Billings, said the river was expected to crest Wednesday evening and drop below minor flood stage, 13.5 feet (4.1 meters), by mid to late Thursday. The unprecedented and sudden flooding that raged through Yellowstone earlier this week drove all of the more than 10,000 visitors out of the nation's oldest park, which remains closed. It damaged hundreds of homes in nearby communities, though remarkably no one was reported hurt or killed. It also pushed a popular fishing river off course possibly permanently and may force roadways torn away by torrents of water to be rebuilt a safer distance away. On Wednesday, residents in Red Lodge, Montana, a gateway town to the park's northern end, used shovels, wheelbarrows and a pump to clear thick mud and debris from a flooded home along the banks of Rock Creek. Story continues We thought we had it, and then a bridge went out. And it diverted the creek, and the water started rolling in the back, broke out a basement window and started filling up my basement, Pat Ruzich said. And then I quit. It was like, the water won. Park officials say the northern half of the park is likely to remain closed all summer, a devastating blow to the local economies that rely on tourism. In Gardiner, Montana, businesses had just started really recovering from the tourism contraction wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, and were hoping for a good year as Yellowstone celebrates its 150th anniversary, said Bill Berg, a commissioner in Park County. Its a Yellowstone town, and it lives and dies by tourism, and this is going to be a pretty big hit, he said. Theyre looking to try to figure out how to hold things together. Meantime, as the waters recede, parks officials are turning their attention to the massive effort of rebuilding many miles of ruined roads and hundreds of washed-out bridges, many of them built for backcountry hikers. Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said assessment teams won't be able to tally the damage until next week. Kelly Goonan, an associate professor at Southern Utah University and an expert in national parks and recreation management, said rebuilding will be a long process. This is something were definitely going to feel the impacts of for the next several years, Goonan said. As the Yellowstone rebuild efforts get underway, rangers will have to consider the reality of the parks altered landscape as well as potential future natural disasters. We certainly know that climate change is causing more natural disasters, more fires, bigger fires and more floods and bigger floods. These things are going to happen, and theyre going to happen probably a lot more intensely, said Robert Manning, a retired University of Vermont professor of environment and natural resources. Officials may also be able to rebuild in a way thats more ecologically sound than the roads and bridges built a decade or century ago, he said. The rains hit just as area hotels filled up in recent weeks with summer tourists. More than 4 million visitors were tallied by the park last year. The wave of tourists doesnt abate until fall, and June is typically one of Yellowstones busiest months. Yellowstone officials are hopeful that next week they can reopen the southern half of the park, which includes Old Faithful geyser. Closure of the northern part of the park will keep visitors from features that include Tower Fall, Mammoth Hot Springs and the Lamar Valley, which is known for viewing wildlife such as bears and wolves Still unresolved is how it will handle all the tourists when only half the park is open. One thing that we definitely know is that half the park cannot support all of the visitation, Sholly said Tuesday. The park will likely implement some kind of reservation or timed-entry system to let people in without sending crowd sizes sky-high. ___ Whitehurst reported from Salt Lake City. Associated Press writers Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, R.J. Rico in Atlanta, and Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this report. The Foo Fighters are compiling an A-list roster for a London tribute concert to late drummer Taylor Hawkins. The guest list for the Sept. 3 Wembley Stadium show includes Queens Brian May and Roger Taylor, Rushs Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Chrissie Hynde, Oasis Liam Gallagher, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, Supergrass, Mark Ronson, Janes Addictions Chris Chaney, the Polices Stewart Copeland, Omar Hakim, Rufus Taylor, Wolfgang Van Halen and Hawkins cover band Chevy Metal, the band announced Wednesday. Comedian Dave Chappelle is also on the guest list. Hawkins, 50, was found dead in his Colombia hotel room in late March from a suspected drug overdose, found with opioids, benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants and THC in his system. The Foo Fighters announced the tribute concerts last week, the first in London and the second at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Sept. 27. As one of the most respected and beloved figures in modern music, Taylors monolithic talent and magnetic personality endeared him to millions of fans, peers, friends and fellow musical legends the world over. Millions mourned his untimely passing on March 25, with passionate and sincere tributes coming from fans as well as musicians Taylor idolized, the band said in a statement. The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts will unite several of those artists, the Hawkins family and of course his Foo Fighters brothers in celebration of Taylors memory and his legacy as a global rock icon his bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life. Dogs truly are a mans best friend, so it makes sense that pet owners would get defensive if they were told their furry friend is one of the worst dog breeds to own. A woman on TikTok has sparked a debate after listing the five dog breeds she would never own after working in the pet industry. The video, which received more than seven million views on the platform, caused many dog owners to defend their specific dog breed in the comments, while others agreed with her controversial opinions. The TikToker, who goes by @chilicheesechelsea online, captioned her video with a disclaimer: I love these breeds but I dont want to own one of my own. Dont come for me doodle momsITS JUST MY OPINION!!!! (And a joke, I have a chihuahua lol) She began her list of top five worst dog breeds to own with none other than a Husky. According to the American Kennel Club, Siberian Huskies are a thickly coated northern breed developed to work in packs, which makes them get along well with other dogs. Huskies have both an undercoat of hair and guard hair, meaning they must be brushed weekly to help keep the double coat in good condition. However, this former pet industry worker had a different reason for not wanting to own this wolf-like dog. Completely unhinged and always screaming, she said. And she wasnt the only person to agree that huskies tend to be loud animals. One woman explained that she didnt understand the husky hate until she house-sat for a friend with the dog breed. That damn dog was singing me the song of their people at 5 am every day, she said. Next on the list for top five worst dog breeds to own was a German Shepherd, which this TikToker cited as being always the most anxious and FOR WHAT. German Shepherds (GSD) are natural guard dogs, but its this trait that tends to make them anxious as well. A blog for German Shepherd owners suggests that anxiety is an adaptive and evolutionary trait for these dogs, stemming from their need to be vigilant and cautious of their surroundings. Story continues @chilicheesechelsea DISCLAIMER: I love these breeds but I dont want to own one of my own. Dont come for me doodle moms ITS JUST MY OPINION!!!! (And a joke, I have a chihuahua lol) Che La Luna - Louis Prima Can confirm my GSD is anxious even after loads of professional training, commented one TikTok user. The third dog breed on her list of difficult pets to own was a Samoyed because of their non stop barking and that they are the fun police. Samoyeds are known for their all-white fur coat and infectious energy. They are playful dogs, which makes sense that they tend to bark quite often. However, that wasnt the case for some TikTokers who claimed their Samoyed never barks but they do howl sometimes. She then went on to add literally ANY doodle mix to her list of least favourite dog breeds to own because pet owners dont know how to handle their energy making them out of control demons. Plus, the doodle mix dog breeds shes worked with in the past were always MATTED, she said. Doodle dogs are mixes between a poodle and any other dog breed. This year, poodles were ranked in the top five of most popular dog breeds in the United States, the first time since 1997. Labradoodles and goldendoodles are some of the most popular of doodle mixes because of their little-to-no shedding. But because doodles are a mixed breed, its impossible to predict how their coat will turn out, leading to matted fur if not groomed properly. Many doodle owners took offense to their pets ranking as one of her least favourite breeds to own. Doodles are literally the sweetest and best dogs ever, said one user. My doodle is the best dog Ive ever owned, another person said. Our doodle is literally one of the best dogs Ive ever had, a third user wrote. As long as you actually take care of them they are literally the sweetest dogs ever. It also seemed that her opinion on doodles might not have been so controversial after all. I love doodle slander, one person said, while another user wrote: Im so over the doodle phase. I completely agree with you about the DOODLES, a TikToker commented. They are the WORST! As a dog walker, they were the WORST to walk. Im glad someone said it. The final dog breed to be named number five on her list of worst dog breeds to own was not necessarily a dog breed, but any type of small white dog with crusty eyes for being crusty little ankle biters. This type of dog, notably a Maltese or Shih Tzu, have been subject to a number of viral memes over the years. Four Senate Democrats asked Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to revise a key antitrust bill that they said could supercharge harmful content online as written. In a letter Wednesday, Sens. Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Ron Wyden (Ore.), Ben Ray Lujan (N.M.) and Tammy Baldwin (Wisc.) said they support the overall goal of the bill to rein in the power of tech giants but said it could lead to unintended consequences that would limit companies ability to moderate violative content. Our understanding is that you do not intend for the bill to limit content moderation in this way, and we want to work with you to fix this issue, they wrote. Their letter comes as Klobuchar and Sen Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the lead sponsors of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, push for a floor vote this month on the bipartisan bill. It advanced out of the Judiciary Committee earlier this year with bipartisan support. The bill would ban dominant tech platforms from preferencing their own products and services over rivals. As written, the legislation would likely apply to Apple, Amazon, Google and Meta. The content moderation concerns stem from a portion of the bill that would make it illegal for companies to discriminate in the application or enforcement of the terms of service in a manner that would materially harm competition. The Democratic Senators who penned the letter to Klobuchar said as written the provision would imperil current content moderation practices by putting competition policy in direct conflict with companies ability to remove hate speech, misinformation and other violative content. The senators suggested adding text that spells out that nothing in the provision may be construed to impose liability on a covered platform for moderating content. A Klobuchar spokesperson said the bill as written will not harm the platforms ability to moderate content, but indicated the senator is open to possibly adding a revision. Story continues As we have made clear for months, we are open to considering reasonable suggestions that are not intended to alter the core principles of this legislation: to protect consumers and small businesses from anticompetitive behavior by monopolies, the spokesperson said in a statement. At a press conference last week, Klobuchar pushed back on the argument that the bill raises unintended consequences around content moderation. If anyones been spreading disinformation, its the tech companies right now, directly spreading disinformation about this bill. This bill is about competition, its not focused on content, she said. She also said that while talks are continuing with colleagues and there could be a few more changes, the sponsors will not put forward some weak bill that doesnt do anything. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), one of the lead sponsors of the House version of the bill, also said the content moderation argument is not a serious criticism. There is nothing in this bill that would in fact, make it more difficult for platforms to have in place content moderation policies. And in fact, the bill requires that before that could happen, the platform would have to demonstrate that it has a different set of rules in terms of conduct on their platform, and that it also materially harmed competition, he said at last weeks press conference. Some tech organizations, such as Free Press and the Center for Democracy and Technology, have also raised concerns that the bill would hinder content moderation policies. But other groups, including Fight for the Future, Public Knowledge and the Center for American Progress, have pushed back on the argument and said the bill does not pose those concerns. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Sinkholes are becoming an ongoing problem for Georgians who are homeowners. Thats why I got this barricaded, Abim Adam told Channel 2s Ashli Lincoln. Cones and signs are what Adam has placed around this seemingly small hole on his property. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Im thinking there are some serious issues going on, Adam said. But he says it isnt the surface size hes concerned about. Rather, hes concerned about the depth. Adam stuck an 18-foot pole down this hole, but he says it doesnt even scrape the bottom. Thats at least 18 feet and there still seems to be more room, more expansion for the depth of the poll, Adam said. TRENDING STORIES: He says that after last weeks round of heavy rain, his son was walking in their backyard before stumbling onto the sinkhole. Actually, my son stepped there, and it opened like that, he said. Concerned, he called the city of Lovejoy. An inspector determined the hole was at least 6-feet wide, nearly 20-feet deep and completely hollow under the two inches of ground on top. He was a bit flabbergasted; he was telling me that he had never seen anything like this, Adam said. As more rain is expected, Adams said hes growing concerned. Really just blown away, he said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] In recent months, Channel 2 has brought you several concerns about growing sinkholes across the metro. But how do you protect your home and property? We found it isnt a cheap fix. The average cost for repairs is anywhere between $10,000 and $15,000. Channel 2 found that most standard homeowners insurance will not cover sinkholes. Story continues Despite the growing number of reported sinkholes, Georgia does not require homeowners to get sinkhole insurance, unlike the states of Florida and Tennessee. However, Georgia homeowners can add an additional sinkhole policy, something Adam says hes glad he did. I hope one way or another I can get is resolved, and I wont have to abandon the home, he said. IN OTHER NEWS: Couy Griffin, a member of the Otero County Commission and leader of the "Cowboys for Trump" group, refused to certify the county's primary election results. Jeenah Moon/Getty Images A three-member GOP commission in New Mexico is refusing to certify primary election results. They cited vague concerns about the Dominion vote tabulating machines used in the election. New Mexico's secretary of state has asked its Supreme Court to order them to recognize the votes. A three-member GOP commission has refused to certify the results of the June 7 primary election in Otero County, New Mexico, prompting New Mexico's secretary of state to sue them in the state's Supreme Court. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, asked the court on Tuesday to order the county commission to recognize the votes, per the Associated Press. The commission had on June 9 cited concerns with the Dominion vote-tabulating machines used in the election, though it didn't specify the exact issue, the outlet reported. According to Alamogordo Daily News, the commission's members asked that all the ballots cast using Dominion machines be recounted manually and that all ballot drop boxes allowing for absentee voting be removed. Per the outlet, the commission also requested that the Dominion tabulators not be used until the November midterm elections. These instructions have introduced a standoff that could delay the upcoming local general elections as the Republican county clerk responded by refusing to hand count the votes, per the AP. A court order is required for a manual recount to be conducted. The commission's claims align with the baseless claims by some of former President Donald Trump's loyalists such as MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell that Dominion voting machines were used to steal the 2020 election from Trump. Lindell has falsely claimed that Dominion designed its machines to rig votes in a way that allowed Chinese and Iranian hackers to change the ballot count in favor of President Joe Biden. "I have huge concerns with these voting machines," Vickie Marquardt, a member of the commission, said Monday, per the AP. "When I certify stuff that I don't know is right, I feel like I'm being dishonest because in my heart I don't know if it is right." Story continues Trump won Otero County in 2020 with 62% of the vote, up from 58% in 2016. Yet the debunked claims of fraud persist, becoming an article of faith among some Republican voters. Couy Griffin, a commission member and leader of the "Cowboys for Trump" group, said he raised his concerns about the Dominion machines because he was representing the "will of the people." No commissioner cited specific irregularities or other concerns. Griffin was convicted in March of trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds during the January 6, 2021, riot. He is set to be sentenced on June 17 and faces up to a year in prison. Dominion has launched defamation lawsuits against many of its detractors, including Lindell and Trump's former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, for pushing disinformation theories about its machines. In a statement provided to Insider, a spokesperson for the firm said the developments in Otero County were "yet another example of how lies about Dominion have damaged our company and diminished the public's faith in elections." Oliver accused the Otero County commissioners of "flaunting" the state's efforts to ensure election integrity. She issued a statement accusing them of "appeasing unfounded conspiracy theories and potentially nullifying the votes of every Otero County voter who participated in the primary." The refusal to certify election results comes after the county's political leaders commissioned a third-party "audit" of the 2020 election results that includes knocking on doors of voters. A congressional panel is investigating whether that effort amounts to voter intimidation. Read the original article on Business Insider STORY: Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina This Greenpeace display is an effort to protect endangered jaguars threatened by deforestation in south-central Argentina The 3D projection warns about the risk to the roughly 20 jaguars that remain in Argentina's Gran Chaco region [Diego Salas, Director / Andean Greenpeace Program] In the great Argentine Chaco, part of the great American Chaco, which is the second green lung America has after the Amazon. The jaguar, the largest feline in the Americas, is on the verge of extinction. Due to the advance of the livestock and agricultural frontier, their habitat, the native forests, is being destroyed. There are only 20 left and we are here to denounce this situation and call on people to get involved and participate because its the last war we have against deforestation, a battle of 20 years of struggle reaches this last stage, the only way we have to save these last 20 jaguars is if people join us in this Greenpeace campaign. Kevin Seefried shown carrying the Confederate flag into the Capitol's rotunda on January 6, 2021. Saul Loeb/Getty Images A Capitol police officer recalled how Kevin Seefried jabbed at him with a Confederate flag. Seefried and his son Hunter Seefried elected to have a judge rather than a jury render the verdict. The Seefrieds joined an initial wave of rioters who entered the Capitol through a broken window. A man who carried a Confederate flag inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was convicted Wednesday on several charges tied to his involvement in the pro-Trump mob that attempted to block the certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory. Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, found Kevin Seefried guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding, trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds, and disorderly conduct following a two-day bench trial. The proceeding featured testimony from Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, who was celebrated after January 6 for diverting rioters away from lawmakers who were sheltering in place. Seefried, of Delaware, waived his right to a jury trial to instead have McFadden hear evidence and render a verdict. On the obstruction charge alone, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but he is likely to receive a much shorter period of incarceration. The verdict marked the latest trial victory for the Justice Department in a case stemming from the January 6 attack on the Capitol. In the months since the Capitol siege, the Justice Department has brought more than 800 prosecutions, securing scores of guilty pleas and winning convictions in more than a half-dozen trials. Seefried stood trial alongside his son, Hunter Seefried, who joined him inside the Capitol on January 6. Federal prosecutors presented video footage showing Kevin and Hunter Seefried climbing through a broken window on the Senate side of the Capitol as they joined a group of rioters who were among the first to breach the building. McFadden also found Hunter Seefried guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding, trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds, and disorderly conduct. But the judge acquitted him on charges that he entered the Capitol with physical violence and destroyed property. Story continues The judge set Kevin Seefried's sentencing for September 16, Hunter Seefried's for September 23. Prosecutors alleged that Hunter Seefried broke a window. But McFadden said the window was already broken by two other rioters who used a police shield and piece of lumber to breach the Capitol. "Here, I think the job already was finished by the time the defendant acted," McFadden said, adding that the shard of glass Hunter Seefried pushed out was "utterly useless" by the time he breached the Capitol. With McFadden, federal prosecutors tried their case before the only judge who has dealt the Justice Department setbacks at trial. In a previous bench trial, McFadden acquitted a New Mexico man on January 6 charges. McFadden previously found a New Mexico county commissioner guilty of trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds but acquitted him of a separate disorderly conduct charge. The Justice Department has otherwise won guilty verdicts on all counts with juries summoned from Washington, DC. Those proceedings have featured vivid video footage and testimony from police officers who defended the Capitol against the pro-Trump mob on January 6. In his testimony Monday, Goodman said he remembered Kevin and Hunter Seefried from the group he encountered inside the Capitol and lured away from senators. Goodman recalled how Kevin Seefried used the base of his flagpole in a "jabbing motion" to create distance between the two of them. Of Hunter Seefried, Goodman said he remembered him having a "smirkish look on his face, like a 'we won' kinda look on his face." Goodman described the elder Seefried as "very angry," "screaming" and the "complete opposite of pleasant." And he recounted how rioters demanded to know the location of lawmakers as they advanced inside the Capitol. In closing arguments Tuesday, defense lawyers raised questions about the accuracy of Goodman's recollection of January 6. But McFadden on Wednesday credited Goodman's testimony, in which the police officer said he attached his memory of Kevin Seefried to the Confederate flag. McFadden said it was "more likely he would stand out in Officer Goodman's memory" based on the Confederate flag Kevin Seefried "remarkably" carried inside the Capitol on January 6. Defense lawyers also argued that Kevin and Hunter Seefried lacked a sophisticated understanding of the congressional proceeding they came to be accused of obstructing. But McFadden dismissed that argument, as well, noting that Kevin and Hunter were part of a group of rioters who were yelling, "Where are the counting the votes at?" In the immediate aftermath of the Capitol attack, Goodman was hailed for leading the rioters away from lawmakers. A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation to award him the Congressional Gold Medal, the institution's highest civilian honor. Goodman returned to the limelight during Trump's second impeachment trial, which featured video footage of him sprinting toward Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican, to warn him of the angry mob approaching. For Goodman, it was among the most harrowing moments of a day he described as "like something out of medieval times." Read the original article on Business Insider Jun. 15WILKES-BARRE As the Luzerne County jury trial of Jocelyn Lee Rodriguez began on charges she slashed a woman's face, co-defendant Malik Macon in another courtroom pleaded guilty to his role in the alleged assault, and for an unrelated shooting at a Hanover Township service station. Macon, 29, admitted to luring an ex-girlfriend to Simpson Street in Wilkes-Barre, where city police allege Rodriguez, 29, slashed her face multiple times on March 16, 2020. Macon further admitted to discharging a firearm at Taquil Lashemel Baley, 22, at the gasoline pump islands of Starr Convenient Mart on South Main Street on Aug. 6, 2020. Assistant District Attorney Drew McLaughlin announced the plea agreements in the separate cases before President Judge Michael T. Vough. Macon was scheduled for a jury trial this week. Under the plea agreements, Macon pled guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated assault in the Simpson Street slashing, and aggravated assault and firearms not to be carried without a license for the service station shooting. In a related case related to the shooting, a jury convicted Macon of illegally possessing a loaded firearm, which was severed from the shooting, following a two day trial in April. Vough said he will sentence Macon on all the cases Aug. 4. As Macon pled guilty, Rodriguez's trial begun before Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. in another courtroom. Wilkes-Barre police allege Macon called an ex-girlfriend wanting to meet on Simpson Street as she was relocating to Georgia. When she arrived, Macon got into her vehicle and drove under a train trestle where he got out and Rodriguez entered, slashing the woman's face multiple times, according to court records. As the woman attempted to flee her vehicle, police allege Myesha Upshur, 28, was outside and held the door closed. Rodriguez is facing trial on two counts each of aggravated assault and simple assault and a single count of reckless endangerment. Upshur's trial on five counts of criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment is scheduled for September before Sklarosky. Baley, 22, pled guilty to firearms not to be carried without a license and reckless endangerment for engaging in gunfire with Macon at the service station. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 21. Scenes from the 3rd annual PeteFest on Sept. 6, 2019 While there are a hanful of better-known Louisville music festivals including Forecastle Festival, Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life, you won't want to miss The Big Stomp. More than 30 acts will make up this year's multiday outdoor festival including electronic jam band Lotus, indie alternative rock band Moon Taxi, electro-funk outfit The Floozies plus The Budos Band, Dirtwire, Vessel, Mama Said String Band and Kaleta + Super Yamba. Held at a spectacular outdoor venue near the Parklands of Floyds Fork Oct. 14- 15, the sixth annual festival includes three stages and multiple genres (from rock to bluegrass to electronica and beyond) with national acts and the best emerging ones, too. Formally known as PeteFest, The Big Stomp was established in 2017 to honor Pete Jones, a 23-year-old Louisville native who died by suicide in 2016. Because of Pete's love of music, his family, especially his mom, Molly Jones, and his sister, Michelle Jones, founded the multiday event as a grassroots effort to eliminate the social stigmas surrounding mental health and to educate the community about the importance of detecting and addressing depression and anxiety at an early age. "Over the past six years word, has spread about this music festival and it's now much bigger than just being something to honor Pete," said Michelle Jones. "It's grown larger than our family and that initial little team of 20 people addressing mental health advocacy." In 2022, with the increasing national awareness and conversation surrounding the issues associated with mental health and wellness, Molly and Michelle Jones changed the festival's name to emphasize the event's larger footprint. The Big Atomic performs at the 3rd annual PeteFest on Sept. 6, 2019. You may like: The Kentuckiana Pride Parade and Festival is back for 2022. Here's what to know "Music is a universal language that brings us together," Molly Jones said. "Each year people have been coming from further and further away to attend the festival and now most have no idea who Pete was but they do understand the importance of the mission." Story continues Although the name has changed, The Big Stomp will continue to support The Petefoundation.org to ensure healthy emotional lives for youth. Whether you attend for a day or the entire weekend, fans of the two-day festival know it is more than just music. The Big Stomp takes place at one of the most breathtaking venues in Kentucky, on private land near the Parklands of Floyds Fork. The music stages, food trucks and activities are situated on a massive elevated grass field overlooking hundreds of acres of forests and farms. Watching the sun set behind the main stage as the artists perform is an unforgettable sight. Fans who choose to tent or RV camp wake up to fresh-brewed coffee (or tea) and yoga, then spend their day immersed in live music with food and drink available from local vendors. "We pride ourselves on curating great options," said Michelle Jones. "Along with the usual festival fare, we always have plenty of mocktails and vegan and vegetarian choices available." CirqueLouis' Carter Webb performs at the 3rd annual PeteFest on Sept. 6, 2019 You may like: What's poppin'? Jack Harlow, Drake film 'Churchill Downs' music video at Kentucky Derby CirqueLouie will perform at locations around the treelined venue while Louisville Silent Disco will host a mindful meditation where guests can check out headphones and enjoy meditation soundtracks for a moment of zen. Other interactive activities scheduled at the festival site include Norton Healthcare therapy dogs, equine therapy, vibration therapy and several more wellness opportunities. "We have experienced such an expansion of people and businesses who see the importance in what we have created and now they want to partner on this festival," said Molly Jones. "This seemed like the right time to make a name change to 'The Big Stomp' because it speaks more to the mission around this festival, which is to stomp out the stigma around mental health." Here's what else to know about The Big Stomp music festival: Where is The Big Stomp held? Will and Sharon Lavender, husband and wife from Fern Creek, enjoy the music of Son Volt at the 2nd annual PeteFest music festival at the Jones Fields nature preserve off Dawson Hill Road in Louisville. September 08, 2018 The music festival may have a different name, but it's still held at the Jones family farm located at 8401 Dawson Hill Road. The 90-acre nature preserve in the heart of bluegrass country is just 25 minutes away from downtown Louisville close to the Parklands of Floyds Fork. When is The Big Stomp held? The Big Stomp music festival is held Oct. 14-15. How much are tickets to The Big Stomp? Son Volt performs at the 2nd annual PeteFest music festival at the Jones Fields nature preserve off Dawson Hill Road in Louisville. September 08, 2018 Weekend tickets for The Big Stomp go on sale June 15 at 10 a.m. Single-day passes will be available in the future so keep checking the website closer to the event. Two-day weekend passes start at $69 VIP Weekend passes: $100 Full Weekend Camping +$40 Full Weekend RV (no hookups) +$80 Weekend youth passes (10-18): $50 Children under 10 are free The event will also feature The Big Bundle, a premium experience for $200 including a hospitality area with a relaxed seating area, private bar, air conditioned restroom trailer, and complimentary signature cocktails, nail painting and hair braiding. You may like: When is Louder Than Life 2022? Everything to know about Louisville's rock festival Can I camp at The Big Stomp? Yes, you can tent camp or bring your RV to the festival. The campsite is located close enough to the event grounds to hear the music and offers shuttles or a convenient walking path to the event area. Amenities include parking your car at your campsite, Porto pots (with hand washing stations), water bottle filling locations, a complimentary breakfast bar, and showers. Please keep in mind that since the festival site is on a nature preserve, there are no hookups. What's the lineup for The Big Stomp? A breakdown of performers by day and time will be listed in the near future on The Big Stomp website. In the meantime, here is the current list of artists taking part in the festival: Trevor Terndrup of Moon Taxi performs on the Mast Stage on the second day of Forecastle on July 13, 2019. Lotus Moon Taxi The Floozies Budos Band Dirtwire Kaleta + Super Yamba Magnolia Blvd Vessel Mama Said String Band Kiana & the Sun Kings PAKG Buddy Crime Tyler Lance Walker Gill Mr. Please Anemic Royalty Louisville Folk School Drew Miller + Kiana Del Present: A Dap Kings Soul Revue Josh Wink Matthew Dear Kyle Geiger Benman Whistlefac3 Trevor Lamont Morris Koad Syimone Angel of the Bottomless Pit Nickelson Angel 004 Lady Carol Rinko the Rocket Bonedaddy Agitprop The Budos Band Reach Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com or Twitter @kirbylouisville. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: The Big Stomp: How to get tickets, lineup for rebranded PeteFest Amal Halabi holds one grandson while another lifts a picture of Halabi's son, whom an Israeli court convicted of terrorism charges Wednesday. (Adel Hana / Associated Press) An Israeli court Wednesday found a Gaza aid worker guilty of several terrorism charges in a high-profile case in which his employer, independent auditors and the Australian government all say that there is no evidence of wrongdoing. Mohammed Halabi, who was the Gaza director for the international Christian charity World Vision from 2014 until his arrest in 2016, was accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars to the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. The trial, and his prolonged detention, have further strained relations between Israel and humanitarian organizations that provide aid to Palestinians. Both Halabi and World Vision have denied any wrongdoing, and an independent audit in 2017 also found no evidence of any support for Hamas. Halabi's lawyer, Maher Hanna, has said he turned down several plea bargain offers on principle although the deals would've allowed his client to walk free. Halabi has not yet been sentenced, and World Vision said he would appeal the ruling, which was largely based on classified information that has not been made public but was shared with the defense. In delivering the verdict, the district court in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba said Halabi was guilty of several charges, including membership of a terror organization, providing information to a terror group, taking part in forbidden military exercises and carrying a weapon. It said he diverted millions of dollars every year, as well as equipment, from World Vision and its donors to Hamas. It said Hamas used the funds for militant activities, as well as children's counseling, food aid and Quran memorization contests for its supporters. Pipes and nylon diverted to Hamas were used for military purposes, it said. The court said it was not convinced by World Vision's testimony that it had firm controls in place that would have prevented the diversion of such aid. The court said the full 254-page decision was confidential and cannot be made public. Story continues The verdict appeared to rely heavily on a confession by Halabi that has not been made public. Hanna has said the confession was given under duress to an informant and should not have been admitted as evidence. The court said the confession was given in various ways," and "is detailed, coherent, truthful and has many unique details, including the names and ranks of Hamas operatives, and descriptions of strategic locations in Gaza. Speaking to reporters immediately after the verdict, Hanna said he had not yet read the full decision but accused the judge of siding with Israeli security forces and relying on evidence that has not been made public and which he has previously described as unreliable. All the judge said, if I want to summarize it in one sentence: The security forces cannot be wrong, they are probably right,' he told reporters. Sharon Marshall, a spokeswoman for World Vision who has closely followed the case, said the verdict was based on a lack of substantive and publicly available evidence. We support Mohammeds intent to appeal the decision and call for a fair and transparent appeal process based on the facts of the case," she said. The Christian charity operates in nearly 100 countries and annually distributes some $2.5 billion in aid. An independent forensic audit and investigation carried out nearly five years ago also turned up no evidence against Halabi, and instead found that he had actively worked to prevent funds from falling into the hands of Hamas. The Australian government, a major donor to World Vision, also said it found no evidence of wrongdoing. Israeli authorities stuck to the allegations, repeatedly saying they had proof that Hamas had infiltrated the aid group and was diverting funds from needy Gazans. Then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trumpeted the charges in an online video shortly after Halabis arrest. Critics say Israel often relies on questionable informants. They allege that Israel smears groups that provide aid or other support to Palestinians in order to shore up its nearly 55-year military occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state. Israel says it supports the work of aid organizations but is forced to take action to prevent donor funds from falling into the hands of armed groups like Hamas that do not recognize its existence and attack its citizens. In a statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry acknowledged Wednesday's verdict against Halabi and said it continues to support international efforts to provide assistance to the Gazan population." Israel remains committed to cooperating with, and facilitating, the continued operations of humanitarian organizations, including World Vision, in a manner consistent with security considerations and applicable standards, the statement said. After Halabis arrest, World Vision suspended its activities in Gaza, where more than 2 million Palestinians live under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed when Hamas seized power nearly 15 years ago. Israel says the restrictions are needed to contain Hamas, while critics view them as a form of collective punishment. World Vision said its entire Gaza budget over the previous 10 years was $22.5 million, making the alleged diversion of $50 million hard to reconcile. It worked with several Western donor countries to construct an independent audit. World Vision declined to name the auditors because of a non-disclosure agreement, but last year the Guardian newspaper identified them as the international accounting firm Deloitte and DLA Piper, a global law firm. A team of around a dozen lawyers, including several former assistant U.S. attorneys, reviewed nearly 300,000 emails and conducted more than 180 interviews. Forensic auditors scoured nearly every financial transaction at World Vision from 2010 until 2016. In July 2017, they submitted a more-than-400-page report of their findings to World Vision, which shared it with donor governments. World Vision said it offered the report to Israel, but Israeli authorities refused to sign the non-disclosure agreement. Israel has not commented on the audit. Brett Ingerman, a lawyer with DLA Piper who headed the investigation, confirmed its involvement and told the Associated Press earlier this year that the report found no evidence that Halabi was affiliated with Hamas or had diverted any funds. Instead, he said it found that Halabi had enforced internal controls and ordered employees to avoid organizations suspected of Hamas ties. The Australian government conducted its own review, reaching similar conclusions. Australia was the biggest single donor to World Visions humanitarian work in Gaza, providing some $4.4 million in the previous three fiscal years, according to its Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. There was no immediate comment from Australian officials. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. An Illinois father has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder as authorities say he drowned his three children. Officers from the Round Lake Beach Police Department responded to a home just north of Chicago after the mother of the three children requested a wellness check for them on Monday. The mother told police she and the father did not live together and she was planning to pick up the children for a doctor's visit. Responding officers arrived at the Round Lake Beach home and found 5-year-old Bryant Karels, 3-year-old Cassidy Karels and 2-year-old Gideon Karels dead at the home, with the father, 35-year-old Jason E. Karels, not present. Later in the day, Illinois State Police spotted the vehicle of the father on a nearby highway, leading to a police chase. After leading officers onto multiple highways, Karels then crashed his vehicle into a wooden area. When officers and firefighters attempted to pull Karels from the crash, authorities said Karels admitted to killing his three children, and attempted suicide multiple times before fleeing the home. Preliminary autopsy results showed all the children died as a result of drowning, Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton of the Lake County Coroners Office said. 'Very dangerous issue': Tennessee sheriff's office warns public to not pick up folded dollar bills More: Woman used an AirTag to track boyfriend, then ran over and killed him, police say "We're all touched by this. This is not something that you go to and are unaffected by," Round Lake Police Chief Gilbert Rivera said at a press conference on Tuesday. "I don't know that anything could have could have stopped this or if there were any early indications of it." Rivera added Karels was admitted to a local hospital for injuries following the crash. He was released on Tuesday and placed into Lake County Jail. He was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday morning. Prosecutors said Karels left a note for his estranged wife saying, "If I cant have them neither can you." Story continues Karels appeared before Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak and was ordered to be held on a $10 million bond. Contributing: Associated Press Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Illinois father charged in the drowning deaths of his three children Bernadine Beyale, founder of Four Corners K9 Search and Rescue, and her two dogs, Trigger and Gunny, are seen during a search for a missing person on the Navajo Nation on April 23rd, 2022. (Justin Higginbottom) On a still-cold April morning at her home in Farmington, New Mexico, Bernadine Beyale knelt next to two of her dogs the German Shepherd Trigger and a Czech Shepherd named Gunny and applied juniper ash above their eyes. Her Frenchie dog thought Beyale was dispensing treats and bullishingly lined up. So Beyale blessed him too in the Navajo way, even though he would be staying behind today. Trigger and Gunny, meanwhile, were heading to work. Beyale is the founder of Four Corners K9 Search and Rescue, one of a number of volunteer groups looking for missing and murdered Native Americans. Authorities on the Navajo Nation dont yet have a search and rescue canine unit. So Beyale is the first and only responder using trained dogs to search the whole of the reservation over 27,000 square miles of dry washes, juniper forests and spotty cell service. On the morning of 23 April, she met around half a dozen other volunteers at a sand-swept gas station within the Navajo Nation on the Utah and Arizona border. Volunteer Chiara Amoroso had gifts: GPS devices and a large duffle she brought from Cortez, Colorado. Amoroso unzipped the bag and removed a replica human skull. Hello, Im Larry Jr, she said, moving the hinged jaw. It cracked the group up, although one volunteer noted an elder might not find the joke so amusing. For traditional Navajo, even fake skeletons arent a laughing matter. They observe human remains with reverence, which makes the possibility of this land holding so many undiscovered bodies that more devastating. Volunteers with Four Corners K9 Search and Rescue unfurl a new banner before a search for a missing person on the Navajo Nation on April 23rd, 2022. (Justin Higginbottom) Beyale finds bones nearly every time she goes into the field, almost always from animals. The classroom skeleton will help her group identify those that are human. Standing in a circle, the smell of burning sage from a pre-search prayer still lingering, Beyale gave her briefing. The victim was Alexander Eskee. He was 37 years old when he disappeared on 5 June 2020, from Dennehotso, Arizona. There was a fight with his in-laws and Eskee got into his white truck wearing a tank top, shorts and flip-flops and drove over the hill. No one even found the truck. Story continues Its like the Bermuda Triangle for missing people on the reservation, says volunteer Andrea Beya. The missing mans mother, Berdie Bitsui, barely slept the night before meeting Beyale on this morning. She made the seven-hour drive here from Las Vegas where she lives. Its a trip she tries to make a couple times a month to help her daughter search. She was hoping a criminal investigator from the Navajo Nation would be here but shes not surprised they arent. They said theyre doing something about it but yet theyre not here. Theyre not here to help us search, sad Bitsui. She said she hadnt heard anything for a year after she reported her son missing. Desperate, she contacted another police department on the reservation who told her they ran a search on Eskees Social Security number and came up empty no new job, no rental applications. Bernadine Beyale, founder of Four Corners K9 Search and Rescue, is seen during a search for a missing person on the Navajo Nation on April 23rd, 2022. (Justin Higginbottom) Angel Charley, executive director of Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, said Bitsuis desperation isnt unique in Native communities. Charley said that despite increased press coverage, legislation , a Bureau of Indian Affairs missing and murdered unit and various task forces including the President Trumps Operation Lady Justice families are still struggling. So-called auntie armies are left to scour reservations like the Navajo Nation for their loved ones. No solutions have been offered in terms of how do we actually get the people who are doing the work of investigation the resources they need, said Charley. Even Beyale cant be dedicated full time to finding the missing. She has a day job and must spend precious weekends and vacation time searching. She was volunteering with the state-run New Mexico Badlands Search and Rescue Team when families on the reservation began approaching her for help. Her number spread like wildfire. Twenty families have called her this year so far. This is her 12th search since January. So far she said her group has found the remains of one person and evidence for another case. She and her dogs also found an elderly man who had wandered into the desert with dementia. Volunteers with Four Corners K9 Search and Rescue are seen during a search for a missing person on the Navajo Nation on 23 April 2022. (Justin Higginbottom) Charley said theres still a relative dearth of data for the missing. In a report last year the National Crime Information Center notes 9,500 missing Indigenous people. Activists place much focus on missing women and girls but men like Eskee are also vanishing. We just know that the numbers are higher, that the information that theyve been able to gather is probably a snapshot of the larger picture, said Charley. Speaking with Beyales volunteers, the ambiguity of that picture contributes to a climate of fear on the Navajo Nation. Beyale puts drug trafficking and human trafficking at the top of the list for causes. But thats mostly conjecture. She figures the reasons behind those missing are as individual as those who vanish. She does know that her searches for the New Mexico state usually involve hunters and hikers. But on the reservation, its different. Its so weird. Everything is getting so weird, said volunteer Shirley Shepherd, who knew Eskee when he was a boy. She also lost a relative, Laura Sheppard, who disappeared from a Bureau of Indian Affairs highschool in 1978. But she said it seems worse now. Its so scary. Maybe its the drug thats driving people crazy. Long time ago, there was none and we had less problems. Today, theres more and more, said Shepherd. We believe that dogs can sense things and see things that we cant Her team doesnt have a last point seen for Eskee. Rather, they have the visions of a medicine man. After receiving few answers from authorities, Eskees family turned to a Navajo seer. Its a common practice, said Beyale. The man told them Eskee would be found near a water tank covered in red writing. There would be a windmill. And his body would be tucked between rocks. Eskees sister thought she found a place that matched this description, near a route he would drive. Beyales group headed out in a convoy and just a few miles from the gas station turned off the highway onto sand and saw it: a water tank covered in red graffiti, a windmill and a rocky ridge with crevices like wrinkles in a sheet. Volunteers carrying radios, GPS devices and green flags to place near potential evidence fanned out, moving slowly across the sagebrush-capped dunes. Beyale carried plenty of water and dog bowls dehydration dries a dogs nose, lessening their ability to smell, she said. My job is to watch their body language, said Beyale. Because she doesnt have a scent from Eskee to provide the dogs, she explained they would be slow-moving. But if one of them picked up on anything, they would cue her. Trigger would touch her leg and Gunny would spin. Beyale said she trained her dogs with New Mexicos search and rescue before meeting other canine teams who offered resources. Unfortunately, she said, training with real body parts is a luxury, although on lucky occasions its possible to use donated placenta or teeth. To an observer, on this day at least, its unclear whether the dogs knew the mission, despite constant reminders by Beyale (Get to work Trigger, get to work Gunny.) They played with each other and relieved themselves a surprising number of times between pausing briefly over sun-bleached cow bones and rusted cans. A water tank and windmill, suggested by a medicine man to be the potential site of remains, is seen on the Navajo Nation on April 23rd, 2022. (Justin Higginbottom) The Navajo have a long working history with canines. Shepards and wranglers relied on the animals to protect their livelihoods and families. Pull down any rural reservation road and youll be greeted by a diverse pack of dogs although many likely strays before any person. And theres another aspect to the animals value. We believe that dogs can sense things and see things that we cant, said Beyale. She said some Navajo believe dogss useful senses go beyond smell. She thinks they dream, like humans, and can augur clues to cases. She said her efforts arent just about bringing canine searches to the Navajo Nation. Its also about training volunteers in best practices. The auntie armies mean well but can sometimes damage evidence. Beyale was about a mile out when a volunteer radioed. The owner of this land had warned she was walking towards a canyon crawling with mountain lions. Beyale climbed a rock outcropping to get a last look before turning back. The landscape here can be deceptive. Without a reference, the distance of hoodoos and ridges are hard to judge, the extent of the void between them unknown in more ways than one. Honestly, if you were to get rid of a body, the rez is the place to do it, Beyale said later. Its not only about the rugged swathes of open space, she noted. Its about the lack of watchful eyes. Navajo Nation police are stretched thin with fewer than 200 officers. Police may be hours away from any given call. And jurisdictional issues also hamper investigations. State police cant chase crime on the reservation unless it involves a non-Navajo. She said theres still no streamlined process on the Navajo Nation for search and rescue. Although theres a host of agencies and investigators located here: Department of Emergency Management, Navajo Nation police, Bureau of Indian Affairs police, the FBI, various community emergency response teams. You have all this here, but no one knows how its all supposed to work together, said Beyale. Her group didnt find anything of Eskees on this search. Valya Cisco, a volunteer, only found a couple piles of animal bones. This was her second outing with Beyale. For her, search and rescue is personal. In 2017, her sister Katczinsky Ariel Begay disappeared. The Navajo Nation only assigned a criminal investigator to the case after her family marched to the presidents office. Cisco said her family organised searches for three months. Authorities werent always helpful. They pretty much said that we were interfering with the investigation and that we were disrupting evidence, said Cisco. Investigators later found her sisters partial remains. But when I mean partial, just the upper torso of her remains were found, said Cisco. She said authorities ruled the cause of death a suicide. But she doesnt believe her sister killed herself. And she thinks authorities made the decision either because they didnt have the resources or the will for a real investigation a distrust of local authoritys capabilities that seems common. Trigger and Gunny of the Four Corners K9 Search and Rescue investigate cattle bones during a search for a missing person on the Navajo Nation on April 23rd, 2022. (Justin Higginbottom) Its like digging, slowly Beyales group drove for over an hour on riveted and rocky dirt roads to reach a second location. They arrived in a cloud of dust at another water tank and windmill. In the distance was Black Mesa with dark-green slopes of pinyon and juniper. Beyale and her dogs headed into a dry wash filled with tumbleweeds. There were dozens of branches to this creek bed and she knew she couldnt explore them all this afternoon. As she readied to call it a day her radio crackled and a volunteer let her know they found something: an iPhone near the portentous water tank. Beyale charged it in her truck and revealed a locked screen with a picture of a chubby baby in a red Elmo shirt. It wasnt Eskees phone. Although it could have been simply misplaced by a rancher, anything found in the field held a nefarious weight with her group. If it wasnt owned by this missing person, it could be anothers. Even though nothing was found on that day, Eskees mother said seeing the volunteers searching helped. At least Im not alone Its like digging, slowly, she said. For Beyale, at least these two areas can be cleared; a few square miles out of tens of thousands. As she made the long drive home with Trigger and Gunny in the backseat, she looked out the window and couldnt help but notice the number of water tanks with graffiti, windmills and space between rocks. Tribeca Film Festival Weve all had trying family visits during the holidays, but most of us have never faced a reunion as cursed as the Easter celebration at the center of Family Dinner. Austrian writer/director Peter Hengls feature debut out of the Tribeca Film Festival keeps the proceedings understated at first, but by the end, the films carefully constructed dread gives way to real, visceral terror. While the true hideousness at the heart of Family Dinner is best left as a surprise, suffice it to say that the climax might leave viewers on edge for the next several family dinners to come. Things seem pretty innocuous when 15-year-old Simi (Nina Katlein) first arrives at her aunt Claudias (Pia Hierzegger) home for an Easter celebration. Simi is nervous at first to ask her famous-nutritionist relative to help her lose weight but seems relieved when Claudia broaches the topic herself and agrees to place Simi on a new regimen through Easter Sunday. The first order of business? Starving Simi out for a few days to detox her body. First Kill Is a Teen Lesbian Vampire Romance That Really Kind of Sucks Anyone whos struggled with body-image issues will recognize the gentle yet shame-ridden tone Claudia adopts when speaking with her niece; its a painfully accurate echo of meddlesome relatives everywhere. At every turn, Hengl highlights the deeper issues underpinning Claudias obsession with weight and nutrition. Her controlling behavior toward Simi is not unique but an exaggerated version of the same fearsome temper and lack of empathy Claudia exhibits for everyone around her, including her noxious son, Filip (Alexander Sladek). Its not just Simis aunt who seems a bit off, either; everyone in this house gives off terrible vibes. Claudias husband, Stefan (Michael Pink), might be nicer to his niece by marriage than Claudia is, but throughout Family Dinner, his plays at kindness feel creepy. Throughout the film, we catch small glimpses of the discomfort he stirs in Simi. At one point, she jerks awake from a nightmare in which he tries to sexually assault her in front of an empty refrigerator. Simis spoiled cousin Filip, meanwhile, seems to love nothing more than bullying her for no discernible reason. Story continues The slow-simmering tension between Simi and Claudia sets the pace, as does Simis growing realization that the person shes chosen to help fix her body might not be entirely okayor even decentherself. Hengl lines up his scares with methodical restraint, interweaving Simis increasingly delirious hunger with gruesome discoveries like a decapitated rat and a foreboding manuscript for Claudias newest, most extreme book. The films script embraces a subtle approach that trusts viewers to connect the dots between its themesbetween a wealthy family starving itself in the name of spiritual enlightenment and, in the same breath, denying a family member her humanity based solely on her weight. As Simis desperation grows, we observe her eyeing increasingly revolting potential mealsfrom leftovers set for the garbage, to a line of toothpaste, to scraps of a rabbit corpse. But to return to that dead rat: If theres one aspect of Family Dinners storytelling that tastes a little rotten, its Simis unbelievable naivete. Both in film and real life, bigger people are often characterized as being stupid, lazy, or both. At times, Simis inability to discern where the real dangers around her lie feels forced. Beyond puncturing the films believability, her struggle to piece the puzzle together slows down the proceedings, especially in moments that a tighter film might have used as turning points. At first, Simi believes it was Filip who left the dead rat on her pillow. That notion begins to fall apart when we watch him choke on a hunting trip, unable to slit a dying rabbits throat to end its misery. The significance of the moment never quite gets its due; although Simi seems to realize there might be more to her cousin than she thought, she never goes a step further to try and investigate who might have left the headless rodent on her pillow insteador why they would have done so. Visually, Family Dinner feels almost reminiscent of Valdimar Johannssons Lamb, another horror film with an eye for agrarian carnage and richly dyed textiles. Simis isolation at her aunts luxe estate is not only emotional but visual; her aunts brood consistently looks like they stepped out of a catalog, while she typically wanders the house in tight-fitting pajamas and hoodies. She doesnt wear makeup like her aunt, and her hair is long with blunt bangs. Every layer of the production feels designed to emphasize how close to home life and death hit on this country estateand just how alone Simi feels within it. But theres more to this film than your average brooding thriller. By the end, Simi discovers the dark truth of her aunts recent researchand why no publisher seems to want to touch the manuscript despite the enormous success of Claudias previous work. By the time Simi finally sits down to Easter dinner, the main course is a heaping plate of dramatic ironythe kind that leaves a deliciously revolting aftertaste. Good luck getting it out of your mouth before your next meal. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) The foreign ministers of Ireland, Norway and Turkey say aid deliveries from Turkey to rebel-held northwest Syria must continue, warning Wednesday of a humanitarian crisis if the only remaining border gate is closed. Russias deputy U.N. ambassador has told the U.N. Security Council that Moscow sees no reason to continue humanitarian aid deliveries through the Bab al-Hawa border gate. He accused the West and the United Nations of insufficient efforts to deliver such aid from Damascus, the Syrian capital. The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to vote July 10 on whether to continue authorizing cross-border aid from Turkey. Ireland and Norway, two non-permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, have been working together to keep the Bab al-Hawa crossing open. Their foreign ministers visited the border area on Wednesday before holding talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara. Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told reporters during a joint news conference that 4 million Syrians were in need of the humanitarian aid that passes through the border, warning that the situation in Syria was going from bad to worse. Cavusoglu said he discussed the aid deliveries with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during their talks in Ankara last week. We will continue our efforts to persuade the Russian side in the coming period, he said. In early July 2020, China and Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have maintained two border crossing points from Turkey to deliver humanitarian aid to Syrias Idlib province. Days later, the council authorized the delivery of aid through just one of those crossings, Bab al-Hawa. That one-year mandate was extended for a year on July 9, 2021. The namesake of New Jersey, the five-by-nine-mile island of Jersey is located in the English Channel off the coast of France and is a so-called peculiar possession of the British Crown. Neither a part of the United Kingdom nor the European Union, it is accountable to the UK Queen but governs itself. Jerseys unique set-up means that while it receives the protection of the Crown and the UKs international treaties and compacts it has its own constitutional rights dating back to 1204. The arrangement gives Jersey the ability to run its own parliament, courts, policing, and regulatory and financial systems separate from the UK. It even prints its own currency, the Jersey pound, which is pegged to the British pound and stamped with the face of the Queen. (This month, Jersey was covered with flags and other decorations, called bunting, in celebration of the Queens Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70th anniversary as monarch.) Jerseys unusual protections and freedoms have allowed it to create a popular tax haven the islands officials prefer the term financial center catering to the UK, Europe and, increasingly, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. READ MORE: Offshore leak exposes financial secrets of Ghislaine Maxwells family Offshore companies registered in Jersey have been linked to the U.S. savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, Middle East arms deals, major drug seizures and busts, and the Goldman Sachs deal that made Wall Street hedge funder John Paulson billions, but forced the bank to pay a half-billion-dollar settlement to the Securities and Exchange Commission over claims it misled investors. And it was home to La Hougue, the trust the Maxwells used to conduct various financial activities. La Hougue was headquartered at St. Johns Manor, the iconic, 16th-century home of Canadian lawyer John Dick, which was purchased by a trust belonging to Dicks children in 1980. One of the perks of the 58-acre estate was that it came with a noble title: Dick became the Seigneur of St. John literally, the lord of the manor. Story continues The La Hougue files were stashed in 333 bank boxes discovered by Dicks daughter, Tanya Dick-Stock, and her husband, Darrin Stock, in an indoor squash court at the manor. The files included pages from The Complete Guide to Offshore Money Havens, a book by Jerome Schneider, explaining how to set up a one-person operation to avoid paying taxes and how, once you get enough depositors, you can begin issuing letters of credit and financial guarantees, such as back-to-back loans and assign whatever interest rate the free market will allow. A number of the trusts loans, including to the Maxwells, had interest rates as high as 24%. Trusts are secretive financial tools that often use a custodian to act as a third party in transactions, such as buying or selling property and assets on behalf of the true owner or beneficiary. By design, trusts like La Hougue make it hard for creditors and even law enforcement or regulators to follow the money. Image of the shore of the Island of Jersey. Dick originally founded La Hougue to manage his real estate assets, but the financial companys services grew to include the fabrication and forgery of documents; the creation of dummy accounts; the concealment of clients identities; and a litany of techniques for hiding high-end clients money offshore. Dick denies any wrongdoing and says that company director Richard Wigley was behind the fraudulent activities. Wigley has said in court depositions that Dick, the beneficial owner of La Hougue, controlled the trusts activities. Jersey police seized the La Hougue documents, but a full decade after their discovery no criminal charges, prosecutions, or regulatory penalties have been brought by Jerseys authorities. In addition to dubious financial schemes, Jersey has more recently been in the headlines for crimes against children committed on the island by powerful people. A UK judge in 2017 warned that children in Jersey may not be safe, after an inquiry revealed hundreds of children were physically and sexually abused on the island for at least 70 years. Police excavated the teeth of children, aged 6 to 12 years old, and other juvenile remains under one of Jerseys government-run childrens homes, Haut de la Garenne, and more than 150 victims came forward from around the world to allege abuse. The probe ended in 2009, amid much controversy, with Jerseys police chief alleging he was ousted due to Jerseys secrecy culture and the new police leadership reporting they would name no murder suspects, as no people are reported missing. His Facebook page lists the 34-year-old as "Siottis Jackson, Community Champion," and a public figure. But a May 23 Jacksonville Sheriff's Office arrest warrant calls him a "suspect" sought on a charge of criminal use of personal information after at least $250,000 in loans were stolen last year from the nonprofit the Rev. Reginald Gundy founded 22 years ago. Jackson On June 10 the Sheriff's Office even posted an alert for Jackson, and the community activist, publicist and consultant gave himself up to Clay County authorities that evening, according to that county's Sheriff's Office. Jackson, also a former campaign worker of ex-U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, was freed on $50,000 bond, releasing a lengthy statement on his social media sites that asks people to "reserve judgment and respect the justice process as it runs its course." Identity theft: Jacksonville man goes to prison for using twin brother's identity to scam veteran benefits Jackson guest column: A chance to end the digital divide in Florida "Please continue to support the entities, candidates, initiatives, elected officials, activities, family or friends related/connected to me," the statement said. "This situation has absolutely nothing to do with anyone I am connected with and I ask the public to treat it as such. I ask that the public not allow this matter to negatively reflect on others." He said any further comments will come from his attorneys. Gundy, pastor at Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, did not respond to telephone and email messages for comment. But in the five-page warrant, he told investigators he "did not approve nor authorize anyone" to use his personal identification information to apply for any loans for the First Coast Leadership Foundation where Jackson lists himself as chief operating and program officer on his LinkedIn site. Gundy further stated there was even a church board meeting discussing they would not apply for any loans for the foundation. Story continues The nonprofit foundation works on mentorship, job training, affordable housing referrals, temporary shelter and other programs for local residents. Jackson said his job is "to accrue grants, funding and loans for the organization," according to the warrant. Siottis Jackson issued this statement on Facebook after his Friday arrest. The Florida Division of Corporations lists Jackson as a registered agent of five area organizations, including the Ribault Alumni Group Association, Friends of Northside Schools and the Transforming Communities Community Development Corp. His recent social media sites have posted mostly notices of private and city job fairs as well as COVID-19 testing locations. In news releases to the media, he also has been listed as the contact for the Black Men Engaged nonprofit that launched 2021's #TaketheShotJax events to offer information about the COVID-19 vaccination and how to protect themselves. Warrant lists multiple instances The original Dec. 8, 2021, police report said officers were sent to the Mount Sinai Baptist Church on Silver Street in reference to a fraud investigation. Church officials said they had received an email notification from a collection agency advising that a $50,000 loan had been taken out on behalf of the foundation and needed to be paid. Gundy began the foundation in 2000, according to state business records. Investigators with the North Florida Cyber Fraud Task Force got copies of all paperwork associated with the loan, as well as recordings of two telephone calls with Jackson finalizing it, the warrant said. The investigation revealed some of the loans were applied for on May 10, June 9 and July 19 for a total of $75,255. A copy of Gundy's driver's license photo and bank statements for the foundation were submitted, and the pastor's name signed on the documents via DocuSign, the police report said. Opal Lee: 'Grandmother of Juneteenth' and former prisoner spread message of hope in Jacksonville Further investigation found that two additional documents had been forged with the signature of First Coast Leadership Foundation board members on Sept. 3 and 28, Jackson's arrest warrant said. Investigators spoke with one of those board members, who said he did not sign the Sept. 3 documents nor give anyone permission to sign his name. The Sept. 28 form had the signatures from three additional board members, one of whom said he didn't sign it or give anyone permission to do so. On Sept. 3 a $40,000 loan was made to the foundation. DocuSign was used to sign the victim's name, the warrant said. The investigation revealed many more fraudulent loan applications. One made on Nov. 4 had Gundy's signature via the DocuSign system. But Gundy said he did not authorize anyone to apply for this loan or give permission to use his information to apply for it, the warrant said. The investigation showed someone used Gundy's personal information to apply for a $35,000 cash advance that was denied on Nov. 8. That application showed an email with Gundy's name, but both it and the phone number was Jackson's. Florida's 'Casanova Scammer': Accused of impersonating doctor, scamming 21 women in 8 states Another loan for $25,000 was requested for the foundation on Oct. 27. In both cases, the email and phone number were Jackson's, not Gundy's, the warrant said. A review of the foundation's bank records uncovered a March 10, 2021, Small Business Loan for Paycheck Protection, $129,539 deposited into its account. Again, Gundy and others said they did not authorize this loan or one for $25,000 on June 20, the warrant said. A $35,000 loan attempt made in April 2021 included a copy of Gundy's driver's license photo, a voided check for the foundation and a fraudulent corporate resolution of its board of directors. This document was notarized and signed by the foundation's chairmen. But a board member told investigators that they had not approved it, while the notary public said "this was not the document she notarized," the warrant said. Other attempts were made to get more loans, but the warrant said these were denied, including ones for $25,000 and $50,000. Investigators also found that Jackson acted as Gundy in telephone calls to loan company officials and made changes in the application, learned as they listened to the recorded calls, the warrant said. The investigator "found the individual who called in pretending to be Pastor Gundy changed the phone number on the account." Those two phone calls were on Sept. 28, the warrant said. Past convictions and issues Jackson also served as director of the North Florida chapter of Second Chances, a nonprofit group supporting Amendment 4 in 2018. That state amendment, which passed that year, allows those with felony convictions to get their voting rights restored automatically if they've completed their sentences, including parole and probation. Restore rights: Amendment seeks to restore ability to vote for 1.5M Florida felons Two charged: Arrests in Ribault pep rally fracas Jackson was one of those whose rights were restored, since he has two convictions on his record, according to local court records. "I work for candidates and I can't vote for them," he said prior to Amendment 4's passage. "I live in a community where a lot of people are affected by this." In 2011 he pleaded guilty to a charge of scheme to defraud while working as a student activities director at Ribault High School, according to Duval County court records. He did not turn in thousands of dollars he had collected during the 2009 and 2010 school year and received three years of probation, court records show. And in 2015 while working for a Clay County real estate agent, he was charged with forgery and criminal use of personal identification after using two company checks, according to court records. He pleaded guilty and received a year probation. He also has a 2017 foreclosure, court records show. Jackson also was a former campaign worker for Brown and was with the then-congresswoman on Jan. 4, 2016, at a Northside restaurant when federal agents served her with a subpoena. Brown was indicted for conspiracy and fraud, convicted and sent to prison. Back in court this year, she entered a May 19 guilty plea for engaging in a corrupt endeavor to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws. She was sentenced to two years and eight months which she had already served in federal prison. She was also ordered to pay $62,650 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549 This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Siottis Jackson arrested after Jacksonville pastor's identity theft Patterson in March (Getty Images for ACM) James Patterson has apologised after suggesting that white male writers struggling to find work was another form of racism. The 75-year-old, who is one of the highest-paid writers in the world, was met with criticism after making the comments in a recent interview. In a profile in The Sunday Times, the journalist suggests that Patterson is worried that it is hard for white men to get writing gigs in film, theatre, TV or publishing. [Its] just another form of racism, he is then quoted as saying. Whats that all about? Can you get a job? Yes. Is it harder? Yes. Its even harder for older writers. You dont meet many 52-year-old white males. At the time, Patterson was criticised by many other authors, who pointed out that he made an estimated $80m (66m) in 2020 and holds the record for having the most books in The New York Times bestsellers list. Author Kellye Garrett commented: Tell me youve never ACTUALLY experienced racism and sexism without telling me youve never experienced racism and sexism... In a Facebook post shared on Tuesday (14 June), Patterson has now backtracked on his comments, saying that he absolutely did not believe them. I apologise for saying white male writers having trouble finding work is a form of racism, Patterson wrote. I absolutely do not believe that racism is practiced against white writers. Please know that I strongly support a diversity of voices being heard in literature, in Hollywood, everywhere. Crime novelist James Patterson issued an apology Tuesday after making a previous claim that older white male writers having difficulties booking work are victims of racism. In an interview with the U.K.s Sunday Times published this week, Patterson said the phenomenon of white males not being able to get writing gigs represented just another form of racism. Whats that all about? Patterson added, according to the New York Times. Can you get a job? Yes. Is it harder? Yes. Its even harder for older writers. You dont meet many 52-year-old white males. The 75-year-old later backtracked his comments in a Facebook post, saying he supports diversity in the writing industry. I apologize for saying white male writers having trouble finding work is a form of racism, he wrote. Patterson added, I absolutely do not believe that racism is practiced against white writers. Please know that I strongly support a diversity of voices being heardin literature, in Hollywood, everywhere. In the article from the Times, the longtime writer also condemned his publishers 2020 decision to drop Woody Allens memoir over sexual assault allegations. I hated that, Patterson said in the piece, according to the Washington Post. He has the right to tell his own story. Pattersons comments come days after he released his new memoir, James Patterson by James Patterson. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Jun. 15EBENSBURG A Cambria County judge has denied a motion filed in Cambria County court on behalf of one of the inmates involved in the October 2020 riot at Cambria County Prison to have his case moved to another county. Alexis Brolin, 53, is one of 18 inmates who faced a variety of charges in the October 2020 incident that officials said at the time was related to inmate dissatisfaction with COVID-19 protocols in the prison. Brolin currently only faces a charge of disorderly conduct after charges of criminal conspiracy to engage in a riot, failure to disperse upon official order and riot with the intent to prevent official action first brought forward in the case were reduced. He is set to face a nonjury trial before President Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III on July 6. Last week, Brolin's attorney, Dennis Previte, filed a motion for change of venue, and Wednesday the attorney argued that not only Krumenacker, but the entire bench of Cambria County would be unable to provide Brolin with a fair trial due to prior knowledge of the case as well as bias in favor of those that work at the Cambria County Prison and who worked to investigate the case. Previte also argued that members of the Cambria County Prison Board, which includes Krumenacker, would have additional knowledge of the incident. Cambria County District Attorney Gregory Neugebauer argued that the commonwealth's position was that any judge in the county could decide the case with impartiality and that the case will be decided on video evidence and the testimony of guards. Krumenacker denied the motion and stated that he felt he could render a fair verdict in the case. A Missouri school district said Tuesday evening it is closing its summer school on Wednesday over an "unspecific mass shooting" threat and the FBI is investigating. "Safety is our top priority, and we are committed to telling you what we can when we can," the district wrote in a message posted to Facebook. "The Blue Springs Police Department alerted the FBI of a possible threat related to an unspecific mass shooting. The FBI has confirmed that the individual in question whose whereabouts are unknown is dangerous." The district, in Blue Springs, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, said the closure was out of an abundance of caution, adding, "We believe the best course of action is to close our summer school sites and all school programming until further notice." SHEILA JACKSON LEE OPENS UP ABOUT A BIPARTISAN GUN CONTROL BILL FOLLOWING THE TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING The district said it knew the closure would be a "burden to many of our families and we ask for your understanding and flexibility as we continue to keep our students, staff, and schools safe." LAW ENFORCEMENT ENHANCES SCHOOL SECURITY, TRAININGS AFTER WAVE OF COPYCAT SHOOTING THREATS It said another update would come Wednesday evening. No other details were given about the threat. FLORIDA SHERIFF ON 10-YEAR-OLD ARRESTED FOR SCHOOL SHOOTING THREAT: PARENTS AFRAID TO DISCIPLINE FILE- The Blue Springs School District said it is canceling classes on Wednesday out of an "abundance of caution." Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images The decision comes a couple of weeks after 19 children and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, after an 18-year-old with an AR-15 walked into a classroom on a Tuesday morning and started shooting. A week before that, 10 people were killed in a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. A statewide plastic bag ban passed by the Delaware General Assembly in 2019 and expanded in 2021, takes effect July 1. In a reminder to shoppers, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control noted retail stores in Delaware except restaurants will no longer provide plastic bags at checkout. Prior to the enactment of this law in 2019, it was estimated that each Delawarean used approximately 434 plastic bags each year, many of which wound up as waste in our landfills, said Shawn M. Garvin, the department secretary. An updated plastic bag ban expands it to include all retail stores, with restaurants again the exception regardless of size, and bans the distribution or sale of all plastic film carryout bags at checkout. A customer of the ShopRite in Newport unloads bags of groceries in 2019. The department also encourages the use of the cloth or fabric bags brought by customers to businesses where they shop. 'Wishcycling': 'Wishcycling': Here's what you throw in recycling bin that actually ends up in landfills By realigning the legislation to further limit the use of film carryout bags, we are reducing waste that all too often ends up along on our roadway, in our waterways and shorelines all detrimental to our environment including wildlife and marine creatures, Garvin said. What shoppers need to know Opting for reusable bags at the grocery store is an effortless way to limit your plastic use. Despite businesses moving away from plastic bags, consumers can follow simple tips by the department after the law takes effect. Among them are telling shoppers: Reusable bags should be washed or cleaned after each use by turning them inside out and wiping them down with a cleaning agent or disinfectant. Retail stores that continue to provide exempt bags are required to maintain an At-Store Recycling program for plastic and film bags, including cereal box liners, newspaper sleeves, and single-use produce or meat and fresh seafood bags. The department's Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances also reminds Delawareans that plastic bags should never be placed in the bins that are part of the states curbside recycling program. Story continues Bags can be returned to the stores to be properly recycled. Background: Plastic bag ban: How Delaware is moving closer to tougher restrictions Loopholes: Why environmentalists want Delaware to ban all plastic shopping bags and charge for paper ones Under Delawares 2019 plastic bag ban, the law allowed 2.25 millimeter-thick plastic film bags to be considered reusable. However, last June, the legislature enhanced the states plastic bag ban to include all plastic film carryout bags regardless of thickness. Starting July 1, retailers can choose to offer paper bags, or reusable bags made from cloth or other durable fabric with stitched handles. The law also allows retail stores to charge customers for these bags at checkout. The plastic problem An initial law limited plastic shopping bags had loopholes allowing thicker plastic bags. Delaware has since tightened the rules. State data indicates residents use about 2,400 tons of plastic bags each year which is on par with national trends. The Environmental Protection Agency noted in 2018, plastics generation was 35.7 million tons in the United States, which was 12.2 percent of municipal solid waste generation. Nationwide, landfills received an average of 27 million tons of plastic, making it 18.5% of all municipal waste sent there. RECYCLING OBSTICLES: Why Ocean City won't return to recycling program despite controversy When those plastic bags get into waterways and then the ocean, they become even more dangerous. Data from environmental organizations in 2022 found more than 100,000 marine animals die from plastic bag pollution annually, and over 1 million seabirds die from pollution related to plastic annually. The United States, alone, is responsible for more than 300 billion plastic bags entering the ocean every year. Between 60% to 95% of the waste currently in the ocean is believed to be plastics. The majority of seabirds and sea turtles in oceans have plastic in their stomach from thinking it is food. Consumers and retailers can find more information about the enhanced plastic bag ban at the state information website. This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Delaware's tighter plastic bag ban takes effect July 1, 2022 Our team is dedicated to finding and telling you more about the products and deals we love. If you love them too and decide to purchase through the links below, we may receive a commission. Pricing and availability are subject to change. In The Know is proud to celebrate Caribbean American Heritage Month. During this month, our team will highlight a wide range of Caribbean and Caribbean American-owned brands. We encourage you to support today and beyond. Thanks, its sustainable! Words like cute or sexy might not come to mind when you think of sustainable fashion, but Dominican-based fashion brand Olette might make you reconsider. Olette is a sustainable, ethical and Caribbean-founded fashion brand creating clothing inspired by you and made for you. The brands mission is to provide sustainable and ethical clothing thats both beautiful and comfortable to wear. Our designs are meant to grace the body while paying homage to the skin youre in, according to the brands website. We use organic materials to curate unforgettable wardrobe staples for women who take time to fully embrace the feeling of every moment. Founded by Dominican entrepreneur Carolyn Compres-Diaz, Olette is one of the few fashion brands to launch during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In an interview with Emperifolla in July 2020, Compres-Diaz described the decision to launch a fashion brand during the pandemic as hopeful. I already had everything in hand; everything was ready, Compres-Diaz said of all the planning she had done well before the pandemic. So I was like, [] I cant waste more time just because of this. The people who believe in the brand, the people who like it, will still eventually find a way to help us out. All of Olettes designs are made with organic materials like cotton and linen. Even the buttons are made of recycled coconut! Browse from gorgeous designs like the sensual Historia Top and the sexy Siempre Dress in Verde. Story continues Clothing from Olette is available in sizes XS to L and is best cared for by dry cleaning only. Take a look below at some of our favorite Olette designs to add to your summer wardrobe. Meet the adventure shorts of your dreams. These cuffed shorts are made of cotton and linen and feature side pockets and a button made of recycled coconut. They are loose-fitting and meant to be worn high on the waist, and are available in sizes XS to L. Buy Now This sophisticated and sexy dress will turn heads with its verdant color and stunning silhouette. This dress hits just below the knee, featuring trendy details like a square neckline, puff sleeves and open back. It's best to care for this dress through dry cleaning only because it is made of cotton and linen. It's available in sizes XS to L. Buy Now A little bit sexy and a little bit chic, this eye-catching Historia Top from Olette should be at the top of your summer 2021 fashion inspo board. This crop top, featuring stylish puff sleeves and a button made of recycled coconut, is what your summer wardrobe is missing. Don't forget to use some fashion tape for extra secure coverage. It's available in sizes XS to L. Buy Now Meet the cottagecore dress of your dreams. This puff-sleeved, off-the-shoulder mini dress from Olette is made of cotton and linen for a lightweight, breezy feel. Get it in sizes XS to L. Buy Now Perfect for the beach or a warm and lazy Sunday morning, this tied crop top is the perfect summer companion. This top, made of cotton and linen, features small off-the-shoulder puff sleeves. It's available in sizes XS to L. Buy Now If you liked this story, check out In The Know by Yahoo's Caribbean-Owned Brands Shop. More from In The Know: 10 must-read books by Caribbean authors to add to your bookshelf 6 Caribbean-founded LGBTQIA+ organizations you need to follow and support Get to know Bien Abye, the Haitian accessory line that just launched at Nordstrom Jamaican-born designer Gina Feldman Love is the creative mastermind behind Auvere jewelry The post Get to know the Dominican-founded fashion brand making sustainable clothing sexy appeared first on In The Know. Homeless people at an encampment in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco on Feb. 24. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) An Oakland man was sentenced to six years in federal prison for his role in leading a Bay Area drug dealing network in which he provided housing to street-level dealers operating in San Franciscos Tenderloin neighborhood, according to the U.S. Attorneys office for the Northern District of California. Andy Manuel Reanos-Moreno, 27, who was arrested in 2019, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Court documents describe this as a sophisticated operation in which Reanos-Moreno supplied dealers with drugs including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. As head of the organization, Reanos-Moreno sourced the drugs from Southern California. The housing system was considered the backbone of Reanos-Morenos operation, according to court documents. He sourced houses and apartments in Oakland that he would rent out to dealers. The drugs were delivered to the homes, then dealers commuted into San Francisco to sell the drugs, said Abraham Simmons, spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office. Court documents note that he would threaten to evict dealers if they didnt adequately produce for the organization. The Oakland man was also in charge of managing customer relations, which included nearly daily calls from drug dealers to place orders for resupplies of drugs. Reanos-Moreno utilized his knowledge of U.S. immigration laws to recruit undocumented dealers and threatened those who did not sell enough narcotics, according to the cases news release. Dealers were also expected to only purchase drugs for resale from him. With respect to his participation, Reanos-Moreno has admitted to the drug operation taking place at least during the first seven months of 2019. The governments sentencing memorandum said Reanos-Moreno used his legal immigration status, his knowledge of real estate in the area, and his ability to pay upfront costs such as deposits on apartments as a means of both enticing street-level dealers to work for his organization and then holding their feet to the fire to ensure that they sold enough drugs or else they would lose their housing or face potential legal jeopardy. Story continues This sentencing is part of a larger operation, and there have been other charges in connection with this case, Simmons said. Reanos-Moreno has been in custody since his arrest in 2019 and will begin to serve his sentence immediately. The court has also ordered him to serve four years of supervised release in addition to his six-year sentence and forfeiture of $25,000 seized from his home at the time of the arrest. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. (Photo: Rachelle Omenson) (Photo: Rachelle Omenson) On Aug. 31, 1993, Marcia Riley opened Slammers, a lesbian bar and pizza joint in downtown Columbus, Ohio. At the time, it was one of four lesbian bars in the city. Unlike the others, Slammers is still standing despite a pandemic, a riot and the fact The Lesbian Bar Project states only 21 lesbian bars remain in the U.S. (fewer than 900 LGBTQ bars exist nationwide). Deb Gordon, who doesnt have a title (Im Marcias wingman, she told HuffPost), has worked with Riley from the beginning and still works at Slammers, mainly in a supervisory role. Like Riley, shes seen it all: the bar transitioning from mostly women customers to all demographics; the federal legalization of same-sex marriage; and now the advent of Dont Say Gay laws, which Ohio Republicans are trying to pass in the state, and the recent Ohio ban of transgender students in sports. In non-pandemic years, Columbus hosts one of the largest Pride festivals in the Midwest 700,000 people and the city has the 15th highest LGBTQ population in the U.S. Slammers is not only the oldest gay bar in Ohio, but also the longest-owned womens bar in Columbus. For this edition of Voices In Food, Gordon talked to Garin Pirnia about how the bar and times have evolved. On the changes Slammers has seen since the 90s I met Marcia in 1993, here in Columbus. At that particular time, I was managing a paint and wallpaper store. She walked in with her partner at the time and we just started talking. She told me she was opening up a new bar in Columbus, and [said] I should come down and see it sometime. I just started helping with a lot of construction stuff there was a lot of renovation to be done. We became very good friends, and it opened up at the end of August. Ive seen a tremendous amount of change with the bar, with Columbus, with the world. In terms of the bar, when we first opened it was predominantly women [patrons]. We were known as a lesbian bar, and we did not get a lot of male clientele. Of course they were welcome. I remember back in the 1990s, we had some women that didnt want men in there, and that was their perspective. But Marcia and I did [want male customers]. Story continues During the 90s, things were a little more segregated in terms of mens bars and womens bars. I think theres a decrease in womens bars and gay bars just because I think our lifestyle is a lot more accepted today than it was in the 80s and the 90s. Today, Im there on the weekends, and every weekend Im in there, I look around and probably 90% of the clientele thats in there Ive never seen before. We get a lot of gay men. We get a lot of straight men. We get a lot of straight couples. We get big groups of wedding parties, because our motto is, All walks, one groove. Were a very inclusive bar. Everybody is welcome there unless youre a serial killer. We helplessly watched groups of people throw rocks through the front window and completely loot the bar, and we couldnt do anything about it. Ive been doing the beer ordering for quite some time, and I see changes in peoples choices. Craft beer now is a lot more popular than it was back then, obviously. The hard seltzers are the in thing. We sell an incredible amount of liquor. Titos vodka is probably our number-one-selling liquor. I like to give business to companies that support us, and its usually the smaller ones, like Rhinegeist, not the big ones. ... Theyre so big that they dont give a shit about you. Like, if you need a second delivery, they wont do it. They cant do it. But the smaller companies really want your business. On the challenges of the past two years When COVID hit, we had to shut down on March 15, 2020. Then, the week that we were going to reopen, the end of May, thats when the George Floyd protests happened. We didnt prep the building by boarding up windows. And we did get broken into and had extensive damage $30,000 worth of damage. The security company called me. Im the first one on the list because I live the closest. They said, Your alarms are going off. We cant send any police down there. Theyre all involved with the protesters and rioters. We helplessly watched groups of people throw rocks through the front window and completely loot the bar, and we couldnt do anything about it. But now, were busier than we were way before COVID. I think theres a decrease in womens bars and gay bars just because I think our lifestyle is a lot more accepted today than it was in the 80s and the 90s. On the recent anti-trans legislation People who lean to the right just are totally misinformed [about the LGBTQ community and trans kids]. They dont understand it, and they are discriminating against very loving people who just want to be who they are. You cant suppress someone from being who they truly are. You do that and I think youre going to see the suicide rate go up, because theyre not accepted. They have feelings of Im no good. It just turns my stomach that any of these bills would even be brought up, let alone voted on. Same thing with abortion. In 1973, when Roe v. Wade [was decided], I was in college and I thought that was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now, with all the stuff going on with the Supreme Court, Donald Trump got what he wanted. He had an agenda to get all these conservative judges in there to do exactly whats happening now to make the country go back in time 50 years, which is very disheartening. I find it abhorrent that any of those bills would even be considered. This is 2022; its not the 50s anymore. If youre silent, then the other sides gonna win. On the future of Slammers What I would like to see is Slammers continuous growth and success and acceptance to everybody, not just the Columbus community, but a lot of people who come from out of town and out of state. Marcia Riley is a wonderful, generous human being and had a vision 29 years ago, which is still going strong. She has created and continues to give us all a safe, fun place where we can all be ourselves. Shes a true trailblazer in the LGBTQIA community. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... Lil Wayne hasn't played in the UK since his visa application was rejected in 2011. (Owen Sweeney / Invision/AP) Lil Wayne will not be performing at London's Strawberries & Creem festival Saturday after organizers said the Home Office barred him from entering the country in a "last minute decision." Wayne was set to headline the London festival, playing his first show in the country in more than a decade. However, Strawberries and Creem on Wednesday announced it had been forced to remove him from the lineup. "Lil Wayne has been refused entry to the UK directly by the Home Office in a last minute decision," a statement on the festival's website read. "We are deeply disappointed by this sudden and negative ruling. We have received very minimal notice, and the timing of the decision is of course upsetting for all involved including Lil Wayne's fans, as well as the festival team." Lil Wayne will no longer be performing at Strawberries & Creem 2022. LUDACRIS will now perform on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/cywZip2DsY Strawberries & Creem Festival (@SandCFestival) June 15, 2022 A reason for the Home Office's decision wasn't immediately available, and The Times has reached out to Lil Wayne's team for comment. In an attempt to appease fans, the festival brought in Ludacris to fill in for Lil Wayne on Saturday night. The festival will also offer Saturday ticketholders free entry to Sunday's slate (headlined by Tems) or a discount on tickets for next year's festival. "Across the weekend, we still have an incredible array of artists joining us," the team said. Others billed to perform include Mabel, Tion Wayne and Knucks. Wayne has not yet released a statement on the late switch. His removal from the lineup comes less than a week after he was tapped to fill in for the Migos at the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City but had to pull out just before the event, citing "flight disruptions." Story continues In 2011, Lil Wayne's UK visa application was rejected, forcing him to cancel his European tour dates in the area. British immigration officials had cited his criminal history, as he had been released from prison in November 2010 after serving eight months on a gun charge. In November 2020 he was charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, although he was pardoned by former President Trump in 2021. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. While Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 16% in the last quarter. But in stark contrast, the returns over the last half decade have impressed. We think most investors would be happy with the 218% return, over that period. Generally speaking the long term returns will give you a better idea of business quality than short periods can. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price. While the stock has fallen 9.1% this week, it's worth focusing on the longer term and seeing if the stocks historical returns have been driven by the underlying fundamentals. Check out our latest analysis for Lithia Motors To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement. During five years of share price growth, Lithia Motors achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 39% per year. This EPS growth is higher than the 26% average annual increase in the share price. So it seems the market isn't so enthusiastic about the stock these days. This cautious sentiment is reflected in its (fairly low) P/E ratio of 6.51. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. This free interactive report on Lithia Motors' earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further. What About Dividends? When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Lithia Motors' TSR for the last 5 years was 231%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments! Story continues A Different Perspective While it's never nice to take a loss, Lithia Motors shareholders can take comfort that , including dividends,their trailing twelve month loss of 17% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 20%. Of course, the long term returns are far more important and the good news is that over five years, the stock has returned 27% for each year. It could be that the business is just facing some short term problems, but shareholders should keep a close eye on the fundamentals. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Lithia Motors you should know about. If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges. 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. Lakeway artist Bob Rives will display a collection of pencil and charcoal drawings at the Lake Travis Community Library in July as part of its monthly series featuring local creators. The series allows artists to show and sell their art, and Rives decided to donate any proceeds he makes back to the library rather than the usual 15%. Rives said he picked up drawing as a hobby a few years ago when he retired and moved with his wife to a ranch in the Lakeway area. Before he started sketching, he liked to do wood carvings. He said many of his works focus on religious subjects or indigenous peoples. I just enjoy drawing good, solid characters, he said. I enjoy drawing people like Mother Teresa or the mother and child type of art. Lakeway artist Bob Rives will display a collection of pencil and charcoal drawings at the Lake Travis Community Library in July as part of the librarys monthly series featuring local creators. More: Lakeway City Council discusses at-home business ordinance after daycare lawsuit Born and raised in Tennessee, Rives served in the military, completing a tour of duty in the U.S. Army. He attended Texas A&M University and the University of Alabama and earned a degree in math and physics. During his 30-year career, Rives spent most of his time working as an international petroleum exploration geophysicist. Notable portraits in his library exhibit will include Dame Judi Dench and Johnny Cash, and drawings of other images that have caught his eye, such as the Oxford Bridge. Library Director Morgan McMillian said it is an important part of the librarys role in the community to support local artists. We love to expose our community to this talent, it's another great way to learn, she said. You can learn from books, you can learn from programs, but we certainly believe you can learn from art and are grateful to have the support of artists in our community. Art from the June exhibit by local artist Diane Whooley is still available to view through the end of the month in the librarys meeting room, McMillian said. Whooley was born and raised in Ireland and works on a variety of landscapes, portraits and abstracts on canvas. Story continues McMillian said the art committee will meet in the fall and solicit applications to select the monthly artists for 2023. Notable portraits in Bob Rives' exhibit at the Lake Travis Community Library will include this one of Dame Judi Dench. More: Need a book recommendation? This is what Lake Travis readers checked out in 2021. Rives will also have a reception on Saturday, July 16 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the library, where community members can come and check out his art. He said he is excited to interact with people and talk about his work. More information about Rives can be found online at rgrives.com. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Local artist Bob Rives to display art at the Lake Travis library Consolidated News Pictures Despite standing by her allegations of abuse against Johnny Depp, Amber Heard insists she still loves her ex-husband. The revelation comes from the second installment of Heards in-depth interview with Savannah Guthrie on NBCs Today show. The first segment on Tuesday saw the Aquaman star describe seeing crowds of people waving signs calling for her death during the trial. On Wednesday, she again stood by the allegations of violence to which she testified to at trialbut said she still has romantic feelings for Depp. .@SavannahGuthrie: On the first day of the trial you issued a statement, and part of the statement said, 'I still have love for Johnny.' Amber Heard: Yes. SG: Is that still true? AH: Yes. SG: After everything? AH: Absolutely. I love him. I loved him with all my heart. pic.twitter.com/h49L6XdYuR TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 15, 2022 I love him, Heard said when asked about her feelings toward the Pirates of the Caribbean star in the wake of the lawsuit, which Heard described as the most horrible experience of her life. I loved him with all my heart, and I tried the best I could to make a deeply broken relationship work and I couldnt. I have no bad feelings or ill will towards him at all. I know that might be hard to understand or it might be really easy to understand. If youve ever loved anyone, it should be easy. Amber Heard Slams Jack Sparrow Fans and Burn the Witch Signs at Her Defamation Trial Heard also used the high-profile interview to say that she remained fearful that Deppwith whom she shared a four-year relationship before splitting in 2016might sue her again. Im scared that no matter what I do, no matter what I say or how I say it, every step that I take will present another opportunity for this sort of silencing, which is what I guess a defamation lawsuit is meant to do. Its meant to take your voice. Story continues Guthrie asked Heard if she felt Depps sinister text warning of a global humiliation had come true. Im not a good victim, I get it, Heard said. Im not a likeable victim, Im not a perfect victim. Previous excerpts from the interview showed Heard saying she didnt blame the jurors who sided with Depp at trial. Heard was ordered to pay Depp over $10 million after she lost her highly public legal battle in a Virginia court on June 1. (Depp lost an earlier case in the U.K. after The Sun newspaper called him a wife beater.) The latest trial centered around a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she described herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse, though she did not name Depp in the piece. The op-ed wasnt about my relationship with Johnny, Heard told Guthrie when asked about her motivation for writing the defamatory article. What the op-ed was about was me loaning my voice to a bigger cultural conversation that we were having at the time, Heard added, referring to the MeToo movement. Guthrie also pressed the actor about testimony at the trial from a TMZ reporter that the outlet had been tipped off about where and when Heard would be visible in public with bruising on her face. They certainly didnt get tipped off by me, Heard said. The actress also addressed the issue of a promise she made to donate $7 million to charity from her divorce settlement from Depp; at trial, it emerged the donation hadnt been made despite Heard stating it had. I made a pledge and that pledge is made over time by its nature, Heard said, insisting she still plans to honor the pledge. Asked about what shell do now, Heard said: I get to be a mom like full-time, where Im not having to juggle calls with lawyers. Guthrie questioned how she would one day go about explaining what shed been through to her 1-year-old daughter, Oonagh Paige Heard. I think no matter what, it will mean something, Heard answered. I did the right thing. I did everything I could to stand up for myself and the truth. Heards interview will be shown in full on Friday night on Dateline (8 p.m. ET). Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Mark Anthony Wilson, 35, pleaded guilty to 27 offences. (North Yorkshire Police) A man who sent a video of a naked teenage boy to his mother after threatening to expose him has been jailed for a catalogue of offences. Mark Anthony Wilson, 35, targeted nine vulnerable children and young adults across the UK through social media, asking for sexual photographs and videos. He then threatened to expose his victims, aged between seven and 19, and their families if they did not give into his "sickening" requests. Wilson, from Stokesley, North Yorkshire, was jailed for six years and eight months at Teesside Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to all 27 offences at York Magistrates Court. His charges included making indecent images of children, distributing an indecent photograph of a child, sexual communication with a child and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Read more: Child rapist, 75, walks free as dementia diagnosis stops him standing trial Mark Anthony Wilson was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court on Wednesday. (PA) In one of the incidents, which took place between 2018 and 2020, Wilson sent a video of a naked teenage boy to his mother. Officers also recovered images and video of a seven-year-old boys genitals sent during a series of 206 messages and Facetime calls between Wilson and the victim. Police found explicitly sexual images of a girl, eight, and 1,149 messages between Wilson and the victim, many of them graphically sexual. Wilson also sent racially offensive, abusive and sexual messages to a 16-year-old girl, threatening to post videos on YouTube claiming her father had raped her. He received an uplift of nine months to his sentence for the racially aggravated aspect of this offence. Wilson was also handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order. Read more: Primary school's urgent warning after two men 'try to snatch two young girls' Detective Constable Karen Barugh, of Northallerton CID, said: The defendant has committed multiple malicious and sexual offences against children online between 2018 and 2020, causing them great distress. They must have been terrified at the thought of him carrying out his threats. Story continues Despite being arrested, he continued to commit offences while on bail, his offending increasing in severity over time. He was prolific in his targeting of children and has shown no remorse for what he did. I'd like to thank those children and young people who were brave enough to come forward and give a statement to the police. I would urge anyone else to do the same if they are victim of any type of sexual offence. What started as a girls trip to Poland for a group of military spouses stationed in Germany has manifested into a larger effort to help Ukrainian refugees. Two Army spouses share the story of their community coming together to make a big impact. Plus, how the war in Ukraine has affected their families living close to the action. About the guests: Mandy Hetzel is an Army spouse married to Capt. Joshua Hetzel and a mother of two. She was an elementary school teacher before moving to Hohenfels, Germany with the military. While there, she served as a Bible study leader, vice president of spiritual life and president for Protestant Women of the Chapel. Angela Allen has been a military spouse since 2002, and her family is getting ready to leave their ninth duty station. Allen has served on multiple military organizations, including FRG and Battalion steering committee leaderships, community spouses club executive board and Protestant Women of the Chapel executive boards. She is married to Maj. David Allen and has three children. About the podcast: The Spouse Angle is a podcast breaking down the news for military spouses and their families. Each episode features subject-matter experts and military guests who dive into current events from a military perspective everything from new policy changes to research on family lifestyle challenges. The podcast is hosted by Natalie Gross, a freelance journalist and former Military Times reporter who grew up in a military family. Follow The Spouse Angle on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe on Spotify. Subscribe on Stitcher. Want more perspectives like this sent straight to you? Subscribe to get our Commentary & Opinion newsletter once a week. A minister has risked stoking a transatlantic row over Brexit after urging senior members of the US congress to temper their language over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Conor Burns, a Northern Ireland minister and the UKs special envoy for the Northern Ireland Protocol, has been in Washington this week to meet with US politicians after Britain published a new Bill this week which would allow the UK to unilaterally rip up parts of the contentious agreement with the EU. The UKs move to rewrite the Protocol - which avoids a hard border on the island of Ireland by setting up customs checks on some goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland - has led to concerns in Joe Bidens administration and among senior members of US Congress that it could threaten the Good Friday Agreement and peace in the region. But in comments to the Financial Times, reported on Wednesday morning, Mr Burns said: There is a lot of lazy talk going on here that what were doing with the Protocol is endangering or imperilling peace. Everybody should be very temperate in their use of language. Remember that voices can echo and can encourage people who dont have the interests of stability and calmness and order at heart. The new Northern Ireland Bill has sparked a fresh Brexit row with the EU which is set to re-start legal action against the UK for previous breaches of the Protocol. Brussels is also reported to be considering other legal steps including introducing tariffs on UK goods as well as outlining its own ideas for resolving problems with the Protocol. Following the publication of the legislation on Monday the White House urged the UK to resolve its differences with the EU. We support a strong and close EU-UK partnership. Transatlantic peace, security, and prosperity are best served by a strong UK, a strong EU, and the closest possible relationship between the two, a White House spokesperson said. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace arrives at her election night party following the close of polls in South Carolina's primary elections on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in Mount Pleasant, S.C. WASHINGTON Donald Trump's revenge tour faced a split-decision Tuesday in South Carolina, highlighting a busy primary night that belonged mainly to favorites in Nevada, Texas, Maine and North Dakota. While U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., defeated Trump-backed challenger Katie Arrington, another South Carolina Republican pro-impeachment Rep. Tom Rice lost his re-election bid to state legislator Russell Fry. "Many great wins tonight, with more to come!" Trump said on the Truth Social website. A few highlights from a busy evening. Mace wins, Rice loses, Trump splits In other posts, Trump congratulated Mace and said she "should easily be able to defeat her Democrat opponent!" He also lauded his candidate Fry for "running a great campaign!" Fry won more than 50% of the vote and avoided a runoff with Rice, who earned Trump's opposition by voting to impeach the then-president over the in insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. What happened:Primary Tuesday: South Carolina, Donald Trump, Nevada, abortion, Senate control Mace's bid: GOP Rep. Mace voted to certify the 2020 election but says she backs Trump. Can she win her S.C. primary? Trump had targeted Mace for her critical comments of him before the violent incident at the U.S. Capitol. A bad sign? Trump opponents celebrated Mace's win, but called Rice's defeat a bad sign for the Republican Party. "Too often in todays GOP, doing the right thing is career-ending," tweeted Sarah Longwell, founder of a group called The Republican Accountability Project. "Pour one out for a real one." Rice, who described Trump as a "narcissist" who is "harmful to the Republican Party," had braced himself for defeat. A day before the primary, he told CNN: If doing the right thing cost me an election, then I'll wear it like a badge of honor." Senate showdown in Nevada In Nevada, Adam Laxalt, the grandson of former Sen. Paul Laxalt, was favored to beat back a surge from war veteran Sam Brown to win a Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. Laxalt had Trump's backing and has been a fervent supporter of his false voting fraud claims about the 2020 election. Story continues Laxalt now faces incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in a pivotal race that will help decide which party will win control of the U.S. Senate. Who is Laxalt?: Adam Laxalt is running in the Nevada Senate race. What to know. Climate issue: Nevadans of color worry about climate change, but will that change their primary votes? An Hispanic Republican wins in Texas Republicans also had a satisfying night in Texas, where GOP candidate Mayra Flores won a special election to complete the term of a U.S. House member who retired early. Flores, a respiratory care practitioner, won more than 50% of the vote and thereby avoided a runoff with Democrat Dan Sanchez, a Harlingen lawyer. She will now complete the term of resigned Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela, representing a district that will no longer exist after this year. Governor-vs-Governor in Maine Voters in Maine set up an interesting fall race of governor-vs.-governor. Incumbent Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and former Republican Gov. Paul LePage won uncontested primaries. LePage, who became nationally known for offensive comments about women and minorities, won election as governor in 2010 and 2014. The politician who once described himself as "Trump before Donald Trump became popular" could not run in 2018 became of term limits. Mills won the Maine statehouse four years ago. Before that, she served as attorney general, a job in which she had opposed LaPage in court over attempts to expand gubernatorial powers. Republican senators win big Elsewhere, Republican Senate incumbents cruised to primary victories: Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., ran opposed, while Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., easily defeated oil field worker Riley Kuntz. Earlier this year, Hoeven survived a conservative challenge to his endorsement by the state Republican Party at its convention. Domestic politics On a more personal vote, the South Carolina Democrat whose ex-wife endorsed his opponent still managed to win his party's nomination for governor. Former U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, R-S.C., defeated state Sen. Mia McLeod, despite her support from ex-wife Amanda Cunningham. Cunningham now faces an uphill fight in the fall against incumbent Republican Gov. Henry McMaster in this GOP-leaning state. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: June 14 primaries: Trump's revenge tour stumbles again, Nevada, more The Montana National Guard has hoisted 12 people to safety since Monday after they were stranded in unprecedented floodwaters that washed out homes, roadways and bridges. Local law enforcement requested help from the National Guard to rescue stranded civilian in south central Montana around 2:45 p.m. Monday as overflowing rivers left homes underwater, officials said. The Guard deployed two military helicopters with hoist capabilities to assist. The first helicopter rescued two people in Roscoe, Montana, and two more in Fromberg, officials said. At least 200 homes were flooded in Red Lodge and the town of Fromberg. The second helicopter recovered eight people in Cooke City, the Guard said. The towns of Cooke City and Silvergate, just east of Yellowstone National Park, were also isolated by floodwaters, which also made drinking water unsafe. PARTS OF YELLOWSTONE COULD REMAIN CLOSED FOR SUBSTANTIAL LENGTH AFTER FLOODING Two additional helicopters were dispatched to Billings, where they joined the other Guard helicopters for potential follow-up missions to what it called "significant" flooding. On Tuesday, Guard members assisted with another search and rescue near East Rosebud Lake, where KTVQ-TV reported that around 60 people were stranded after floodwaters washed away part of the road to the lake. Days of rain and rapid snowmelt wrought havoc across parts of southern Montana and northern Wyoming, where flooding washed away cabins, swamped small towns and knocked out power. The historic flooding drove more than 10,000 visitors out of Yellowstone National Park and damaged hundreds of homes in nearby communities, though remarkably no one was reported hurt or killed. The park could remain closed as long as a week, and northern entrances may not reopen this summer, Superintendent Cam Sholly said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. On Tuesday, nearly 200 people registered for Mayor Ed Gaineys meeting for South Side residents and business owners. During the packed event held at the South Side Market House, many people, including several business owners, stood up and gave Gainey their honest and unfiltered opinions on what needs to be done to improve safety in the area. The mayor gave a passionate speech, telling business owners that violence destroys profit and public safety makes money. Gainey announced that by working together, the culture of the South Side can change. Key points that are being discussed: pic.twitter.com/BQlWETFr2u Sarafina James (@SarafinaWPXI) June 14, 2022 Last weekend, Gainey took a late-night walk around the neighborhood following what was a string of violent crimes, including fights and shootings in the area. Several businesses have been impacted by the violence, including Cambod-ican Kitchen on Carson Street. The restaurant was damaged by bullets when a man took cover from gunfire there. Down the street, Fudge Farm recently announced theyre permanently closing, citing crime as the reason. What I saw Saturday night, it just shouldnt be, said Gainey on Tuesday. My message to you and all of Pittsburgh is public safety is our No. 1 priority. Story continues During the public comment portion of the meeting, business owners listed several grievances, including public drunkenness, loitering including kids under 18 hanging around outside of bars, damaged property, Please save us! says a business owner. Youth, urination, violence, broken glass, shootings, etc. are just some of the issues being brought up to the @MayorEdGainey on the @SouthSidePgh @SarafinaWPXI #WPXI pic.twitter.com/KDn9KrmrIw Gigi (@wpxigigi) June 14, 2022 urinating on sidewalks, drug use, prostitution, sex trafficking and guns, especially in the hands of those underaged. The people who visit have no respect for our neighborhood, said one South Side business owner. Forget about the business district, you will lose people who live here, said a longtime South Side resident. No respect for our neighborhood. The @SouthSidePgh community is frustrated and letting @MayorEdGainey and fellow neighbors how upset they are. They are begging for help and civility to come back to their streets. @SarafinaWPXI #WPXI pic.twitter.com/jPqdnigsKD Gigi (@wpxigigi) June 14, 2022 The public suggested that the mayor implement proactive policing, set curfews, early closings for bars and food vendors and having mounted patrol along Carson Street. Gainey says he plans to make another late-night visit to the South Side in the coming weeks. Netflix has settled a lawsuit from comedian and actor Mo'Nique that accused the company of racial and gender bias. Both parties this week moved to dismiss the suit, which was filed in 2019. The matter has been amicably resolved," a representative for Mo'Nique told The Hollywood Reporter. The two sides started talks over a comedy special in 2017, but Mo'Nique claimed the company low-balled her with an opening offer of $500,000 for a one-hour show to which Netflix would own the rights. The Oscar-winning performer called for a boycott of Netflix and said the offer was discriminatory, given the eight-figure deals some other comics (such as Chris Rock and Amy Schumer) reportedly received for their Netflix specials. Netflix walked away from the discussions after Mo'Nique's assertions. "Once MoNique engaged in protected conduct by protesting the discriminatory offer, Netflix shut down any further negotiations and refused to negotiate in good-faith consistent with its standard practices," the suit stated. Netflix argued there were no legal grounds to support the claim that a company declining to negotiate in good faith equates to discrimination or retaliation. However, the judge presiding over the case determined in 2020 that Mo'Nique may have had a point. MoNique plausibly alleges that, after she spoke out and called her initial offer discriminatory, Netflix retaliated against her by shutting down its standard practice of negotiating in good faith that typically results in increased monetary compensation beyond the opening offer and denying her increased compensation as a result, Judge Andre Birotte Jr. wrote in a ruling that rejected an attempt by Netflix to dismiss the case. Engadget has contacted Netflix for comment. The reputation of once-renowned NYPD Det. Louis Scarcella took another hit with the latest legal rebuke of his crime-busting tactics. A 15th conviction secured by Scarcella during the 80s and 90s was overturned Wednesday, one in a series of legal reversals that has cost the city more than $50 million in payouts to wrongly convicted suspects later cleared. Scarcella has repeatedly denied any misconduct. The first case dates to 1990, when the Brooklyn-based Scarcella busted unemployed drug addict David Ranta for the high-profile murder of a Hasidic rabbi despite the lack of any physical evidence. But the cigar-smoking detectives work was undone when the conviction was reversed 23 years later, with Ranta set free to collect a $6.4 million city payout. Five years after Rantas arrest, 23-year-old Jabbar Washington was convicted in a robbery/shooting and spent 20 years in prison before his release. He testified that his confession was coerced when Scarcella beat him, choked him and squeezed his testicles. Washington settled for $5.75 million from the city and $1.65 million from the state Shawn Williams, despite a lack of forensic evidence and an alibi for the fatal shooting of his neighbor, was convicted in 1994 and spent 24 years in prison before his case was overturned when an eyewitness recanted his testimony. Earlier this year, the city agreed to settle his federal civil rights lawsuit for $10.5 million dollars. Wrongfully convicted killer Sundhe Moses did 18 years in a case investigated by Scarcella for the killing of a 4-year-old roller-skating girl shot in a dispute between street gangs. He also alleged the detective choked and beat him to secure a confession, and was finally freed in 2013 when an eyewitness recanted his testimony. The verdict was finally reversed in 2018. Not even an alibi spared Derrick Hamilton from a wrong conviction in a Brooklyn murder while he was living in New Haven, Conn. He spent 23 years behind bars, studying criminal law and eventually convincing prosecutors to overturn the verdict. In 2019, Hamilton received a $7 million settlement in a lawsuit where he charged Scarcella and two other cops had fabricated evidence in the case. And Shabaka Shakur was wrongfully convicted in 1989 for the double murder of two former high-school classmates one year earlier. Scarcella testified the suspect confessed to killing the men after an argument over car payments, although Shakur denied that was true. After 27 years in prison, his conviction was vacated after a judge found a reasonable probability that Shakurs alleged confession was indeed fabricated. The city and state paid him a combined $8.3 million in damages. The Only Way is Essex star Pia Smith has told her fans that half the shows cast were kicked off a flight from Madrid to London for refusing to wear Covid masks. The cast members of the ITVBe show had been filming for the new series in the Dominican Republic and were flying back to the UK via Spain. Smith said in a video on her Instagram Story: 24 hours later, were still travelling. We got chucked off the flight because we didnt wear masks, it was like half the cast that got chucked off. She added: Weve had to sit here in Madrid airport for 10 hours. Im not going to get back to the UK until 11:30pm, I wont be back in my bed until 1am. This is nuts. Civil Guard officers confirmed to the Mail that they were asked to intervene by an Air Europa pilot after the four men and five women were causing a public order disturbance. Masks are mandatory on the airline for customers over the age of six. After being confronted by police, the stars were then stopped from boarding their flight to London. An Air Europa spokeswoman added: There was an incident on the flight. Following protocol, several passengers were asked to leave the plane for refusing to wear the mandatory masks and one of them for smoking inside the aircraft. While leaving the plane, they were accompanied by other passengers without further incident. The Independent has contacted Towie representatives for comment. NEW YORK New York Mayor Eric Adams endorsed Gov. Kathy Hochul for reelection at a Manhattan union hall on Wednesday, describing her as an amazing governor and painting their partnership as an unprecedented departure from historic discord between their two posts. We need a worker. We need someone with a vision, someone who knows how to roll up their sleeves and get stuff done in the State of New York, Adams told a cheering crowd of union workers in Midtown. Lets put Kathy Hochul back into the Governors Mansion. The endorsement arrived less than two weeks ahead of the June 28 Election Day in the Democratic primary, and seemed to serve as icing on a race that Hochul has dominated. She holds vast leads over Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a progressive, and Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Long Island centrist, according to opinion polls. Both of the long-shot challengers had sought Adams endorsement. Some had wondered if the mayor, who has enjoyed a cozy public relationship with Hochul, was holding off with his endorsement to enhance his leverage with the governor during the close of the legislative session in Albany. He told NY1 ahead of the endorsement event, This is the right time; were near the Election Day. Were going to get out the votes. And he delivered a spirited case for the governors reelection in his speech at the headquarters of Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, portraying her as a tireless and passionate champion of everyday New Yorkers, and a collaborative leader in government. Our priorities are your priorities the same thing you want is what we want, Adams said, refashioning favored lines about himself and ascribing them to Hochul. We are you. And were not new to this, were true to this. Then, he listed off successes he said Hochul had brought to New York City, including an increase to the earned income tax credit, subsidies for parents and a blueprint to boost and fund the New York City Housing Authority. Story continues He punctuated each line: Why? Governor Hochul. Speaking after the mayor, Hochul declared that relationships in government matter and continued to tout the pairs work on policy as the crowd showered her with chants of Kathy! Kathy! Observers had expected Adams to endorse the governor for months. Both Democrats are relatively moderate, they are roughly the same age, and they worked together for years before taking their respective posts. Hochul spoke at Adams election night party in November. The link between the two has so far served as a dramatic contrast to the hostile relationship between former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in August, and former Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose term ended at the end of 2021. New York City mayors have quarreled with governors for decades in a stew of overlapping egos and powers and it remains to be seen if Adams and Hochul can maintain their friendly relations. But the governor expressed confidence, saying that she and Adams have forged a partnership where none existed before. The era of the governor of New York and the mayor of New York City fighting is over, Hochul said. Well roll up our sleeves and fight for you the people of this city. Jun. 14OTHELLO Othello School District officials and Othello Police Department officers detailed some of the measures they're taking to enhance school security following several recent mass shootings across the country. Board member Lindsy Prows said the Uvalde, Texas shooting affected her differently than earlier incidents. "I know I'm not the only parent," she said. "It's been a topic of conversations at the baseball field and after graduation, and any time parents are together with their kids. They're concerned. This last event hit a little bit different. It looked like our community, and maybe that's why it felt different." Othello superintendent Pete Perez said security has been on the minds of school officials nationwide following a May 24 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Amy Parris, director of the district's school-to-career program, said connecting with students is a critical part of improving school security, something district educators and staff have gotten practice with during the COVID-19 pandemic, Parris said. "We learned some lessons from COVID about student check-ins," she said. "So we got really good, the last couple years, with starting every interaction with, 'How's it going? What do you need?' Linking them with resources, that kind of thing." Teachers and staff have worked to continue those practices, Parris said. Othello police sergeant Aaron Garza, one of two school resource officers, said SROs are at school, in part, to make connections with students. "When we're (at school), one of our main focuses is building positive relationships with these kids, with the hope of changing the culture around these kids," Garza said. Othello Police Chief Phil Schenck said the goal is to make kids comfortable talking to, and coming to, police officers. "I refer to it as fist-bumping," Schenck said. "We want to be fist-bumping kids in school, not arresting them." Story continues The goal is to encourage students to talk to an adult if they have concerns. McFarland Middle School principal Jessica Schenck said the effort put into helping students feel comfortable talking to adults has been valuable. She cited an incident on June 6, where an Othello High School student allegedly made threats against MMS. "We had a student who was very comfortable coming forward and talking first to an office staff member, and then one of our assistant principals," she said. "Our goal is to increase that." Gregg Fultz, OSD risk manager, said the district conducts drills designed to cover all kinds of emergencies, including active shooters. Chief Schenck said the way kids and teachers are taught to react to a possible incident at school, and the way law enforcement and emergency personnel have been taught to respond, have changed over time. Currently, OSD teaches students and staff a method called "run, hide, fight." "If you can run, run. If you can't run, hide to include (a) barricade. That means we just don't hide in here, we block the door. And if I can't hide, I fight. But if I'm hiding, I'm preparing to fight," he said. Chief Schenck said the district wants to extend the run, hide, fight training to substitute teachers next year. Officers and district officials also have extensive emergency response training, from tabletop exercises to drills in school buildings, he added. The district uses multiple tools to identify concerning behaviors, Fultz said, including software that monitors student communication on district-issued computers and notifies school authorities. Campuses also have camera systems, he said. There are a lot of ideas out there to make schools more secure, but Perez said some may have unintended consequences. Using devices made to block doors can lock out emergency personnel if the assailant has already entered the classroom, Chief Schenck said. Metal detectors are a frequent suggestion, Chief Schenck said, but they aren't always effective. "Fifty percent of school shooters are past or present students, 50% are not. What that means is, half the people that are a threat to our schools, they're going to walk right into the metal detector, probably shoot the person standing there and keep on walking, if that's their intent," he said. "Some of these school shootings or threats I've seen lately, the students actually got past the metal detector with the weapon." Allowing staff to carry weapons also has been suggested, but requires extensive training for the armed personnel, he said. He said he was also concerned about losing a weapon to an assailant in a fight. "When we look at our risk, having SROs and the great security that we have alert staff, alert students, good relationships I think those are a better investment," he said. Chief Schenck said he would recommend pepper spray as an effective non-lethal weapon. Perez said district officials are looking at several options to enhance security, including installing electronic door locks and systems where people would have to ring for entry. Hiring additional security personnel is another option under consideration, he said. District officials also are looking at requiring ID badges. "It used to be at Othello High School everybody wore an ID," Perez said. "And there were some safety concepts built into that." Other ideas under consideration include reconfiguring offices and adding electronic locks on interior doors, Perez said. "But really at the bottom of this, it really is about our students and our staff, paying attention, being situationally aware and doing the right thing when they are called upon to do it," Perez said. Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com. Recent Headlines Customers dine at Veselka's outdoor dining amid the coronavirus pandemic in the East Village in April 202, in New York City. Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images A Ukrainian restaurant in New York can't open for 24 hours after the overnight crew quit, the owner said. The owner of Veselka said he's struggling to find people to work for less than $20 an hour. The restaurant had 100 employees before the pandemic. Now it has dropped to 80 staff. A Ukrainian restaurant based in New York can't remain open for 24 hours because the overnight crew quit their jobs amid the labor shortage, the owner said. Before the pandemic began, Veselka was open all day and all night, its boss, Jason Birchard, told Insider in an interview on Tuesday. But now, the restaurant is only open from 8 a.m. to midnight. From midnight to 8 a.m. Veselka is closed because he doesn't have enough staff. "I'm missing an overnight shift," said Birchard, who works six days a week. "I had a crew that never came back to work." Severe staff shortages have hit large and small businesses across the US since the pandemic struck. As part of the Great Resignation, many workers have left their jobs in protest of low wages, few benefits, and unsatisfactory working conditions. The Ukrainian restaurant, which is a family business, had 100 employees before the onset of COVID-19. Since then, Birchard has lost 20 members of staff. Birchard said the average wage he pays his employees is between $20 and $25 an hour. Front-of-house staff that receive tips are paid between $10 to $15 per hour, he said. The minimum wage in New York City is $10 an hour for tipped food service workers, $15 for tipped service employees, and $15 without tips, according to the city's Department of Labor. "I can't find an employee that will work for less than $20 [an hour]," he said. For the overnight shift, Birchard said: "I'm willing to pay even premium wage but I just can't find the people." Birchard told Insider in March that restaurant sales had jumped 75% since the Ukraine war began. Four months later, this trend hasn't slowed down, he said on Tuesday. He said he'll be able to hire some college students who are staying in New York for the summer but added "it's a different group of people I'm looking for overnight." Read the original article on Business Insider A trailer for a new Netflix adaptation of Jane Austen classic Persuasion, which stars Dakota Johnson as Anne Elliot, has received a hostile response from the authors fans. In the novel, which is generally regarded amongst Austens best and saddest, Anne breaks off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth (played in the new film by Cosmo Jarvis) and eventually contemplates marriage to her cousin William Elliot (Henry Golding). The trailer for the anticipated release caused a stir on Twitter, with noted authors, critics and Austen fans all reacting to the discordantly cheerful trailer. Persuasion is not Emma. Why have they tried to turn Persuasion into Emma. WHY, wrote Real Life author Brandon Taylor, whose 2020 campus novel is being developed into a feature film. This is HORRIBLE, he added in another post. The trailer for the new adaptation, which premieres 15 July, also drew unfavourable comparisons to TVs Dickenson, Bridgerton, and Enola Holmes starring Millie Bobby Brown, another Netflix production in which the heroine directly addresses the viewer. The New York magazine TV critic Kathryn Van Arendonk commented on this modern ploy: I truly, truly hate the move to do cheeky direct-to-camera address for 19th century adaptations, especially for ones like Persuasion that are supposed to be devastatingly sad. Among the other modifications to the source material that irked fans, one particular line of dialogue stood out. In Persuasion, Austen writes: There could have never been two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement. A version of that line appears in the trailer, too, though shortened and updated: Now, were worse than exes. Were friends. Whoever wrote that deserves jail, wrote one Twitter user. Is the novel dead? If so this trailer killed it, wrote Maris Kreizman, the host of a popular books podcast for the website LitHub. An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted unanimously on Wednesday to recommend two COVID-19 vaccines for kids ages 5 and younger. The two vaccines, from Pfizer (PFE)/BioNTech (BNTX) and Moderna (MRNA), have been long-awaited to help inoculate the youngest and still unvaccinated population in the U.S. The 21-0 vote for both companies is the first step in what is expected to be a quick pathway to authorization before the FDA makes a formal decision. Though both options are mRNA vaccines, leaving no alternative for those uncomfortable with or unable to use the platform, public health officials hope for quick uptake. Both companies conducted trials as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 took hold, and the data show just how tough a target the virus and its latest strains are. Similar reduction in protection against infection was seen in the kids group as has been seen in the real world for adults, but both vaccines continued to protect against severe disease, hospitalization and death. The FDA's Dr. Peter Marks noted that though children have not been affected by COVID-19 at the same rate as older adults, the rate of hospitalization is concerning. "That rate of hospitalization is actually quite troubling. If we compare this to what we see in a terrible influenza season, it is worse," he said. In addition, Marks said 442 children younger than 5 years old had from COVID as of the end of May in the U.S., compared to 78 from flu during the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic. "Each life loss...fractures a family," he said. Two options, many variables The two options parents face include two, 25-microgram doses one month apart, or three, 3-microgram doses with the first two delivered 3 weeks apart, and the third dose after 2 months. Pfizer initially pursued a two-dose schedule but found that combination, especially as Omicron began to take hold during the trials, had an efficiency of just 28.3% for two doses. By comparison, three doses confer 80% efficacy. Story continues US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla attends a press conference on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on May 25, 2022. - Pfizer said it would sell its patented drugs at a not-for-profit basis to the world's poorest countries, as part of a new initiative announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images) Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said it worried him that two doses afforded so little protection against the virus. "It was a surprisingly negative result," Offit said. "Our robust clinical study shows that three doses can provide protection for the circulating Omicron variant and offers promise for protection against potential future waves of COVID-19. The committees support today is imperative to providing a critical tool for pediatricians, parents, and caregivers who eagerly await an option for children under five," said Pfizer's Dr. Bill Gruber, Vaccine Clinical Research and Development head. Moderna's two-dose vaccine for kids aged 6 months to 6 years, with trials conducted during the Omicron wave, captured a reduced protection against infections as well. The youngest group saw efficacy of 51%, while 2- to 5-year-olds saw efficacy of 37%. Previous Omicron infection in addition to vaccination leads to more durable protection post-vaccination, Moderna's data found. One member asked why previous real-world data has shown both mRNA platforms to be similar, but for under 5 years there has suddenly been a difference in number of doses required. FDA officials said that data doesn't exist for a side-by-side comparison, so it is hard to tell. Another member asked, similarly, why one company is using 25 micrograms versus another using 3 micrograms. Gruber said he couldn't answer for Moderna, but, that Pfizer doesn't "have a complete understanding of the nature of the way the vaccine works in terms of producing immune responses. We have to go by the results." The most common side effect for Moderna's vaccine was fever, and the most common for Pfizer was fatigue, according to data presented Wednesday. Still unknown One thing that remains to be understood is the type of protection conferred during pregnancy by mothers who get vaccinated, compared to children receiving the vaccine post-birth. That will be studied in a new study of newborns through 6 months, Moderna officials said. One member asked during Moderna's presentation when doses should be given to kids in relation to other childhood vaccines. Moderna said it provided guidance to leave 2 weeks between flu and COVID vaccines, and a month between COVID and other vaccines. The companies are now awaiting an FDA decision, followed by the CDC's advisory committee, which meets Friday and Saturday to similarly hear presentations and vote on whether to recommend the vaccine. The CDC then needs to make a decision before doses are released. The U.S. government is already poised to distribute the vaccines next week. Follow Anjalee on Twitter @AnjKhem Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn Jun. 15ASHLAND The Ashland Animal Rescue Fund (AARF) filled with employees, volunteers and friends Tuesday evening as Jordan's Way took over for a live fundraiser. Kris Rotonda founded Jordan's Way after he lost his dog Jordan, whom he found in a shelter, to cancer. Jordan spent four years in a kennel and overlooked. Rotonda couldn't handle the thought. He not only adopted the dog, but went on to honor his pet through advocating and raising funds for pups in similar situations. His business partner, Greg Edwards, gathered the people and shared what was about to happen. Pies were going to fly, dogs were going to be shown off and volunteers would be heading to the dunk tank. "It's very fast," said Edwards. From the moment the Facebook live show began, pies started flying into faces. Donations drove the night. Kim Napier, who processes adoptions and manages the AARF website, stepped up first. A donation came through, and Rotonda chucked a plate full of whipped cream in Napier's face. Napier was joined by Blaine Hicks. Hicks and Napier were paired for a slap fight. Then they traded more pies based on donations they could secure via the livestream. When someone stopped in to give a donation in person, Rebecca Fairchild took a pie to the face. When her group reached a monetary goal, she took the first plunge into the dunk tank. Volunteers held their phones tight and typed away. They worked to tag people and businesses in an effort to secure donations. The goal for the four-hour event was $20,000 for AARF. Rotonda asked a donator to hold on to a dog treat. Then, he shocked the donator by saying if they received a donation, the dog Calvin would get the treat, if they didn't receive the donation, the person would have to eat the treat. Weiner Mania is a game that when a donation mark is met, all the dogs in the kennel would get hotdogs. Dogs got doggy-friendly popsicles. AARF Executive Director Cathy Queen was in danger of staying in the kennel overnight. Story continues Ms Kentucky Faith Fountain danced her way to throwing a pie into the face of Ashland Mayor Matt Perkins. She excitedly moved her feet as the donation goal was met and shocked the mayor by throwing the cream onto the side of his head mid dance step. "We are waking this community up," said Edwards. The Facebook live will go from those in the shelter to the community, state and nation, said Edwards. Rotonda excitedly and rapidly pushes for donations using the fun goals of pies, treats and dunk tanks. The shelter made the $20,000 mark around 8:30 p.m. two hours after going live. Kris would continue to show the faces of the dogs at AARF and play fun games with the people. "Such a sweet dog, such a sweet dog," said Rotonda as he headed to the kennel to introduce viewers to each pup. Meanwhile, two canine brothers, Zippy and Ziggy, headed off to their new homes. The two puppies wiggled and jumped into the arms of their humans. Napier kissed the pups and handed them off to their adoptive humans. Rotonda is making his way around to 300 shelters to raise funds in this manner. The games originated with his efforts to allow people to pie him in the face. It began to grow and mature. "Let's keep building your fundraiser," said Rotonda as he asked the community to hit $10,000 on Facebook donations and reward the dogs with pup-a-chinos. Rotonda said he started to see others volunteer to take a pie, women began volunteering to shave their heads, men would wax their chests. He gets the dogs involved, and tries to be in the kennel as much as possible. "It pulls on the heart strings," said Rotonda. Podoliak called Medvedev a tiny man with grand ambitions Ukraine isnt going anywhere; now, where Medvedev will be in two years remains an open question, said Podolyak in a Twitter post on June 15. Read also: Medvedev threatens to denazify foreign volunteers fighting for Ukraine He added that Medvedev personifies Russian imperialism. A tiny man with grand ambitions, whose only hope to remain relevant is to spit bile at Ukraine or threaten the world, Podolyak said. In response to news about talks between Ukraine and the United States on natural gas shipments, Medvedev in a Telegram post on June 15 said he doubted if Ukraine would still exist in two years. The U.S.-Ukraine talks on gas shipments reportedly involve using the lend-lease mechanism to supply Ukraine with liquefied natural gas with payments deferred by two years. Searchers arrive at a camp set up for those looking for Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips, who disappeared in a remote area of Brazil's Amazon last week. (Edmar Barros / Associated Press) A second suspect has been arrested by Brazilian police in connection with the disappearance of an Indigenous expert and a British journalist in a remote area of the Amazon. The suspect, Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, 41, is a fisherman and brother of the man considered by police as the main suspect in the case so far, Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, also 41, whose nickname is Pelado. Brazil's Federal Police also said in a statement Tuesday that they had seized ammunition and an oar, but did not say why the items were confiscated, who owned them or where they were found. Oseney da Costa de Oliveira had told the Associated Press on Friday that he visited his brother in jail and was told that local police had tortured him on his boat, which was also seized by authorities. The Federal Police did not immediately respond to a question asking why Oseney da Costa de Oliveira was named in its statement, which is not standard procedure for the force. Indigenous people who were with expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips have said that Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira brandished a rifle at them the day before the two men disappeared. He has denied any wrongdoing. The search for the missing men continued Tuesday, following the discovery of a backpack, laptop and other personal belongings submerged in a river Sunday. Pereira, 41, and Phillips, 57, were last seen June 5 near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which borders Peru and Colombia. Federal Police issued a statement Monday denying media reports that the two mens bodies had been found. Search teams are focusing their efforts on a spot in the Itaquai River, near the city of Atalaia do Norte, where volunteers from the Matis Indigenous group say that on Saturday they found a tarp from the boat used by the missing men. The Javari Valley has seven known Indigenous groups some only recently contacted, such as the Matis. The valley also has at least 11 uncontacted groups, making the region the largest concentration of isolated tribes in the world. That area has seen violent conflicts between fishermen, poachers and government agents. Violence has grown as drug-trafficking gangs battle for control of waterways to ship cocaine, although the Itaquai River is not a known drug-trafficking route. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Police are searching for a suspect in an armed robbery that happened on Monday in the Haller Lake neighborhood, the Seattle Police Department announced. According to police, officers were called to the 12800 block of Meridian Avenue North at 2:40 p.m. for an armed robbery with a shotgun. Police investigations indicated that the victim had made a large electronics purchase at Best Buy. While inside the Best Buy, the suspect encountered the victim and engaged him in conversation. The victim then purchased his items and drove home, according to police. When he got home, he opened his trunk to retrieve the items and was confronted by the suspect from Best Buy. The suspect showed a sawed-off shotgun, demanded the items, and took off in a blue car. Officers conducted a search for the suspect with no success. About an hour later, officers found the suspects car abandoned in a driveway with damage to the oil pan. The cars registered owner matched the description of the suspect in the robbery and the car was impounded. More news from KIRO 7 DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP The Daily Beast Paramount+According to everyone featured in Secrets of the Oligarch Wives, Vladimir Putin is a ruthless, greedy, sociopathic monster who cares only about his own power, wealth, and legacy as a titan who united and restored the glory of Mother Russia. The ongoing war in Ukraine, as well as the continued imprisonment and mistreatment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, corroborates those claims, although the true hook of the Paramount+ documentary about the Russian president is its insider commen (Getty/Reuters) Prince Charles may be celebrating in private after the planned flight of asylum seekers to Rwanda was cancelled following legal action. According to anonymous sources, over the weekend Charles is reported to have said that he is more than disappointed at the policy. He said he thinks the governments whole approach is appalling. It was clear he was not impressed with the governments direction of travel. Clarence House said in response to the leaked comments: We would not comment on supposed anonymous private conversations with the Prince of Wales, except to restate that he remains politically neutral. This refusal to comment was neither an acknowledgement that the conversation took place, nor an explicit denial of it. The future British monarchs political neutrality was a long time coming. The Crowns power has, since the Magna Carta, slipped away from it little by little. First into councils, later parliament and the courts. When the monarchy was restored after the Civil War, its powers were never the same, and in the century that followed were even more severely limited. Although Britain does not have a formal, written constitution, it is a firmly accepted requirement that the monarch maintains a politically neutral position. In doing so they are able to act as a symbolic head of state that represents the entire country. Making a private comment is well within Charles constitutional bounds of neutrality. That it was leaked to the press, of course, created room for criticism. It was also a reminder that the Prince of Wales has long been criticised as being too political for writing to ministers on a variety of topics over the years. The royal family are still more than capable of setting an agenda The royal family might be constitutionally required to maintain political neutrality, but they are still more than capable of setting an agenda. The causes they promote, and non-profit organisations they choose to highlight, are lent some of their extreme visibility. Choosing to work alongside a charity or scheme can bring it both nationwide and international coverage. Their influence, therefore, is not insignificant. While they are limited to broach matters that are important to them from a philanthropic or humanitarian perspective, they still have plenty of space in which to flex their muscles. Engagements, patronages, and speeches they give all result in a kind of attention for their causes that money alone would struggle to buy. Story continues However, the causes that the royal family throw their weight behind do not exist in a vacuum. In fact, they are regularly influenced and created by political agendas. The increased use of foodbanks, the climate crisis, the rights of indigenous peoples all of these are crucial humanitarian issues, but they arent just humanitarian issues: they are rooted in politics. Food bank usage in the United Kingdom has skyrocketed because of the cost of living crisis and years of austerity. The climate crisis gains momentum because governments fail to prioritise their net-zero targets and tackle the mass overconsumption in the West. Indigenous people need their rights restored because they had them stolen in the first place. Suggesting these issues can be removed entirely from their greater context and deemed as solely philanthropic seems somewhat ludicrous. Prince Charles and the Queen on Buckingham Palace balcony (Getty Images) Legislation has set the course for these humanitarian crises and now they lie squarely in the middle of two realms, both political and matters of conscience. The conversations surrounding these issues will always be politically charged. A bit of mental gymnastics has to take place: the political causes separated from the humanitarian effects. The royal family, and Prince Charles in particular, are well-versed in focussing on the latter. We can see, just through their dedication to certain causes like environmentalism, that the royal family are probably in opposition to some of the political agendas of the day. With constitutionally tied hands, the House of Windsor seem to try their best to tackle what they can, occasionally putting a toe just over the line. Unable to openly distance themselves from the government, they can only attempt it in the most indirect of ways. Where matters of policy are decisions of government as Clarence House put it, perhaps passive aggression is for the royal family. When the day comes Charles will have to remain committed to the required performance of neutrality The Prince of Wales has said himself that he understands that the role of monarch will require him to be less vocal than his current position of heir to the throne. He said in 2018 during a documentary filmed ahead of his 70th birthday that the heir to throne fulfils a different function to that of the sovereign and that when he takes the throne he wont be able to do the same things and will operate within the constitutional parameters. Becoming King will not only make him the head of state, but the head of the Church of England. There is strong opposition within the Anglican church against the Rwanda scheme. All the bishops who sit in the House of Lords have spoken out and declared it as so immoral it should shame us as a nation. They added that our Christian heritage should inspire us to treat asylum seekers with compassion, fairness and justice. This followed the Archbishop of Canterburys vocal opposition during his Easter Sunday sermon. He said then the scheme was the opposite of the nature of God. Perhaps, Charles opposition to the Rwanda scheme lies similarly in the doctrines of Christian ethics and the seriousness with which he approaches his future role of King and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Whatever his reasons are, when the day comes he will have to remain committed to the required performance of neutrality. But as a prince, he will always be political. Thomas Butler at Clallam Bay Corrections Center around 2020. (Photo: courtesy of Cassandra Butler) Thomas Butler at Clallam Bay Corrections Center around 2020. (Photo: courtesy of Cassandra Butler) UPDATE: June 15, 2022 At the hearing Wednesday, Judge Julie McKay denied Thomas Butlers request to remove prosecutor Larry Haskells office from the case. She resentenced Butler to 30 years 336 months for the weapons enhancements and 24 months for the base sentence far below the 62 to 72 years prosecutors had requested. Earlier: Thomas Butler thought he might finally get the chance to go home. In 2010, when Butler was 26, he was sentenced to life without parole in prison under Washingtons persistent offenderstatute, better known as three strikes. Passed by voters during the height of the tough-on-crime hysteria of the 1990s, the three strikes law requires mandatory life sentences for people repeatedly convicted of certain crimes, including robbery, assault and homicide. Amid the 2020 nationwide protests over racism in policing and incarceration, Washingtons three strikes law was an obvious target for reform. It has resulted in life without parole sentences for many people, including Butler, whose crimes did not result in death or long-term physical injury for the victims. Although Black people represent just 4% of the states population, they account for 38% of people sentenced under three strikes. In recent years, the state legislature removed robbery in the second degree, the act of taking someones property without causing bodily injury, from the list of crimes included in the three strikes law. Because one of Butlers strikes was a second-degree robbery conviction, he became eligible for resentencing last year. By then, Butler had spent about 17 cumulative years behind bars. He had quit drugs, joined the Black Prisoners Caucus, signed up for the educational classes available to him, and started allowing himself to hope for a future outside of prison. When he found out he was eligible for a new sentence, he thought he had a good chance of going home soon. Story continues Im not a bad person anymore, he said in a phone interview. Theres no reason to keep me locked up. But when the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorneys Office filed its sentencing brief last year, it asked for Butler to be resentenced to 62 to 72 years a de facto life sentence. Butler, who is Black, was convicted in Spokane County, which is 2% Black. His case falls under the jurisdiction of Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Haskell, who is married to a woman who has publicly described herself as a proud white nationalist. Last month, Butlers lawyer asked Superior Court Judge Julie McKay to remove Haskells office from the case, citing concerns that Butler would be treated more harshly because of his race. McKay is expected to announce her decision at a Wednesday hearing. Haskell, who is up for reelection this year, declined to comment for this story. But his handling of Butlers case shows how prosecutors can use their broad discretionary power to effectively gut well-intentioned criminal justice reforms. Haskells office arrived at Butlers new, near-life sentence by choosing to stack six firearm enhancements, each of which carries several years in prison, on top of a base sentence of 32 to 42 years. If Haskell gets his way, Butler, an intended beneficiary of the three strikes reform bill, will likely still die in prison. Whats the point of making me go through all this? Take my life sentence and give me another life sentence?Thomas Butler In 2000, just after his 17th birthday, Butler was convicted of second-degree robbery and spent several months in jail. His second strike was in 2002, when he robbed a bank and was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison. During that time, I kind of just sat around the prison, hanging out, becoming a worse person, Butler said. Shortly after he got out of prison, Butler attempted to rob a home that he believed had drugs inside, only to get shot in the arm and the spine by one of the people he tried to rob. As a result of the shooting, Butler had to have surgery on his back and have his kidney removed, and continues to experience partial paralysis in his left leg. When Butler woke up in the hospital after the attempted robbery, he was facing his third strike. Haskell, who also worked on Butlers case at trial as a deputy prosecuting attorney, offered him a lesser sentence if he agreed to plead guilty, but Butler went to trial and was convicted. In addition to the life without parole sentence mandated by the three strikes law, he received several gun-related sentencing enhancements. After I lost the trial, I was pretty hopeless. I went back to prison just angry, scared and hopeless, Butler said. With nothing to look forward to or work toward, Butler wound up getting in fights and seeking out drugs, he said. After eight years, something changed. I found God. I found hope. I found purpose. I found value, Butler said. It changed my perspective. It was a paradigm shift, he said. Now Im just trying to make myself a better person and make the people around me better. Hopefully, one day theyll open up these doors, Butler said. And even if not, at the end of the day, its better than just living a hopeless life. Thomas Butler at Clallam Bay Corrections Center with his children in 2018. (Photo: courtesy of Cassandra Butler) Thomas Butler at Clallam Bay Corrections Center with his children in 2018. (Photo: courtesy of Cassandra Butler) In 1993, Washington became the first state in the country to adopt a three strikes law after voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative. In the following years, as politicians won elections through racist fearmongering about so-called super-predator youth, Washington state lawmakers expanded the definition of a persistent offender and mandated life without parole sentences after two strikes in certain cases. Around this time, Washington voters approved sentencing enhancements additional years tacked on to a prison sentence for people who commit felonies while armed with a weapon. Because enhancements are served consecutively, some individuals end up doing more time in prison for enhancements than for the underlying crime. Nearly one-third of people in Washington state prisons who have multiple weapons enhancements are Black, according to Seattle-based news outlet PubliCola. There is no evidence that three strikes laws or weapons enhancements deter crime or improve public safety. Still, these laws have remained largely intact. In 2019, state lawmakers dropped second-degree robbery as a strike, a modest reform effort that left in place extreme mandatory sentences for other crimes. It took another two years for lawmakers to make that change retroactive, making about 114 people eligible for resentencing. After the three strikes reform bill became retroactive, Butler was transferred from state prison to the Spokane County jail to await resentencing. His lawyer, Stephen Graham, asked for a new base sentence of 20 years, plus 5 years for the weapons enhancements, arguing that the prosecutors request for a de facto life sentence constituted cruel and unusual punishment for crimes in which no victim was killed or seriously injured. While Butler was awaiting resentencing, the Inlander published a detailed investigation into Haskells wifes racist online presence. The Inlander found Lesley Anne Haskells accounts on Facebook and Gab a social media site popular among white nationalists where she posted and reposted hateful screeds against Black people and transgender people, and made false claims about white people being under attack. She described Black Lives Matter activists as the true terrorists in America, suggested that all transgender people are mentally ill, called MSNBCs Joy Reid the true definition of the word n****r and described herself as a proud, white nationalist (NOT supremacist). She frequently interacted with white nationalist figurehead Nick Fuentes and claimed, Our race is dying, we need to make more White babies. She described her husband, the Spo Co Prosecutor as the last line of conservative armor that the County has. Asked to comment on his wifes posts, Haskell told the Inlander that his wife is a strong-willed person who will speak her mind and claimed that her thoughts and beliefs had no influence on his actions as a prosecutor. Succinctly stated by the United States Supreme Court, guilt by association is one of the most odious institutions in history, Haskell continued. In May, Graham, Butlers lawyer, asked the court to disqualify Haskells office from working on Butlers case, citing his wifes comments. Graham also noted that Haskell had disproportionately sought stacked weapons enhancements against Black people between 2008 and 2009, around the time of Butlers three strikes trial. The events have undercut the publics faith in our court system, Graham wrote in a court filing. Mr. Butler and his family deserve the assurance that Mr. Butler is being judged by his actions alone, without being treated a certain way due to the color of his skin. McKay is expected to decide on Wednesday whether to dismiss Haskells office from the case. If she allows him to remain on the case, she may also make a decision about Butlers new sentence. Butler awaits his fate from county jail, where he spends between 22 and 24 hours a day locked in his cell. Whats the point of making me go through all this? Take my life sentence and give me another life sentence? Butler said. I couldve just stayed where I was and you guys could have filed the paperwork and changed the language on my judgment and sentencing. Instead, you bring me all the way across the state, put me in the county jail, totally uproot my current circumstances and then tell me, Well, that little bit of hope that you had, screw that, were gonna give you 62 years and youre still gonna die in prison. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. GOP Rep. Tom Rice lost in his Republican primary against Trump-backed state Rep. Russell Fry in South Carolina on Tuesday, as the former president rallied voters against one of the few House Republicans who voted to impeach him last year. Rices downfall comes 17 months after he joined a majority of the House but only nine other Republicans in charging former President Donald Trump with inciting the Capitol riot. It was a shocking vote from a congressman who had rarely criticized Trump beforehand. Since then, Rice has faced death threats, a censure from his states party and a long, rocky campaign. The Rice-Fry matchup became a barometer of Trumps clout, as he wages war against members of his own party who he deemed insufficiently loyal. Trump endorsed Fry in early February, consolidating a crowded field against Rice. Rice, a five-term congressman, faced six challengers, all of whom ran against his impeachment vote as a sign of disloyalty to both Trump and Republican voters in his red, Trump-supporting district, which includes Myrtle Beach. Other than his surprising impeachment vote against the president, Rice, 64, was a consistent supporter of Trumps policies. But he defended that vote consistently as one that aligns with his oath to protect the Constitution. And Rice said he would do it again tomorrow if he was faced with the choice again. His approach to the former president was notably different than that of fellow South Carolina GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, who has tried to play up her support for Trump despite his attempts to oust her as well. A new nonprofit group which calls itself Team Democracy is urging citizens, politicians and organizations to recommit to America's democratic core principles. The nonprofit includes Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, who have more than six decades of military and government service between them. Both are now retired. McChrystal, who once led U.S. forces around the world, including in Afghanistan, sees the country's current divisions as an issue of national security. "I actually think that this is as dangerous a time as we've seen in our lifetime," McChrystal told CBS News. "Because you see the symptoms of people who are disassociated from the legitimacy of the government. They are starting to question basic things, like was an election outcome valid." Lute also served globally over a four-decade career, including as U.S. ambassador to NATO. "These tiny fractures, these small fractures, that because of our international experience, we understand can widen and can be, can divide America," Lute said. "It can actually present opportunities for our opponents." The two said they've experienced struggling democracies overseas, and see some of those warning signs in the U.S. "Our enemies would like nothing more than to find us not unified, to find us fragmented and unable to be the kind of America that they have faced before, or relied on their if they're allies," McChrystal said. As seasoned observers of conflict, they joined Team Democracy to highlight core principles. "The idea is to give every American a reminder and a commitment that safe and fair elections are fundamental to our nation and democracy," McChrystal said. They want everyone to step back and believe that our nation is a democracy. "It starts with a grassroots movement. Every American has to step back and say 'What do I really believe in about our nation?' And that is that we are a democracy. What signals that fact that I believe and participate in the elections?" McChrystal said. Story continues "The thing that unites us is that, before we were supporters of President Trump or President Biden or Obama, we were Americans. We are Americans," Lute said. They argue that adversaries of the U.S. can use this information as a weapon to mislead, confuse and divide. "If I were an adversary of the U.S., I want to go after two things," McChrystal said. "First would be our political unity, our ability to make unified decisions and execute things, but I also want to go after our legitimacy as a nation that other nations want to emulate." When asked why Americans are so divided, McChrystal said, "When people get messages that are very direct, and often they are either intentionally or unintentionally incorrect, it changes their beliefs. And so they start to hold fundamental ideas that are contrary to facts." "It actually opens opportunities for those who would do us harm," Lute added. "And eventually their aim is to make us so divided that we're internally consumed, we're self absorbed with our own problems, and we're unable to address issues overseas." Recent CBS polling underscores these divisions, with most Americans expecting violence after future presidential elections. "This is not the America that we've come to expect of ourselves," Lute said. "I think if we look in cases where people think violence is an option, or even an obligation, then we are starting to have drifted somewhere that we see in other countries far away, but it suddenly comes home, and we need to pay close attention to it," McChrystal explained. "And once that drift begins, it's very difficult to reverse it," Lute said. "So now is the time as a preventive measure, we need to get in front of these divides and try to cement ourselves back together." The military men haven't announced a complete plan of action yet, but believe that simply asking people from across the political spectrum to recommit to core, democratic values is a good place to start. The group cited research that public pledges can drive behavior, especially when paired with public accountability efforts. Harvard graduate dedicates achievement to immigrant mom for her sacrifices Google puts engineer on leave after claiming artificial intelligence has become sentient Sneak peek: A Sister's Fight for her Brother (Bloomberg) -- Most Read from Bloomberg Russias state oil producer has explored the idea of creating a trading venture in Dubai, the latest sign of how sanctions against Moscow are disrupting the nations export system. Officials from Rosneft PJSC visited the emirate in the past month and met with advisers who could assist in setting up a new entity, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the details are private. Rosneft didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Its not clear what conclusions the Rosneft officials drew from their visit, what the scope of any new entity might be, or where it would leave Energopole SA, the producers Geneva-based trading arm. The meetings took place long before last weeks announcement by Swiss authorities that the country would follow European Union sanctions targeting Russia. But those measures highlight the urgent need that some companies have to find Moscow-friendly jurisdictions. Dubai has become a leading destination for Russians and Russian companies moving out of the country. The United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is the biggest city, has said it wont follow European countries and the US in sanctioning Russian entities. Its also attractive due to its low taxes. Many of the worlds largest independent traders and oil companies have already scaled back their dealings with Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions that followed. But those with a direct Russian connection are looking for alternatives. Litasco SA, a trading unit of Russias Lukoil PJSC, is looking at Dubai for a new head office, S&P Global Commodity Insights reported June 6. Litasco declined to comment at the time but said it would ensure it complied with all applicable sanctions. Story continues Moscow-based coal producer SUEK and Zug, Switzerland-based fertilizer firm EuroChem, both founded by billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, are opening local trading units in the Gulf oil exporter. The 50-year-old resigned from the boards of both companies before EU sanctions imposed over his alleged ties to the Kremlin, that Switzerland then mirrored. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Here's a roundup of recent incidents and arrests from Ventura County agencies: Highway 118 crash victim named A Moorpark man died in a three-vehicle crash in Somis Tuesday, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office. Portions of Highway 118 in Somis were closed Tuesday morning for a fatal crash in the area of Somis Road and Santa Clara Avenue. The agency identified Richard W. McIver, 76, who died in the collision at 9:20 a.m. along Highway 118 near Center School Road. McIver was driving a 1971 Izusu truck westbound when the driver of a 2006 Toyota Tundra pickup attempted to pass him, according to California Highway Patrol. For reasons still under investigation, McIver then crossed into the eastbound lane where he collided head-on with the driver of a semitrailer carrying lumber. McIver suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, CHP said. Ventura County Fire, which also responded to the crash, said Tuesday that five other victims suffered minor or moderate injuries in the crash. The crash led to an extended closure of Highway 118 for the Ventura-area CHP to investigate the crash. Anyone with information about the crash can call CHP at 805-662-2640. Fire kills 3 dogs, displaces 3 in Simi Valley A fire that broke out in a Simi Valley home Tuesday night left three dogs dead and displaced three people. The Ventura County Fire Department was dispatched at approximately 9:20 p.m. to a single-family home on the 3100 block of Lori Circle. The home is located in a residential area, west of Tapo Canyon Road. It was a substantial fire. There was a lot of fire, said fire Capt. Brian McGrath Wednesday morning. The blaze was mainly in the front right corner of the home, the garage area, and had spread into the attic. Neighbors were evacuated as flames threatened their homes. The fire was knocked down around 10 p.m., McGrath said. The cause of the blaze was still under investigation as of Wednesday morning. One person, who was outside trying to extinguish the blaze, was treated for minor injuries. Fire personnel treated three dogs for smoke inhalation, but the canines died. Story continues The Red Cross was called to assist the three people displaced. Their ages were not immediately available. Mulch fire smolders, sends up smoke A mulch pile that caught fire Wednesday morning smoldered for hours on private property in Moorpark, officials said. The Ventura County Fire Department were dispatched to 12000 Stockton Road shortly after 6:30 a.m. Smoke was visible in the surrounding areas near Stockton and Broadway roads, east of Balcom Canyon Road. Less than a quarter of an acre had burned as of approximately 10 a.m., said fire Capt. Brian McGrath. The fire was contained and did not threaten nearby structures or properties. The blaze was expected to smolder for a while due to the mulch pile, he said. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was still under investigation. This was the scene of a mulch fire in Moorpark on Wednesday morning. Simi Valley teen stabbed The Simi Valley Police Department is investigating the stabbing of female juvenile Tuesday night. The incident was reported at 8:55 p.m. in the 2000 block of Elizondo Street. The victim, who suffered multiple stab wounds, was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. No arrests have been made in the case, but investigators do not believe there is any outstanding danger to the public. Investigation into the stabbing remains ongoing. Anyone with information can call Detective Kevin VanFleet at 805-583-6182. Car crashes into Oxnard living room A car crashed into the living room of an Oxnard home on Tuesday night, according to the Oxnard Police Department. The crash was reported around 11:45 p.m. in the 1100 block of Ambrosia Street. The occupants of the home were asleep when the crash occurred, police said. No injuries were reported as a result of the incident. The crash remains under investigation by the Oxnard Police Department's Traffic Unit. Ventura police debut cold case website The Ventura Police Department launched a new website dedicated to cold cases with the hope that additional information can be provided by the public. The website lists over 25 cold cases from 1970 to 2018 involving homicides, missing persons and other unidentified deaths. The website can be found at cityofventura.ca.gov/ColdCases. Anyone with new information about a cold case can contact investigators at coldcase@venturapd.org. Information can also be provided anonymously via Ventura County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Jeremy Childs is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at 805-437-0208, jeremy.childs@vcstar.com, and on Twitter @Jeremy_Childs. Cytlalli Salgado is a breaking news reporter for the Ventura County Star. She can be reached by calling 805-437-0257 or emailing cytlalli.salgado@vcstar.com. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Highway 118 crash victim ID, dogs killed in Simi Valley fire Rudy Giuliani, former lawyer for President Donald Trump, appears on "Meet the Press" in Washington, D.C., Sunday, April 21, 2019. William B. Plowman/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Rudy Giuliani is asking for voting systems company Smartmatic to pay his attorney fees. Giuliani filed a counterclaim in the company's $2.7 billion 2020 election defamation lawsuit Monday. In 2021, Smartmatic filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News, Rudy Giuliani, and network hosts. Rudy Giuliani asked a New York State Supreme Court Judge to make voting systems company Smartmatic pay his attorney fees in a counterclaim filed in the company's sprawling $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, Giuliani, and others, according to court documents. In February 2021, Smartmatic filed the defamation lawsuit against the network, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and current and former hosts including Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro, and Maria Bartiromo. At the time, the company claimed that Powell and Giuliani used right-wing media outlets like Fox News to amplify their baseless theories about the 2020 presidential election. "These defendants are primary sources of much of the false information," the company said last February. "Their unfounded accusations were repeated by other media outlets, journalists, bloggers, and influencers." Now, Giuliani is claiming that because Judge David B. Cohen threw out a handful of Smartmatic's claims against him in March that the election software company should pay for his legal fees. "Smartmatic's litigation tactics, including its facially implausible damages claims, are a naked attempt to attack a well-known public figure," Giuliani's lawyers said in the counterclaim. "This lawsuit is plainly designed to censor and chill anyone who might consider exercising their constitutional rights to cover allegations by public figures concerning Smartmatic or its voting systems that Smartmatic deems unflattering." In March, Cohen ruled that Smartmatic's $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News could move forward, rejecting Fox's motion to dismiss the case, according to court documents. The original lawsuit focused on 13 reports that appeared on Fox News between November and December 2020, where people on the network including hosts and guests shared false conspiracies that Smartmatic stole the election, and "was a Venezuelan company under the control of corrupt dictators from socialist and communist countries; its election technology was used in six 'swing' or 'battleground' states with close outcomes," according to the lawsuit. Story continues In March, Cohen dismissed all of Smartmatic's claims against Pirro and Powell. Cohen also threw out some defamation claims against Giuliani due to a legal technicality, but other claims against Giuliani were allowed to proceed. The majority of the initial claims are still being litigated. Meanwhile, the company also filed a back-up lawsuit against Powell in a DC court, since claims against her were thrown out for jurisdictional reasons. By late March, Fox News appealed Cohen's ruling allowing the lawsuit to proceed, also filing a counterclaim under New York's Anti-SLAPP law, alleging that the outlet was simply reporting the news and hosts were sharing opinions protected by the first amendment. The network's attorneys also claimed that Smartmatic filed the suit because the company was losing money. In Giuliani's latest counterclaim, his lawyers used similar arguments, saying that the lawsuit "challenges speech that is fully protected by the First Amendment and New York law," alleging that "there is no legal basis on which to hold Giuliani liable for the speech at issue." "Smartmatic is confident in its claims against Mr. Giuliani," Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly told Insider in an emailed statement. "Every court that has considered claims against individuals who spread disinformation following the 2020 U.S. election has found those claims to be meritorious." Attorneys representing Giuliani did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider (Reuters) - Russia expressed "serious concern" on Wednesday to Israel's ambassador about air strikes that shut down Syria's Damascus International Airport last week, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Syria has been a staunch ally of Moscow since Russia launched a military campaign in 2015 that helped to turn the tide in a civil war in favour of President Bashar al-Assad. Syria halted flights to and from the airport until further notice following the Israeli strikes. "Serious concern was again expressed over the June 10 Israeli air force attack on the civilian airport of Damascus, which damaged the runway, navigation equipment and buildings, and disrupted international civilian air traffic," the ministry said after Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met Israeli Ambassador Alexander Ben Zvi in Moscow. "The ambassador was told that the justification received from the Israeli side regarding the strike ... was unconvincing and that Moscow expected additional clarification." Israel, whose main ally is the United States, on Feb. 26 condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine as "a serious violation of international order" and has since remained largely muted on Moscow's actions. For several years, Israel has been attacking what it has described as Iranian-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, have deployed to support Assad. Following the 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Israel set up a "deconfliction mechanism" with the big power to prevent the two nations clashing inadvertently during Israeli strikes. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Sandra Maler) (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday its missiles destroyed an ammunition warehouse for weapons donated by NATO alliance countries in Ukraine's western Lviv region. The defence ministry said some of the ammunition was to be used for U.S.-produced M777 howitzers, a type of artillery weapon. Reuters was not able to independently verify the report. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne) ALYONA MAZURENKO WEDNESDAY, 15 JUNE 2022, 19:30 Russia is transferring medical staff from across the Russian Federation to Belgorod (near the Russian-Ukrainian state border) in order to attend to wounded military personnel from the Russian army. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 18:00 on 15 June Quote: "According to the available information, additional medical staff are being deployed to the city of Belgorod and to Belgorod Oblast from across the Russian Federation in order to attend to the wounded military personnel. This confirms the significant losses suffered by the Russian occupiers." Details: In addition, the General Staff has noted changes in the composition and number of Russian troops deployed on the territory of Ukraine. For example, an additional battalion tactical group from the 138th Motor Rifle Brigade of the Western Military District of the Russian Armed Forces has joined the Russian occupation forces in Ukraine. On the Volyn and Polissia fronts, Belarusian forces are continuing to carry out combat engineering tasks in order to reinforce their positions in the areas near the Belarusian-Ukrainian state border in the Pinsk district of Brest Oblast (in Belarus). There is an ongoing threat of missile and airstrikes on Ukraine from the territory of the Republic of Belarus. On the Sivershchyna front, Russian forces were firing on the positions of Ukrainian troops with mortars in the areas near the Russian-Ukrainian border in Sumy and Chernihiv oblasts of Ukraine. On the Kharkiv front, Russias main efforts are focused on maintaining the established positions and preventing the Ukrainian troops from advancing towards the Ukrainian state border to the north of the city of Kharkiv. On the Sloviansk front, Russia has focused on continuing to mount the offensive on the Izium Sloviansk front. Russian occupation forces have launched an unsuccessful assault on the Dovhenke Krasnopillia front. Story continues Russian forces have attempted to improve their tactical positions near the town of Dolyna, but were decisively repulsed by the Ukrainian forces and were forced to retreat. On the Sievierodonetsk front, Russian occupation forces are continuing to fire on Ukrainian positions with artillery and MLRS. Units of Russian troops are conducting assault operations in order to establish full control over the city of Sievierodonetsk; fighting is continuing there. In Toshkivka, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have successfully repulsed another Russian assault. On the Bakhmut front, Russian forces have shelled the Ukrainian Armed Forces with barrel and jet artillery. Ukrainian troops inflicted losses on Russian forces during their attempt to advance on the Vasylivka Yakovlivka and Vasylivka Berestove front. Russian occupation forces were forced to retreat. Russian occupiers have deployed an electronic warfare system in Melitopol. In addition, a Russian reserve battalion tactical group has been transferred from Pervomaisk to Kupiansk on the Bakhmut front. Units of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have been deployed near Komyshuvakha and Popasna after having restored their fighting capacity. Russian military and law enforcement agencies continue to recruit additional forces to take part in the war against Ukraine by increasing the soldiers wages and introducing short-term contracts with the possibility of extending them. Azov fighters Read also: Kharkiv millionaire Vsevolod Kozhemiako's military unit helping defend Ukraines second-biggest city The situation in the north-eastern oblast, which has Ukraines second-biggest city, was described by Kostyantyn Nemichev, head of staff at Kraken special regiment within the Azov Regiment, during an appearance on Kyivs Espresso a television channel. They do understand that theyre losing their fighting capabilities, losing their personnel, so thats why the enemy is reinforcing its own positions in the north, Nemichev said, speaking of Russian forces. New battalions arrive here and they try to advance. But were keeping our positions defended. If you take the Izyum area, closer to Stary Saltiv, there you have Russian troops being reinforced too. But our Armed Forces are there, defending their positions, pushing away all the attacks and then trying to do counter-offensives. Read also: One person killed, five wounded, after Russian attack in Kharkiv Oblast Nemichev added that Russia is regularly deploying more troops to the Izyum area, including mostly professional servicemen, while the number of forcefully drafted recruits from the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics is smaller now. However, even this still is not enabling the Russian army to expand the territories it controls, he said. Nemichev said that his regiment has lost a substantial amount of drones in Kharkiv Oblast as Russians keep targeting them in the skies. However, Azov still does intelligence work in the skies, as it allows Ukrainian artillery to have better precision, he said. The Ukrainian military successfully repulsed the assaults on the occupiers in the Donetsk region Read also: Russian forces make gains in advancing towards Slovyansk, reports ISW The Ukrainian military noted that enemy assaults in the areas of the settlements of Bohorodychne and Dolyna had been successfully repulsed by Ukrainian soldiers. "The enemy is advancing in the direction of Krasnopillia, fighting continues," reads the report. The invaders also carried out artillery shelling in the areas of the settlements of Shevelivka, Virnopillia, Hrushuvakha, and Nova Pavlivka, the General Staff said. In addition, the enemy launched an air strike near Husarivka in Kharkiv Oblast, to the northwest of the Russian-held Kharkiv Oblast town of Izyum. SEATTLE The Twins activated Joe Ryan from the COVID injury list and he'll start Tuesday's game against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Ryan (5-2, 2.29 ERA) hasn't pitched in the majors since May 21, and was put on the COVID list on May 25. He did have a rehab game in St. Paul, pitching three innings on Thursday. He'll face the Mariners' best starter, lefthander Logan Gilbert (6-2, 2.41). First pitch is 9:10 p.m. (BSN). The Twins won the opening game of the three-game series on Monday night 3-2 thanks to an early home run from Byron Buxton. To make room for Ryan, infielder Elliot Soto was DFA'd. Soto was active for Monday's game after being called up from St. Paul. Chi Chi Gonzalez, who started two games for the Twins this season, was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers. Gonzalez had been designated for assignment after starting Saturday's victory over the Rays at Target Field. In seven innings with the Twins, he gave up 12 hits and six earned runs, striking out four; the Twins won both of his starts. He was 2-2 with a 3.44 ERA for the Saints in eight games, five of them starts. DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair has dropped a requirement for South African passengers to prove their nationality before travelling by completing a test in Afrikaans, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said after the policy drew a backlash among South Africans. The South African government said last week it was taken aback by the low cost carrier's decision to force UK-bound travelers holding the country's passport to take the test, calling the move a "backward profiling system". Afrikaans is spoken by just 12% of the 58 million people in the country and often associated with apartheid and white minority rule. O'Leary, whose airline does not operate flights to and from South Africa but carries more passengers around Europe than anyone else, described the South African government's profiling accusation as "rubbish" but said the test had been dropped. "The South African government have acknowledged that there's a problem with the vast number of false or fake South African passports," O'Leary told a news conference in Brussels on Tuesday, citing a surge in false South African passports on a route between Turkey and Ireland. "Our team issued a test in Afrikaans of 12 simple questions like what's the name of the mountain outside Pretoria? They have no difficulty completing that, but we've we didn't think it was appropriate either. So we have ended the Afrikaans test because doesn't make any sense." (Reporting by Clement Rossignol in Brussels, writing by Padraic Halpin in Dublin, Editing by Angus MacSwan) As the self-described ancient mariner of the business, Stan Herman is proving his sea legs are as strong as ever with new uniforms for Sandals Resorts International. Staffers at Sandals Royal Curacao were the first to sport the designers new creations. The 44-acre property bowed June 1 and marks the companys first outpost in the Dutch Caribbean. Herman and his longtime design associate Michael Schwarz will be touching down there later this month for an oceanfront June 25 fashion show and breakfast that will feature about 35 of the resorts employees. More from WWD In the decades since Herman first dove into uniforms with ones for Avis Car Rentals fleets of workers in 1974, other major American corporations have followed suit. FedEx, for example, has been designed by him for 42 years. And Herman has designed the uniforms for JetBlue since the airline got rolling, and Central Park Conservancy workers wear his designs, too. He also regularly hawks a signature line on QVC, a 30-year alliance. With that sturdy track record, brands have come to seek him out to reenvision how their employees dress themselves for work. The 93-year-old Herman said, When we do uniforms, its just clothing. When I first went into the business, everyone looked like a sign board for their corporation. Everybody was branded. They all looked like hot dogs and hamburgers. The reason for the success of the [Stan Herman] studio is that we did clothes. Whether Im doing a soft lounge piece, or a well-cut pair of pants for workers bending in Central Park or at Sandals, its all the same. While he has suited up hotel employees in the past, this is the first time that Herman is creating new looks for an all-inclusive resort. He and Schwarz have whipped up uniforms for all of the hotels workers, including the public-greeting ones in hospitality, restaurants and bars, as well as those who work behind-the-scenes in special services. You do a lot of designing much more than you would do for a major collection on Seventh Avenue, said Herman, a former president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Story continues Sandals employs 15,000 people worldwide including 900-plus at its newest locale. Billed as the anniversary collection, the Curacao assortment is a nod to Sandals 40th anniversary. New collections are being imagined for other locations and will be introduced accordingly. Executive chairman Adam Stewart has succeeded his late father, Gordon Butch Stewart, who founded Sandals. Having worked with Jonathan Tischs Loews Hotels and the TWA Hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Herman said it is always important to get the secret formula from the leader of the pack. To do that, the pair flew to Jamaica to meet Stewart and were won over by his next-level plans for Sandals and a real-clothes approach to uniforms. The Dutch Caribbeans balmy weather called for lightweight, but durable and comfortable options, Herman said. As a vertical company, JWE handled the manufacturing for the uniforms, including several that needed limited runs for specialized jobs. Bell staff, butlers, cocktail servers, receptionists, wedding planners and the teams many other staffers needed defined looks and different color waves. The three-time Coty winner explained, Its easy to do FedEx in a sense, because they have 100,000 shirts here and another 100,0000 shirts there. You get a manufacturer to produce it and do it over the years. With boutique hotels, you have to do both volume and very small numbers, Herman said. Their selections of colors including washed ones in soft tones and brights are meant to subtly signal the identity of specific areas of the resort. Washed is a key word because when you think about the Caribbean, its hot. There is the sun and the salt water. We wanted to make it feel like the colors were already living there and were not going to fade as they were used, Schwarz added. The deal came together through Anchor Communications president Scott Currie, whose client was looking for a designer. The plan was to create designs for the Curacao property first and then to roll out looks to other Sandals properties. Reiterating Hermans point about the scope of the project, Schwarz emphasized how a variety of looks were needed. With the Sandals experience, from the front desk to the beach you are taken care of and you are given multiple experiences. You have multiple restaurants with different food themes. And they like to have environments that represent that but also requires different uniforms. Were still about doing clothes, so this wasnt about doing costumes for uniforms. It was about doing clothes that had that feeling, he said. Herman and Schwarz have also crafted some uniforms for workers in the Sandals Royal Bahamians new Coconut Grove area. Next up is the Sandals Dunns River, which will bow next year in Montego Bay. The aim is to amass a catalogue that shows how each property has an individual look with design ideas peppered in from the design duo. Recalling his debut in uniform design with Avis in 1974, Herman said, I took them out of an all-red Christmas uniform. Everybody looked like Santa Claus. I have them gray pants under a red jacket and they thought I was a genius. TWA was the next corporate client, and some of his uniform designs for the now-defunct airline are on display at the TWA Hotel. Michael and I are staying there next Tuesday so that I can look at myself in the museum, he said. McDonalds, United, Eastern Airlines, Humana, Royal Caribbean, Amtrak, MGM Grand and other hotels are among the companies that he has created. As for those who think that uniform design is boring, Schwarz quipped, Let them. Herman continued, Listen, when I first went into it, Bill Blass, Oscar [de la Renta,] Giorgio Armani, Versace everybody did uniforms. The Europeans loved doing uniforms. The Americans learned to love it, Herman said. One of the reasons that Ive been in the uniform business for so long, even before Michael [Schwarz] was with me, is we do a lot of homework beforehand. We get to meet the people, who wear the uniforms. With ready-to-wear, you sell your clothes to stores. You never know, who wears them except your aunt, who calls you. But in this case, we get to know the people. Should they love the uniform, that makes for a beautiful experience, Herman said. If they dont, you have to live with that. Many years ago when I did United, I was proud of the uniform. But in retrospect, it was a tough uniform. It was brown. Ill never forget being in OHare Airport in Chicago and seeing for the first time a woman wearing it. I said, I love, love your new United uniform. She turned to me and said, I hate it Mr. Blass, he recalled with a laugh. She thought I was Bill Blass. Guests at Sandals resort in Curacao will be able to purchase a long white apron with raised navy blue stitching of a Dutch village that Herman originally designed for staffers in its pastry cafe. As for how the Sandals venture may impact his own business and the uniform one, Herman said, It always has an impact. Life is six degrees of separation. Michael and I get calls all the time from people, who know that we do FedEx, asking if we can do this one or that onelisten if the United States Army called me, I would do their uniforms tomorrow. Having polished off his memoir Uncross Your Legs and hired an agent, Herman hopes to release it next year. The title refers to the refrain that photographers shout as the lights go down at the start of a fashion show. Writing it was the easiest part, deciding where it should go and wondering how people will react to it are the hardest parts, Herman said. The two-year slowdown caused by the pandemic gave him the opportunity to get it done. I had started many years ago. It was a hiccup that didnt quite work. People said, Well, you know everybody. We want a book with all the dirt. But I dont have a shovel, he said. Its a memoir all about me. LONDON (AP) The World Health Organization said its creating a new vaccine-sharing mechanism to stop the outbreak of monkeypox in more than 30 countries beyond Africa. The move could result in the U.N. health agency distributing scarce vaccine doses to rich countries that can otherwise afford them. To some health experts, the initiative potentially misses the opportunity to control monkeypox virus in the African countries where its infected people for decades, serving as another example of the inequity in vaccine distribution that was seen during the coronavirus pandemic. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency is developing an initiative for fair access to vaccines and treatments that it hopes will be ready within weeks. The mechanism was proposed shortly after Britain, Canada, France, Germany, the U.S. and other countries reported hundreds of monkeypox cases last month. Vaccines for smallpox, a related disease, are thought to be about 85% effective against monkeypox. WHOs Europe director, Hans Kluge, said Wednesday he was concerned by the scramble by some rich countries to buy more vaccines without talk of buying supplies for Africa. Kluge urged governments "to approach monkeypox without repeating the mistakes of the pandemic. Still, he did not discount the possibility that countries like Britain, which currently has the biggest outbreak beyond Africa, might receive vaccines through WHO's mechanism. He said the program was being created for all countries and that vaccines would largely be dispensed based on their epidemiological needs. Europe remains the epicenter of this escalating outbreak, with 25 countries reporting more than 1,500 cases, or 85% of the global total, Kluge noted. Some African experts questioned why the U.N. health agency has never proposed using vaccines in central and West Africa, where the disease is endemic. The place to start any vaccination should be Africa and not elsewhere, Dr. Ahmed Ogwell, acting director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said. Story continues He said the lack of any vaccines to counter monkeypox on the continent, where more than 1,500 suspected cases and 72 deaths have been reported this year, was a more critical concern than the clusters of mostly mild disease being reported in rich countries. This is an extension of the inequity that we saw during COVID, said Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor, director of policy and advocacy at Nigeria Health Watch. We have had hundreds of monkeypox cases in Nigeria from 2017 until now and were just dealing with it on our own, he said. Nobody has discussed when there might be vaccines available for Africa. After the coronavirus pandemic exploded in 2020, global health agencies rushed to set up COVAX, a U.N.-backed effort to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. But rich countries bought up most of the worlds supply, and the COVAX program missed multiple targets to share doses with the worlds poor. To date, only about 17% of people in poorer countries have received a single dose of coronavirus vaccine. Some experts fear the same thing could happen with monkeypox. Just like with COVID, there is no clear path for how poorer countries will be able to get vaccines, Brook Baker, a Northeastern University law professor who specializes in access to medicines, said. He warned that as WHO attempts to determine how many vaccine doses are available, rich countries that previously promised doses might not cooperate. Rich countries will protect themselves while people in the global south die, Baker predicted. On Monday, advocacy group Public Citizen sent a letter to the White House, asking if the Biden administration would release the 20 million smallpox vaccines the U.S. pledged in 2004 for WHOs use in the event of an emergency, like a biological attack. Asked about the commitment, a senior U.S. official said the government was exploring all options to further their efforts to stop monkeypox within the U.S. and globally. The official said the U.S. had returned more than 200,000 doses of a smallpox vaccine to the manufacturer so they would be available to others. The official declined to say if the U.S. considers the current monkeypox outbreak an emergency that warrants the release of the 20 million pledged vaccines. Francois Balloux, an infectious diseases expert at University College London, said vaccination efforts in rich countries should prompt an overhaul of future monkeypox response strategies in Africa. It really should be a priority to vaccinate people in Africa, where there is a nastier strain that has actually killed people, he said, adding that more monkeypox spillovers were likely in the future. Whatever vaccination happens in Europe, that is not going to solve the problem, Balloux said. ____ Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report. Viktoriia Andrieieva, journalist UP.Life, 15 June 2022 Two months ago, Ukrainian Railways launched a special train-hospital for the evacuation of the sick and wounded from the east of the country. During this time, it transported more than 1,000 passengers, according to the Ministry of Health. In 25 rides to safer places and specialised hospitals it delivered: 690 patients including those with injuries; 248 people who accompanied the sick and wounded; 78 orphaned children. Along the way, patients are cared for by specialists from the international organisation "Doctors Without Borders". "The main task of such a" hospital on wheels" is to maintain those who are being taken to their destination in a stable condition"- the Department noted. The route and details of the journey are not disclosed for safety reasons. The train consists of 8 carriages are equipped with the necessary equipment: An ultrasound machine, Oxygen concentrators, Defibrillators, A cardiac monitoring system IV pumps, etc. There is also a carriage that functions as an intensive care unit. Read also: Volunteers told about the evacuation of a nurse from Lysychansk who lost both her legs Investigators with the Memphis Police Department (MPD) are looking for six men they say broke into an East Memphis jewelry store early Monday morning. Officers responded to a burglar alarm at Mednikow Jewelry on Perkins Road Extended at 2:24 a.m. on June 13. MPD released surveillance video that showed the suspects breaking the glass front door, then using yellow pry bars to open the roll-up security door. The video showed them wedging the door open and holding it open with a chair. The video also showed three vehicles on the parking lot outside the business at 1:50 a.m. -- a red Dodge Charger, a black Nissan Altima or Maxima, and a black SUV, possibly an Infiniti. The suspects got out of the vehicles and looked inside the business. After busting the glass door, the thieves made off with around $25,000 in jewelry, according to police. If you have any idea who these men are or know anything about the stolen jewelry, Memphis Police urged you to call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH. Any information leading to an arrest, in this case, could be worth up to $2,000. Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Trending stories: A Ukrainian fighter of the Territorial Defense Forces carries a piece of wreckage from a downed Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber in Chernihiv, on April 6, 2022 (illustrative image). But while the Ukrainian Air Force promoted the legend of the Ghost of Kyiv at the time, the ace pilot in actual fact did not exist: He stood for the collective efforts of the 40th Tactical Aircraft Brigade, which is protecting skies of the capital city. Nevertheless, the actual feats of Ukrainian airmen in the first days of the war, as Russia tried and failed to establish air superiority over Ukraine, are no less impressive than the fictional exploits of the Ghost of Kyiv, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said during a press briefing on June 14. The air combat at that point of war was fierce, as the Russian invading forces had a substantial advantage in the skies: sometimes it was six Russian planes against one Ukrainian plane, and sometimes it was 10 against one, Ignat said. Now the situation is different. The Russian military is now wary of approaching the Ukrainian Air Force in the skies, and avoids close contact in all the situations that occur, he said. Read also: Ukraines Air Force Command reveals real identity of legendary pilot Ghost of Kyiv Kyiv is protected by the 4th Tactical Aircraft Brigade, and the image of the Kyiv Ghost takes its roots from there, Ignat said. Thats a collective image of our pilots. Back then they, (supported by 39th brigade in Zhytomyr Oblast), faced the hardest part of work in the skies. They took up a mission of defending the capital city which was a priority target for the invaders. The Air Force spokesman also told the press about the air battle that led to death of Major Oleksandr Brynzhal, who has been declared a Hero of Ukraine post-mortem. There was this one case, when two Ukrainian Mig-29 planes took to the skies to intercept four Russian high-tech fighter-bombers, said Ignat. But then it turned out there were actually twelve Russian planes. So at first we had four targets and then twelve. But our pilots didnt back away, and just started fighting. As a result of this fight, we lost pilot Oleksandr Brynzhal he died heroically. The second pilot came back to base after completing his mission. The enemy lost three of their expensive, high-tech planes. Story continues Read also: Russian border town experiences explosions, locals suspect aircraft attack According to Ukraines General Staff, Russia has lost a total of 213 planes, 179 helicopters, 588 drones, and 125 cruise missiles shot down since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The list of other Russian losses is even longer. Ukraines promotion of the legend of the Ghost of Kyiv was so good that it even took in one of the UKs leading daily newspapers, The Times. The newspaper on April 29, quoting its own sources in Ukraine reported that the Ghost of Kyiv had finally be shot down, but not before defeating 40 Russian warplanes in the air. The newspaper named the ace pilot as 29-year-old Major Stepan Tarabalka. The command of the Ukrainian Air Force later denied the claim, and said that the Ghost of Kyiv represented the collective image of the 40th Tactical Aircraft Brigade. Mother-of-two Non, whose son Tom, 17, (on left) has Tourette's syndrome, says the symptoms such as tics began when he was seven years old. (Image supplied) Non, 51, works for a health organisation as a citizen ambassador. She lives in Surrey with her husband and two sons. Here she shares the challenges of being mum to a child with Tourettes syndrome. Watching with horror as my son Tom rocked back and forth on my kitchen floor, convinced he was being attacked by red birds and with no clue where he was or that I was even his mother, I was at a complete loss over what to do. He had come home from school after having a violent episode in the classroom it was completely out of character and I knew I had to seek urgent help. Needing psychiatric care We managed to speak to our GP who suspected that Tom might have had a bleed on the brain and sent us to A&E. There, he had several tests which ruled out a bleed but the doctors wanted to admit him. Over the next week he had test after test but there was nothing physically wrong. In fact, it turned out Tom had had a major mental health breakdown and needed psychiatric help. What is perhaps most shocking is that he was only 10 years old. Toms problems began early in life although we had no idea just how debilitating and frightening it would become. He was born via emergency c-section and as a baby suffered with tummy problems and reflux. At the age of six months, he ended up unconscious after a severe allergic reaction to egg. He developed asthma, eczema and other food allergies and so anxiety around eating became a real problem. At just 10 years old, Tom needed psychiatric help after having a mental health breakdown. (Image supplied) Facial tics and anxiety Despite some issues, he was a bright and polite little boy. At primary school, the teachers thought he was quirky and noted that he didnt always engage with lessons. Around the age of seven, we noticed that when he became anxious perhaps around lunchtime he started having tics. Hed make noises initially and grimaces with his face. But we were told that many children do that and not to worry too much. Tom could be a model pupil. He was often the boy who would be asked to show parents around school, he did drama and singing, won prizes for his photography and yet we knew there was something not quite right. Story continues In Year four, he had a particularly strict old school teacher who dismissed his problems as laziness and said that he just had to work harder. She would humiliate him by ripping pages out of his book or show him up by writing his spellings on the board. Unsurprisingly, his anxiety increased. Life became more difficult. He stopped eating. His tics, noises and repetitive behaviours were becoming worse, which in turn, made life even more stressful. After experiencing a major breakdown in Year Six, Tom would come home every night in tears, heartbreaking for his mum to see. (Image supplied) As well as making loud noises, hed constantly ask the same question over and over How are you mum? How are you mum? Then the bad language started sometimes you could see him literally holding onto his wrists to try to stop an outburst, but it was impossible. It was in the first week of Year Six that Tom suffered his major breakdown. Clearly under a lot of stress, that week hed come home from school each night screeching and sobbing: Help me and it was so distressing and frightening for him. Worst case of Tourettes ever seen After his breakdown at the age of 10 we were finally seen by a psychiatrist who said that Tom has the worst case of Tourettes syndrome hed ever seen. Tourettes affects around 300,000 people in the UK and around one in 100 school-aged pupils yet its a very misunderstood condition. A diagnosis requires at least one vocal tic and multiple motor tics for over one year. We were thrown into crisis. Tom was an easy target for bullies and we were told that mainstream education was out of the question. Although Tom has Tourettes syndrome, his life has been transformed with the help of a brilliant psychotherapist. (Image supplied) We spent thousands of pounds on assessments for him, trying to get more help and discovered that Tom had a neurodevelopmental delay condition which included Tourettes. We started on medication which helped ease the tics. Finding the right support By the age of 11, we had found a specialist school for him and he was introduced to an amazing psychotherapist who really turned his life around. She helped him to accept himself and label his emotions. It has been a long and harrowing journey involving assessments, referrals, medication and appointments with medical professionals, some of whom are the leading experts in the world for his condition. Today, while he still struggles from time to time, Tom is managing his condition and his life so much better. He has always loved theme parks and had a holiday job at Thorpe Park where he made lots of friends and no longer feels different. Hes always loved computers and can make one from scratch. He is now enjoying an apprenticeship at a local computer repair shop where the feedback hes received from customers has been wonderful. As hes matured, the tics have subsided. Its other peoples reactions to them that can still be troubling but Tom has become better at dealing with it. Hes in a happier and more comfortable place and were incredibly proud of him. For more information on Tourettes visit tourettes-action.org.uk. WASHINGTON (AP) Donald Trump notched a significant victory in South Carolina, where his preferred candidate easily ousted five-term Rep. Tom Rice, the first Republican to be booted from office after voting to impeach the former president last year. But another high-profile GOP target of Trump in the state, Rep. Nancy Mace, held back a challenger. Meanwhile, in Nevada on Tuesday, two election deniers who have tirelessly promoted the former president's lies about voter fraud won their primaries for key positions of power in the state. Takeaways from the latest round of primary elections: SPLIT DECISION IN SOUTH CAROLINA Rice and Mace have been objects of Trumps anger ever since a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden's presidential election win. Their transgressions? Mace stated on national TV that Trumps entire legacy was wiped out by the attack, while Rice became an apostate for joining a small group of Republicans who voted with Democrats in favor of Trumps second impeachment. He threw a temper tantrum that culminated with the sacking of the United States Capitol, Rice told NBC News on Monday. Its a direct attack on the Constitution, and he should be held accountable. Voters ultimately rendered different judgments on the duo, reflecting a split within the GOP about how to move forward from the Trump era. Rice's largely rural district is representative of Trump's America, where crossing the former president carries a steep cost. Even as Trump railed against both lawmakers, he chose to hold a rally in Rice's district earlier this year. That's because Mace's district, which centers on Charleston, is full of the type of moderate suburban voters who fled the GOP under Trump. It is one of the few districts in an overall red state where Democrats have been even moderately competitive in congressional races. The results demonstrate that the Trump factor can't be underestimated in solidly Republican territory, a potential warning sign for other Republicans, including Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who also voted to impeach Trump and has helped lead the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack. She's facing a competitive primary in August from a Trump-backed challenger. Story continues Another notable factor in the Mace contest: It amounted to a proxy battle between Trump, who is contemplating a 2024 White House campaign, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is also considering a run. Trump backed former state Rep. Katie Arrington in the race, while Haley, a former South Carolina governor, effectively challenged Trump by campaigning with Mace. In Rice's contest, Trump endorsed state Rep. Russell Fry. ELECTION DENIERS ADVANCE IN NEVADA Two Republican candidates who ardently pushed Trump's lies about voter fraud costing him the 2020 presidential election won nominations to top offices in Nevada on Tuesday. Jim Marchant, a former state lawmaker, won the GOP nomination for secretary of state, the office that oversees elections in the perennial presidential battleground that Trump narrowly lost in both 2016 and 2020. Marchant has made appearances around the country with other Trump allies, including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, to cast doubt on the election results, despite the fact that courts, election officials from both parties and his own attorney general have said the vote was legitimate. Marchant has also been working to persuade local officials to toss out voting equipment that he baselessly contends is rigged and instead require that all ballots be cast and counted by hand an arduous and unnecessary task since testing is conducted before elections and audits are held afterward to ensure the votes are recorded accurately. Marchant will face Democrat Cisco Aguilar in November. Aguilar is a lawyer and former chair of the Nevada Athletic Commission who was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Adam Laxalt, the state's former attorney general, won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in Nevada on Tuesday after promoting Trump's lies about fraud in the state in the 2020 election, including spearheading legal challenges to the vote-counting process. Laxalt, who was backed by the former president, weaved Trump's false claims of voter fraud throughout his campaign. He has already begun raising fears of voter fraud in this year's midterm elections and has talked about preemptively mounting legal challenges to try to tighten up the election. He had insisted in 2020 that ineligible and dead voters cast ballots in the presidential election in Nevada, despite the states Republican secretary of state, Barbara Cegavske, insisting that the results showing Bidens victory were accurate and reliable. Cegavske was prevented by term limit laws from running again. Laxalt will face Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in November in what Republicans see as one of their best chances to flip a seat and to win back control of the chamber. TRUMP, MCCONNELL ALIGN ON LAXALT IN NEVADA Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell don't agree on much. One rare exception is Laxalt, who won Nevada's Republican Senate primary. The two Republican leaders haven't been on speaking terms since December 2020, when McConnell acknowledged that Biden defeated Trump. But they both endorsed Laxalt, who defeated retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, a West Point graduate and Purple Heart recipient who ran an unexpectedly strong campaign as a conservative outsider. The mutual support, which brought together the Trump and establishment wings of the party, demonstrates the intense focus Republican have placed on flipping the seat held by first-term Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who is considered among the most vulnerable senators. TEXAS HOUSE SEAT FLIPS A once solidly Democratic district in South Texas will now be represented by a Republican after Mayra Flores won a special primary election to finish the term of former Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela, who resigned this year to become a lobbyist. Flores, a GOP organizer who is the daughter of migrant workers, will only hold the seat for several months before the district is redrawn to be more favorable to Democrats. But her victory in the heavily Hispanic Rio Grande Valley is an ominous sign for Democrats. They are not only losing ground in a region they long dominated, but Flores' success as a candidate also demonstrates that Republicans are making inroads with Hispanic voters. Her win also has implications for Democrats' ambitions in Congress, denying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an opportunity to add to her slim two-vote margin to pass legislation. FROM SOUTH CAROLINA TO THE WHITE HOUSE? Also in South Carolina, Republican Tim Scott coasted to an easy and unopposed primary win Tuesday for what he says will be his last term in the Senate. But another state is also on his mind the presidential proving ground of Iowa. It's become an article of faith that there are no accidental trips to Iowa by ambitious politicians. And Scott, the Senates sole Black Republican, has made several visits, including one last week. He certainly has the money to contend. As he campaigned for reelection to the Senate, Scott amassed a jaw-dropping $42 million. That's more than double the $15.7 million average cost of a winning Senate campaign in the 2018 midterms. It's also more than enough to launch a Republican presidential campaign in 2024. Even before his recent appearance at an Iowa Republican Party event, Scott has been raising his profile. He spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention and delivered the Republican response to President Joe Bidens first joint congressional address. He's also visited New Hampshire, another early-voting presidential state, and delivered a speech at the Reagan Presidential Library, another frequent stop for Republicans eyeing the White House. ___ Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ap_politics. In the week leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol assault, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio received a nine-page memo titled "1776 Returns" that laid out detailed plans to occupy congressional office buildings to protest the counting of the Electoral College votes from the 2020 presidential election. The memo, which was filed in court as part of a recent motion made by one of Tarrio's co-defendants, outlined a goal to "maintain control over as select few, but crucial buildings in the DC area for a set period of time, presenting our demands in unity.""We must show our politicians We the People are in charge," the memo said. Targeted buildings allegedly included the three Senate and House office buildings, the Supreme Court of the United States, and CNN to "at least egg doorway," according to the filing. The demands outlined in the memo included "free and fair elections," "liberty or death" and "No Trump, No America." In "Storm the Winter Palace," a section marked for internal use and a "Patriot Plan" for outside distribution, the directions called for five teams of individuals per building, ranging from a "covert sleeper" who would spend the day inside the targeted building to a recruiter who would gather a crowd. A group of 50 "patriots" would then occupy each building. However, nowhere in the document is there a suggestion that violence should be used against police, members of Congress or their staff or other Capitol personnel. The document includes a page to assign roles for each of the targeted locations and maps of the identified buildings. Between Jan. 1 - 5, 2021, the memo says, those in charge should recruit members, scope out road closures and set up appointments with various representatives in the buildings."Use Covid to your advantage," the document advised. "Pack huge face masks and face shields, protect your identity." Story continues On Jan. 6, 2021, "1776 Returns" directed certain individuals known as "leads" to dress in suits and stay inside the targeted buildings to find entrances and exits. Once a sufficient crowd was recruited, the memo suggests, those already inside should open the doors and allow the group to enter."This might include causing trouble near the front doors to distract guards who may be holding the doors off," it said, "The goal is to ensure there is an entry point for the masses to rush the building." Participants around the city should pull fire alarms at various locations like Walmart, hotels, and museums to distract law enforcement if necessary, according to the document. Once inside, the entire group would then present its list of demands and perform sit-ins in certain senators' offices, the filing says. The manual advised readers to use large trucks or a large caravan of cars to block intersections to make traversing the city more difficult. "Now is the time to reach out to truckers or bikers for Trump for these roadblocks," a note reads. According to the portion of the memo meant for external distribution, participants were to demand a new election be conducted on Jan. 20, 2021, monitored by the National Guard. "Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Mike Pence & Bill Gates," it says, "We the people are watching you. "Rand Paul & Ron DeSantis...We the people love you." The existence of the 1776 Returns document was revealed when Tarrio was first indicted earlier this year on conspiracy charges. Prosecutors alleged Tarrio, who has now been charged with seditious conspiracy and pleaded not guilty, was allegedly sent the document by an unknown individual. After sending Tarrio the document, the individual allegedly stated, "The revolution is important than anything," to which investigators say Tarrio replied, "That's what every waking moment consists of...I'm not playing games." At the same time, Tarrio and other Proud Boys leaders were operating a so-called "Ministry of Self Defense" organization, with Tarrio at the top of the power structure. "This group was to form the nucleus of leadership in a new chapter of the Proud Boys organization, which Tarrio described as a 'national rally planning' chapter. The first event targeted by the group was the rally in D.C. on January 6," prosecutors allege. The court filing that the copy of the "1776 Returns" memo accompanied was a request that the judge overseeing the large Proud Boys conspiracy case take another look at the pretrial detention of Tarrio codefendant Zachary Rehl. In the filing, Rehl's legal team argues the memo "is not a plan to attack the Capitol and does not even mention the Capitol. It refers to occupying Congressional office buildings." The recent indictment of Tarrio and other Proud Boy leaders shows that they used 1776 to refer to themselves on Jan. 6. At 2:57 p.m., during the assault on the Capitol, Tarrio posted a message mentioning 1776 that said "Revolutionaries are now at the Rayburn Building," which the indictment notes was mentioned in the 1776 plan. At 7:44 p.m. one individual sent a text to Tarrio that said, "1776 motherf******." Tarrio's attorney has not responded to a request for comment. According to Wednesday's motion, the document was sent to Tarrio by a female acquaintance and not shared with Rehl or other defendants."[A] proposal to occupy office buildings is a time-tested protest activity," Rehl's legal team pointed out. "There is no indication that the government has ever charged any protestors who have actually occupied buildings with the felony conspiracies charged in the instant case." Read the document here: Medical expert Dr. David Agus answers questions on child vaccines, lingering COVID symptoms Harry Styles pauses concert to find his former teacher in crowd Shawn Amos on growing up as the son of "Famous Amos" LUCKNOW, India (AP) Protests have been erupting in many Indian cities to condemn the demolition of homes and businesses belonging to Muslims, in what critics call a growing pattern of bulldozer justice aimed at punishing activists from the minority group. On Sunday, authorities in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh rode on a bulldozer to raze the home of Javed Ahmad, who they said was connected to Muslim religious protests that turned violent last Friday. Police arrested Ahmad on Saturday. The protests were sparked by derogatory remarks about Islam and the Prophet Muhammed made recently by two spokespeople of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The party suspended one of them and expelled the other, issuing a rare statement saying it strongly denounces insults of any religious personalities. Bulldozers also crushed the properties of protesters in two other cities in Uttar Pradesh last week. In April, authorities in New Delhi used bulldozers to destroy Muslim-owned shops days after communal violence in which dozens were arrested. Similar incidents have been reported in other states. The demolitions are a gross violation of constitutional norms and ethics, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a specialist on Hindu nationalist politics and biographer of Modi, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. On Tuesday, 12 prominent people, including former Supreme Court and High Court judges and lawyers, sent a letter to Indias chief justice urging him to hold a hearing on the demolitions, calling them illegal and a form of collective extrajudicial punishment. They accused the Uttar Pradesh government of suppressing dissent by using violence against protesters. Two people who were protesting the remarks by the governing party spokespeople died of gunshot injuries in clashes with police on Friday in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state. Several Muslim-majority countries have also criticized the remarks, and protesters in Bangladesh called for a boycott of Indian products, leaving India's government scrambling to contain the diplomatic backlash. Story continues Violence has been increasing against Muslims by Hindu nationalists emboldened by Modis regular silence on such attacks since he was elected prime minister in 2014. Muslims have been targeted for their food or clothing, or over inter-religious marriages. The rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused Modis party of looking the other way and sometimes enabling hate speech against Muslims, who comprise 14% of Indias 1.4 billion people, but are the second-largest Muslim population of any nation. Modis party denies the accusations. Over the weekend, Uttar Pradeshs chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu monk-turned-governing party politician, told state authorities to demolish illegal buildings belonging to people linked to Friday's protests, in which more than 300 people were arrested. On Sunday, bulldozers turned Ahmads house into rubble after authorities claimed it was built illegally, which Ahmads lawyer and family denied. If the construction was illegal, why was no action taken earlier? Why did the government wait until the riot took place? asked Shaukat Ali of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, a political party. Officials say the demolitions only target illegal buildings, but rights groups and critics say they are an attempt to harass and marginalize Muslims, pointing to a wave of rising religious polarization under Modis rule. On Saturday, Adityanaths media adviser tweeted a photo of a bulldozer and wrote, To the rioters, remember every Friday is followed by a Saturday, suggesting there would be repercussions. His words sparked an immediate reaction, with many calling the demolitions a clear punishment. It was a threat that if you raise your voice against the government or the BJP, your house will be demolished, said Lenin Raghuvandhi of the Peoples Vigilance Committee on Human Rights. ___ Associated Press writer Ashok Sharma in New Delhi contributed to this report. The Republican candidates in primary elections in Iron County gathered at Southern Utah University to debate issues facing the southern Utah county on June 13, 2022. With mail-in ballots already being sent out and the deadline for voters to register vote in the upcoming Republican primary coming soon, the candidates for the three primaries in Iron County gathered at Southern Utah University this week to debate the issues important to the county. The issues discussed were wide ranging and included questions on the challenges of population growth, poverty, economic development and local issues like where to put the new Iron County Jail. The debate was hosted by the non-partisan Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service at SUU and the debates were moderated by students at the university. There are three Republican primaries in Iron County. Two are for open seats on the three-member of the Iron County Commission and one is for the multi-county state Senate District 28. Republican primaries in Utah are closed, meaning only registered Republicans can vote in the primary and the deadline for unaffiliated voters to register Republican is June 17 and can be done at the vote.utah.gov website. Senate District 28 The Republican candidates for Senate District 28, Patrick Larson (left) and Evan Vickers (right), meet at Southern Utah University to participate in a primary debate, June 13, 2022. The two candidates in the race have very different resumes when it comes to elected office. The incumbent, Sen. Evan Vickers, has been an elected official in Iron County for nearly 25 years since he served on the Cedar City council for 12 years and has been in the state legislature since 2009. His challenger, Patrick Larson, is running in his first election and has never held public office before. Larson said he was motivated to run by the brief COVID-19 regulations that were placed on residents two years ago and since he believes there needs to be a change in leadership in Senate District 28, a vast geographic area that covers parts of Washington, Millard, Juab County and all of Iron and Beaver County. The reason that I'm running is because over the last two years, I felt like our constitutional rights were stripped from us, Larson said. We were asked to be muzzled. Patrick Larson, a Republican candidate for Senate District 28, at the Iron County primary GOP debates at Southern Utah University, June 13, 2022. Vickers said that his experience in the Utah Legislature and his position as Senate majority show that he knows how to get goals accomplished and that he is able to earn the respect of other lawmakers. Story continues "I believe in low taxes and limited government, Vickers said. That's why I passed as a sponsor of SB 59, last year, that reduced taxes by almost $200 million. Community members gather at the St. George Active Life Center for the annual Flag Day ceremony Tuesday, June 14, 2022. The two agreed on many topics, including reducing government regulations to make healthcare more affordable and leaving decisions around housing to local governments. They disagreed on how to address Iron County's poverty rate, which is 13.7%, nearly double the state average of 7.3%, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Vickers said the key to addressing poverty in Iron County is to bring the right kind of economic development to southern Utah to increase wages. Vickers pointed to several different state programs that can help with this including the Tax Increment Area program that allows local governments to create tax districts to earmark those taxes for specific purposes. That is a piece of legislation that actually specifically targets and allows incentives and promotions to go for businesses coming into rural Utah, Vickers said. Sen. Evan Vickers, the incumbent for Senate District, at the Iron County primary GOP debates at Southern Utah University, June 13, 2022. Larson said the main thing to be done about poverty is to deregulate business as much as possible. If we don't continue to lessen and lessen the legislation for the small businesses, they can't thrive, he said. If they can't thrive, they can't hire people in and they can't get the lower end employees and get them to come up and teach them and train them and bring them out of poverty and up into a way that they can make a living. Another point of disagreement between the two candidates was over the Pine Valley Pipeline. A proposed 66-mile pipeline that would bring water away from Beaver County and to Cedar City, this pipeline is a toxic issue says Vickers, since Beaver County contests the need for the water in the county to be shipped to Iron County. Vickers says that because he represents both Iron and Beaver County its an issue he is trying to stay out of and will accept whatever outcome happens around this pipeline whether the pipeline gets built or not. I've got counties on both sides of that fighting, so I've had to kind of stay out of that one, said Vickers. I'll have to let the agencies and the courts decide that. Larson disagreed, saying that he supports the pipeline since it will help out Iron County. Iron County Commission Seat A This race is between two candidates with backgrounds in law enforcement. Mike Bleak is the incumbent and has been on the Iron County Commission for six years and has worked with the Cedar City Police Department for over 20 years before taking a part-time job with the Enoch Police Department. Bleak said he is running for another term because he was born and raised in Iron County and wants to make it a better place for future generations. The Republican candidates for seat A on the Iron County Commission, Mike Bleak (left) and Destry Griffiths (right), participated in a primary debate at Southern Utah University, although Griffiths attended virtually. June 13, 2022 Bleaks challenger is Destry Griffiths, who also worked for the Cedar City Police Department. He has some experience as an elected official by serving on the Enoch City Council. Griffiths said hes committed to traditional family values, property rights and state rights. He also threw his support behind Sen. Mike Lees reelection effort in his opening statement. One of the most pressing issues in this debate was on the challenges that come with rapid population growth. The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah estimated that the county grew by 6.2% from 2020 to 2021, which was one of the highest growth rates in Utah. More: Washington, Iron counties grew even faster from 2020 to 2021, new Utah population report says Both candidates said the county needs to do more to prepare for the continued growth. Griffiths says that he doesnt want the county to handle growth the way St. George did and an updated general plan that addresses infrastructure concerns is needed for smart growth. Bleak says Iron County isnt ready for the growth its seeing but says the right people are in place in county positions that can address issues. But Bleak says the biggest challenge is creating a secure water future for the county and that the plans being put in place now need to help the county grow for the next 30 years. Mike Bleak is the incumbent for seat A on the Iron County Commission and is a Republican candidate seeking reelection and participated in the primary debate at Southern Utah University on June 13, 2022. Bleak acknowledged growth and water are super complicated issues since both the state and federal governments impact how the county grows. He said the most important thing a county commissioner can do around water is to build relationships in order to secure additional water infrastructure. When it comes to financing issues, we need to accept those partnerships and those programs that we build with the state and federal partners to maximize our efficiency in solving that problem, Bleak said. Griffiths said that when it comes to water, the county commission needs to be open minded to all possible solutions. He says he would want to seek out partnerships with neighboring governments in order to have a secure water future for all of southern Utah and not just Iron County. Destry Griffiths is a Republican candidate for seat A on the Iron County Commission participated in the primary debate at Southern Utah University virtually. June 13, 2022. We have neighbors in Beaver County in Washington County and other counties that are hurting. So hopefully we come up with a solution that can benefit all Utah as well, said Griffiths. Iron County Commission Seat B Republican candidates for seat B on the Iron County Commission, Steve Miller (right) and Paul Cozzens (left), attended the primary debate at Southern Utah University on June 13, 2022. This race is between a political newcomer, Steve Miller, and the incumbent, Paul Cozzens, who has been on the commission for the last four years and before that was on the Cedar City Council for eight years. Miller is an owner of a insurance agency with the Farm Bureau Financial Services who said he wants to be on the county commission to bring integrity, trust and transparency to it. We need to make sure that people know what's going on, said Miller. The general public needs to know what we're doing as a commission. Steve Miller is a Republican candidate for Seat B on the Iron County Commission and attended the primary debate at Southern Utah University on June 13, 2022. Cozzens is a retired cabinet maker who is seeking reelection to protect quality of life and taxpayers, build infrastructure and to prevent government overreach. He says he was inspired to get involved in public office because of his experience in business and wants to see more business people in politics. I think every politician ought to have to build a business and learn what it's like to sacrifice and do that and how important tax dollars are, said Cozzens. Both candidates said they were concerned about housing affordability in Iron County but had different approaches to the problem. Cozzens said he wants to provide zoning in the county that allows for smaller home sizes which can be sold at lower prices and conserve more water. Smaller homes also allow for younger adults to start building equity and get a foot in the real estate market without having to buy expensive homes, said Cozzens. Paul Cozzens is an incumbent and is a Republican candidate for Seat B on the Iron County Commission and attended the primary debate at Southern Utah University on June 13, 2022. Our kids cannot go from $0 to $500,000 on a home, said Cozzens. They've got to have a place where they can go to build something, build equity. And then maybe move up later if they want to. Miller said he isnt a fan of smaller homes saying that he would just want to see homes being sold at affordable prices since he says the current prices are ridiculous. But he didnt offer any plan or idea on how to get home prices to be more affordable. I don't know the exact plan at this point, said Miller. But there needs to be some kind of plan put together that we can manage to help make it more affordable for our younger generations and anyone to afford a home right now. One other hot button issue in the debate was where the site of the new Iron County Jail should be placed. In recent months the Iron County Commission decided the jail should be placed at 40-acre site called the Auto Mall site. This angered some residents since this site is located near Interstate 15 on the north end of Cedar City, an area which local residents should be used to bring in commercial development. More: Iron County chooses a northern Cedar City jail site, despite some concerns from citizens Both candidates said a new jail is badly needed in the county but Miller said he understands the concerns of residents saying northern Cedar City could lose rooftops because of the jail location. Miller says the Auto Mall site isnt the right place for the jail and the county should keep looking for a spot, although he didnt specify where he would want the jail to be placed. Cozzens, who voted for the jail on the Auto Mall site, defended the placement of the jail and noted that only 15-acres of the 40-acre site would be used to build the jail. He said building a new jail is an emotional topic but its needed soon and that no matter where its placed there will be opposition against it, Cozzens also notes that the Auto Mall might not be the final site since the Cedar City council needs to approve the site before the jail is built. If that doesn't work, we'll regroup and look at all our options, said Cozzens. Sean Hemmersmeier covers local government, growth and development in Southwestern Utah. Follow on Twitter @seanhemmers34. Our work depends on subscribers so if you want more coverage on these issues you can subscribe here: http://www.thespectrum.com/subscribe. This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Iron County GOP primary debate growth, housing and the new jail at SUU Stars of The Only Way Is Essex have been removed from a flight for refusing to wear masks. (ITV) Nine stars of The Only Way Is Essex have been removed from a flight for refusing to comply with mask regulations. New cast member Pia Smith confirmed on social media that she and other members of the TOWIE cast were stranded at Madrid airport in Spain after being removed from a plane arriving from the Dominican Republic where they had been filming the new series of the ITVbe reality show. Read more: TOWIE star Frankie Essex gives birth to twins Smith said in a video shared on her Instagram stories: "We got chucked off the flight because we didn't wear masks, it was like half the cast that got chucked off. "We've had to sit here in Madrid airport for 10 hours." As a result of being removed from the flight by the Spanish Civil Guard the reality stars missed their connecting flight to London. They now face fines for their behaviour. James Diags claimed he had been 'chucked off the flight for no reason'. (PA) James 'Diags' Bennewith confirmed he was one of the reality stars to be "thrown off the flight in Madrid for no reason", along with Dan Edgar and Jordan Brook. Mia Smith was also among the TOWIE cast members left stranded in Spain for 10 hours waiting for a connecting flight to London, confirming she had joined Smith in a consolation meal at McDonalds. Mia Sully was among the TOWIE stars removed from the flight at Madrid airport. (Getty Images) Spain's Civil Guard confirmed to The Sun newspaper: The captain of the police requested our presence on board a plane at Madrids Barajas Airport which had touched down from the Dominican Republic to deal with people we were told were causing a public order disturbance. Civil Guard officers found these people a little upset when they reached the aircraft. On the indications of the captain and to avoid any more problems nine people, consisting of four men and five women who are all British nationals, were removed from the plane and after the corresponding complaint from the captain they are now set to face a fine. Some members of the TOWIE cast had been filming scenes for the new series in the Dominican Republic. (ITV) While officers were carrying out the process of identifying all the people that were removed from the plane so they can be notified of the amount of the fines at a future date, theyve ended up missing their onward flight. Story continues Police are accompanying them to another flight bound for the UK so they can leave Madrid tonight. No arrests were made and after being accompanied off the earlier flight, the nine people removed were very cooperative. Read more: James Argent shares before and after pictures to mark weight loss surgery anniversary Flight passengers are currently required to wear face coverings as part of measures to limit the spread of coronavirus following the global pandemic. The 29th series of TOWIE is due to air later this year. Watch: TOWIE's Pete Wicks discusses life as a reality TV star Former Nevada state Rep. Jim Marchant, a Republican who has spread the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and said he would not have certified the results, won the GOP secretary of state primary Tuesday night, putting an election denier one step away from overseeing elections in the key swing state. The Associated Press declared Marchant the winner early Wednesday morning. He won 38% of the vote in the crowded field that featured seven candidates. Kristoph Dahir, a Republican who countered Marchants fraud claims and defended Nevadas 2020 election, finished with just 6.4% of the vote. Marchant will face attorney and former Nevada state athletic commissioner Francisco Aguilar in November. Aguilar ran uncontested in the Democratic primary. Marchants full embrace of the big lie about the 2020 election won him President Donald Trumps endorsement, which made him the apparent favorite in a crowded race to replace outgoing Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske (R), who is term-limited. Cegavske defended Nevadas elections in the wake of the 2020 vote and certified the results of President Joe Bidens victory in the state despite Trumps claims that widespread fraud had marred the results there and in other closely contested states. Former Nevada state Rep. Jim Marchant has said he would not have certified the results of the 2020 presidential election and has helped organize an Former Nevada state Rep. Jim Marchant has said he would not have certified the results of the 2020 presidential election and has helped organize an "America first" slate of GOP candidates who are seeking to take over the country's election system ahead of the 2024 presidential contest. (Photo: Ricardo Torres-Cortez/Las Vegas Sun via AP, File) Marchants victory will intensify the threats facing the countrys election system and its democracy as a whole as GOP election deniers like him seek to win secretary of state positions in key swing states across the country. Those offices could grant conspiracy theorists and opponents of legitimate elections, like Marchant, broad powers over future contests, allowing them to exert control over voting rolls and how elections are managed, executed and even ultimately certified. Story continues The prevalence of such candidates has generated fears among democracy experts and Democrats that Republicans are plotting to undermine the legitimacy of the 2024 election and other future contests. Marchant, who helped organize an America first slate of candidates seeking secretary of state and other election administration positions, has effectively acknowledged that the point of those candidacies is to take over the election system ahead of the 2024 contest. I cant stress enough how important the secretary of state offices are. I think they are the most important elections in our country in 2022. And why is that? We control the election system, Marchant said at a conference in October, Vice News reported. In 2022, were going to take back our country. Marchant has been among the most ardent and conspiratorial of those candidates. After losing a congressional race to incumbent Rep. Steve Horsford (D) by nearly 5 percentage points in 2020, Marchant baselessly alleged that fraud had marred the results and filed a legal challenge seeking a new election. A judge dismissed the suit after a brief hearing. During his secretary of state campaign, he has repeatedly asserted that the 2020 presidential vote was marred by fraud and stolen from Trump. But he hasnt stopped there: In a February interview with The Washington Post, Marchant implied that a cabal had stolen every Nevada election since 2006. Once I get in there, I can start to whittle away at the ways that they cheat, to the point where the people that get elected here in Nevada are who the people of Nevada really want, he said. We havent elected anybody here since 2006. They have been installed and selected by the cabal. Marchant has worked closely with other conspiracy theorists to link election-denying candidates across the country, speaking at numerous conferences alongside adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory and other outlandish claims about the countrys electoral system. Last year, he appeared at a conference put on by Phil Waldron, according to The New York Times. Waldron is a retired Army colonel who claimed that voting machines were hacked in order to swing the results of the 2020 election, and he circulated a memo arguing that Trump should declare a national emergency to contest the certification of the results. The America first slate Marchant helped organize has held weekly conference calls ahead of a crucial summer of primaries, The New York Times reported this month. They share campaign and messaging strategies, and have proposed a suite of potential policies that they would seek to implement to purge voting rolls, eliminate mail-in ballots and implement other restrictions on voting, the Times reported. Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), an election denier who twice voted against certifying the 2020 presidential contest in Congress, lost his secretary of state primary in Georgia last month. But other Republicans have won party endorsements and appear to be favored in battleground primaries in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan and Minnesota, all of which will occur later this year. In Pennsylvania, meanwhile, GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano, who contested the results of the 2020 election and was outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, would have the power to appoint a secretary of state should he win election in November. Marchants victory in Nevada may buoy the hopes of similar candidates in looming secretary of state primaries. Even if it doesnt, it will put him one victory away from assuming control of elections in a crucial battleground state heading into a general election in which the political atmosphere will likely favor the GOP. A single secretary of state like him could be powerful enough to throw future elections into chaos and push the country toward a democratic crisis. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... Chet Strange South Carolina loves Donald Trump. In 2016, he rolled through the states presidential primary and beat Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz by double-digits. On Tuesday, Trump again showed strength there. This time, however, he met with mixed results. First, in South Carolinas 7th congressional district, Russell Fry, a state legislator endorsed by the former president, defeated incumbent Rep. Tom Rice. For Trump, Frys win was personal. Rice voted to impeach him in the aftermath of the insurrection. In return, Rice earned Trumps ire, and death threats from the former presidents supporters. His loss came as no surprise. Incumbency did not save him. Rice remained unrepentant to the end. I was livid, Rice said. I took an oath to protect the Constitution and I did it then and I would do it again tomorrow. Elsewhere in South Carolina, Katie Arrington, a former state legislator backed by Trump, conceded her contest with incumbent Rep. Nancy Mace. Mace had hammered Arrington for losing her security clearance as a civilian at the Pentagon. South Carolina is home to a large number of veterans. That did not deter Trump from backing Arringtona move that had more to do with his anger at the incumbent than his opinion of her challenger. Maces sin? She offended Trump by voting to certify Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election. She also criticized the insurrection. Mace wouldnt fully embrace the Big Lie even as she voted against impeachment. On the stump, Mace repeatedly stressed her personal support for Trump, and let his backers know that she still stood with them. The congresswoman swallowed her pride and groveled. On primary night it paid off. The limitations surrounding Trumps endorsement were again on display, much as they were in Georgia and Pennsylvania, several weeks ago. In the Peach State, Trump bete noires had good nights, with Gov. Brian Kemp sailing to a renomination and Brad Raffensperger, the secretary of state who rejected Trumps appeal to just find 11,780 votes avoided a run-off. Trumps conduct is also the focus of a special grand jury empaneled by the Fulton County district attorney. Story continues Their wins came after Mehmet Oz only managed to eke out a razor thin win in Pennsylvania even with Trumps endorsement. Said differently, Trump still commands the loyalty of the Republican base but not necessarily their votes in intra-party skirmishes. He no longer controls the base if he ever did. On the other hand, the hearings held by the House special committee do not appear to have impacted the outcomes in the Palmetto State. Indeed, they were irrelevant. Significantly, Mace received the active support of Nikki Haley, South Carolinas former governor and a Trump UN ambassador who finds herself on the outs with Trump. In the days before the primary, Haley appeared on the stump with Mace. Haleys relationship with her former boss is complicated, to put it mildly. On January 7, 2021, Haley told the Republican National Committee that Trump was badly wrong with his words. She added that his actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history. Weeks later, Haley told Politico that Trump had fallen so far, and that she was deeply disturbed by whats happened to him. Yet, in the summer of 2021, Jared Kushners parents donated to Haleys political operation, and Charlie Kushner, Jareds father, predicted Haley would be the first woman president. Then, a few months later, Trump said of Haley, Well, every time she criticizes me, she uncriticizes me about 15 minutes later. Despite her flip-flopping, Haley knows her state and party. Her support carries weight. Although Trump was again forced to sort through possible narratives, it was a great night for the GOP. In a special election in Texas, Maya Flores appeared poised as of Tuesday evening to turn a blue House seat red. From the look of things, November is shaping up as a red wave. The Democrats can no longer take the Hispanic vote for granted. Indeed, it may be too late for them to do much of anything. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Tuesday backed Taiwan's assertion that the strait separating the island from China is an international waterway, a further rebuff to Beijing's claim to exercise sovereignty over the strategic passage. The Taiwan Strait has been a frequent source of military tension since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the communists, who established the People's Republic of China. In recent years, U.S. warships, and on occasion those from allied nations such as Britain and Canada, have sailed through the strait, drawing Beijing's anger. On Monday, China's Foreign Ministry said the country "has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait" and called it "a false claim when certain countries call the Taiwan Strait 'international waters'." Commenting on Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in an email to Reuters: "The Taiwan Strait is an international waterway, meaning that the Taiwan Strait is an area where high seas freedoms, including freedom of navigation and overflight, are guaranteed under international law." The world has "an abiding interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and we consider this central to the security and prosperity of the broader Indo-Pacific region," Price added. He reiterated U.S. concerns about China's "aggressive rhetoric and coercive activity regarding Taiwan" and said the United States "would continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, and that includes transiting through the Taiwan Strait." Earlier on Tuesday, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou called China's position a "fallacy." On Wednesday, Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang said the strait was by "no means China's inland sea". "China's ambition to swallow up Taiwan has never stopped or been concealed; the Taiwan Strait is a maritime area for free international navigation," he told reporters. Story continues China's Taiwan Affairs Office said the government in Taipei was "cooperating with external forces to hype up the issue". This "harms the interests of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and betrays the interests of the Chinese nation - it is despicable," office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang said in Beijing. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and views the island as an inherent part of Chinese territory. Taiwan says China has no right to speak for it or claim sovereignty, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their own future and that the People's Republic of China has never controlled any part of the island. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Humeyra Pamuk and Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Lincoln Feast.) (Bloomberg) -- Ukraine has suffered $4.3 billion in damage to farmland, machinery and livestock as a result of Russias invasion, according to the Kyiv School of Economics. Most Read from Bloomberg About half of the already immense destruction from the war comes from pollution caused by mines and unharvested crops, according to a report by authors Roman Neyter, Hryhorii Stolnikovych, and Oleg Nivievskyi. Almost a quarter of the total -- $926 million -- accounts for damage done to farm machinery due to military activity and occupation, they write. Russia is using food security as an economic weapon, according to Tymofiy Mylovanov, a former minister and a president of Kyiv School of Economics. They are trying to take over farmland for people to collaborate, he said in an interview. They are moving crops away. They are taking food which otherwise would have been consumed in those areas and theyre moving it to Russian areas. Russias attacks on key agriculture infrastructure hubs have destroyed large quantities of food. Meanwhile, its blockade of Ukraines ports has strangled the countrys exports, cutting off a key source of revenues and worsening a global food crisis that may spur millions of people to migrate. Moscow denies targeting civilian installations and infrastructure, despite widespread evidence to the contrary. Global food prices are near record highs, with millions of tons of grain and vegetable oil stuck in Ukraine. Efforts to reopen the ports are stumbling, with no sign of progress on a deal, while removing sea mines could take months, according to a UN agency. Farmland in frontline and formerly occupied areas has a high risk of pollution caused by mines which imposes a mortal threat to Ukrainian farmers during the field works, the report said, estimating that $436 million may be needed for demining. Story continues Ukrainian grain shippers have carved out new export routes via the Baltic Sea to send their crops abroad, but sales remain well short of their normal pace, and the country is expected to run out of room to store coming harvests. The authors calculate that 5.7 million poultry have died due to the war, while $613 million worth of grain has been stolen from occupied regions of Ukraine and sent to Russia. Farm animals are dying directly because of the hostilities and because of the farmers inability to either access the farm or get animal feed and provide animals with needed veterinary support and care, the report said. (Updates with economist comments in third paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. The Daily Beast Nathan Howard/GettyA female Republican congressional candidate claimed on the campaign trail in Virginia last month that rape victims are less likely to become pregnant because its not something thats happening organically.Yesli Vega made the eyebrow-raising comments while being asked for her thoughts on what then promised to be a Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending the federal right to abortion.An audio recording of the remarks, which took place at an event in Stafford Co ALYONA MAZURENKO WEDNESDAY, 15 JUNE 2022, 18:01 Yevhenii Yenin, First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, said that Ukrainian law enforcement officers have foiled a terrorist attack on the countrys leadership. Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs Quote: "The information from our sources has allowed us to prevent a terrorist attack on the leadership of our country. We will be able to reveal more details after our victory [in the war - ed.]." Details: According to Yenin, the civilian population of Ukraine is assisting the police in conducting counter-sabotage operations. In particular, civilians are helping law enforcement by observing all temporary restrictions and the curfew, as well as by reporting suspicious persons to law enforcement officers. Yenin added that only one in 10 reports of suspicious behaviour turn out to be true. In addition, he urged Ukrainian citizens to continue reporting suspicious persons to the police and to remain vigilant even in cities, towns, and villages that are far from the frontline. The Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs also said that there are now 123 counter-sabotage groups comprising a total of at least 1,500 members operating as part of law enforcement agencies. Over 800 people suspected of sabotage and reconnaissance have been detained and handed over to the Security Service of Ukraine. At the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine, sabotage and reconnaissance groups tended to comprise 5-10 members: their goal was to organise terrorist attacks and sabotage operations, including in central Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Later on, the saboteurs have become more involved in artillery-forward observations, highlighting the positions of Ukrainian armed groups, and recording and reporting the results of rocket and artillery attacks. According to Yenin, police officers at checkpoints have been able to effectively deploy artificial intelligence to uncover saboteurs. Police officers can use special software installed on their tablets to run a check on suspicious persons across multiple databases within minutes. United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet confirmed on Wednesday that she was "not able to speak to any Uygurs currently detained or their families" during a recent visit to Xinjiang. Addressing an interactive session at the 50th Human Rights Council in Geneva, Bachelet confirmed that she was not able to move freely through the western Chinese region, where Beijing is accused of operating a widespread system of oppression against Uygurs and other ethnic Muslims. "There were limitations, especially given the prevailing Covid restrictions. I was accompanied by government officials throughout the visit to Xinjiang," Bachelet said. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. "I was not able to speak to any Uygurs currently detained or their families during the visit," she said, adding that "in anticipation of this", she met with former detainees before her visit, as well as "families who have lost contact with loved ones". Bachelet's trip to China last month has been a divisive topic during this week's council meeting. On Tuesday, the Netherlands presented a letter signed by 47 mainly Western UN members urging "the Chinese government to provide meaningful and unfettered access for independent observers to Xinjiang", and demanded that Bachelet publish a long-delayed report on conditions in the region. On Monday, Bachelet confirmed that she would not be running for a second term in office, and that the report would be released before her tenure expires at the end of August. "My visit provided an important opportunity to raise concerns directly with senior leaders and officials. It allowed me and my team to obtain certain impressions of the situation and provide ample space to ask questions and discuss issues," she added on Wednesday. Story continues "And as I mentioned already in my statement on Monday, my office has been collecting information remotely for some time. I will now update the assessment of the situation of human rights in Xinjiang, and it will be shared with the government for factual comments before publication." A separate group of 69 countries reportedly signed a counter statement, sponsored by Cuba, backing China's positions on human rights and demanding that Bachelet's office does not release the report. While the statement has been made public, its signatories have not. Bachelet reiterated on Wednesday that the visit was not an investigation, but "a visit to engage with the government of China to promote the respect and protection of human rights and to explore ways from my office to assist the government to fulfil its obligation under international human rights law". She said Beijing facilitated meetings with "all the institutions I had asked to meet", from the political, judiciary, business and academic spheres. "The government also respected my wish to hold meetings with civil society organisations. These were organised by my office without the presence of public officials," Bachelet said. "In the context of the visit, a number of specific situations of concerns were also raised, as it will be true of any high-level visit which by definition is not an investigation mission," she added. With only two African countries - eSwatini and Liberia - and a handful of Central American states - Belize, Guatemala and Honduras - among the signatories of the Dutch letter, the Xinjiang issue has caused a schism at the UN, largely between the developed and developing worlds. The battle lines were again visible during Wednesday's session, when a number of Western countries demanded the report be released immediately. Some developing members praised China, using near identical language about the need for "objectivity" and "professionalism", and to avoid "politicisation" and "interference" in domestic matters. "We call upon professionalism in these visits to be respected, to avoid double standards, political pressure and interference into domestic matters," the Bolivian ambassador told the session. The Madagascan envoy "commended the efforts in the area of human rights by the Chinese government for the development of the population across all of their territory". "Madagascar reiterates our appeal to avoid all politicisation of the issues handled in our work, whilst also calling for the protection of populations in line with the preambles of the 15th of March 2006 General Assembly's resolution on objectivity and non-selectivity of issues reviewed from the viewpoint of human rights." The US ambassador, meanwhile, reiterated accusations of "genocide and crimes against humanity" in Xinjiang. "We urge you to immediately release your report on the human rights situation in Xinjiang. We remain deeply disturbed by the human rights situation in the PRC, particularly in light of new reports that offer further evidence of arbitrary detentions in Xinjiang," she said. Beijing is accused of widespread human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. Photo: AP alt=Beijing is accused of widespread human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. Photo: AP> China's stance on the issues has remained unmoved. Addressing the council on Tuesday, its ambassador Chen Xu slammed the "hyped-up so-called report on Xinjiang", adding that it "should not be published at all". At a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin delivered a lengthy rebuke of allegations of forced labour in the region. The claims are "a huge lie concocted by individual anti-China forces, which goes against common sense, facts and legal principles", Wang said. Campaigners blamed Bachelet's lack of transparency prior to her trip to China for setting up an impasse on Xinjiang at the UN Human Rights Council. "Bachelet's failed visit has enabled China and many allies to praise Beijing's so-called engagement. To break from this polarisation, Bachelet needs to promptly release her Xinjiang report, and present it to the UN Human Rights Council. Forty-seven countries have called for this yesterday, the clock is ticking," said Raphael Viana David, acting Asia programme manager at the International Service for Human Rights. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2022. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Chris Coons and John Cornyn. Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock A bipartisan group of 20 senators announced Sunday that they had reached an agreement on what could become the first major piece of gun-control legislation in more than 25 years to be signed into law. Here's everything you need to know: What's in the bill? According to a statement released by the senators, the proposed legislation would incentivize states to pass "red flag" laws, allowing guns to be confiscated from "individuals whom a court has determined to be a significant danger to themselves or others," though these confiscations would be limited by "state and federal due process and constitutional protections." It would also direct billions of dollars toward mental health programs, increase funding for school security, expand background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21 to include juvenile justice records, and close the so-called "boyfriend loophole." Current federal law prevents domestic abusers from buying firearms only if the person they abused was a current or former spouse, lives with or once lived with the abuser, or shares a child with the abuser. Hence, the "boyfriend loophole," since a boyfriend covered by a domestic violence protective order could buy all the guns he wanted as long as he never lived with the girlfriend he abused. Will it pass? It looks like it. The agreement hasn't been drafted as a bill yet, but as long as the 10 Republican senators who helped draw up the framework vote for it, the legislation should get the 60 votes it needs to overcome the filibuster and advance to President Biden's desk. Of course, it's possible some Democrats won't be happy with the compromise. On Friday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted his support for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. "If we can't get 60 votes in the Senate" for those policies, he wrote, "then we must end the filibuster." Democrats already failed to end the filibuster earlier this year. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has promised to bring the bill to the Senate floor as soon as it's written up, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) did not come out against it. In fact, McConnell said Tuesday that he would be "supportive" if the bill "ends up reflecting what the framework indicates." Story continues Nor is there much danger of Biden vetoing the bill because it doesn't go far enough. "Obviously, it does not do everything that I think is needed," he said, "but it reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades." There is a bit of a time crunch, however, with the Senate scheduled to go into recess for the last week of June, the first week of July, and nearly all of August. Which Senators hammered out the agreement? The Democrats: Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Chris Coons (Dela.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Angus King (Maine), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Chris Murphy (Conn.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), and Debbie Stabenow (Mich.). The Republicans: Roy Blunt (Mo.), Richard Burr (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.), John Cornyn (Texas), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Susan Collins (Maine), Rob Portman (Ohio), Mitt Romney (Utah), Thom Tillis (N.C.), and Pat Toomey (Penn). In a joint statement, the senators wrote that "families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities." Murphy and Cornyn took the lead for their respective parties' delegations. Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review notes that none of the GOP senators who worked on the deal are facing re-election in 2022 and that four of them plan to retire after their current term. What's the response on the right? Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), and Mary Miller (R-Ill.) were among those who took to Twitter to lambast the proposal. Jackson said the agreement was "AWFUL!," while Miller said she would "vote against the Biden-Schumer gun confiscation legislation." Most of the objections from the right focused on the provisions that would incentivize states to implement red flag laws. Pseudonymous right-wing populist political commentator Auron MacIntyre was one such voice of concern, tweeting that "if they pass red flag laws, any disagreement with the ruling ideology will be a red flag." He also criticized Republicans for supporting what he called a "functional repeal of the Second Amendment." Conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro also worried that red flag laws could be weaponized to serve a political agenda. In 2019, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) replied to a clip from Shapiro's show by tweeting, "Please tell me this lunatic does not own a gun. Reason 1,578 America needs red flag laws." In response, Shapiro wrote Monday, "I am not in principle opposed to red flag laws. But when sitting congresspeople suggest your right to self-defense should be removed because you oppose his political agenda, that undermines the trust necessary to support such laws." What's the response on the left? Writing for Vox, Ellen Ioanes criticized the agreement for focusing "primarily on mental health and school security interventions, rather than meaningfully restricting access to firearms," though she also wrote that, if the proposal becomes law, it could provide "some actual momentum to enact legislation that will curb gun violence and will save lives." The Washington Post's editorial board also said the framework didn't go far enough. "[W]e think other reforms are needed. Notably, addressing the danger posed by assault weapons and high-capacity magazines either banning them or, at the very least, raising the minimum age for buying them from 18 to 21," the board wrote. In the end, though, the editorial board urged Congress to pass the legislation, writing that although it "won't save all lives lost to gun violence" it "will save some" and that the agreement serves as "a hopeful sign our government is not completely broken." You may also like Russia's growing Ukraine occupation partisan resistance problem U.S. stores experience tampon shortage, 1 company blames comedian Amy Schumer Lizzo changes song lyric after backlash over 'ableist slur' WASHINGTON The U.S. will send Ukraine another $1 billion in weapons to fight Russia, including Harpoon anti-ship launchers for the first time, and more ammunition for high-tech, medium-range rocket launchers, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. The U.S. aid will include two Harpoon launchers and an unspecified number of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, rockets for previously committed M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in Brussels. Also included are 18 M777 howitzers, 36,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition and thousands of secure radios. Amid calls from Washington and Kyiv for more and faster shipments of weapons for Ukrainian forces, Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged Russias military superiority and defended U.S. and allied efforts to even the odds. With Ukrainian forces facing a tough fight for Eastern Ukraine, the U.S. has been sending arms meant to take out positions from which Russian forces launch brutal artillery barrages. When youre in the fight, you can never get enough, and you can never get it quick enough, Austin said at a press conference with Milley. But having said all that, were going to work hard to make sure were doing everything humanly possible were going to continue to move heaven and earth to get them the capability that they need. The new U.S. aid uses a combination of $350 million in presidential authority to draw equipment from U.S. military stocks and $650 million in the separate Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Defense officials say the Pentagon plans to use USAI to buy truck-mounted Harpoon launchers, which the U.S. doesnt operate, but the missiles themselves would come from allies and partners. Denmark previously committed to providing Harpoons to Ukraine. Austin hosted a meeting of about 50 nations at NATO headquarters in Brussels to discuss the weapons deliveries to the invaded nation. Afterward, he highlighted three multiple-launch rocket systems and GMLRS ammunition for Ukraine from Germany, Mi-series helicopters and rockets from Slovakia and artillery donations from Canada, Poland and the Netherlands. Story continues Though Russia has more artillery, its using it for mass fires and isnt necessarily hitting military targets, as Ukrainian forces are, Milley said. He argued Russias slow-moving gains in the nearly four-month war dont mean its victory in Eastern Ukraine is inevitable. War takes many, many turns, so I wouldnt say its an inevitability, but I would say the numbers do favor the Russians. In terms of artillery, they do outnumber, they outgun and outrange ... and they do have enough forces, Milley said. But the Russians have run into a lot of problems. Theyve got command and control issues, logistics issues, morale issues and leadership issues. The administration pledged June 1 it would send the HIMARS, with GMLRS rockets that have a range of about 40 miles. Milley said Wednesday that by the end of the month, the U.S. will have supplied the systems and trained Ukrainian crews to operate and maintain them. Within weeks, Ukrainian forces will have 10 multiple launch rocket systems from U.S., UK, and Germany, with more than 100 rounds of ammunition. Theyre top notch gunners, and the effect that theyre achieving on the battlefield right now with the [M777s] has been very, very good, very effective and we expect the same out of the HIMARS, Milley said. U.S. President Joe Biden announced the aid Wednesday after he held a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The U.S. is also sending $225 million in humanitarian assistance, including medical supplies, food, shelter, and cash for families to purchase essential items. The bravery, resilience, and determination of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire the world. And the United States, together with our allies and partners, will not waver in our commitment to the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom, Biden said. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, greets Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov ahead of a NATO defence ministers' meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. NATO defense ministers, attending a two-day meeting starting Wednesday, will discuss beefing up weapons supplies to Ukraine, and Sweden and Finland's applications to join the transatlantic military alliance. (Yves Herman, Pool Photo via AP) Noting painful losses in Severodonetsk, which he said would be the key to controlling the Donbas region, Zelenskyy pleaded anew with the West for more and faster deliveries of arms in a statement Tuesday. Ukraine needs modern anti-missile weapons, he said, adding that its air defense units had shot down some Russian missiles fired at Ukrainian cities. Even though Russia has fewer and fewer modern missiles with each passing day, Ukraines need for such systems remains, Zelenskyy said Republicans and Democrats in Congress have criticized the Biden administration directly in recent days, urging it to do more. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., said hes told the administration near constantly that its been overly timid about sending Ukraine sophisticated systems like long-range artillery and the Grey Eagle, a reusable flying drone with a 200-mile range that is used by the U.S. Army. I think we need to be giving more sophisticated systems, particularly when it comes to drones and long-range artillery, Smith said Wednesday at a wide-ranging reporters roundtable ahead of the administrations announcement. I think we ought to get them that equipment more quickly. The administrations been too cautious as it considers the risks of exposing U.S. technology and how long it will take to train Ukrainian troops, Smith added. The U.S. has sent Ukrainian forces the Puma flying drone and Switchblade loitering munition as well as the Phoenix Ghost, a new drone developed by the U.S. Air Force. Ukraine promised the U.S. it would not strike deep into Russian territory as part of the deal to acquire HIMARS a step meant to avoid escalating the war. But Smith said he disagrees with Bidens decision not to supply Ukraine with longer-range rockets that can reach into Russia and that the U.S. should be sending even more artillery and ammunition to help Ukraine stand up to Russias superior weaponry. Quantity is a huge part of the issue right now, Smith said. Amid such criticism, Pentagon policy chief Colin Kahl said Tuesday the U.S. intends to continue to send Ukraine what it needs and that the powerful, precision GMLRS ammunition allows Ukrainian forces to get more impact for a single shot. Think of this more like the effect of an airstrike than launching off full salvos, Kahl said at a Center for a New American Security event. In other words, you can do a lot for a little or you dont need a lot to have a significant effect. Overall, the U.S. has committed about $4.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including $3.9 billion since Russia invaded. The Pentagon has pivoted to supplying Ukraine with western weapons like the M777 howitzer or truck-mounted HIMARS as stocks from former Warsaw Pact countries that match Ukraines Soviet-era weapons have run out, Kahl said. He downplayed reports of Russias progress, saying both Russian and Ukrainian forces are taking significant casualties. Still, Kahl said Russian President Vladimir Putin, after failing to take Kyiv in the wars early days, continues to want to take over Ukraine completely. Our sense is that he has not changed his overall objectives, Kahl said. He has designs on a significant portion of Ukraine, if not the whole country. That said, I do not think he can achieve those objectives. The United States on Wednesday slapped sanctions on white nationalists from Russia and Sweden, warning they posed a threat and that one raised funds for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. After decades focused on Islamist extremism, the United States has increasingly identified a threat from the far right, classifying in 2020 the Russian Imperial Movement as a terrorist organization, the first such action against a white supremacist group. The State Department on Wednesday designated as a terrorist Anton Thulin, a Swede who allegedly traveled to Saint Petersburg for paramilitary instruction by the Russian group. He was sentenced to prison in 2017 for setting off a bomb near a refugee center in Sweden and, after his release, was expelled by Poland, where authorities said he was seeking further training. "The US government remains deeply concerned about the evolving racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist threat worldwide," State Department spokesman Ned Price said. "An element of it entails violent white supremacists traveling internationally to train and fight with likeminded individuals." The Treasury Department also blocked any US assets and criminalized financial transactions with two members of the Russian Imperial Movement, identified as Stanislav Shevchuk and Alexander Zhuchkovsky. Shevchuk has traveled to the United States and Europe to unite far-right extremists, while Zhuchkovsky has used social media and online payment systems to buy military supplies for Russian troops in Ukraine, the Treasury Department said. The Russian group denounced the US terrorist designation in 2020, insisting that it was only helping volunteers fighting on behalf of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. Canada earlier this year followed suit by banning the Russian Imperial Movement as a terrorist organization along with the Proud Boys, a far-right group involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. sct/sw (AFP via Getty Images) It is a 50-second journey through almost 130 years, through the Harrys and the Brians, the Jimmys and the Johns, via bowler hats, flat caps and moustaches. It culminates in Vincent Kompany, the continuation of the past and the break with it. Burnleys video introducing their new manager is artfully done and underlines the sense of change at Turf Moor. A run of largely unglamorous Brits that dates back to the 19th century and then their first foreign manager. Like his predecessors, Sean Dyche and the caretaker Mike Jackson, Kompany was a centre-back. And there the similarities end. Kompanys personality is such that his appointment feels a coup. Cosmopolitan, multilingual, a stalwart of stylish, attacking sides, he feels everything Burnley have not been, the antidote to Dycheball. Vincent is a proven leader, said chairman Alan Pace. And so he is: as one of the Premier Leagues finest captains and, with apologies to Tony Book, Manchester Citys greatest. As a manager, his record is inconclusive. Three seasons with Anderlecht ended in eighth, fourth and third. If that points to an upward trajectory, his debut campaign, curtailed as it was by Covid - when he was still playing and when the duties on the touchline were shared - brought Anderlechts lowest finish since World War II. He inherited a club mired in malaise but, as they have been Belgian champions a record 34 times, that CV scarcely stands out. Burnley may have appointed Kompany the man as much as Kompany the manager. He has taken a job close to his Mancunian wifes family and in the region where their three children were born. Kompanys charisma means he will sound compelling when he explains the reasons for his move to Turf Moor. One, perhaps, is the immense self-belief that was normally an asset on the pitch, though some of his red cards and injuries came because he was too committed, too convinced of his own ability. But it is tempting to wonder if it has blinded him to the underlying issues at Burnley. The biggest is financial, and whatever reassurances he has had, the outside world awaits an explanation. Story continues A 65 million debt was due to be repaid after relegation. It has the potential to swallow up the parachute payments which could otherwise have provided the platform for promotion. And if the loan a consequence of ALK Capitals leveraged buyout - has been renegotiated in the last few weeks, Pace is yet to provide details. In the meantime, Burnley look short of players as well as money. Their retained list helped illustrate the scale of the rebuilding job required. The out-of-contract James Tarkowski will go of his own volition but it feels bizarre his long-time sidekick Ben Mee was not offered a deal rather sooner. Burnley have been built around their centre-back partnership. No longer. The ageing back-ups Erik Pieters, Aaron Lennon, Dale Stephens and Phil Bardsley are off, too. Burnley are in talks with the out-of-contract Jack Cork and Matej Vydra, but that leaves the possibility they will depart on free transfers too. Meanwhile, the January signing Wout Weghorst has said he is looking to leave and a loan would not even enable the Clarets to recoup their 12 million outlay. Maxwel Cornet has a 17.5 million release clause, denying Burnley the possibility of a large profit. Nick Popes talents should be seen in the Premier League. Dwight McNeil may attract interest. Burnleys Maxwel Cornet gestures (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire) It leaves a very small core guaranteed to be at Turf Moor; of them, Ashley Westwood, their best central midfielder in recent years, faces a long time out with a dislocated ankle. Ashley Barnes, meanwhile, had a contract extension triggered after scoring a solitary goal in his last 29 games. So, with a limited budget, Burnley might need 10 new signings. Kompanys contacts at City could facilitate loan deals, as they did at Anderlecht, but with at least seven and maybe 10 players in their 30s staying, he has to find younger players. As they got the fewest points per game in all four divisions in 2021, there is a need to instil a winning mentality and habit, even factoring in a brief upturn this year. Their general level of play was poor: staleness felt a factor but there was also an air than an era was ending. Perhaps the 4-4-2 formula that brought Dyche two promotions will have to be ripped up and a more progressive blueprint implemented but Burnley seemed the stylistic opposites of the City sides Kompany led. That the Clarets often looked the technically poorer, less talented team when getting knocked out of the cups by Football League sides in recent years bodes badly. The strikers who were strangers to scoring may suddenly have to get 15 or 20 goals in a season. It would be a daunting task even for a manager who was not a relative rookie and a club on a sound financial footing. A lesser man than Kompany might have deemed Burnley too great a risk to his reputation; perhaps a lesser figure would not have had such appeal to them, however. Patrick McMullan/Getty Wealthy New York socialite and magazine publisher Jason Binn, who was arrested this week on a charge of sexually molesting a teenage relative, has claimed its a bogus case drummed up by his ex-wifes deep seeded [sic] jealousy and hatred for him. The multimillionaire was taken into custody in Manhattan on Monday, accused of groping a 16-year-old relatives butt outside a SoHo restaurant this February. Binn, 54, is accused of forcibly touching a minor in their sexual and other intimate parts to gratify his own sexual desire, according to court documents obtained by the New York Post. Binn released a statement through his lawyer to The Daily Beast on Wednesday, claiming the allegations are untrue and that he is an unknowing victim who sadly fell prey to his ex-wife. He said he planned to fight the charges levied against him. Shocking Lawsuit Accuses Predatory Texas Mogul of Cryo-Chamber Sex Assault While separated since 2016, Binn and his ex-wife Haley are still working through divorce proceedings, court records show. Binn alleged the ongoing divorce is why his ex-wife constructed a story of him grabbing a relatives backside. Without naming her, his statement read, Any of us can become unknowing victims; based on peoples [sic] jealousies and vindictiveness and money. He later added: This [is] absolutely not true and continues to be part of a sad, bitter divorce. This should serve notice to everybody who can serve notice to anyone when they innocently find themselves at the wrong end of someones deep seeded jealousy in or hated for [sic], he wrote in the statement. Reid Aronson, a divorce attorney for Haley, declined to comment on Binns statement. We hope the privacy of the family will be respected at this time, Aronson said. Binn, 52, is a father of three and the founder of DuJour Media, a print and digital luxury lifestyle publishing brand. Worth an estimated $50 million, hes known for throwing lavish parties that have drawn out celebrities such as Kanye West and the Kardashians. Story continues Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Mass Shooting At Elementary School In Uvalde, Texas Leaves 21 Dead Including Shooter - Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images Jose Flores Jr. dreamed of being a police officer because he wanted to protect people. But the 10-year-olds life was cut short when he, 18 of his classmates, and two teachers were killed in the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School. Now, Joses uncle, Christopher Salazar, tells Rolling Stone he is looking to uphold his nephews legacy of wanting to protect others by holding law enforcement to account for the failures he says he witnessed during the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. More from Rolling Stone Salazar was among the group of parents and other loved ones who pleaded with police outside the school as a gunman armed with an AR-15 roamed the classrooms inside, shooting. I was looking for my nephew and I even told [authorities] Ill go in there myself, he says. He says that he cant comprehend, from what he saw from his vantage outside the school, how so many officers did not immediately go inside to stop the shooter. Hey look, our children are getting shot. They cant defend themselves. Go in there! Go in there! Salazar says he and the other families called out to the police on the scene. They really didnt do anything, although they were there standing outside Instead of reacting and saying, Hey, look, hes already shooting. Lets go in. Families of the Uvalde victims are still waiting for authorities to provide them and the rest of the community with answers about what happened during the states deadliest school shooting. Officials have refused repeated requests for comment and denied records requests from various news organizations. It has been an agonizing time of mourning, made even more difficult by the lack of transparency about what happened the day an 18-year-old gunman with an AR-15 burst into the school and began to fire. Story continues Since the first hours after the massacre, officials have relayed different and conflicting reports of what took place in Uvalde. Last week, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) Chief of Police Pete Arredondo, a central figure in most official accounts, emerged to tell yet another version. Arredondo, 50, heads up the six-person police agency charged with maintaining safety at Uvalde schools. He was one of the first to arrive at Robb Elementary school and the de facto scene commander, according to multiple reports. But as reported by Texas Tribune and The New York Times, the chief arrived on the scene without radios and no key for the classrooms where the massacre was unfolding. Without radio communication, he could not receive 911 dispatches that included the calls from terrified kids trapped inside pleading for police to come help them. Miah Cerillo, a fourth grader who played dead using her classmates blood during the mass shooting testified during a hearing on gun violence in Congress last week that she used her teachers phone to call 911. I thought he would come back to the room, so I grabbed blood and put it all over me, she said. She said the shooter told her teacher good night before shooting her in the head. In his first interview discussing the mass shooting, Arredondo disputed claims he was in charge of the scene. I didnt issue any orders, Arredondo told the Texas Tribune last week. I called for assistance and asked for an extraction tool to open the door. Through the interview, which included input from his lawyer George E. Hyde, Arredondo said he didnt consider himself the scenes incident commander and told the Tribune he assumed someone else had taken control. He did not say who he believed had assumed control. He also denied instructing officers to not enter the classroom where the gunman was, as has been reported by multiple publications. Arredondo has not responded to Rolling Stones repeated requests for comment and declined further comment following the Tribune story via his attorney. Texas Department of Public Safetys (DPS) Director Steven McCraw has said that the incident commander made the wrong decision when failing to enter the classroom sooner. The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the incident response, but U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said last week that the federal inquiry is to assess what happened and we can make recommendations for the future not to bring forward criminal charges. Texas DPS is also conducting an investigation, as is the local district attorney. Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee and Uvalde Chief of Police Daniel Rodriguez did not return Rolling Stones multiple requests for comment. DPS did not return a request for comment regarding Arredondos interview. It took 77 minutes before officers breached the classroom and the gunman was fatally shot. Reports suggest Arredondos lack of a key and radio may have contributed to the delay and could have had dire consequences, according to a report by The New York Times, since those who needed medical care may have been saved if the classroom was breached sooner. Documents reviewed by the Times show officers waited for protective equipment even as they became aware that some victims needed medical treatment. If the stories might be true that 911 calls werent fed from dispatch into the commander of the hallway, whoever that was, how in the world did that happen? Charley Wilkison, the executive director of Texas largest police union, Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT), tells Rolling Stone. CLEAT recently made the striking decision to release a statement condemning the false and misleading information from government and law enforcement officials that has come to light. Salazar believes, as multiple reports suggest, that there could have been more survivors had the authorities reacted quickly. Look, if they would have went in right there those cops, at least one of them wouldnt have passed away. And there would have been a lot more children and the teacher [that could have] survived. The relationship between the residents the majority of whom are Latino and law enforcement in the town of around 15,000 people has appeared mostly strong in recent times, though complicated. On one hand, many residents have relatives who work in law enforcement, but there is also conflict in its history. When the town was mostly white, Robb Elementary, whose students are primarily Mexican American, played a vital role for Mexican American equality in Uvalde, as NPR recently reported. Historically, Uvalde was a segregated town and Robb was known as a Mexican school that was underfunded. After popular Mexican teacher George Gaza was rumored to not have his contract renewed in 1970, a walkout ensued. The events led to a federal lawsuit forcing Uvalde to desegregate. The region is now primarily Latino, but some say, as Michelle Garcia recently wrote in Palabra, that the racism remains with thousands of law enforcement lording over a largely Latino population. Texas has hundreds of law enforcement agencies, ranging from school district forces to police employed by the Southwestern Cattle Raiser Association and the railroads. On the day of the shooting, more than 140 officers from at least 14 agencies including UCISD PD, Uvalde PD, Border Patrol, ICE agents and the sheriffs department arrived at the scene, according to the Times. Wilkison says communication during a crisis can be hindered by the myriad agencies that each have their own guidelines and hierarchy and sometimes vie with one another for political power. This system can also make it difficult to sort out problems when things go awry. Theres so many fiefdoms, Wilkison says. You gotta go through a constable who wants to make sure everybody knows he got elected. A sheriffs department who got elected. A police department whos probably actually trying to do the work. The state police who need relevance, and Feds who come in and step all over everything. When you fall into another agencys world, then they call the shots. Thats just the way it is, he says. Wilkison would not say whether any of the police involved in the investigations are CLEAT members. Meanwhile, legal actions surrounding the tragedy are already underway. The families of four students injured during the shooting are suing the suspected gunmans estate, as ABC News reports. Attorney Thomas J. Henry said the initial lawsuit and their investigation may lead to including additional parties in the complaint. The discovery process will focus on the school system, law enforcement, social media, and gun and ammunition manufacturers, Henry said in a statement. The parents are seeking $100 million in damages. Alfred Garza III, whose daughter Amerie Jo Garza was killed at Robb, has retained Connecticut lawyer Josh Koskoff, who successfully sued the manufacturer of the gun used in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and Texas-based attorneys Mikal Watts and Charla Aldous. The attorneys have sent a letter to Daniel Defense, the gun manufacturer of the AR-15-style rifle the Uvalde shooter used. Garza did not accept Rolling Stones interview request. A petition for information on Daniel Defense is also being sought from the Uvalde school staffer who was accused by Texas DPS of leaving a school door open, which DPS said allowed the gunman in. DPS later walked back that statement. A former prosecutor for Uvalde who previously worked with Uvalde police on cases tells Rolling Stone she believes the seemingly bungled police response is unsurprising. It may be shocking to the rest of the world, but the ineptitude, its not shocking, criminal attorney Sara Spector tells Rolling Stone. Spector was a child abuse prosecutor in the 38th Judicial District, which Uvalde is in, from 2008 to 2013. Spector says that rural Texas generally suffers from a lack of funding, which can contribute to training issues. Wilkison says in places like Uvalde where the department is small, leaving for training means less officers are available for community needs. He says political forces, like city council or a school district, also come into play. So you have all this tension competing for resources and its just exacerbated when you get into those areas where its already smaller, he says. Whether its undertraining, a lack of resources, or the nature of who takes command amid agencies that contributed to the apparent missteps that may have caused more deaths in Uvalde is still unclear. What is clear is that without full transparency and changes to a seemingly broken system, Spector says theres a chance that history will repeat itself. I think thats what the world needs to know: Its not safe for a lot of kids in rural Texas. Theyre just sitting ducks in these schoolhouses, she says. Best of Rolling Stone Click here to read the full article. Food banks and pantries across the greater Cincinnati area are seeking more donations and volunteers as they experience an influx of individuals seeking food as costs at the pump and grocery stores continue to rise. Food banks and pantries are dealing with what Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, calls "the perfect storm," which is leading to the increased demand for volunteers and food. That storm, she said, has the potential to brew into a public health crisis if action isn't taken. Shortages in the global supply chain have resulted in higher prices at the gas pump, along with at the grocery store. Hamler-Fugitt said those price increases coupled with higher utilities and rent costs have led to more Ohioans seeking out food pantries and their services. "Your rent eats first," Hamler-Fugitt said. "If your rent's gone up, you had to take part of your food budget in order to pay that additional increasing costs of rent. The same thing with gas." Renee Oliver, shops at the Community Matters Market in Lower Price Hill with her children, Keylah Wagoner 7, and Malaysia Wagoner, 1, on June 9. Higher food and fuel prices are driving more people to food banks and pantries and increasing costs for the pantries to provide food. Food and gas costs add to pandemic strain Global supply chain shortages caused some food prices to increase in 2020, but food and gas costs have risen even more sharply since then, creating a multiplier effect for consumers. Because of that effect, most of the families Freestore Foodbank serves have spent their reserves just trying to maintain stable, said Kurt Reiber, president and CEO. About 75% of the families that come to Freestore's large-scale food distributions have never been to one of their pantries. Mary Delaney, executive director of Community Matters, said the organization's Community Market started feeling similar pressures in the past year. The pandemic has led to some individuals coming to the market on a more routine basis and an increase in appointments after its regular hours, Delaney said. Malaysia Wagoner, 1, helps her mom, Renee Oliver, shop at the Community Matters Market in Lower Price Hill on June 9. The dramatic increase in prices has also been felt at food banks and pantries based in Kentucky. In March, about 65% of food banks saw greater demand for food than the previous month, Katrina Thompson, executive director of Feeding Kentucky, said. Story continues The Brighton Center in Newport, Kentucky, has 47 different programs supporting those in the area, including a food pantry. Eric Owsley, director of the Family Center, said the pandemic caused a spike in need for all of the Brighton Center's programs at the Family Center. That includes the food pantry, the emergency assistance program and financial assistance program, Owsley said. Thompson also said the increased demand at food pantries coincides with the loss of some federal assistance, like emergency allotments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP emergency allotments ended after April for Kentuckians, but continue for Ohioans as of June, according to USDA's website. Higher fuel, good prices hit pantries Food pantries and banks are feeling the same strain from food and gas prices as those they serve. Thompson said Feeding Kentucky started making sure any trucks going out for delivery returned carrying something, and the organization also tries to combine several stops on delivery runs to conserve fuel. Despite price increases, food banks and pantries are still striving to provide individuals with healthy, fresh food. Reiber said that can be difficult, with the cost of some fruits and vegetables skyrocketing by 50%. Similarly, Delaney said the Community Market tries to keep the "critical" items families often need like dairy, vegetables and meat on its shelves. How long that can continue for remains uncertain. "The worry is sustainability. How long can we continue if prices continue to go up and donations continue to stay down?" Delaney said. Thompson said Feeding Kentucky has also been trying to distribute its staples, including flour, rice and beans. But even those items have been subject to higher prices, Thompson said, and food banks are spending about 40% more on food. Hamler-Fugitt said Ohioans are very charitable and gave a lot during the height of the pandemic. Food banks and pantries are encouraging individuals to keep donating and volunteering at facilities if they are able, especially as donations from retailers and manufacturers decline due to supply chain shortages. What's needed more, Hamler-Fugitt said, is for the government to take action to support both workers and food banks. Ohio's foodbanks are asking for $50 million in emergency funding and $133 million for longer-term needs, which they say the state can fund with money from the rainy day fund or unspent federal dollars from sources including the American Rescue Plan Act. The Community Matters Market in Lower Price Hill depends on donations to keep their pantry stocked. Though they receive items from FreeStore Food Bank and La Soupe, much of their donations come from food drives and individuals. "We need wages to increase for sure that would help a lot for people that are working," she said. "We just need the support to ensure that we can continue to procure foods from Ohio farmers, growers and commodity producers through the Ohio (Agricultural) Clearance Program." Owsley, along with others, said it's important to note the majority of individuals who utilize their services are working families who aren't making enough to make ends meet amid rising prices. "I can't emphasize enough the critical role safety net providers play," Owsley said. "With these families, we're seeing these working families, these single-parent homes ... everyone's struggling to move forward right now. We're all feeling it." How to help Freestore Foodbank is encouraging individuals to participate in "virtual food drives," where they will receive a donation link to share with family and friends. Learn more here. Volunteer time slots can also be found online, at freestorefoodbank.org. Donations can be made to Community Matters at cmcincy.org, and volunteer opportunities are also available. The Brighton Center is accepting volunteers across its programs in addition to donations. More information is available at www.brightoncenter.com. Santa Maria Community Services, in greater Price Hill, is accepting monetary donations at santamaria-cincy.org in addition to other gifts. Feeding Kentucky is seeking volunteers, and monetary donations are preferred to food donations because the organization can buy more in bulk. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati area food pantries serve more as food, gas prices rise An unemployed woman in Japan was charged with animal abuse for hoarding more than 200 dogs in unsanitary conditions. The Chiba Prefectural Police raided her cramped home in March and found 221 Maltese and Shih Tzu hybrids festering in their own waste. The 63-year-old woman from Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, reportedly admitted to the allegations and told investigators, It was definitely abuse. She was charged with violating the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals on Tuesday. More from NextShark: African Students in Taiwan for Work-Study Program Allegedly End Up Skinning Chickens in Factory The pet owner is believed to have kept the dogs since 2012, according to the prefectural polices life safety division. She reportedly lost control of her dogs breeding and was unable to track the number of dogs in her home. The Inba Public Health Center had repeatedly ordered the woman to clean her home after multiple complaints from her neighbors regarding the noise of her dogs barks and the foul odor of their feces and urine. However, there had not been any improvement in their environment. Nearby residents could also see the dogs suffering from skin diseases and hear them howling for hours throughout the night. More from NextShark: Singaporean man who pretended to work for charity to molest womens feet gets jail time This is a clear case of animal abuse, Rie Kaneko, the president of Companion Animal Club Ichikawa which helped rescue the dogs, told Vice. They were emaciated and covered in scars, even on their eyes, because they were fightingsome have actually killed each other. The vice president of Animal Life Matters Association, Yumiko Takemoto, who is involved in the case of the 221 dogs, told Vice the owner was not willing to give up her pets. If you peered inside her home, you could see dogs on top of each other near the front door, in the hallway, all the way up her stairs, and I wondered if there was even a place for a human being to eat, Takemoto said. We would offer to take some of the dogs and would let her choose which pets to give up, but shed say she was tiredshe refused to give them up. Story continues More from NextShark: Aung San Suu Kyi Taken at Gunpoint in Early Morning in Military Coup in Myanmar The dogs have been taken under the protection of the prefectural government and are currently in the process of finding new homes. Animal hoarding has become a growing concern in Japan in the last few years, leading officials to revise the animal protection law. Those found guilty of animal abuse may face up to a year in prison or a fine of up to 1 million yen (approximately $7,440). More from NextShark: Netflix releases action-packed trailer for new anime based on video game franchise Tekken Featured Image via Chiba Prefectural Police Lego plans to invest at least $1 billion to construct its only U.S.-based manufacturing plant in Chesterfield County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced on Wednesday. The Virginia factory a 1.7 million-square-foot giant that will be Lego's seventh manufacturing facility in the world and supply the Americas is estimated to create more than 1,700 jobs over 10 years and projected to open for production by mid-2025. Construction, along with hiring, begins later this year but an exact month has yet to be set. "This best-in-class, world-class facility, will be built brick by brick," Youngkin said at the Science Museum of Virginia to a crowd of state economic and political leaders, top Lego officials and Denmark's U.S. ambassador. "This is the future of manufacturing, and it is right here in the commonwealth of Virginia." The 90-year-old global toymaker hasn't had a factory in North America since closing its first one in Enfield, Conn. nearly 15 years ago and shifting production to Mexico. With the U.S. a key market, the expansion's goal is to shorten supply chain issues and reduce the company's carbon footprint a hefty goal Lego Group CEO Niels B. Christiansen said hinges on reducing emissions by 37% by 2032. Conversations about bringing the Lego plant to Virginia date to at least October when Gov. Ralph Northam was in office. Christiansen said its commitment to ensuring the toy company's plants are environmentally sustainable will be released in public reports. He noted that the Chesterfield factory will be designed to be carbon neutral, which means offsetting carbon emissions through projects such as renewable energy efforts. Two of the company's major ambitions for the site include making it "highly energy efficient" with 100% being matched by onsite renewable sources to minimize energy use. The factory will also be paired with a solar park, which will be built by 2025 and generate the energy needed for the plant to run. "For us, sustainability is super important. When you serve kids, it cannot be anything but ... important. The world and the planet they inherit needs to be a place for them to live," Christiansen said. "I can tell you every week I get a lot of letters from kids who write to me about their concerns and their wishes and their visions of what to do." In 2020, Lego announced its removal of single-use plastics and proposed a mission to make all of its core products from sustainable materials by 2030. The move comes years after nearly 5 million Legos were lost at sea when a 28-foot wave hit a cargo ship in 1997. Scientists have estimated a single Lego block could take anywhere from 100 to 1,300 years to decompose. The facility will be housed in Chesterfield's Meadowville Technology Park, which has been around for more than 20 years and sits adjacent to I-295 and the James River. In 2020, the county put forth $3 million out of the $21 million total used to buy 353 acres as an add-on to the park. Online Chesterfield records assessed the land at about $3.5 million. Garrett Hart, director of Chesterfield Economic Development, said the partnership with Lego shows why it's critical for the county to have project-ready sites. The only feasible option available was Meadowville. "It's taken us several months to get here but the first day they saw the site and met us on the site, they picked the site," Hart said. "They didn't tell us that until about a month ago." Chesterfield residents have voiced criticism for another technology park known as Upper Magnolia Green, which will partially include plastics manufacturing. Lego manufactures more than 100 billion plastic bricks every year. A written Q&A the company provided to the media included: "Is it environmentally sustainable to spend $1 billion building a factory that will produce millions of tonnes of plastic?" Lego said the bricks are "inherently sustainable" because they're passed down from one generation to the next. It also noted how Legos have helped children develop creativity and problem solving skills. The Q&A also appeared to distance the company from the governor's push to ban "critical race theory" in K-12 schools stating "we stand against racism and inequality." Another question in the Q&A asked "How can / Does the LEGO Group, as a brand, support the current Governors political agenda?" It answered: "This is a long-term, multi-generation investment which goes beyond the politics of today, globally or locally." Lego executives didn't share whether potential tax breaks made Virginia a more attractive possibility for housing its sole facility in the U.S. and instead cited the county's transportation networks, how the state aligned with the company's mission and the opportunity to invest in communities while expanding its manufacturing network. But in a release, Youngkin's office shared the LEGO Group will be eligible to receive $56 million in Major Employment and Investment Project performance grants subject to General Assembly approval. The MEI Project Approval Commission was established to "review financing for individual incentive packages, including but not limited to packages offering tax incentives, for economic development," according to Virginia law. "Those incentives are driven by the economic growth that Lego will bring and this is a framework that we are using in order to strike these kinds of great arrangements with companies that actually bring economic growth, more jobs, and as a result, more tax revenues to the county and to the commonwealth," Youngkin said. The announcement follows two other recent economic development wins for Virginia as Boeing and Raytheon Technologies announced they were moving their headquarters to Northern Virginia. Christiansen could not say on Wednesday whether there would be any plans to add a Lego store to Chesterfield to accompany the site. Nelson County Public Schools is bracing for less funding from both the county and state as Virginias budget nears final approval. Virginias General Assembly approved a state budget on June 1, which Governor Youngkin can either sign or seek changes to. The new budget awards NCPS $72,541 less in overall state funding than the division expected, plus $146,899 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for bonus payments to 136 SOQ, or standards of quality, funded positions. NCPS Assistant Superintendent for Administration Shannon Irvin has been working to create a new balanced budget and provided updates at the June 9 School Board meeting. As of June 6 and the General Assemblys amendments, the Virginia Department of Educations direct aid payment calculation template shows the school division receiving $10.5 million in total state funding based on a projected enrollment of 1,454 students in 2023. The budget the school board presented to the board of supervisors is based on former Gov. Ralph Northams introduced budget, which allotted the division $10.6 million. This creates a $72,541 shortfall in the schools current budget. In March, the school board requested a $19 million contribution from the county for fiscal year 2023, a $3.4 million increase from the current budget. The county has agreed to fund the schools only about half the increase or $1.5 million. Irving said by making substantial staffing cuts, were able to do some of the things that we wanted to [...] but not nearly all of them. She said reducing seven additional positions from the budget had allowed her to include a 5% raise for all employees and award a $1,000 bonus to all employees Dec. 1. Irvin explained in an email June 13 the $146,899 in ARPA funds only covers the $1,000 bonus for the divisions 136 SOQ funded positions and not for all 304 full-time employees. NCPS will have to fund bonuses for the other 168 employees out of its existing 2022-2023 budget. The school board also intended to establish a $20 hourly minimum wage for support staff and to make adjustments to the higher end of teacher seniority scales. The salaries of teachers whove worked with the divisions longer currently fall far behind the divisions competitive starting salary in state rankings. Irvin said neither change will be possible with the new state and county funding figures. Instead, the school board will instate a $15 minimum wage for support staff. The school boards original budget also included a 0.5% salary increase between seniority steps. In a February interview, Irvin explained the change would reward teachers every year they stay with the division. Previous seniority steps rewarded teachers with a larger lump sum less frequently, Irvin said, using a 2.5% increase every five years as an example. At the June meeting, Irvin said the budget includes the 0.5% salary increase between seniority steps for support staff and bus drivers, but there are not sufficient funds to make the same change to the teachers and administrators salary scales as planned. Irvin also addressed employee turnover, saying the division has had 17 retirements and 35 resignations in the past year. Those numbers are twice as much as what weve seen in previous years, Irvin said. School board representative George Cheape responded to Irvins presentation by saying retention and adjusting teachers pay scales is a major priority for the board: were doing all that we can do. But we have to have money to do that. He said the board still has to fund essentials, such as fuel, which the rising price of diesel has complicated. Ive seen signs just today where diesel fuel is $5.99 a gallon and its poised to be over $6 a gallon any time now and by the beginning of the school year it could be over $7. Everybodys facing the same pressures. The countys facing the same pressures we are and all I can say is that anything that the county can spare for us, we promise you well put that to good use for these kids. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A robot equipped with artificial intelligence has been put to work to help sort out congestion problems at Narita International Airport near Tokyo. The robot is shaped like a small vehicle and stands about 1.2 meters high. The AI instantly analyzes images taken by its cameras. The robot can quickly grasp how and where congestion occurs. It gives instructions to keep order when it detects long queues blocking the way. The robot also keeps an eye out for suspicious items. It informs the command center when baggage is left unattended for too long. Yaegashi Akira of Narita International Airport says, "We are trying to provide the world's best security and a safe, stable environment." Before last year's Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, the airport deployed five robots equipped with cameras to improve security. This is the first time for it to introduce a robot with AI that helps deal with congestion. A Japanese government report called for creating a 10-trillion-yen, or about 74-billion-dollar, fund for university research in a bid to reverse a decline in the country's science and technology capability. The annual white paper on science, technology and innovation approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday highlighted challenges to Japan becoming a science-and-technology-oriented nation. The push to improve research is a pillar of the government's growth strategy. The report notes that two decades ago, Japan ranked fourth globally in terms of research-paper quality. Japan was overtaken by India in 2018 in the rankings and now has fallen into 10th place. The white paper says one of the factors behind the drop was that Japanese universities and businesses did not see much of an increase in research and development expenses over the past 20 years. Expenses in universities increased 23.4-fold in China in that period, 4.7-fold in South Korea, 2.6-fold in the United States, but only 0.9-fold in Japan. The report notes that in Japan, universities produce more than 70 percent of research papers. The paper also called for other efforts to strengthen research at universities and to support young researchers. It says top-level researchers in Japan should be given backing to conduct joint studies with their overseas counterparts. The paper also says that as cutting-edge science and technology becomes the core competition area among countries, the government must intensely promote research in areas including quantum computing and artificial intelligence. "He found that my films were not hard enough": the bottom of the investigation into the boss of "Jacquie and Michel" Fulbright Vietnamese Visiting Scholar Program 2023 announced The US Mission in Vietnam has announced to seek qualified candidates for the 2023 Fulbright Vietnamese Visiting Scholar Program. Applicants to the programme must be Vietnamese who are required to hold an M.A. or Ph.D. degree, and be proficient in English. They should be university faculty, government officials, private sector professionals, work at a think tank, or occupy similar positions. Applicants must reside in Vietnam throughout the nomination and selection process, and they must return to Vietnam upon completion of their US stay. Applicants are ineligible to apply if they are currently residing, teaching, studying, or conducting research in the United States, or have received a Fulbright grant within the past five years, or have been to the United States as a J-1 Exchange Visitor in the category of Professor or Research Scholar within the past two years. Applicants may choose a grant for a semester (five months) or full academic year (nine months). A semester grant (five months) must begin in September 2023 or January 2024 while a one academic year grant (nine months) must begin in September 2023. Applicants who specialize in disciplines within the social sciences and humanities, science, and technology are welcome to apply. The deadline of application submission is 5:00 p.m., October 15, 2022 (Vietnam time). Further application details are available at: https://vn.usembassy.gov/education-culture/fulbright-program-vietnam/. Analysis by Hari Prasad, Program Associate, Conflict Resolution Program Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has had obvious effects on Ukraine and Eastern Europe, but its current and potential destabilizing effects in Syria are not receiving the attention they desperately need. The pre-existing economic crisis in Syria is on the verge of becoming a catastrophe as shortages grow with the interruption of wheat shipments from Russia, Syrias primary source of imported wheat. Russia is a key influencer in Syrias affairs and negotiations, but tensions between NATO and Russia will hamper further diplomatic efforts, and Russias withdrawal from southern Syria is being felt. A drawn-out Russia-Ukraine war could lead to a further shifting of conflict dynamics in Syria, with Iran filling the void; Turkey and the Syrian opposition could increase their pressure on the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF); the Islamic State (ISIS) could face fewer military constraints; and Syrians could even be sent to fight in Eastern Europe. As the world powers focus on how to engage Russia on the issue of Ukraine, it is essential they also consider how the crisis affects the situation in Syria. Food Crisis With heavy sanctions from the U.S. and European Union, Syria relies heavily on the import of Russian wheat. Ukraine, also a significant supplier of wheat in the global marketplace, remains unable to export its grain thus reducing the global supply, leading to shortages and price increases on consumer staples such as bread. The invasion caused food prices to soar in Syria and the region, leading to a massive increase in food insecurity. Other Middle Eastern countries approached large wheat exporters like India to make up for the expected shortfall. India reportedly promised to donate wheat and rice to alleviate Syrias food shortages. However, a heat wave coupled with rising food prices caused the Indian government to ban all wheat exports. If the conflict is sustained, a more severe food shortage in Syria is on the horizon, which will impact political dynamics including between citizens and governing entities. Diminished Russian role in Syria? The political process is hampered by the economic crisis. According to Carter Center/ACLED data, Russian military activity in Syria, where it plays a major role, dropped sharply in the initial weeks of its operations in Ukraine. However, by April, Russias airstrikes in Syria returned to pre-Ukraine war levels. Additionally, there have been a few unconfirmed reports of Russia withdrawing its troops from southern Syria to focus on its war effort in Ukraine, leaving a void that may be filled by Iran. Although reports of a Russian withdrawal remain unconfirmed, the possibility of a Russian-left void remains a concern, and Russias actions are destabilizing Syria regardless. Jordan, Israel, and many former opposition fighters remain hostile to Irans influence in the border region. Russia did give the green light to the Syrian government and pro-Iranian factions to significantly weaken the power of some former opposition outfits during the siege of Daraa al-Balad; the violence continues and could escalate without Russian mediation. Jordan has taken increasingly aggressive measures to curb illicit trade in southern Syria, regularly clashing with drug smugglers and accusing Iran and Syrian government factions of sponsoring the amphetamine trade. In the past, Russia has served as a mediator between Jordan and the government of Syria to discuss border-related security issues. A diminished Russian presence could negatively impact security along the Jordanian-Syrian border, leading to more violence and instability in the region. In northern Syria, Russian airpower continues to reinforce pro-government control, and Russia helps mediate with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. In several areas, Russian forces serve to deter Turkey and its allies from launching new incursions into northern Syria. Russia also serves as one of the main guarantors of the March 2020 cease-fire between the opposition and the Syrian government. Russia is a key player in confronting ISIS within Syrian government-controlled territories, mobilizing militias and airpower alike to fight ISIS in the Badia desert region. Jordans King Abdullah II called Russias presence a stabilizing factor in the border region. As Russia faces economic sanctions, its ability to support the Syrian government financially and diplomatically will be hampered. The worlds attention is focused on Ukraine and moving away from Syria. Escalating tensions between NATO and Russia will likely only hurt the already struggling political process in Syria. For example, the U.N. approval required to operate the Bab al-Hawa humanitarian border crossing may face a Russian veto in July. Syrian Fighters in Ukraine/Russia? Social media accounts of commanders associated with pro- and anti-government forces in Syria reveal a stated desire across the board to go to Russia or Ukraine to fight. Opposition sources in Syria claim that Russia is preparing to draft over 40,000 Syrian soldiers affiliated with regime forces to fight in Ukraine. Prominent Syrian opposition fighters have openly expressed their desire to fight against Russia in Ukraine. The recruitment of Syrians to fight abroad is not without precedent. Since 2020, Turkey and Russia mobilized Syrians to fight in Libya and Armenia/Azerbaijan, fueling international speculation and concerns around the possible presence of Syrians in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Private military corporations associated with Russia and Turkey have maintained active recruitment offices in Syria. Despite numerous rumors and accusations, there is little evidence of Syrians fighting in Ukraine. This pattern is not new. In the past, Russia accused Turkey of supporting the former Al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) fighters in conducting attacks in Russian-held Crimea, despite HTSs stance against fighting alongside Turkish forces overseas. This is not to say that it is unlikely that Syrians will fight in Ukraine. That war could become yet another front that Syrians will fight on, further intertwining the conflict in Syria with that in Eastern Europe. Anticipating the Peace Impacts in Syria The Russia-Ukraine conflict has taken up much of the attention among humanitarians, policymakers, and commentators in North America and Europe. Syrias prospects for peace in a conflict widely viewed by outside observers as stagnant has already been impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war economically and diplomatically. But Syrias prospects for peace are not stagnant. Peace and resolution in Syria are not rendered impossible by shifting Russian priorities, but Russian interlocutors are crucial in the process of a political resolution. There is concern that prioritization of the Ukrainian conflict without understanding how it relates to Syria will come at a further cost to Syria. Learn more about the Center's Conflict Resolution Program ATLANTA (May 11, 2022) The Carter Center condemns the killing of Al Jazeera news correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian American, and calls for an independent investigation into the incident. The perpetrators must be brought to justice. Abu Akleh was killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli military incursion into the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank. Another journalist, Ali Al Smoudi, was shot in the back. The Jenin camp is in the occupied West Bank and has been under Israeli blockade for weeks. It has been at the center of confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers, who raid the Palestinian refugee camp on a regular basis. Her death comes a year after the Israeli air force destroyed a building in Gaza hosting the offices of media organizations, including Al Jazeera and the Associated Press. The targeting of journalists in the Palestinian territories is a human rights violation and appears to be motivated by a desire to obscure the brutality of the occupation and to silence crucial voices. The Carter Center calls on Israeli authorities to guarantee the safety of journalists and to respect human rights, including freedom of the press, said Paige Alexander, Carter Center CEO. We applaud U.S. Ambassador Nides call for a thorough investigation into her death. According to Al Jazeera and the other journalists at the scene, the journalists had made themselves known to the Israeli soldiers, and Abu Akleh was wearing a press jacket and helmet when she was shot. Even though witnesses described the situation before the shooting as calm, Israeli police initially blamed Palestinian bullets for Aklehs death and raided her family house in the Beit Hanina neighborhood in East Jerusalem, where hundreds of people had gathered following the news of her death. The police attempted to remove Palestinian flags and stop the crowd from playing national Palestinian songs. Abu Aklehs funeral will take place on May 12 in the West Bank city of Ramallah. She will be buried in Jerusalem, but many of her friends and colleagues will not be able to attend her burial because Israeli restrictions prevent most West Bank Palestinian citizens from visiting East Jerusalem. For More Information: In Ramallah: Qais Asad, qaisassad@cartercenter.org In Atlanta: Soyia Ellison, soyia.ellison@cartercenter.org [HK](01668):202211.5%(ISIN: XS2085883119) 202210.875%(ISIN: XS212009288. 20220615 23:05:56 ::202211.5%(ISIN: XS2085883119) 202210.875%(ISIN: XS2120092882)2022.. ,, 1668 ()()13.10B () 13.10B, 2022 6 15 ,;; Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or solicitation of an offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for securities or an invitation to enter into an agreement to do any such things, nor is it calculated to invite any offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for any securities. This announcement and the information contained herein does not constitute or form part of an offer to sell securities in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States unless registered pursuant to the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or pursuant to an applicable exemption from such registration requirement. Any public offering of securities to be made in the United States will be made by means of a prospectus that will contain detailed information about our company and management, as well as financial statements. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act and no public offering of securities will be made in the United States. No money, securities or other consideration is being solicited by this announcement or the information contained herein and, if sent in response to this announcement or the information contained herein, will not be accepted. (Incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability) (Stock code: 1668) OVERSEAS REGULATORY ANNOUNCEMENT CONSENT SOLICITATION IN RELATION TO 11.50% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2022 (ISIN: XS2085883119, Common Code: 208588311) 10.875% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2022 (ISIN: XS2120092882, Common Code: 212009288) 7.25% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2022 (ISIN: XS1720216388, Common Code: 172021638) 11.95% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2023 (ISIN: XS2238030162, Common Code: 223803016) and 10.75% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2023 (ISIN: XS2227909640, Common Code: 222790964) The Board announces that the Company is soliciting consent from the Holders of the 11.50% Notes, the Holders of the 10.875% Notes, the Holders of the 7.25% Notes, the Holders of the 11.95% Notes and the Holders of the 10.75% Notes to amend the 11.50% Notes Indenture, the 10.875% Notes Indenture, the 7.25% Notes Indenture, the 11.95% Notes Indenture and the 10.75% Notes Indenture, respectively, in the manner more fully described in the Consent Solicitation Statement sent to the Holders at the Launch Date, which is summarized under the section headed Consent Solicitation in this announcement. The principal purpose of the Consent Solicitation is to, among other things, (1) amend the definition of Permitted Holders of the Notes to include SZCDG, its affiliates and certain persons related to SZCDG, and (2) to amend clause (2) of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the Permitted Holders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9%. The amendment is proposed to reflect the current shareholding structure after the share acquisition by SZCDG. As there is no assurance that the Requisite Consents will be obtained, Shareholders, Holders and potential investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the Company.This overseas regulatory announcement is made by the Company pursuant to Rule 13.10B of the Listing Rules. February 2020, 27 February 2020, 22 June 2020, 29 June 2020 and 20 January 2022 in relation to the 10.875% Notes, dated 13 November 2017, 14 November 2017 and 21 November 2017 in relation to the 7.25% Notes, dated 3 March 2021, 10 March 2021, 17 March 2021 and 23 March 2021, in relation to the 11.95% Notes, and dated 2 September 2020, 3 September 2020, 14 September 2020, 7 January 2021 and 14 January 2021 in relation to the 10.75% Notes. The Board announces that the Company is soliciting consents from the Holders to amend the 11.50% Notes Indenture, the 10.875% Notes Indenture, the 7.25% Notes Indenture, the 11.95% Notes Indenture and the 10.75% Notes Indenture in the manner more fully described in the Consent Solicitation Statement sent to the Holders at the Launch Date, which is summarized under the section headed Consent Solicitation in this announcement. BACKGROUND Reference is made to the announcements of the Company dated 16 May 2022 (the Completion of Subscription Announcement). On 16 May 2022, SZCDG acquired 3,350,000,000 Shares of the Company, representing approximately 29.28% of the issued share capital of the Company, and thus has become a substantial Shareholder and the single largest Shareholder. The principal purpose of the Consent Solicitation is to, among other things, (1) amend the definition of Permitted Holders of the Notes to include SZCDG, its affiliates and certain persons related to SZCDG, and (2) to amend clause (2) of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the Permitted Holders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9%. The amendment is proposed to reflect the current shareholding structure after the share acquisition by SZCDG. Capitalized terms used in the preceding two paragraphs and not otherwise defined herein shall have the same meanings as those defined in the Consent Solicitation Statement. CONSENT SOLICITATION The principal purpose of the Consent Solicitation is to, among other things, (1) amend the definition of Permitted Holders of the Notes to include SZCDG, its affiliates and certain persons related to SZCDG, and (2) to amend clause (2) of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the Permitted Holders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9%. The amendment is proposed to reflect the current shareholding structure after the share acquisition by SZCDG. The Company is seeking the Requisite Consents from the Holders in relation to proposed amendments to the terms of the 11.50% Notes Indenture, the 10.875% Notes Indenture, the 7.25% Notes Indenture, the 11.95% Notes Indenture and the 10.75% Notes Indenture to ? amend (A) the definition of Permitted Holders under the 11.50% Notes Indenture to (1) include SZCDG, its affiliates, any trust the settlor or beneficiaries of which is SZCDG and legal representative of SZCDG, as the Permitted Holders and (2) remove Mr. Leung Moon Lam from and add any child and remoter issue of Mr. Cheng Chung Hing to the definitions of Permitted Holders in the 11.50% Notes Indenture; and (B) clause (2) of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the Permitted Holders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9% (the 11.50% Notes Proposed Amendments); ? amend (A) the definition of Permitted Holders under the 10.875% Notes Indenture to (1) include SZCDG, its affiliates, any trust the settlor or beneficiaries of which is SZCDG and legal representative of SZCDG, as the Permitted Holders and (2) remove Mr. Leung Moon Lam from and add any child and remoter issue of Mr. Cheng Chung Hing to the definitions of Permitted Holders in the 10.875% Notes Indenture; and (B) clause (2) of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the Permitted Holders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9% (the 10.875% Notes Proposed Amendments); Proposed Amendments); ? amend (A) the definition of Permitted Holders under the 11.95% Notes Indenture to (1) include SZCDG, its affiliates, any trust the settlor or beneficiaries of which is SZCDG and legal representative of SZCDG, as the Permitted Holders; and (B) clause (2) of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the Permitted Holders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9% (the 11.95% Notes Proposed Amendments); and ? amend (A) the definition of Permitted Holders under the 10.75% Notes Indenture to (1) include SZCDG, its affiliates, any trust the settlor or beneficiaries of which is SZCDG and legal representative of SZCDG, as the Permitted Holders and (2) add any remoter issue of Mr. Cheng Chung Hing to the definitions of Permitted Holders in the 10.75% Notes Indenture; and (B) clause (2) of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the Permitted Holders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9% (the 10.75% Notes Proposed Amendments). Each of the 11.50% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 10.875% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 7.25% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 11.95% Notes Proposed Amendments and the 10.75% Notes Proposed Amendments constitute a single proposal and a consenting Holder must consent to such 11.50% Notes Proposed Amendments, 10.875% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 7.25% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 11.95% Notes Proposed Amendments or the 10.75% Notes Proposed Amendments, as applicable, as an entirety and may not consent selectively with respect to certain of such 11.50% Notes Proposed Amendments, 10.875% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 7.25% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 11.95% Notes Proposed Amendments or the 10.75% Notes Proposed Amendments, as applicable. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Consent Solicitation, the Company will make a cash payment of US$0.5 for each US$1,000 in principal amount of the Notes to each Eligible Holder who has validly delivered (and not validly revoked) a consent on or prior to the Expiration Date. The Company will make the payment of the Consent Fee on the Payment Date, which it currently expects to be on 6 July 2022. The acceptance of the consents from the Eligible Holders by the Company and the payment of Consent Fee is conditional upon, among other things, (i) there being validly delivered (and not validly revoked) consents from Eligible Holders of not less than 75% in aggregate outstanding principal amount of each of the 11.50% Notes, the 10.875% Notes, the 7.25% Notes, the 11.95% Notes and the 10.75% Notes pursuant to the terms of the Consent Solicitation on or prior to the Expiration Date, and (ii) in the case the Requisite Consents have been received, an affirmative determination by the Company that accepting the consents, paying the Consent Fee and effecting the transactions contemplated hereby with respect to the Notes are in the best interest of the Company. If the Requisite Consents are not received on or prior to the Expiration Date or if the Company has not accepted any consents in respect of the Notes, (i) the proposed amendments to the terms of the Indentures will not be effected, and (ii) no Consent Fee will be paid to any Holder. If the Requisite Consents are received on or prior to the Expiration Date and the proposed amendments to the terms of the Indentures become effective, the proposed amendments will be binding on all Holders, including non-consenting Holders. However, non-consenting Holders will not receive any Consent Fee. The results of the Consent Solicitation will be published on the websites of the Company at www.chinasouthcity.com, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited at www.hkexnews.hk, the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited at www.sgx.com and the Information and Tabulation Agent at https://projects.morrowsodali.com/csc. FURTHER DETAILS For a detailed statement of the terms and conditions of the Consent Solicitation, Holders should refer to the Consent Solicitation Statement. The Consent Solicitation Statement will be distributed in electronic format to the Holders. The Company has engaged Kingdom))or his/her/its broker, dealer, bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Consent Solicitation. INFORMATION ABOUT THE GROUP The Group is engaged in development and operation of large-scale integrated logistics and trade centres in China. It provides professional integrated logistics and trading platforms with comprehensive value-added ancillary services and facilities, including but not limited to logistics and warehousing services, property management, outlet operations, e- commerce services, convention and exhibition services ? to assist small-to-medium enterprises in modernising the way they conduct business. Capitalising on the Groups unique and flexible business model, proven operational capabilities and extensive experience in co-operating with local governments to support urbanisation and industrial upgrade throughout China, the Group has developed an extensive network with eight projects in different provincial capitals and municipalities across the nation, including Shenzhen, Nanning, Nanchang, Xian, Harbin, Zhengzhou, Hefei and Chongqing. GENERAL This announcement is not a solicitation of consent with respect to the Notes. The Consent Solicitation is being made solely pursuant to the Consent Solicitation Statement and related documents dated 15 June 2022, which set forth in detail the terms of the Consent Solicitation. Holders should not contact the Company with respect to the Consent Solicitation and should not rely solely on this announcement. All statements contained herein are qualified by the Consent Solicitation Statement. The distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession of this announcement comes are required to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions. Forward- looking statements in this announcement, including, among others, statements relating to the Consent Solicitation are based on current expectations. These statements are not guarantees of future events or results. Future events and results involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are difficult to predict with any precision. Actual events and results could vary materially from the description contained herein due to many factors including changes in the market and price for the Notes, changes in the business and financial condition of the Group, changes in the real estate or infrastructure industries and changes in the financial and capital markets in general. As there is no assurance that the Requisite Consents will be obtained, Shareholders, Holders and potential investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the Company. DEFINITIONS In this announcement, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the following meanings: 7.25% Notes the Companys 7.25% Notes due 2022 (ISIN No.: XS1720216388, Common Code: 172021638) 10.75% Notes the Companys 10.75% Notes due 2023 (ISIN No.: XS2227909640, Common Code: 222790964) 10.875% Notes the Companys 10.875% Notes due 2022 (ISIN No.: XS2120092882, Common Code: 212009288) 11.50% Notes the Companys 11.50% Notes due 2022 (ISIN No.: XS2085883119, Common Code: 208588311) 11.95% Notes the Companys 11.95% Notes due 2023 (ISIN No.: XS2238030162, Common Code: 223803016) 10.875% Notes Indenture the indenture dated 26 February 2020 (as supplemented from time to time) specifying the terms of 10.875% Notes 11.50% Notes Indenture the indenture dated 12 December 2019 (as supplemented from time to time) specifying the terms of 11.50% Notes 11.95% Notes Indenture the indenture dated 9 March 2021 (as supplemented from time to time) specifying the terms of 11.95% Notes Board the board of directors of the Company CET Central European Summer Time Clearstream Clearstream Banking S.A. Company China South City Holdings Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability whose Shares are listed on the Stock Exchange Consent Fee a cash payment of US$0.5 for each US$1,000 in principal amount of the Notes to each Eligible Holder who has validly delivered (and not validly revoked) a Consent on or prior to the Expiration Date Consent Solicitation soliciting consents from the Holders of the 11.50% Notes, the Holders of the 10.875% Notes, the Holders of the 7.25% Notes, the Holders of the 11.95% Notes and the Holders of the 10.75% Notes to certain proposed amendments to the 11.50% Notes Indenture, the 10.875% Notes Indenture, the 7.25% Notes Indenture, the 11.95% Notes Indenture and the 10.75% Notes Indenture, respectively Consent Solicitation Statement the consent solicitation statement dated 15 June 2022 in relation to the seeking of consents for certain amendments to the 11.50% Notes Indenture and the 10.875% Notes Indenture Directors the directors of the Company Eligible Holders Holders who are non-U.S. persons located outside the United States (as those terms are defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) or certain fiduciaries holding accounts for the benefit of non-U.S. persons outside the United States (as those terms are defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) with Notes held through Euroclear and Clearstream Euroclear Euroclear Bank SA/NV Expiration Date 5:00 p.m., CET on 28 June 2022, unless terminated or extended by the Company from time to time in its sole discretion Group the Company and its subsidiaries Holders the registered holders of the Notes Hong Kong the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China Indentures the 11.50% Notes Indenture, the 10.875% Notes Indenture, the 7.25% Notes Indenture, the 11.95% Notes Indenture and the 10.75% Notes Indenture Notes the 11.50% Note, the 10.875% Note, the 7.25% Note, the 11.95% Notes and the 10.75% Notes Payment Date the date on which the Company expects to make the payment of the Consent Fee, currently expected to be 6 July 2022 if the conditions of the Consent Solicitation are met (or waived by the Company). PRC the Peoples Republic of China, for the purpose of this announcement, excluding Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China Requisite Consents means there being validly delivered (and not validly revoked) Consents from Eligible Holders of not less than 75% in aggregate outstanding principal amount of each of the 11.50% Notes, the 10.875% Notes, the 7.25% Notes, the 11.95% Notes and the 10.75% Notes pursuant to the terms set out in the Consent Solicitation Statement on or prior to the Expiration Date Share(s) the ordinary share(s) of the Company Shareholder(s) the registered holder(s) of the Share(s) Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited U.S. Securities Act United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended US$ United States dollar, the lawful currency of the United States of America % per cent By Order of the Board China South City Holdings Limited CHENG Chung Hing Chairman & Executive Director Hong Kong, 15 June 2022 As at the date of this announcement, the Executive Directors of the Company are Mr. Cheng Chung Hing, Ms. Geng Mei and Ms. Cheng Ka Man Carman; the Non-Executive Directors of the Company are Mr. Cheng Tai Po and Mr. Lei Ming; and the Independent Non-Executive Directors of the Company are Mr. Leung Kwan Yuen Andrew, GBM, GBS, JP, Mr. Li Wai Keung and Mr. Hui Chiu Chung, JP. ::202211.5%(ISIN: XS2085883119) 202210.875%(ISIN: XS2120092882)2022..,, 1668()()13.10B() 13.10B,2022 6 15,;;Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or solicitation of an offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for securities or an invitation to enter into an agreement to do any such things, nor is it calculated to invite any offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for any securities. This announcement and the information contained herein does not constitute or form part of an offer to sell securities in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States unless registered pursuant to the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or pursuant to an applicable exemption from such registration requirement. Any public offering of securities to be made in the United States will be made by means of a prospectus that will contain detailed information about our company and management, as well as financial statements. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act and no public offering of securities will be made in the United States. No money, securities or other consideration is being solicited by this announcement or the information contained herein and, if sent in response to this announcement or the information contained herein, will not be accepted. (Incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability)(Stock code: 1668)OVERSEAS REGULATORY ANNOUNCEMENTCONSENT SOLICITATION IN RELATION TO11.50% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2022 (ISIN: XS2085883119, Common Code: 208588311) 10.875% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2022 (ISIN: XS2120092882, Common Code: 212009288) 7.25% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2022 (ISIN: XS1720216388, Common Code: 172021638) 11.95% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2023 (ISIN: XS2238030162, Common Code: 223803016) and 10.75% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2023 (ISIN: XS2227909640, Common Code: 222790964)The Board announces that the Company is soliciting consent from the Holders of the 11.50% Notes, the Holders of the 10.875% Notes, the Holders of the 7.25% Notes, the Holders of the 11.95% Notes and the Holders of the 10.75% Notes to amend the 11.50% Notes Indenture, the 10.875% Notes Indenture, the 7.25% Notes Indenture, the 11.95% Notes Indenture and the 10.75% Notes Indenture, respectively, in the manner more fully described in the Consent Solicitation Statement sent to the Holders at the Launch Date, which is summarized under the section headed Consent Solicitation in this announcement. The principal purpose of the Consent Solicitation is to, among other things, (1) amend the definition of Permitted Holders of the Notes to include SZCDG, its affiliates and certain persons related to SZCDG, and (2) to amend clause (2) of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the Permitted Holders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9%. The amendment is proposed to reflect the current shareholding structure after the share acquisition by SZCDG. As there is no assurance that the Requisite Consents will be obtained, Shareholders, Holders and potential investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the Company.This overseas regulatory announcement is made by the Company pursuant to Rule 13.10B of the Listing Rules.February 2020, 27 February 2020, 22 June 2020, 29 June 2020 and 20 January 2022 in relation to the 10.875% Notes,dated 13 November 2017, 14 November 2017 and 21 November 2017 in relation to the 7.25% Notes, dated 3 March2021, 10 March 2021, 17 March 2021 and 23 March 2021, in relation to the 11.95% Notes, and dated 2 September 2020,3 September 2020, 14 September 2020, 7 January 2021 and 14 January 2021 in relation to the 10.75% Notes.The Board announces that the Company is soliciting consents from the Holders to amend the 11.50% Notes Indenture,the 10.875% Notes Indenture, the 7.25% Notes Indenture, the 11.95% Notes Indenture and the 10.75% Notes Indenturein the manner more fully described in the Consent Solicitation Statement sent to the Holders at the Launch Date, whichis summarized under the section headed Consent Solicitation in this announcement. BACKGROUNDReference is made to the announcements of the Company dated 16 May 2022 (the Completion of SubscriptionAnnouncement). On 16 May 2022, SZCDG acquired 3,350,000,000 Shares of the Company, representing approximately 29.28% of the issued share capital of the Company, and thus has become a substantial Shareholder andthe single largest Shareholder.The principal purpose of the Consent Solicitation is to, among other things, (1) amend the definition of PermittedHolders of the Notes to include SZCDG, its affiliates and certain persons related to SZCDG, and (2) to amend clause(2) of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the PermittedHolders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9%. The amendment is proposedto reflect the current shareholding structure after the share acquisition by SZCDG. Capitalized terms used in the preceding two paragraphs and not otherwise defined herein shall have the same meaningsas those defined in the Consent Solicitation Statement.CONSENT SOLICITATIONThe principal purpose of the Consent Solicitation is to, among other things, (1) amend the definition of PermittedHolders of the Notes to include SZCDG, its affiliates and certain persons related to SZCDG, and (2) to amend clause(2) of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the PermittedHolders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9%. The amendment is proposedto reflect the current shareholding structure after the share acquisition by SZCDG. The Company is seeking the Requisite Consents from the Holders in relation to proposed amendments to the terms ofthe 11.50% Notes Indenture, the 10.875% Notes Indenture, the 7.25% Notes Indenture, the 11.95% Notes Indenture andthe 10.75% Notes Indenture to? amend (A) the definition of Permitted Holders under the 11.50% Notes Indenture to (1) include SZCDG, itsaffiliates, any trust the settlor or beneficiaries of which is SZCDG and legal representative of SZCDG, as thePermitted Holders and (2) remove Mr. Leung Moon Lam from and add any child and remoter issue of Mr.Cheng Chung Hing to the definitions of Permitted Holders in the 11.50% Notes Indenture; and (B) clause (2) ofthe definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the PermittedHolders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9% (the 11.50% NotesProposed Amendments);? amend (A) the definition of Permitted Holders under the 10.875% Notes Indenture to (1) include SZCDG, itsaffiliates, any trust the settlor or beneficiaries of which is SZCDG and legal representative of SZCDG, as thePermitted Holders and (2) remove Mr. Leung Moon Lam from and add any child and remoter issue of Mr.Cheng Chung Hing to the definitions of Permitted Holders in the 10.875% Notes Indenture; and (B) clause (2)of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures to increase the percentage of the PermittedHolders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from 20% to 29.9% (the 10.875% NotesProposed Amendments);Proposed Amendments);? amend (A) the definition of Permitted Holders under the 11.95% Notes Indenture to (1) include SZCDG, itsaffiliates, any trust the settlor or beneficiaries of which is SZCDG and legal representative of SZCDG, as thePermitted Holders; and (B) clause (2) of the definition of Change of Control under each of the Indentures toincrease the percentage of the Permitted Holders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) of the Company from20% to 29.9% (the 11.95% Notes Proposed Amendments); and? amend (A) the definition of Permitted Holders under the 10.75% Notes Indenture to (1) include SZCDG, itsaffiliates, any trust the settlor or beneficiaries of which is SZCDG and legal representative of SZCDG, as thePermitted Holders and (2) add any remoter issue of Mr. Cheng Chung Hing to the definitions of PermittedHolders in the 10.75% Notes Indenture; and (B) clause (2) of the definition of Change of Control under each ofthe Indentures to increase the percentage of the Permitted Holders Voting Stock (as defined in the Indentures) ofthe Company from 20% to 29.9% (the 10.75% Notes Proposed Amendments). Each of the 11.50% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 10.875% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 7.25% NotesProposed Amendments, the 11.95% Notes Proposed Amendments and the 10.75% Notes Proposed Amendments constitute a single proposal and a consenting Holder must consent to such 11.50% Notes Proposed Amendments,10.875% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 7.25% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 11.95% Notes Proposed Amendments or the 10.75% Notes Proposed Amendments, as applicable, as an entirety and may not consent selectivelywith respect to certain of such 11.50% Notes Proposed Amendments, 10.875% Notes Proposed Amendments, the 7.25%Notes Proposed Amendments, the 11.95% Notes Proposed Amendments or the 10.75% Notes Proposed Amendments,as applicable.Subject to the terms and conditions of the Consent Solicitation, the Company will make a cash payment of US$0.5 foreach US$1,000 in principal amount of the Notes to each Eligible Holder who has validly delivered (and not validlyrevoked) a consent on or prior to the Expiration Date. The Company will make the payment of the Consent Fee on thePayment Date, which it currently expects to be on 6 July 2022. The acceptance of the consents from the Eligible Holders by the Company and the payment of Consent Fee is conditionalupon, among other things, (i) there being validly delivered (and not validly revoked) consents from Eligible Holders ofnot less than 75% in aggregate outstanding principal amount of each of the 11.50% Notes, the 10.875% Notes, the 7.25%Notes, the 11.95% Notes and the 10.75% Notes pursuant to the terms of the Consent Solicitation on or prior to theExpiration Date, and (ii) in the case the Requisite Consents have been received, an affirmative determination by theCompany that accepting the consents, paying the Consent Fee and effecting the transactions contemplated hereby withrespect to the Notes are in the best interest of the Company. If the Requisite Consents are not received on or prior to the Expiration Date or if the Company has not accepted anyconsents in respect of the Notes, (i) the proposed amendments to the terms of the Indentures will not be effected, and(ii) no Consent Fee will be paid to any Holder.If the Requisite Consents are received on or prior to the Expiration Date and the proposed amendments to the terms ofthe Indentures become effective, the proposed amendments will be binding on all Holders, including non-consentingHolders. However, non-consenting Holders will not receive any Consent Fee. The results of the Consent Solicitation will be published on the websites of the Company at www.chinasouthcity.com,the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited at www.hkexnews.hk, the Singapore Exchange Securities TradingLimited at www.sgx.com and the Information and Tabulation Agent at https://projects.morrowsodali.com/csc.FURTHER DETAILSFor a detailed statement of the terms and conditions of the Consent Solicitation, Holders should refer to the ConsentSolicitation Statement.The Consent Solicitation Statement will be distributed in electronic format to the Holders. The Company has engagedKingdom))or his/her/its broker, dealer, bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the ConsentSolicitation.INFORMATION ABOUT THE GROUPThe Group is engaged in development and operation of large-scale integrated logistics and trade centres in China. Itprovides professional integrated logistics and trading platforms with comprehensive value-added ancillary services andfacilities, including but not limited to logistics and warehousing services, property management, outlet operations, e-commerce services, convention and exhibition services ? to assist small-to-medium enterprises in modernising the waythey conduct business. Capitalising on the Groups unique and flexible business model, proven operational capabilitiesand extensive experience in co-operating with local governments to support urbanisation and industrial upgradethroughout China, the Group has developed an extensive network with eight projects in different provincial capitals andmunicipalities across the nation, including Shenzhen, Nanning, Nanchang, Xian, Harbin, Zhengzhou, Hefei andChongqing.GENERALThis announcement is not a solicitation of consent with respect to the Notes. The Consent Solicitation is being madesolely pursuant to the Consent Solicitation Statement and related documents dated 15 June 2022, which set forth indetail the terms of the Consent Solicitation. Holders should not contact the Company with respect to the ConsentSolicitation and should not rely solely on this announcement. All statements contained herein are qualified by theConsent Solicitation Statement.The distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possessionof this announcement comes are required to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions. Forward-looking statements in this announcement, including, among others, statements relating to the Consent Solicitation arebased on current expectations. These statements are not guarantees of future events or results. Future events and resultsinvolve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are difficult to predict with any precision. Actual events and resultscould vary materially from the description contained herein due to many factors including changes in the market andprice for the Notes, changes in the business and financial condition of the Group, changes in the real estate orinfrastructure industries and changes in the financial and capital markets in general. As there is no assurance that the Requisite Consents will be obtained, Shareholders, Holders and potentialinvestors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the Company. DEFINITIONSIn this announcement, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the following meanings:7.25% Notes the Companys 7.25% Notes due 2022 (ISIN No.: XS1720216388, Common Code: 172021638)10.75% Notes the Companys 10.75% Notes due 2023 (ISIN No.: XS2227909640, Common Code: 222790964)10.875% Notes the Companys 10.875% Notes due 2022 (ISIN No.: XS2120092882, Common Code: 212009288)11.50% Notes the Companys 11.50% Notes due 2022 (ISIN No.: XS2085883119, Common Code: 208588311)11.95% Notes the Companys 11.95% Notes due 2023 (ISIN No.: XS2238030162, Common Code: 223803016)10.875% Notes Indenture the indenture dated 26 February 2020 (as supplemented from time to time)specifying the terms of 10.875% Notes11.50% Notes Indenture the indenture dated 12 December 2019 (as supplemented from time to time)specifying the terms of 11.50% Notes11.95% Notes Indenture the indenture dated 9 March 2021 (as supplemented from time to time) specifying the terms of 11.95% NotesBoard the board of directors of the CompanyCET Central European Summer TimeClearstream Clearstream Banking S.A.Company China South City Holdings Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability whose Shares are listed on the Stock Exchange Consent Fee a cash payment of US$0.5 for each US$1,000 in principal amount of the Notes to each Eligible Holder who has validly delivered (and not validly revoked) a Consent on or prior to the Expiration DateConsent Solicitation soliciting consents from the Holders of the 11.50% Notes, the Holders of the10.875% Notes, the Holders of the 7.25% Notes, the Holders of the 11.95% Notes and the Holders of the 10.75% Notes to certain proposed amendments to the 11.50% Notes Indenture, the 10.875% Notes Indenture, the 7.25% Notes Indenture, the 11.95% Notes Indenture and the 10.75% Notes Indenture, respectively Consent Solicitation Statement the consent solicitation statement dated 15 June 2022 in relation to the seeking ofconsents for certain amendments to the 11.50% Notes Indenture and the 10.875% Notes IndentureDirectors the directors of the CompanyEligible Holders Holders who are non-U.S. persons located outside the United States (as those termsare defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) or certain fiduciaries holding accounts for the benefit of non-U.S. persons outside the United States (as those terms are defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) with Notes held through Euroclear and ClearstreamEuroclear Euroclear Bank SA/NVExpiration Date 5:00 p.m., CET on 28 June 2022, unless terminated or extended by the Company from time to time in its sole discretionGroup the Company and its subsidiariesHolders the registered holders of the NotesHong Kong the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China Indentures the 11.50% Notes Indenture, the 10.875% Notes Indenture, the 7.25% Notes Indenture, the 11.95% Notes Indenture and the 10.75% Notes Indenture Notes the 11.50% Note, the 10.875% Note, the 7.25% Note, the 11.95% Notes and the 10.75% NotesPayment Date the date on which the Company expects to make the payment of the Consent Fee, currently expected to be 6 July 2022 if the conditions of the Consent Solicitation are met (or waived by the Company).PRC the Peoples Republic of China, for the purpose of this announcement, excluding Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of ChinaRequisite Consents means there being validly delivered (and not validly revoked) Consents from Eligible Holders of not less than 75% in aggregate outstanding principal amount of each of the 11.50% Notes, the 10.875% Notes, the 7.25% Notes, the 11.95% Notes and the 10.75% Notes pursuant to the terms set out in the Consent Solicitation Statement on or prior to the Expiration DateShare(s) the ordinary share(s) of the CompanyShareholder(s) the registered holder(s) of the Share(s) Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong LimitedU.S. Securities Act United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended US$ United States dollar, the lawful currency of the United States of America % per centBy Order of the BoardChina South City Holdings LimitedCHENG Chung HingChairman & Executive DirectorHong Kong, 15 June 2022As at the date of this announcement, the Executive Directors of the Company are Mr. Cheng Chung Hing, Ms. Geng Mei and Ms.Cheng Ka Man Carman; the Non-Executive Directors of the Company are Mr. Cheng Tai Po and Mr. Lei Ming; and the IndependentNon-Executive Directors of the Company are Mr. Leung Kwan Yuen Andrew, GBM, GBS, JP, Mr. Li Wai Keung and Mr. Hui ChiuChung, JP. Mary and Dean MacMillan with their 2-year-old son,Tomas, on June 15, 2022, at their Crystal Lake home. They're not yet sure where Tomas will get vaccinated because his pediatrician does not offer the shots and he's too young to go to a pharmacy. (H. Rick Bamman/for the Chicago Tribune) Mary MacMillan is eager to get her 2-year-old son vaccinated against COVID-19, once vaccines are authorized for young kids. But she has a lot of questions about how to get the shots. MacMillans pediatrician doesnt plan to offer the vaccines. She wont be able to take her son to most pharmacies because Illinois pharmacists are only allowed to vaccinate children 3 and older. Its also not yet clear how many schools will hold vaccination events for young children this summer. Advertisement The first thing is figuring out where we can get him a vaccine, said MacMillan of Crystal Lake. Ive been looking like crazy. Nobodys posted anything, so its like the worst waiting game ever. Advertisement Many parents are watching closely this week as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider whether to authorize vaccines for children younger than 5 the only age group thats still not eligible for vaccines. The FDA on Friday authorized the use of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for young kids, and a CDC advisory committee is holding meetings Friday and Saturday. Once CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signs off on the vaccines, shots could start going into arms within days. But uncertainty remains about how some young Illinois children will get the shots considering that Illinois pharmacists arent allowed to vaccinate children under 3, many schools are closed for the summer and not all pediatricians plan to offer them. Also, vaccines made by two manufacturers, Moderna and Pfizer, may be authorized at the same time, leaving parents with a decision about whether to angle for one over the other. The Moderna vaccine for children younger than 5 is supposed to be given in two doses, about four weeks apart. The Pfizer vaccine for young kids consists of three doses, given over the course of about 11 weeks. The FDA has said that both vaccines are effective. Many parents are gearing up to navigate the questions and complexities. Bianca Haracz, of Schaumburg, would have preferred her 2-year-old son be vaccinated at a pharmacy, for convenience. But because pharmacists cant vaccinate kids under 3, Haracz has already called her sons pediatrician to find out if he can get his shot there. He can, she said, but shes not yet sure whether his pediatrician will offer the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines and she wants Moderna for him, partly because the time to full vaccination is shorter. Im not waiting another three months, she said of roughly how long it would take for him to be fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. Its been three years. Advertisement Over that time, she and her son have gotten COVID-19 twice. During one bout, she developed pneumonia and long-COVID, with fatigue for months. At one point, her son had a fever of 104 degrees for days. Thats not something I really want for my child ever again, Haracz said. Im not paranoid, I know he will likely survive it. But I would just like to do anything I can to minimize that. Child care has also been a challenge at times, she said, because her son has been quarantined from school each time hes been exposed. Now, unvaccinated children who are exposed to COVID-19 often have to stay home from school or day care for days, meaning parents must also stay home from work or juggle work with caring for young children, who often need near-constant attention. Every time a kid gets this illness, because theyre unvaccinated, everyone is home for a week, Haracz said. How do you expect me to pay my bills or, more importantly, my taxes? Local health leaders say that the rollout of vaccines to children younger than 5 will look somewhat different from rollouts to older age groups. But they say plenty of opportunities will still be available. The city of Chicago said in a statement its ready to start administering vaccines to young children, after the shots are authorized, and its planning a series of city-run vaccination sites and partnerships, including with Chicago Public Schools. The Chicago Department of Public Health said it will share more details once the vaccines gain authorization. Advertisement Chicago Public Schools confirmed in a statement that its working with the city health department and expects to offer vaccines for children under 5 at CPS-operated vaccination events. School-based vaccination opportunities for students, employees and family members are expected to resume when CPS schools open for summer programs July 5. Also, though pharmacists cant give vaccines to children under 3, a number of CVS Health stores have MinuteClinics in them that can vaccinate children 18 months and older because theyre staffed by family nurse practitioners, physician associates and nurses. Many pediatricians also plan to offer the shots in their offices, and local health leaders are urging parents to try their pediatricians first. Some health systems, including University of Chicago Medicine and Advocate Aurora Health, plan to push the vaccines out to their pediatricians as soon as they get them. We think the best place for these children to get vaccines is in their pediatricians because parents trust their pediatricians, said Dr. John Cunningham, pediatrician-in-chief at University of Chicago Medicine Comer Childrens Hospital. Advertisement Other pediatricians, however, may not have the vaccines in their offices at first. Lurie Childrens Hospital plans to offer the vaccines in dedicated areas at its downtown hospital, but not all of its pediatric practices will have the shots right away, said Dr. Larry Kociolek, medical director of infection prevention and control at Lurie. These clinics are already seeing patients for well child care, for summer physicals, for management of chronic diseases, and space and staffing do not always allow any significant expansion of appointment slots, Kociolek said. Lurie plans, initially, to offer only the Moderna vaccine because the two-dose regimen is easier on patients and families, he said. Esperanza Health Centers, which had mass vaccination sites when vaccines for adults and older children were approved, also plans to make COVID-19 vaccines available during vaccination appointments with nurses and regular appointments for kids. But its not planning another mass vaccination site for little kids. Rather, it will have a smaller vaccine clinic at its Brighton Park location, said Dr. Mark Minier, medical director of pediatrics at Esperanza. Its hoping to offer both Moderna and Pfizer. We dont anticipate the demand is going to be as large, Minier said. For Esperanza, thats partly because it doesnt have a huge number of very young patients, he said. But many providers expect lower demand than what they faced when vaccines became available to adults. Though some parents are desperate to get their young children vaccinated, many others are hesitant. Children ages 5 to 11 have been eligible for vaccines since the fall, but only 37% in Illinois are fully vaccinated, according to the state health department. Advertisement I would love to set up a mass vaccination campaign and have thousands of children come in, but unfortunately, thats probably not how this is going to play out, said Dr. Allison Bartlett, associate professor of pediatric infectious diseases at University of Chicago Medicine Comer Childrens Hospital. Bartlett cautioned that though COVID-19 is usually not very serious in children, some kids do get very sick. Were learning more about post-COVID and long COVID complications, and these young children have a long life in front of them, so we definitely want to do everything we can to protect their health and the health of their loved ones who may be more vulnerable, Bartlett said. MacMillan, of Crystal Lake, said her son got COVID-19 at day care in January. He ran a fever, was coughing and lost his appetite. Even after he recovered from the worst of it, he was tired for weeks afterward, she said. She plans to get him vaccinated as soon as she possibly can. She and her husband are hoping for the Moderna vaccine but wont wait if Pfizer is available sooner. After waiting more than two years for a vaccine for her son, MacMillan doesnt want to wait anymore. Advertisement I dont want him to go through it again, MacMillan said. Im ready for him to have that and be a little more protected. lschencker@chicagotribune.com Happy Wednesday, Chicago. It feels a little like Im tempting fate to say it, but summer seems to be off to a very fun (if horridly hot) start. Advertisement This weeks lineup of Tribune arts and food coverage is proof of just that. Theres a laugh-packed new show at The Second City, a Vietnamese restaurant in Lakeview that excels at what it does best, and lots of delicious things in store for Juneteenth and Fathers Day celebrations this weekend. Even if youre sticking indoors this week to shelter from extreme temperatures, there are ways to enjoy yourself: A new anthology of poems about Chicago, a new home renovation show showcasing how Hollywood does decor, and some hilarious historical hot dog recipes you can test out for yourself. Advertisement Stay cool, and see you next week. Ariel Cheung, food and travel editor Slap Mama crab fried rice at Sochi Saigonese Kitchen, 1358 W. Belmont Ave., on June 2, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) Small revelations delight Tribune critic Nick Kindelsperger at this Lakeview neighborhood restaurant from industry newcomers. Its not a restaurant that wallops you on the head with heat or heft, Kindelsperger writes. Instead, youll walk away thinking about the tiny details, like how the spring rolls come with a peanut-based sauce that trades overt sweetness for a captivating funk. Or how each slice of meat in the seared duck salad is so stunningly tender. Read his full review here. "Wherever Im At An Anthology of Chicago Poetry," edited by Donald Evans and Robin Metz (June 2022). The cover art is "Chicago Moth" by Tony Fitzpatrick. (After Hours Press and Third World Press) The poems cover Montrose Beach and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The Bucket Boys and Smartbar. Police shootings and monarch butterflies. Gwendolyn Brooks and Carl Sandburg. Altogether, 134 poems about Chicago comprise the citys first anthology from contemporary poets writing about all aspects of what makes it great. But editors had to jump through roughly a decade of hoops to get it published. Fred Spencer, left, and his wife Perteet Spencer started the food company called AYO Foods, which focuses on West African cuisine. Perteet is making egusi soup in their Chicago home on May 19, 2022. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) Chicagoan Perteet Spencer believes everyone deserves to see themselves when they walk down the grocery aisle. But that wasnt happening for people of African descent like her. Were talking about an entire continent not represented in grocery stores, she said. Every tribe, every country, they all have their unique way of doing things. So she and her husband launched AYO Foods, focused on African cuisine and high-quality ingredients and in two short years, theyve reached stores nationwide. Advertisement A cake inspired by the colors of the Pan-African flag to celebrate Juneteenth at Brown Sugar Bakery on June 14, 2022. (Youngrae Kim/for the Chicago Tribune) Across Chicago, Black small business owners are gearing up to mark Juneteenth with celebratory food and drink, events and acts of service. From Brown Sugar Bakerys colorful slices of cake to free books for CPS students, here are ways for you to celebrate. Burlap sack masks for sale at the Lifeless Creations booth on June 12, 2022, during the Midwest Haunters Convention at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Halloween might be four months away, but the true scream queens know that planning can never start too early. The Tribunes Chris Borrelli is here to help, with a rundown of the coolest ghoulish accessories for 2022 at the Midwest Haunters Convention, a trade show for mom-and-pop scare shops, haunted houses and other horror hobbyists. Tim Flores and Genie Kwon, the chef-owners of Kasama, walk the red carpet while attending the James Beard Foundation Awards at the Lyric Opera House on June 13, 2022, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) Considered the Oscars of the restaurant industry, the James Beard Foundation Awards returned to Chicago after a two-year hiatus, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and a racial reckoning in 2020 that led to a pledge for more equitable judging processes by the foundation. It was a night that saw some tough losses for Chicago nominees, but also some heartening wins. Sarah Sherman performs at Sleeping Village in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood on June 9, 2022. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > Sarah Sherman, aka Sarah Squirm, aka the freshest new face last season on Saturday Night Live is a safe bet for stardom, writes the Tribunes Chris Borrelli of the latest in a line of Chicagoans on the storied sketch show. Advertisement And her most recent visit to Chicago stages proves shes got plenty of fresh albeit rather disgusting ideas to share. The cast of the Second City show "Do the Right Thing, No Worries If Not": Kiley Fitzgerald, E.J. Cameron, Claire McFadden, Evan Mills, Julia Morales and Andy Bolduc. (Timothy M. Schmidt / HANDOUT) The latest show at The Second City is impressively fast-paced, with a cast that unflinchingly pokes fun at itself and cultural powers on a larger scale, writes the Tribunes theater critic Chris Jones. And its well worth checking out, especially if you havent been to the legendary improv theater in awhile, he says in his review. "Black-ish" star Anthony Anderson, from left, home designer Jeff Lewis and design assistant Andrew Coleman on "Hollywood Houselift." (Freevee) Ditching the nasty interpersonal drama that fueled much of the previous show, Hollywood Houselift centers on an element that always interested Tribune critic Nina Metz more: The weirdness of working with high-end clientele. Chicago's Marion Todd, left, and Marge Kraus were ambassadors during National Hot Dog Month in July 1957 and toured the nation to promote the beloved frankfurter. (Chicago Tribune historical photo) Though the Chicago-style hot dog is arguably the greatest hot dog in the country, for most of the 20th century, Tribune reporters and recipe writers mostly acted deeply embarrassed about the dish. The resulting recipes and recommendations are pretty hysterical through a 2022 lens, and food critic Nick Kindelsperger takes a historical wander through the Tribune archives for the best and worst picks. The Carolyn Wilson Public Defender Scholarship Fund, a scholarship fund of Midlands Community Foundation, will be accepting applications June 15 through Sept. 2. The fund, established to honor the legacy of Carolyn (Cari) Wilson by her friends, classmates and colleagues, will award annually one $10,000 scholarship in support of a public defender who has accumulated law school debt of more than $10,000. To qualify, applicants must have at least five years of experience as a full-time public defense attorney in Nebraska and/or Iowa and have verifiable law school loan debt of more than $10,000. In addition, applicants must show financial need and demonstrate a dedication to the principles of being a public defender. Cari Wilson graduated from Creighton University School of Law in 2000. She served as both a Douglas and Sarpy County public defender for almost 20 years. Never wavering in her commitment to the underserved and underrepresented, Cari made her mark by assuring access to justice to over 10,000 clients. She dedicated her career to making sure every client received zealous representation. Cari made a difference doing what she loved. This dedication and passion for her job did not come without great personal cost in the form of student loan debt. Even after receiving grants and other forms of forgiveness, repayment of law school loans on a public sector salary is a daunting task. This fact often forces many public defenders to leave their post for more financially lucrative positions. The Carolyn Wilson Public Defender Scholarship aims to support those practitioners who may be in similar financial and career-path positions as Cari. Cari believed we are all better than the worst decision we have ever made and that every person deserves the dignity of qualified counsel in the face of adversity. As Caris friends, classmates and colleagues, we believe the best way to honor her is to reward public defenders who dedicate their lives to defend and protect the Constitutional rights of their clients just like Cari did, said friend and colleague Ryan Forrest. Applications for the Carolyn Wilson Public Defender Scholarship are due by Sept. 2. For more information or to apply, visit www.midlandscommunity.org. I miss Watergate. I miss the hearings, so soothingly devoted to protocol, so revealing in their honest and fully bipartisan effort to ferret out the chief weasels. The patience. The results. Richard M. Nixons bizarrely serene and smiling resignation speech, two summers after the break-in. It was an alls-well ending to a very long movie, though the ending wasnt really the end. Nixon got his pardon and a partial image makeover after leaving the White House in disgrace. This was the 70s. As my friend Eric Lindbom said: In the 70s, before Star Wars, if you saw a post-Watergate movie with a happy ending you felt cheated, somehow. Advertisement The Watergate hearings proceeded as a fully bipartisan effort because Nixons party didnt want to be associated with Nixon any longer. In his resignation announcement Nixon explained: I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress to continue. This is a key difference between the Watergate hearings and the currently unfolding House select committee hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. Right now, Donald J. Trump likely does have a strong enough base in Congress for another White House run. As the lawn signs put it, including a few in my hometown: FOREVER TRUMP. Whats that Comden and Green lyric from Some Other Time? Even a lifetime isnt enough. Advertisement ________ Columns are opinion content that reflect the views of the writers. _________ After a long saga marred by the Watergate scandal, then-President Richard Nixon addressed Americans through the airwaves on Aug. 8, 1974, and stated his intention to resign. (Pierre Manevy // Getty Images) As with any golden anniversary, the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in on June 17 has brought us plenty of documentaries and commemorations of the sleaze that was. Fictionalized history is on view in the entertaining if overextended Gaslit, the Starz series about Martha Mitchell (played by Julia Roberts) and her husband, U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell (Sean Penn, somewhere in there among the prosthetic jowls). Folks are taking the Watergate anniversary opportunity to re-watch All the Presidents Men. Or, for laughs, the 1999 comedy Dick. My father, who died earlier this month, expressed a political opinion only occasionally. We watched a lot of movies together in the 70s comedies, dramas, bleak, paranoid conspiracy thrillers, including the occasional dark gem, Chinatown or The Conversation. There was something in those movies a suspicion and a vibe that felt eerie, sensible and right, just as the Watergate hearings felt sensible and right. Watching Nixon perform his resignation monologue that night in August 74, a few weeks before I started high school, I experienced a stealth thrill hearing my dad, the lifelong moderate Republican, muttering gimme a break like a mantra as a corrupt president listed his proudest accomplishments on camera. He felt similarly about Trump, though he considered him a far more venal and destabilizing influence on America and the world. A few days before my dad died we talked a little about the political state of things, including the stubborn and considerable percentage of his partys voters clinging to the lie of 2020 election fraud. Nearly half, is that right? my father said. Then: Yeah, well. Advertisement And that, I thought, was that, because usually it was. Then he added: The Republicans are going to have to forget about that half. The Watergate hearings turned out to be a ratings winner, restoring some public confidence in government. Is it too much to hope for the same from the Jan. 6 hearings? Or does widespread confidence in our elected officials belong to a time when we could agree on the legitimacy of an election? The Jan. 6 hearings have this in common with the Watergate hearings: Theyre procedurals, and we love a courtroom drama, even one not taking place in an actual courtroom. The improbable character transformations of the first two days have kept things interesting. With a few short videotaped appearances, onetime Trump lackey William Barr turned into the boy who cried BS, though three months ago, after acknowledging Trump was responsible (but not legally responsible) for the attack on the Capitol, Barr told NBC News: Because I believe that the greatest threat to the country is the progressive agenda being pushed by the Democratic Party, its inconceivable to me that I wouldnt vote for the Republican nominee. The siege of the U.S. Capitol and failed attempt to prevent a peaceful transfer of power seems to have worked, in the end. The election of 2024 threatens either to be one of two scenarios for two different movies: a revengers tragedy or a Civil War re-enactment. Advertisement To a 12-year-old (well, me, at least) the Watergate hearings came as a reminder that adults who disagreed on virtually everything could set aside their differences in times of constitutional crisis. Nixon was that crisis. We have another now, only the principle over party idea hasnt quite taken this time. We are a long, long way from what journalist and newscaster Jim Lehrer noted on-air nearly 50 years ago, covering the Watergate hearing, without snark or judgment. The Republicans, he said, seem just as interested as the Democrats in getting at the truth. Heres hoping for a reboot. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic. mjphillips@chicagotribune.com Twitter @phillipstribune Advertisement 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. A Cass County man was sentenced this week to seven years in prison for receiving child pornography. United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa announced that Aaron William Butcher, 34, was sentenced in federal court on June 14 to 84 months in prison for receipt of child pornography. Upon release, he will be placed on supervised release for an additional seven years, and be required to register as a sex offender. Butcher was also ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution. In February 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyber tip about child pornography being uploaded to a Dropbox account. Law enforcement traced the email address connected to the Dropbox account to Butcher. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Butchers Dropbox account and his residence in Atlantic, Iowa. Forensic examination of Butchers electronic devices revealed images and videos of child pornography. The investigation also uncovered numerous conversations between Butcher and individuals he believed to be teenagers, asking them for images and videos of child pornography in exchange for money. The case was investigated by the Cass County Sheriffs Department, the FBI, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations Internet Crimes Against Children unit. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Iowa. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood and resources about internet safety, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. 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. Veterans from three American wars presented new flags yesterday to the City of Council Bluffs to be flown near the memorial wall at Bayliss Park. Twelve residents of Primrose Retirement Community all veterans, or spouses and widows of veterans boarded the centers bus and were driven to the park to commemorate Flag Day. A trio of Vietnam veterans Bob Shadid, Roger Torneten and Ken Ernesti presented an Iowa state flag to VFW Post No. 11355 Cmdr. Dick Ryba, who, along with other members of the VFW, was on hand to lower the old flags and raise the new ones. A POW flag was presented by Korean War veterans Don Larsen and Jim McGlade, and 100-year-old Kathleen Todd, who served as a nurse with the Navy during World War II, presented a new U.S. flag. The ceremony was the brainchild of Primrose Executive Director Tiffany Eggett, whose father was a Vietnam veteran. We have a beautiful veterans room here in our building, Eggett said. I just thought it would be a lovely service. We just got new flags here on our property, and when we got them, I thought, that would be a really neat Flag Day ceremony. Flag Day commemorates the day in 1777 that the Second Continental Congress declared that the flag of the 13 United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation. Flag Day was first observed in 1885 when a Wisconsin school teacher, Bernard J. Cigrand, asked his students to reflect on the symbolism behind the American flag. The following year, Cigrand proposed that Flag Day become an annual observance. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day, and President Harry S. Truman formally signed the observance of Flag Day into law in 1949. A group of Primrose residents often visit Bayliss Park to walk around and enjoy nice weather, Eggett said. When Eggett reached out to the VFW to help with the changing of the flags, they were happy to help, Ryba said. We reach out to the community all the time, Ryba said. If anyone would like help, wed love for them to call us, and well come out and lower and raise the flags for them. Ryan Becszlko, recreation and events coordinator for the citys Parks and Recreation Department, was also instrumental in organizing the ceremony, Eggett said. Becszlko was on hand to provide assistance if necessary. I just thought it would be a really lovely, patriotic thing, Eggett said. And maybe sometimes we just need to remember that we live in a free country and can do those things. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Harrison County man was sentenced this week to 12 years in prison for receiving child pornography. United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa announced that Curtis Lee Jensen, 47, of Woodbine, Iowa, was sentenced in federal court on June 14 to 144 months in prison for receipt of child pornography. Upon release, he will be placed on supervised release for an additional eight years, and be required to register as a sex offender. In January 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyber tip about child pornography being uploaded to a Kik Messenger account. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation traced the email address connected to the Kik account to Jensen. The DCIs Internet Crimes Against Children unit obtained a search warrant for Jensens email and Kik accounts, and discovered that Jensen had received and distributed child pornography using Kik. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Iowa. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood and resources about internet safety, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. 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. ESSEX, Vt. (AP) Before the pandemic, there was no room in the budget for Kate Murphys children to buy lunch at school. She and her husband would buy in bulk and make bag lunches at home. So the free school meals that were made available to students nationwide amid the crisis have brought Chads President Mahamat Idriss Deby has vowed to curtail the gold smuggling business depriving his country weekly of around $91 million in the advantage of Libya. The head of the Chadian Transitional Military Council who took over from his father General Idriss Deby killed in April last year, told State radio that the shady business has to stop. The Chadian president last week visited Kouri Bougoudi, a northern town where at least 100 small-scale miners died in clashes over access to gold last month. Chadian authorities have been wrangling with security issues around the tri-border area between Chad, Libya and Niger where most of the gold mining, activities and trade take place. The Chadian leader also vowed to ensure that Chadians would benefit from the gold mines in Kouri Bougoudi, Bloomberg reported. We will put in place mining services, tax authorities and customs. Foreigners who want to mine here will need a permit to do so, Deby said. The state will get its part, while the province will be entitled to 5% of revenue from its natural resources. King Mohammed VI has proposed the setting up of an African Institute for Lifelong Learning to strengthen South-South coordination and cooperation in the field of adult learning and lifelong education. The suggestion was made in the message he addressed to the UNESCOs Seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII), held in Marrakech under the theme Adult learning and education for sustainable development A transformative agenda. In the message that was read out by Head of the Government Aziz Akhannounch, the King explained that to further enhance its commitment in the area of lifelong learning, Morocco proposes the launch of an African initiative to strengthen South-South coordination and cooperation in the field of adult learning and lifelong education, in the form of an African Institute for Lifelong Learning. This institute would serve as a regional capacity-building center for regional stakeholders, institutions and organizations operating in the field of lifelong learning, the Sovereign pointed out, adding that the institute would facilitate the exchange of success stories as well as the sharing of knowledge and experiences in the field of adult learning and education, especially at the level of African learning cities, and the promotion, through them, of cooperation relations with similar cities around the world. The institute would also work with local stakeholders, including political decision-makers, professionals, heads of NGOs and researchers in order to evaluate public policies in the area of lifelong learning at a continental level, building on an approach that puts learners and trainers male and female alike at the center of its priorities, he explained further. The King also renewed the Kingdoms active involvement in the actual implementation of the principle of lifelong learning, stressing that the holding of the conference for the first time in an Arab and African country confirms this involvement. This involvement was given concrete substance on the ground when the cities of Chefchaouen and Benguerir joined the Global Network of Learning cities, and when Morocco was granted a UNESCO Chair, thanks to the establishment of an observatory of lifelong learning. This was also in recognition of its contribution to the preparation of mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating learning abilities, in partnership with the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, he said. In his message, King Mohammed VI also surveyed the efforts made by the kingdom to implement programs for adult learners, noting that these efforts are made in cooperation and concertation with all stakeholders, including the public and private sectors, universities, local governments, civil society organizations and international partners. He stated further that he has always sought to make sure quality education is provided to all Moroccans, from all social backgrounds and age brackets an education that enables them to be part of the knowledge and communication-based world, that prepares them properly for professional life, and that contributes to individual and collective advancement. It should be pointed out, in this regard, that the New Development Model (NMD) adopted by my country has created strong momentum and given a fresh start to this sector, the message read, noting that the NMD seeks to pave the way for an educational revival with a view to guaranteeing and strengthening the human capital that will drive development, while opening up promising prospects for the future. Our efforts in this regard are enhanced by making civic education and values a core element of the Moroccan educational project, by consolidating the mechanisms relating to education, training, integration, and funding of activities for women, and by strengthening pathways leading to lifelong education and training in order to enhance the skills and capabilities of every Moroccan citizen, HM the King noted. Recalling that Morocco is making tireless efforts to provide quality lifelong education for all Moroccan children, starting with primary education, the Sovereign stressed the special importance that the Kingdom attaches to the education of youth, providing them with a vast gamut of learning opportunities that guarantee their right to acquire the qualifications they need for economic integration, and to gain the knowledge and skills required for social advancement. This protects them from the scourge of ignorance and poverty, as well as from any inclination towards extremism or reclusiveness. The Kingdom has also sought to step up efforts to promote vocational training opportunities for young people and adopt training modules in various areas of specialization. In order to enable young people to continue to learn and to benefit from training for longer periods of time, especially for those who drop out of school, the initiative entitled Second Chance Schools New Generation for Education and Rehabilitation has been launched. The initiative combines school and workplace experience to support and accompany every young man or womans individual professional project, the Sovereign added. The national program for the promotion of literacy falls within the same context. Targeting a broad category of citizens male and female alike the program seeks to do more than just teaching people to read and write. It aims to facilitate the integration of target groups into the labor market through training courses, he underlined, insisting that Morocco also seeks to facilitate womens access to education and ensure their economic empowerment for life, so they may contribute effectively to development, increase their capabilities and achieve their personal ambitions. The CONFINTEA VII, held from 15 to 17 June, in Marrakech, gathers participants from across the globe who will take stock of achievements in adult learning and education, discuss challenges, and develop a new framework for action to make adult learning and education a reality around the world. Coventry University will open in the few coming months a new branch campus in Casablanca suburb in Morocco. The Bouskoura campus is expected to start receiving students in September, after getting final approval. It intends to offer courses in engineering, architecture and business. The Bouskoura campus follows the model of Coventry University hub in Egypt, enabling people to earn the same degree qualifications as those in the UK. We will be proud to become the first UK university to establish a branch campus in Morocco and will look forward to welcoming students to this fantastic facility, said the universitys vice chancellor, Prof John Latham. The establishment of a new UK university campus in Morocco reflects the countrys opening, diversity and educational freedom. Morocco has several international schools clustered around Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakesh and Tangiers. These are offering American and French curriculums as well as Saudi, British and Spanish education. The North African kingdom has 12 IB World Schools, of which three are authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma. American schools offer the US high school diploma; while French schools are accredited by an Agency part of French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Other accrediting bodies include the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the Council of British International Schools. Morocco has increased its firefighting capabilities with the reception of 3 new Canadair water bombers bringing total fire extinguishing aircrafts to 8. Meanwhile, Algeria is still dragging its feet on procuring one. An outlet specializing in Royal Armed Forces news, FAR Maroc, said on social media that Morocco is now testing the third Canadair in a batch of three water bombers ordered last year. Morocco is the only country in Africa which operates five Canadair aircrafts which have been currently deployed to extinguish fires in northern Morocco The new Canadair-CL 515 planes are an upgraded version of the CL 415 fleet used by Morocco. The new planes can carry 7000 liters of water and have a better maneuvering capacity thanks to their bigger engines. Wildfires are common during the summer season in Morocco as is the case with the rest of the Mediterranean region. Morocco has sent its water bombers on multiple occasions to help friendly Mediterranean states control wild-fires. Last year, Morocco offered Algeria to send two fire extinguishers as blazes ravaged the Kabylie region. The offer fell on deaf Algerian ears. Algerian rulers who ordered water bombers from Russia did not get any so far. President Tebboune was filmed in a video sharing a conversation with American participants at a fair in Algiers seeking Canadair fire fighters, saying it was urgent to get one, as if he was ordering a toy. As the summer season approaches so is the risk of ravaging wildfires in the bushes and forests of north Africa leaving Algeria exposed again to losses. Last time, the Algerian regime blamed foreign hands and rehashed conspiracy theories to cover its unpreparedness and failures in controlling the fires. Who will they blame next this summer in case of wildfires god forbid? The Spanish governments support to Moroccos autonomy plan for the Sahara is a good decision for Spain and for the whole Mediterranean region, stressed Spanish Defense Minister Maria Margarita Robles on Tuesday. By supporting autonomy as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving this dispute, the government has taken the best decision for Spain, said Robles, who was the guest on Spanish TV Channel Trece. When a decision of this kind is taken, all the necessary elements of judgment are in place. In this context, the president of the government, Pedro Sanchez, has taken the best decision for Spain, she assured. In addition, the Spanish Defense Minister said the decision of the coalition government is the result of a reflection and evaluation of the situation. On Monday, the Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, Angeles Moreno Bau, said that the position of her country on the Moroccan Sahara is consistent and respects international law. Spain has adopted a position that is consistent with the decisions taken by previous governments, and which fully respects international law, said Bau before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Spanish Senate. The Spanish government defends a position that is in line with the principles and parameters of the UN Charter and its resolutions, the Spanish official insisted, noting that this position also stems from Spains desire to contribute to regional stability. Promoting stability in our immediate neighborhood in the Mediterranean and the Sahel is one of the priorities of this government in a particularly volatile and uncertain geopolitical context. The security of the southern shore is a priority for Spain and for the European Union, observed the Secretary of State. The settlement of the Sahara dispute, which has lasted for almost half a century, requires a determined effort on the part of the international community () and would allow us to resume the path of greater regional integration, which would benefit our peoples and lead to greater stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean, argued the Spanish official. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had sent a letter to King Mohammed VI on March 18 clearly voicing Spains support of Moroccos autonomy plan as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for settling the artificial dispute around the Sahara territory. Sanchez who visited Morocco early April and held talks with King Mohammed VI later explained before Spanish MPs that Spains move was the result of the countrys willingness to contribute actively to settling the conflict that lasted for 50 years. The decision we have taken on the Sahara is a further step on the path that began 14 years ago when the Spanish government welcomed the autonomy plan presented by Morocco as a valuable contribution to the solution of a deadlocked conflict, he had pointed out before the Spanish Parliament. After many years of conflict and status quo in the negotiation process, the Spanish government considers that the autonomy proposed by Morocco is the basis on which there are more possibilities to build a solution to the Sahara issue, Sanchez had stressed, noting that his country logically recognizes the efforts made by Morocco in this direction. Vietnam Airlines proposes solutions for recovery Vietnam Airlines JSC has just sent a document to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) explaining measures and a roadmap to remove it from the list of stocks trading under supervision. A Vietnam Airlines aircraft prepares for take off from Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA) The airline said that its production and business activities were hit hard by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular international air transport completely stopped after the outbreak since March 2020 and has only restarted since March 15. Therefore in 2020, 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, Vietnam Airlines suffered losses in consolidated business results, while consolidated equity has been negative as of March 31, causing the companys shares to be traded under control according to HoSE regulations. Due to the serious effects of the pandemic, the flag carrier has developed short-term and long-term solutions to minimise damage, improve production and business results, and supplement capital and cash flow for businesses. In 2022, the solutions aim to help the company avoid continued losses. Between 2023 and 2025, Vietnam Airlines will continue to implement solutions to improve production and business results, and supplement equity to gradually overcome the crisis, recover and develop. It has completed the restructuring project for the 2021-2025 period, including these solutions and sent a report to collect opinions from the State shareholders and competent authorities before finalising it in a report to the General Meeting of Shareholders. The solutions are, firstly, to implement solutions to quickly recover and improve business operations, minimise losses in the transportation business when the market has not fully recovered (2022-2023) and aim to be profitable in the following years. Second, restructuring assets and financial portfolios to increase income and cash flow. Accordingly, Vietnam Airlines will sell and lease old aircraft; divestment, capital transfer for some financial investment portfolios. This solution will be implemented mainly in 2022-2024. Lastly is to issue shares to raise equity. This solution is expected to be implemented in 2023-2024. Craft cannabis growers hope that a judge Wednesday will reverse his order that shut down the entire industry, arguing that they were unfairly shut out of the process. The court order appears to affect all craft grower licenses, including the 40 issued last year and 48 issued this year. Winnebago County Associate Judge Stephen Balogh issued the sweeping order June 6 after holding a hearing without anyone representing the state or the craft growers. Advertisement Scott Redman, president of the Illinois Independent Craft Growers Association, an attorney and craft license winner, said the ruling means that startup companies will continue to lose money on property, financing and consultants with no idea when theyll be able to conduct business. The normal discussions a judge would have for something like this that affects an entire industry, we dont believe happened, Redman said. This stops all aspects of the business. Its a disaster. Advertisement The order declares that all craft cannabis licenses are locked in place and cant start operating by Defendants issuing preconstruction permits, security plan approvals, site plan approvals, final construction approvals, label/packaging approvals, granting extensions to the operational requirements, or any other affirmative action that would permit craft growers to operate. The temporary restraining order comes in response to a suit filed by Sustainable Innovations Inc. and 11 other craft grow license applicants against the Illinois Department of Agriculture and its director, Jerry Costello II. The order states that the defendants were given notice and failed to appear. The Illinois attorney generals office confirmed it was an ex parte ruling with only the plaintiffs present, but did not explain why it did not attend. In a quick turnaround, the suit was filed Friday, June 3, and the hearing was held and the ruling issued on the following Monday. The decree states that based on the pleadings, the plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm if they dont get a license and have a likelihood of success for their lawsuit. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > In response, the attorney generals office filed requests for the judge to reverse his order and dismiss the lawsuit. The state lawyers said they werent properly notified, and didnt realize the plaintiffs were seeking a temporary restraining order. They argued that the court doesnt have jurisdiction over the matter, and that the plaintiffs are highly unlikely to win their case. The losing applicants dont face irreparable harm, the states lawyers argued, because the state can give each of them the ability to obtain a license through judicial review if they show they should have gotten one. Flowering cannabis plants are illuminated by artificial lighting at a tour called "Chitiva," given by workers at Prescribd, a cannabis cultivation company, at one of its cultivation centers on July 17, 2021, in Bridgeview. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) The new restraining order came in contrast to a ruling issued in a federal case by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer Thursday, though the specifics differed significantly. In that case, two would-be dispensary applicants sought an injunction against the state issuing licenses for 185 cannabis dispensaries. After about a month of consideration, the judge allowed the licensing to proceed. The new suit challenges various licensing rule changes by the Department of Agriculture that the plaintiffs say violated the state law that authorized craft licenses. For instance, while the law allowed applicants to qualify for favored social equity status by hiring workers from areas most affected by the war on drugs, the agency changed the rules to allow those applicants to lay off those employees while waiting for a license. Advertisement The plaintiffs maintain they are true social equity applicants, with majority ownership by people who lived in areas disproportionately affected by poverty or cannabis law enforcement, or who had low-level cannabis arrests or prosecutions. The suit also challenges the state allowing applicants to change the locations of their proposed businesses during the licensing process. It further notes that the law called for licensees to be operational within six months, but none of them have opened for business. The plaintiffs say they do not have majority veteran ownership status, and also are challenging the bonus points for veterans in the license application scoring that resulted in all of the winners having to be veteran-owned. A new book by expert in socio-economic development, Noureddine Obad, was presented this Wednesday, June 15, at a ceremony hosted by the Swiss Press Club in Geneva. The recently released book, entitled Morocco, the Potential for Transformative Change, highlights the socio-economic progress achieved by the Kingdom, including in its southern provinces. The book presentation was moderated by Pr. Henri Louis Vedie, French economist, professor emeritus at HEC Paris, and was attended by around a hundred people, including Moroccos Ambassadors in Bern and Geneva, the Chief Rabbi of Geneva, several foreign diplomats and Moroccan nationals living in the Swiss Confederation. The presentation was followed by a fruitful exchange between the author and the audience, which raised relevant questions about the Kingdoms development process. The author of the book is a Swiss-Moroccan specialist in socio-economic development who is settled in Switzerland. "Blood Syndicate" is back, and Milestone Comics' most hardcore and at times controversial series is pulling no punches in its updated revival of a group of gang-affiliated people who gain various superpowers and form a rough-edged alliance in order to protect their neighborhood from criminals. "'Blood Syndicate' has always been the bastard child of comics. People were always afraid to touch that book," said ChrisCross, artist on "Blood Syndicate" and one of the company's originators during Milestone's '90s heyday. "People like Static and Icon, but Blood Syndicate is its own thing you cannot sidestep it. It's basically like looking at some black hip-hop artists that people try to get away from, but they keep showing up with even better hits. It's like, 'I want to deal with this guy, but he's just so rough. Just the tone of his voice.'" Cross and writer Geoffrey Thorne have taken on the task of writing a book that was born amid the gang culture of the '90s. It was a gritty storyline set in a gritty neighborhood of Dakota, and the original cover proudly exclaimed, "America eats its young." The characters were steeped in violence, and there was often more internal strife than there were villains to fight. Blood Syndicate are no Justice League or Avengers, and their turf is Paris Island. Though they often don't get along, they protect it ruthlessly against invaders and troublemakers. "Paris Island. It's the 'f-around-and-find-out' island. Whether you're a good guy or a bad guy, you don't want any of this. That's the one warning you get," said Thorne. "We solve problems permanently on Paris Island. We're not trying to take the Joker to jail." Both Cross and Thorne weren't sure that the book would ever come back. Even as Reginald Hudlin and Denys Cowan talked for years about relaunching the Milestone brand, the current "Blood Syndicate" team did not know if, in this new superhero-heavy society, the group would be embraced. "Remember back in the day when they had the Comics Code Authority? They had to constantly take it off of that book. It was just not working. They kept trying to do a PG version of 'Blood Syndicate.' There is no PG version of 'Blood Syndicate.' Come on. I drew Wise Son peeing on somebody. Tastefully. And people were dying like crazy in that book." The gang culture in the original book may have also changed since Blood Syndicate's initial debut, but Thorne, who says he was deeply influenced by the book and told anyone he came across about it ("I was John the Baptist of the freaking Blood Syndicate!"), understands that it's always been more "complex than just making everybody a bloodthirsty, drug-dealing, murderous thug." "Of course that is a component of that sort of criminality, and I'm not here to shy away from that. But I'm not promoting gang culture as a legit response to oppression because it's not. This is a story about several powerful people figuring out what their response will be and if maintaining their affiliations is actually the best way to go." The second issue of "Blood Syndicate" hits stands next week. It's early, but the creative team doesn't plan on taking it easy in the new pages. Backed and distributed by DC Comics, the Milestone book could be a darker look at urban life than most products on the stands that are put out by more mainstream publishers. But Thorne is ready for the tough stories to come. "Walking a straight line in this world isn't anything close to easy. These are superpeople, for sure. But not everyone is or needs to be a hero. Life is way more complicated than black and white." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. U.S. Army veteran John Childears and other volunteers raised a flag on Flag Day Tuesday on his property north of North Platte. Childears wants travelers to be inspired to continue to love America, support its flag and its people. He had a dream to install a flag pole on his property along U.S. Highway 83 near mile marker 100 to remind people to honor their country. It was a chance to show off both fashion sense and a sense of humor and pop culture. The candidates for the Miss Rodeo Nebraska and Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska did just that on Tuesday night at North Platte Community College during the style show portion of the four-day competition. During her turn on stage, Calie Troyer one of the two candidates for the Miss Teen title was asked the impromptu question: What would she name a rough stock animal and why? Her response? Fast and Furious, as a nod to the Vin Diesel-led film series with the same name. First off, who doesnt love the movies? Troyer said. And if the rough stock horse was named Fast and Furious, it better run fast and it better go furious. The Miss Teen Rodeo coronation is Wednesday afternoon at North Platte Community College, and the other candidate Hannah Siwinski was asked what she would be if given the chance to be a specialty act at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo. Her answer was bridleless horses. Its multiple horses and one gal and they go around her, Siwinski said. They just have this great routine. Ive got a couple young horses myself so we will see what we can do there. The Miss Rodeo Nebraska coronation will happen Wednesday during the opening night of the Buffalo Bill Rodeo. Rebel Sjeklocha is the lone candidate for the title this year. Sjeklocha was asked what two pro rodeo athletes would she want with her on a desert island and why? Her first choice was Dona Kay Rule, a 63-year-old barrel racer. I guarantee she would have the grit to help us survive our unfortunate situation, Sjeklocha said. She also selected Luke Branquinho, who she said would be nice to look at, and could lift the heavy things. A six-item live auction at the start of the event raised $2,075 for the pageant. The items were a cattle hide, a decorative welded-iron welcome sign, a necklace, a weekender bag, Tony Lama boots and a painting of an old barn. 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, June 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Denver, Colorado - Lynn Dunston, an accomplished financial advisor from Colorado, is one of the many partners at Moneta Group, a fee-only, fiduciary wealth management firm. Lynn leads the Denver-based Moneta - Dunston Financial Team which offers services such as fiduciary investment planning and consulting services including, tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning, education funding, risk management planning, and business planning. Lynn Dunston is currently educating and promoting his firms services to small family businesses that need the advice to manage their considerable assets. Compared to non-family businesses, family businesses are a different beast altogether. The relationships between the founders, executives, and board members in family-run businesses take center stage as they are also often bound to each other by blood. This tends to complicate even the simplest decisions at these firms as the result of a bad call is more than just going into the red at the end of the year. Conflicts while running a business alongside ones family members could mean a weakening of the ties that bind them together and eventual fractures between siblings. These could damage not just the lives of those with a day-to-day interest in running the company but also affect the relationships of their extended family members. Therefore, running a successful family business that constantly innovates, generates a healthy profit, preserves family wealth, and brings the family closer together is an extremely difficult balancing act. Moneta - Dunston Financial Team Lynn Dunston explains the complexity that owners of family-run businesses must deal with by saying, There are three priorities that are constantly in ones sight when they are operating a family business. The first is the growth and proliferation of the business which includes hiring new talent, expanding operations, reducing debt, and more. The second is the combination of their ambition and desires which can include hitting a certain net worth before a certain age, getting time to spend with the ones they love, and maybe donating to charitable causes. Finally, the third thing they must juggle is the debt that they owe their family into which they were born. When you represent a prestigious family, it comes with an almost stoic responsibility to preserve its heritage and legacy. The only way the gift of wealth can be passed on from generation to generation is by ensuring the relationships between family members remain strong. As a small business financial advisor, I have had these conversations with my clients many times over. I have learned from these experiences, and I intend to use the lessons to help families that are managing empires of their own ensure long-term survival and prosperity. If you or your company fits this description, make sure to give me and my team in Denver a call. We have the tools and expertise that you need to plan for and secure the future for your family and the business. Story continues One of the best ways to ensure that a familys wealth does not diminish over subsequent generations is a concept called estate freezing. It is a collection of strategies that allow the family to freeze the current value of an estate, sometimes while providing a present value income stream to an owner, while simultaneously shifting the future appreciation of the estate to other heirs. These strategies are alsocan also be very effective at saving estate taxes. Some estate freezing strategies include intra-family loans, family limited partnerships, family LLC, installment sales, private annuities, stock recapitalization strategies, gifting strategies, Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), and Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs). A financial advisor experienced in maintaining small family businesses will also ask the families to consider scenarios such as what if the head patriarch or matriarch passes away or incurs a long-term disability, to who does the ownership of the company pass onto in such a situation, how to ensure liquidity for tax liabilities and buyouts, how will the proceedings be divvied up in case the company assets are sold, and many more such questions that can cause a rift in the family if they are not answered beforehand. As always, remember to consult with an appropriately credentialed professional before making any financial, investment, tax, or legal decision. Moneta Dunston Financial Team can be contacted at the phone number (866) 231-3387 or the email address DunstonInfo@MonetaGroup.com. ### For more information about Moneta - Dunston Financial Team, contact the company here: Moneta - Dunston Financial Team Lynn Dunston (720) 874-9714 DunstonInfo@MonetaGroup.com 1624 Market St #205, Denver, CO 80202 CONTACT: Lynn Dunston (Bloomberg) -- While Elon Musk is publicly making a big deal about moving to Texas and cozying up to the governor, behind the scenes his tunnel-building venture, Boring Co., is wrangling with local authorities in the state over a host of seemingly mundane permitting issues. Most Read from Bloomberg Since Boring bought land last May to create a research and development center in Bastrop, Texas, a rural area outside Austin, the company has put workers up on mobile homes at the site without authorized sewage facilities, failed to get air and stormwater permits and built a driveway without first getting official approval, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg News through a public records request. The companys dealings with Bastrop are yet another illustration of how Musks businesses often push the boundaries of or simply ignore regulations that bind other companies. In recent years his Tesla Inc. restarted production at its Fremont plant in defiance of pandemic rules to stay closed, Boring tried to build a tunnel in Los Angeles without going through an environmental review process and the US Securities and Exchange Commission is examining the disclosure of Musks stake in Twitter Inc. Boring staff mentioned in this article did not reply to requests for comment. Texas was supposed to be different. For a start, officials including Governor Greg Abbott gave him a big welcome. Woohoo! a Bastrop development official emailed County Judge Paul Pape, the presiding officer of the county government, after Boring closed on the property. Elon Musk is now a Bastrop County property owner! Project Submarine has landed!! Story continues And part of the reason Musk traded California for Texas was its business-friendly climate. This has worked out for Tesla, he said in an interview with the Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley club published Tuesday. We built the factory here in less time than it would have taken to get the permits in California, he said, speaking from Teslas Gigafactory in Texas. The typical permitting time for a greenfield in California is two years, and youre going to get sued, because youre in California. We didnt get any lawsuits here, and we got the factory built in 18 months. For Boring, even a Texas permitting process is too slow. The companys venture into Bastrop was at first cooperative. On April 16, 2021, Boring asked the Texas Department of Transportation what information officials needed to approve driveways from the new site to a nearby farm-to-market road, the FM 1209. It said it was submitting a driveway planning application on July 27. The next day, Texas DOT engineer Margaret Lake replied that the document was missing key items, including an overall site plan, and that the proposed driveway was at least 153 feet too close to the nearby Walker Watson Road. About six weeks later, the DOT found out that Boring had gone ahead and built the driveway anyway. Lake sent photos of it to another DOT engineer, Diana Schulze, who alerted Deputy District Engineer Mike Arellano. Mike, she wrote in a Sept. 16 email, As we discussed they put this driveway in without a permit. Arellano emailed Borings project development lead, Mike Thompson, later that day to say that for safety reasons the driveway was too close to the nearby Walker Watson Road, and Boring should submit the documents required for a driveway permit while finding a safer location. He included a photo of the driveway. Boring submitted a variance request on Sept. 30 to allow the driveway to stay where it was. The variance hasnt been approved, a spokesperson for the Texas DOT said Monday. Texas has found other shortcomings with Borings submissions for the site. An Oct. 25 email from Lake to Boring said the company would have to build space for vehicles to get on and off the road as it lacked an appropriate shoulder. Boring senior civil engineer Hunter Brauer made the case Jan. 9 that this wasnt needed in part because the deliveries from large trucks were infrequent. Lake replied Jan. 18 that the extra space was needed for safety reasons irrespective of the volume of traffic and was non-negotiable. Its extremely unusual, especially for a major company like that, to basically ignore state safety laws, said Lyndon Henry, a transportation planning consultant based in Austin. I would think it reflects very badly on them to be ignoring safety regulations regarding something as simple and elementary as an access driveway. Then there is the sewage problem. On the morning of Feb. 28, county commissioners met at the courthouse in downtown Bastrop, about a 10 minute drive from the Boring site, to discuss matters including Borings application for a permit to build a massive manufacturing facility. A local homeowner said workers were already living in mobile homes there. Once Judge Pape pointed out letting people reside on the site without a sewage permit might violate the permitting process, the commissioners tabled the application for the manufacturing facility. After the meeting, Commissioner Mel Hamner, who represents the area of Bastrop where the Boring facility is located, returned to his office in the building next door. There he found an unexpected visitor waiting for him: Boring President Steve Davis. They had a terse conversation about the postponed manufacturing facility permit, and left it that Boring would continue working with the county to resolve the issues, Hamner said. About a month later, officials from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality visited the site in response to complaints that it was operating without authorization and that there was liquid spilled on the ground near the machinery. Officials observed three silos had been installed without permits for air quality or stormwater management, and a spokesman for TCEQ said its inspectors didnt find any spills. The agency recommended Boring obtain the needed approvals, which it has done. Meanwhile, officials continued to raise concerns about the driveway. A March 4 email from Arellano to Boring Business Development Lead Brian Gettinger highlighted the liability risks: Elected officials and local residents are reporting that the truck traffic in and out of this driveway is frequent on a daily basis. Given this unpermitted, unapproved driveway does not meeting spacing criteria, I need your cooperation to add a turn lane immediately to address this safety concern. I am sure The Boring Company does not want to bear this liability so we are here to help expedite the approval of the design and permit for a driveway and turn lane as required. Gettinger pushed back in a March 29 email, saying the traffic flow on FM 1209 and the frequency of truck deliveries does not represent a risk to traffic great enough to warrant a center turn lane at this time. Arellano replied the same day: It only take on one truck turning movement to create a preventable hazard to the public. Again, with the decision to construct this driveway with no permit or approval at the location chosen, all liability is on the Boring Company at this point in time. DOT engineer Schulze sent Boring an ultimatum on the morning of Monday, April 25. After discussing with General Counsel, TxDOT will require from your company a traffic control plan for safely getting your trucks in and out of the driveway. I need to have this by the end of the day. If we do not receive this traffic control plan then we have been directed to barricade the driveway on FM 1209 from further use until the traffic control plan is submitted. Later that day, Gettinger replied with an interim traffic plan, and Schulze approved it by return email. By the end of the week, the company had installed orange signs on the FM 1209 to warn traffic about its driveway. Boring received a temporary permit for its driveway earlier this month, the Texas DOT spokesperson said. The final permit could take up to 60 days. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. The Opelika Police Department is seeking help identifying a suspect involved in stealing about $1,045 worth of merchandise from Ulta Cosmetics. The third degree theft of property occurred on May 20, at the Ulta at 2690 Enterprise Drive. Opelika police began investigating the incident and found surveillance video that shows the suspect to be a white male with short brown hair and several tattoos on his arms. Police said the footage shows the suspect entering the store at approximately 12:40 p.m. wearing a white tank top, ripped white shorts and black sneakers. Anyone with information on this incident or the identity of the suspect is asked to contact the Opelika Police Department Detective Division at 334-705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 334-745-8665. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the Opelika Police Mobile App. Tips can also be forwarded through Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP(7867), toll-free at 1-833-AL1-STOP, or via their Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/215stop or their website: www.215STOP.com. Auburns newest Habitat for Humanity homeowner received an American flag in honor of Flag Day and to celebrate their new home. Every June 14, the Light Horse Harry Lee Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution presents one of the Habitat partner families with a flag. Angela and Venice Harris were this years recipients. Angela Harris, 56, has lived in Auburn her whole life. When Habitat for Humanity built a home for her and her husband last summer, she said it was a blessing and she was speechless when they officially moved in. It was such a blessing and it brought such joy, peace and love, she recalled. Harris described receiving the flag this year as another blessing. The flag means a lot and its very important to me, she said. I plan to keep it up year round. Tuesday morning, the flag was hung outside her home on one of the columns of her front porch, which she described as one of her favorite areas of the house. Mark Grantham, executive director of the Auburn-Opelika chapter of Habitat for Humanity, said Harris home is the 70th house the organization has built, and they are currently working on No. 71, which is under construction around the corner. Part of the blessing of this ministry is the community building, Grantham said. We have thousands of volunteers that work on all these different homes. We couldnt do it without them. Grantham said the Habitat for Humanity mission is to build homes, community and hope. Were helping one family become a homeowner, putting a new house on the street, improving our streets and improving our community, he said. To build one of these homes, Grantham said, it takes about six to nine months and involves 1,500 to 2,000 volunteers, including Auburn University building science students. Grantham said the work they do is only possible with the help of volunteers and with the help of the City of Auburn and Mayor Ron Anders. Habitat is a proven servant of our community, Anders said. They are a great example of why nonprofits that serve our citizens are such an important part of our community. Im proud and our city is proud to support the endeavors of Habitat Humanity in Auburn, and we will continue to support Habitat to the best of our abilities. Anders said that Tuesdays flag dedication was a beautiful picture of a great partnership between all parties involved. The flag represents our freedom, and Habitat represents the hope for a family to have a great place to live, Anders said. Those are two good symbols for Auburn citizens to be proud of. On Tuesday, members of DAR gave speeches about the history of the American flag and presented one to Angela Harris. Teresa Hall, DAR historian and chairman of the flag committee, told the story about a boy named Bob Heft who designed the current flag with 50 stars as part of his high school history project during his junior year in the 1950s. Hall then presented Harris with the United States Flag Code, which lists the specific days Congress asks individuals to fly the flag as well as rules and how to care for it. Its just such an honor to see flags flying, said Hall, and to be able to give a new homeowner a flag just swells all of our hearts in the DAR. To honor a new homeowner and to honor the flag at the same time is a blessing. NORFOLK, Va. John Hinckley Jr., who shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was freed from court oversight Wednesday, officially concluding decades of supervision by legal and mental health professionals. After 41 years 2 months and 15 days, FREEDOM AT LAST!!!, he wrote on Twitter shortly after 12 p.m. Advertisement The lifting of all restrictions had been expected since late September. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington had said he would free Hinckley on June 15 if he continued to remain mentally stable in the community in Virginia where he has lived since 2016. Hinckley, who was acquitted by reason of insanity, spent the decades before that in a Washington mental hospital. Advertisement Freedom for Hinckley will include giving a concert he plays guitar and sings in Brooklyn, New York, thats scheduled for July. Hes already gained nearly 30,000 followers on Twitter and YouTube in recent months as the judge loosened Hinckleys restrictions before fully lifting all of them. But the graying 67-year-old is far from being the household name that he became after shooting and wounding the 40th U.S. president and several others outside a Washington hotel. Today, historians say Hinckley is at best a question on a quiz show and someone who unintentionally helped build the Reagan legend and inspire a push for stricter gun control. If Hinckley had succeeded in killing Reagan, then he would have been a pivotal historical figure, H.W. Brands, a historian and Reagan biographer, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. As it is, he is a misguided soul whom history has already forgotten. Barbara A. Perry, a professor and director of presidential studies at the University of Virginias Miller Center, said that Hinckley would be maybe a Jeopardy question. But his impact remains tangible in Reagans legacy. For the president himself to have been so seriously wounded, and to come back from that that actually made Ronald Reagan the legend that he became ... like the movie hero that he was, Perry said. Reagan showed grace and humor in the face of death, Perry said. After being shot, the president told emergency room doctors that he hoped they were all Republicans. He later joked to his wife Nancy that he was sorry he forgot to duck. When the president first spoke to Congress after the shooting, he looked just a little bit thinner, but hes still the robust cowboy that is Ronald Reagan, Perry said. Advertisement The assassination attempt paralyzed Reagan press secretary James Brady, who died in 2014. In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Brady Bill, which required a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence are named after Brady and his wife Sarah. The shooting also injured Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty. McCarthy told the AP last year that he didnt have a lot of good Christian thoughts about Hinckley. But in any case, I hope theyre right, McCarthy, then 72, said of Hinckleys impending release from supervision. Because the actions of this man could have changed the course of history. Hinckley was 25 and suffering from acute psychosis when he shot Reagan and the others. When jurors found him not guilty by reason of insanity, they said he needed treatment and not a lifetime in confinement. He was ordered to live at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington. Advertisement In the 2000s, Hinckley began making visits to his parents home in a gated Williamsburg community. A 2016 court order granted him permission to live with his mom full time, albeit under various restrictions, after experts said his mental illness had been in remission for decades. Hinckleys mother died in July. He signed a lease on a one-bedroom apartment in the area last year and began living there with his cat, Theo, according to court filings. U.S. Marshalls escort John Hinckley Jr. as he returns to a marine base via helicopter in Quantico, Va., Aug. 8, 1981. (Barry Thumma/AP) Over the years, the court restricted Hinckley from owning a gun or using drugs or alcohol. He also couldnt contact the actor Jodie Foster, with whom he was obsessed at the time of the shooting, or any of his victims or their families. One of Reagans daughters, Patti Davis, considered the possibility of contact in a Washington Post opinion piece last year. There is no manual for how to deal with something like this. You just have to live with the fear, and the anger, and the darkness that one person keeps bringing into your life, she wrote. Stephen J. Morse, a University of Pennsylvania professor of law and psychiatry, told the AP last year that Hinckleys acquittal by reason of insanity means he is not to blame for what happened and he cannot be punished. Advertisement If he hadnt attempted to kill President Reagan, this guy would have been released ages ago, Morse said. Barry Levine, Hinckleys attorney, said in court last year that Hinckley wanted to express his heartfelt apologies and profound regret to the people he shot and their families as well as to Foster and the American people. Friedman, the federal judge overseeing Hinckleys case, said on June 1 that Hinckley has shown no signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s and has exhibited no violent behavior or interest in weapons. This is the time to let John Hinckley move on with his life, so we will, the judge said. please tell me i'm not the only one who thought the title read that the monkey faked it's death lol. Reply Thread Link I thought Alan cumming faked his death so~ Reply Parent Thread Link I thought the owner had faked his own death. Reply Parent Thread Link That's what I thought, too Reply Parent Thread Link That's exactly how I read it Reply Parent Thread Link LMAO emoji reaction Reply Parent Thread Link I still don't know who faked what death. This article belongs in the post above it about confusing movies. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i did lmao Reply Parent Thread Link i prefer this reading tbh Reply Parent Thread Link Every sentence in this post is wild Reply Thread Link Now that is a title. Tonka was alive and living in Haddixs basement. He had a 60-inch TV and an interactive iPad-like touch device This not dead chimp is out here with luxuries I dont even have. Reply Thread Link I-- what. Fuck PETA, at any rate. Reply Thread Link Do you really think they were in the wrong here? Like for real? Reply Parent Thread Link Pretty sure that was a "I have no idea what is going on but fuck PETA." Because fuck PETA. Reply Parent Thread Link what in the knee jerk peta hate reaction hell Reply Parent Thread Link Setting a google alert for this docs release Reply Thread Link so why did she fake the chimp's death? Why did PETA have the rights to raid this person's house? I get weird vibes from this post lol like I should not be on anyone's side, do not trust people who have animals like this Reply Thread Link (From the last post): PETA sued the Missouri Primate Foundation over Tonkas living conditions, and won the case. They were supposed to move Tonka and six other Chimps to an accredited sanctuary in July of 2021, but Tonka was missing when they went to make the transfer. According to PETA: Owner Tonia Haddix claimed that [Tonka] had died, but told various stories that didnt add up and failed to prove that this was the case. She had previously stated that PETA would never get him. In January, a judge found that mystery surrounds the primates disappearance and that Haddixs testimony was not credible, leaving PETA and Cumming to try to determine his whereabouts or perhaps his final resting place. The Rolling Stone article says PETA caught Haddix on a recorded phone call where she said Tonka was alive, but she was planning on euthanizing him in the future. I dont know what PETA did to set up the raid. Edited at 2022-06-15 12:02 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Tonia should definitely be in jail or face some consequences for animal cruelty Reply Parent Thread Link See, I thought she was just trying not to give Tonka up. But the euthanzing part just confuses me. Reply Parent Thread Link https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/owners-of-movie-chimp-tonka-could-face-criminal-charges-for-lying-to-court-about-primate/article_6505a949-51aa-5b58-a125-d2f73328a601.html Edited at 2022-06-15 02:33 am (UTC) In this case its PETA who sound like theyre doing the right thing, they were apparently trying to get the chimp moved to a sanctuary because of improper living conditions, and so the lady faked his death and kept him hidden in a cage in her basement because she didnt want to lose custody of him Reply Parent Thread Link about a decade or so ago, someone from CT got their face ripped off by their friend's chimpanzee. Chimps are so strong and can do so much damage. People who own "exotic" animals like Chimps or big cats always seem unhinged (see: Tiger King). I remember hearing the owner of the CT chimp would give it wine and xanax and take baths with it and they'd sleep in the same bed together prior to the attack. I believe after the attack the Chimp was euthanized. Reply Parent Thread Link Well I have some time for this Reply Thread Link Reminds me of the Friends episode Reply Thread Link first thing i thought of! Reply Parent Thread Link Bless Friends and the annoying monkey that got written off better than some of their human characters. Reply Parent Thread Link Lmao this is so wild wuuuuuut Reply Thread Link Kid? Its not a kid. You cant give a chimp an iPad and a TV and say youre taking care of it, because its not a kid. Also, of course theres a documentary being made of this. Seems downright exploitative at this point. Everyones trying to be the next Tiger King. Reply Thread Link I mean you can't do that to a kid either. Reply Parent Thread Link is it like a custody thing? Reply Thread Link The amount of times I had to reread that title... Reply Thread Link Kinda sorta but not really related, I recently discovered the Orangutan Jungle School series on youtube, and omg... obsessed. I can see WHY people would want to own chimps, orangutans etc but damn, leave them alone! A TV and an ipad??? fuck off Reply Thread Link how did a monkey fake its own death???? Reply Thread Link never mind Reply Parent Thread Link Now that would make a good documentary! Reply Parent Thread Link https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/owners-of-movie-chimp-tonka-could-face-criminal-charges-for-lying-to-court-about-primates/article_6505a949-51aa-5b58-a125-d2f73328a601.html Tonka is in Florida now. To honest, this is how Haddix was keeping him and it doesn't look like an okay set-up: Haddix, for her part, said last week she was not terribly worried about legal trouble because she has terminal cancer. They gave me six months, three months ago, and Im not doing treatment, she said. So if I die in jail, I die in jail. If I die outside, I die outside. I dont care. Edited at 2022-06-15 12:29 am (UTC) More detail:Tonka is in Florida now.To honest, this is how Haddix was keeping him and it doesn't look like an okay set-up: Reply Thread Link Jesus. Poor thing Reply Parent Thread Link That looks like torture. Reply Parent Thread Link I've seen a couple of documentaries on these exotic animal people and it's so wild. Like, they insist the animal is like their baby, but in the same breath treat them like this. Reply Parent Thread Link A lot of people shouldn't have animals or children apparently if they think this is how to treat their "baby". Reply Parent Thread Link So much this. Isolating and imprisoning a complex, intelligent being into a basement is not how to treat your "child," but they're fully convinced they love the animals and are the best caregivers for them. Reply Parent Thread Link omg no. this makes me sad Reply Parent Thread Link Poor baby :( Reply Parent Thread Link Jesus Christ, poor baby. What a selfish piece of shit that woman is. What was going to happen to the chimp if she died and no one knew to look for him? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Jesus Christ he cant even move Reply Parent Thread Expand Link they are an absolute menace. dc should drop them IMMEDIATELY, idgaf about how they've already filmed shit with them in it Reply Thread Link What a menace. WB really need to do something about them Reply Thread Link i really hope they get held accountable for the harm they've caused, and that accountability comes before anyone else is harmed. Reply Thread Link i'm curious if anyone sounded the alarms before the choking incident and the terrorizing hawaii and the grooming. were there rumors or concern about ezra before that video surfaced? Reply Parent Thread Link I can't recall anything about Ezra (other than their nasty feet) prior to the choking incident, but honestly that should have been end of the line for them with DC. That was before the Flash movie started filming and they should have recast at that point. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I don't think this was before the choking, but Ezra was reportedly very difficult to deal with on the set of the Flash TV show when they cameo'd a while back. Reply Parent Thread Link Tbh I dont think the average person knows about their terror reign. I didnt even know about the choking incident until the last post about them. They fly under the radar, thats for sure. The news barely blips in mainstream. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link there were rumors of them having some sort of sex cult back in the perks of being a wallflower days. i always dismissed them as nothing but weird fanfic inspired by jared leto people wrote about them and logan but now i just don't even know what to think Reply Parent Thread Link those nasty ass feet pictures shouldve been enough, like who in their right mind?? ? Reply Parent Thread Link I just keep thinking by the way this is unfolding that it's gonna end in a tragic way and i really really hope it doesn't Reply Parent Thread Link Jfc this is like a killer taunting detectives in a movie and I just want Tokata safe. Reply Thread Link MTE. Even if they don't return to their parents, I hope they get away from Miller. Reply Parent Thread Link Can you IMAGINE??? THIS IS WILD. Who would have thought when JL came out that one of the actors would literally BE AT LARGE and MOCK AUTHORITIES through social media after grooming a child. ??????????????????????????? Reply Thread Link this insane story is not getting the news coverage it should Reply Thread Link i'm sort of shocked it isn't everywhere when there's a 18 year old potentially in real danger right now, from both miller, an actor who's been in several major films, and their parents. its just a really sad situation Reply Parent Thread Link Absolutely not trying to put out bad juju but you'd really think the conservatives at least would be losing their minds over an AMAB they/them being a predator to a minor. Their whole thing rn is ~the transes grooming our kids~ and all. Reply Parent Thread Link I think in a way this same mentality could be the reason why this isn't as reported or people don't care as much, cause Tokata is nb too. Like on tiktok a lot of ppl are talking about it but kinda making jokes as well, no one has seemed truly concerned Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Some of them are. I saw a Quartering tweet when I clicked on Ezra's name when they were trending on Twitter... which claimed Ezra wasn't trending. Reply Parent Thread Link Ezra doesn't really act outside the bounds of what society considers "male", so they're not really a good target for fearmongering. They're not seen as freakish as trans women by conservatives. Reply Parent Thread Link Tokata is indigenous, thats not someone they care about Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I think it's a mixture of their victim also being nb and indigenous to boot, so not a blonde white lady for the media to make a Thing of - and Ezra is AMAB and masculine-presenting, so I don't think conservatives even understand they're not a man. (When they do grasp that, wait for a push for it to be illegal not to ID as male or female because it's ~confusing the kids or some shit) Reply Parent Thread Link Ezra just doesnt have the mass appeal they should. No one in the general public knows who the fuck they are and therefore dont care. Which is sad because the 18 year old child is they are harboring needs the public interest. How the fuck to they 5150 Ezra? They desperately need serious help, followed promptly by consequences for their actions. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Can someone explain to me what happened? I'm French and there even less coverage of this story here... Reply Parent Thread Expand Link RIGHT?!! fucking hell, the fact we all had and are still having mooonths of shit about their abusive costar in that wizard movie, yet nothing about this is wild. i really wish it got more publicity for tokatas sake, their might help them be found safely Reply Parent Thread Link It is also unfortunate that this person cared little about misgendering when verbally abusing their nonbinary victim. I guess the actor only applies that synbol of respect to themselves and not the children they choose to groom. Deputies make three unsuccessful attempts to serve the notice in May. On the first, Miller 'lies to law enforcement and falsely states' the teenager is not at his home, the lawsuit says. During that time, two 'former friends' of Miller saw him 'using threats of violence, extreme yelling and aggressive outbursts' at Gibson, the lawsuit alleges. 'Ezra Miller aggressively got in her face calling her a 'b****' and asking her 'what are you putting make up on for you f***ing b****; Ezra also called Tokata a 'thieving b****', 'c*** b****'.' source: EDIT: and please note, it is the Daily Mail using male pronouns for Ezra in this write up, not myself - but I do feel it is important to see the details conveyed in the article. Edited at 2022-06-15 10:25 pm (UTC) I'm seeing a pattern of a specific type of violence from this person, the term is right on the tip of my tongue but I can't quite find the words.It is also unfortunate that this person cared little about misgendering when verbally abusing their nonbinary victim. I guess the actor only applies that synbol of respect to themselves and not the children they choose to groom.source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10902501/18-year-old-ran-away-Ezra-Miller-speaks-Instagram-video.html EDIT: and please note, it is the Daily Mail using male pronouns for Ezra in this write up, not myself - but I do feel it is important to see the details conveyed in the article. Reply Thread Link When the Hawaii stuff came out and people found that post from the local subreddit where people were talking about their run-ins with Ezra, there was a former acquaintance in those replies who identified as nonbinary and said Ezra constantly misgendered and mistreated them, which now looks to be a pattern based on this. Those quotes are horrifying and I feel so angry and disgusted just reading them, I desperately hope this is resolved soon with the least amount of harm done. Reply Parent Thread Link I dont know why its so beyond people that a man could adopt they/them Im soft and non-binary as a shield for bad behaviors. Yeah it wont work with conservative types but just look at the difference in tone here in posts for Ezra and Johnny Depp. Every new story that comes out about Ezra clearly fits a pattern of male violence against women. Do we even have any record of him being aggressive and violent towards a man? All I can think of is incidents involving women. Reply Parent Thread Link It def had well documented cases of Ezra being violent to males in the Hawaii incidents. Non binary doesn't imply not being part of a patriarchy system we don't need to verge on terf arguments to talk about patriarch and violence, specially considering Tokata is also non binary Edited at 2022-06-16 01:02 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link "All I can think of is incidents involving women." Tokata is non-binary though? Reply Parent Thread Link Also - Their IG handle was vudu.pxssy lmao what. was it always that? Reply Thread Link Pretty sure Ezra was reblogging someone else's posts or that could have been their account. Reply Parent Thread Link Nah, that's the account of a woman who is living at his place (or possibly was and no longer is. I can't keep up.) Edited at 2022-06-15 10:49 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link a literal, actual, legit menace. Reply Thread Link They are unhinged Reply Thread Link Cringe. How so horrible and sad. Reply Thread Link This is upsetting I hope Tokata is okay Reply Thread Link All that money and time they spent on the Flash and it's gonna die on HBO Max with little to no promotion. Everyone else involved must be PISSED! Reply Thread Link i keep thinking i feel bad for sasha calle, it was supposed to be her big premiere as supergirl. Edited at 2022-06-15 10:33 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link oh no! that really sucks for her :( Reply Parent Thread Link Maybe they can work her into the new Cavill movie Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Let's just use some dodgy CGI to paste someone else's face over Miller's. lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Is the movie already made? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link What in the Trumpian hell Reply Thread Link Libya is producing only about 100,000-150,000 bpd of crude oil as almost all of its fields get shut down amid the latest flare-up of fighting between political factions in the war-torn country. Oil minister Mohammed Aoun said earlier in the week that the countrys oil production was down by 1.1 million barrels dailyfrom 1.2 million barrels daily earlier this year. Today, a spokesman for the ministry confirmed the figure, meaning that Libya is producing about a tenth of what it was producing at the beginning of the year. The conflict at the moment is over the chair of Libyas Prime Minister. The latest vote was in favor of a candidate backed by the eastern parliament, Fathi Bashaga. However, interim PM Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has refused to give up the seat. Fighting between rival factions ensued in the form of oil export terminal blockades and field shutdowns. As a result, Libya is losing about $70 to $80 million daily in oil revenues, according to the oil ministry spokesman, as quoted by Reuters. This latest outage in OPECs arguably most troubled member comes at a time when production is stretched across the cartel while demand continues to grow. In fact, OPEC just this week reported its combined production had actually declined in May rather than increased to targets set in the 2021 OPEC+ agreement. These targets were just raised at the latest meeting of OPEC+ in response to pleas from large oil importers in the West for the cartel to do something about soaring fuel prices. Based on the May figures, however, the chance of OPEC+ actually living up to its promise of a bigger production increase begins to look quite slim. With the Libyan situation unlikely to resolve soon, oil prices now have additional support from lost Libyan barrels. Brent crude is already trading over $120 and may now stay there for a longer period of time than previously expected because of the events in Libya. On the flip side, Libya has proved it can restart production relatively quickly, which would mean a quick return of barrels once the conflict is resolved. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The long-running dispute over how oil flows are handled in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq administered by its government (the KRG, in Erbil) and how the region is rewarded by the Federal Government of Iraq (FGI) in Baghdad for its co-operation in this regard has taken a series of dramatic legal twists in the past week or so. The outcome of these developments will have significant, and potentially catastrophic, implications for the exploration, development, and extraction operations of international oil companies (IOCs) working in the KRG-administered region. The basis of the dispute dates back to the formation of the new system of governance in Iraq in 2003, immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein. At that time, it was broadly agreed that the KRG would export a certain volume of oil from its own fields and Kirkuk via Iraqs State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) and would not independently sell oil from the fields on the international markets. In return, Baghdad would disburse a certain level of payments to the KRG from Iraqs central federal budget. From 2003 to November 2014, there was constant dispute from both sides that the other had not met the terms of that understanding. In November 2014, however, a deal was struck between the FGI and the KRG in which the KRG agreed to export up to 550,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from its own fields and Kirkuk via SOMO. In return, Baghdad would send 17 percent of the federal budget after sovereign expenses (around US$500 million at that time) per month in budget payments to the Kurds. This agreement which again functioned properly only sporadically was then superseded by an understanding reached between the KRG and the new Iraqi federal government formed in October 2018 and centred on the 2019 national budget bill. This required the FGI to transfer sufficient funds from the budget to pay the salaries of KRG employees along with other financial compensation in exchange for the KRG handing over the export of at least 250,000 bpd of crude oil to SOMO. Since then, though, the FGI nominally headed by various prime ministers but for a long period controlled behind the scenes by radical cleric Moqtada a-Sadr delivered the funding for the salaries of the KRG employees on a monthly basis unreliably and the KRG has delivered the agreed upon volume of oil to SOMO in the same manner. Aside from the complications arising from the input into the deal of al-Sadr, matters were complicated further by the enormous presence of Russia in the KRG-administered region, especially after 2017. Russia effectively took control of the oil infrastructure in the northern region of Kurdistan in that year via its corporate oil proxy, Rosneft at first providing the KRG government with US$1.5 billion in financing through forward oil sales payable in the next three to five years. Then it took an 80 percent working interest in five potentially major oil blocks in the region together with corollary investment and technical, technology and equipment assistance. Finally, it established 60 percent ownership of the vital KRG-Turkey pipeline by dint of a commitment to invest US$1.8 billion to increase its capacity to one million barrels per day. Moscow considered itself well-placed at that point to leverage this presence into a similarly powerful position in the south of the country, in particular by striking new oil and gas field exploration and development deals with Baghdad. These new deals were to follow Russias role in intermediating in the perennial dispute between Kurdistan and the FGI in Baghdad on the budget disbursements-for-oil deal. In reality, Russia far from mediating effectively to find a solution instead sought to sow further discord between the two sides, as analysed in-depth in my new book on the global oil markets. It is extremely apposite to note that the longstanding annoyance of Baghdad with the KRGs on-again, off-again adherence to any version of the oil-for-budget disbursements deal struck in 2014 has only truly begun to show itself in sustained legal action following the international sanctions placed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. This began in earnest with two recent landmark legal rulings by the Supreme Court of the FGI in Baghdad, and the Iraq Oil Ministrys proposal for the creation of a Kurdistan National Oil Company under the federal ownership of the government in the south of Iraq. This is aimed at stripping any authority that the KRG has over its heavily Russian-dominated oil industry and would render all previous contracts entered into between the KRG and oil companies subject to review. In this vein, Iraqs Oil Ministry ordered the KRG to supply copies of all oil and gas contracts signed between the regions government and IOCs over the past 18 years, as well as statements of related revenues. In an apparent show of support for Iraqs Federal Government in Baghdad, the U.S. government granted Baghdad one of its longest ever waivers to continue to import gas and electricity from Iran as an interim solution to its domestic energy supply problems. Last week saw a court in Baghdad postpone until June 20 a hearing of the Oil Ministrys lawsuit against seven IOCs operating in Kurdistan, so that all of the defendants can be served with summonses and prepare the paperwork needed to send authorised representatives. At around the same time, according to local reports, the KRG initiated a separate lawsuit against the Oil Ministry, founded on the basis that the provisions of its oil law (Law No. 22, 2007) do not violate the Iraqi Constitution and therefore should be recognised as standing laws. A lack of legal clarity has been at the centre of this ongoing dispute since the fall of Hussein in 2003. According to the KRG, it has authority under Articles 112 and 115 of the Iraq Constitution to manage oil and gas in the Kurdistan Region extracted from fields that were not in production in 2005 the year that the Constitution was adopted by referendum. In addition, the KRG maintains that Article 115 states: All powers not stipulated in the exclusive powers of the federal government belong to the authorities of the regions and governorates that are not organised in a region. As such, the KRG maintains that as relevant powers are not otherwise stipulated in the Constitution, it has the authority to sell and receive revenue from its oil and gas exports. The KRG also highlights that the Constitution provides that, should a dispute arise, priority shall be given to the law of the regions and governorates. However, the FGI and SOMO argue that under Article 111 of the Constitution oil and gas are under the ownership of all the people of Iraq in all the regions and governorates. The stakes for the IOCs operating in the northern Iraq region of Kurdistan and for Baghdad could not be higher, given the huge realised and potential oil and gas reserves in the region and the fact that much of the whole countrys key oil export infrastructure into Europe runs through the KRG-administered area (in the shape of the pipelines going into the Turkish port of Ceyhan). The International Energy Agency (IEA) back in 2012 highlighted that prior to the then-recent rise in exploration activity in the KRG area, more than half of the exploratory wells in Iraq had been drilled prior to 1962, a time when technical limits and a low oil price gave a much tighter definition of a commercially successful well than would be the case today. Based on the previous limited exploration and development of oil fields in the KRG area, the proven oil reserves figure at that earlier time was first put at around 4 billion barrels. This was subsequently upgraded by the KRG to around 45 billion barrels but, again, but the IEA said in 2012 that this might turn out to be a very conservative estimate. Additionally, it added, Kurdistans Ministry of Natural Resources estimated back in 2012 that there was 25 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven gas reserves and up to 198 Tcf of unproven gas resources, around 3 percent of the worlds total deposits. The figures looked realistic, added the IEA at that point, given that the US Geological Survey believed that undiscovered resources in just the Zagros fold belt of Iraq, a large part of which falls in the KRG area, amounted to around 54 Tcf of gas. By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Russia's Gazprom has reduced the flow of gas to Italy, an Eni spokesman has said, according to Reuters. Gazprom did not give a reason for the reduction. "Eni confirms that Gazprom has communicated a limited reduction in gas supplies for today, amounting to approximately 15%," the spokesman for Eni said, adding that the company was constantly monitoring the situation. On Tuesday, Gazprom announced that it was cutting natural gas flows to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline by 40% due to needed equipment repairs that had been delayed. Gas supplies via Nord Stream would therefore be limited to 100 million cubic meters per day, compared to the planned volume of 167 million cubic meters per day, Gazprom said. News of Tuesday's reduced gas flows to Germany said natural gas prices soaring by 13%. Nord Stream flows rose slightly on Wednesday. But in July, Nord Stream is scheduled to undergo planned maintenance for two weeks. During this time, there will be no gas flow via Nord Stream to Germany, Gundesnetzagentur said earlier this week. Italy gets 40% of its imported gas from Russia, equivalent to 29 billion cubic meters, according to Reuters. Italy is already working on sourcing gas from alternative suppliers, including from Algeria, Azerbaijan, the DRC, Angola, and Qatar. Eni is also in talks with Egypt about boosting LNG imports. Eni has already struck a deal with EGAS to increase nat gas imports by 3 billion cubic meters per day. The new agreement would boost capacity to send even more LNG to Italy, but this would likely take up to two years to complete. Both Germany and Italy told companies last month that they could open ruble accounts, which would allow them to continue gas purchases from Russia without running afoul of sanctions. While no reason was given for Wednesday's gas disruption to Italy, Germany's Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Gazprom's Tuesday decision to reduce gas flows to Germany was politically motivated and not due to technical issues like Gazprom said. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Germany is saving a former Gazprom unit it had expropriated in April with a multi-billion-euro loan to ensure security of supply, the German government said in a statement. Gazprom Germania GmbH was the German unit of Gazprom until a few months ago before the German government placed Gazprom Germania under the trusteeship of the German energy regulator to ensure security of supply after Russia invaded Ukraine. Last month, Gazprom halted gas supply to Gazprom Germania in retaliation for Western sanctions, as Russia imposed sanctions on Gazproms subsidiaries in Europe, banning them from supplying Russian gas. Without Russian gas, Gazprom Germania has had to buy gas at higher prices on the spot market. Gazprom Germania has several storage sites in Germany, including the biggest one in the country. Without financial support, the firm may be unable to fill the gas storage to the levels Germany and the EU require before next winter to prevent gas shortages. Since Gazprom Germania is critical to Germanys gas supply and infrastructure, the government deems it necessary to secure the ongoing business operations of the company. Therefore, Germany is now stepping up and ensuring the long-term trusteeship of Gazprom Germania, which has now been renamed Securing Energy for Europe GmbH (SEFE), to secure energy supply to Germany and Europe, the government said. Europes biggest economy is also granting a loan from its state investment bank KfW to the company to save it from insolvency, the government added. The money will be used to secure liquidity and to purchase gas to replace Russian deliveries and to prevent a cascading insolvency effect on the German energy market. KfWs loan to the former Gazprom unit will be between $9.44 billion (9 billion euro) and $10.5 billion (10 billion euro), a source in the German cabinet told Reuters. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Strict lockdowns in Shanghai and the resulting depressed fuel demand led in May to the largest annual decline in Chinese refinery production in at least the past decade, official data cited by Reuters showed on Wednesday. Last month, Chinese refiners processed around 12.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, down by 10.9 percent compared to May 2021, according to data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics. Refinery throughput was marginally higher compared to the April processing rate of 12.61 million bpd, but the April refinery output was also low by Chinese standards. Weak fuel demand amid strict lockdowns with China's "zero COVID" policy was behind the largest annual plunge in at least a decade in May. Refining operations started to recover at the end of last month, when China announced a gradual easing of the lockdowns in Shanghai and Beijing. However, flare-ups since early June have prompted authorities to impose fresh curbs on mobility, in a sign that China's oil demand recovery will not be smooth. A new "explosive" outbreak in a Beijing district is threatening the demand growth recovery again this week. Last week, a return to lockdowns in Shanghai weighed on oil prices, suggesting it may be a while yet before the Chinese economy returns to normal. On the flip side, news that China's oil imports in May were 12 percent higher than a year earlier could potentially lend support to prices, although they may not be indicative of an actual demand increase. "The easing of Covid-related restrictions in China should have provided a further boost to sentiment in the market. However, a flare-up of cases in Beijing and Shanghai more recently has seen authorities tighten restrictions once again. China's covid zero policy remains a downside risk for the market," ING strategists Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao wrote on Tuesday. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Fourteen Republican-governed states are asking a court to restore the largest oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico that the Biden Administration canceled, Fox News reports. The 14 states led by Montana and including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia, filed a brief in the court case regarding the annulment early this year of the lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. In January, a federal judge threw out the biggest oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico on the grounds that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) broke the environmental lawthe National Environmental Policy Actby failing to properly factor in the emission-related impact of the lease sale. Ruling on a case brought against the Department of the Interior, the American Petroleum Institute, and the state of Louisiana, District Judge Rudolph Contreras sent the lease sale back to the Interior Department to decide what to do with it. Plaintiffs in the case include the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth. The Biden administration has been working hand in glove with these radical environmentalist groups to shut down American energy development, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen told Fox News. These groups have made a cottage industry out of weaponizing federal law to cripple responsible domestic energy development, and liberal judges are all too happy to facilitate this green coup, Knudsen added. In May, the Biden Administration canceled two lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Alaska, citing conflicting court rulings for the GoM lease sales. Last week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and more than 80 trade groups wrote a letter to President Biden, urging the Administration to implement a new five-year program for federal offshore leasingthe deadline for which is June 30as soon as possible. The failure to develop a 5-Year Program on time, coupled with other restrictive energy policies, is already having a dampening effect on investment in American energy. Companies need a robust leasing program with consistent opportunities to secure new leases to effectively plan, execute, and manage their businesses, the signatories to the letter wrote. If the door closes to new U.S. production, investment dollars will instead flow abroad to more active basins to the detriment of American workers, energy consumers, and the environment, they said. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: WARSAW, Poland (AP) The number of detected illegal migration entries into the European Union in the first five months of 2022 was more than 86,000, or 82% more than in the same period in 2021, the agency monitoring the EUs external borders said Monday. Crossings in May alone numbered some 23,500 75% up from May last year, according to preliminary data released by Frontex. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency said that the figure didn't include refugees from almost four months of war in Ukraine, whose number it pegged at some 5.5 million. They are authorized to enter the EU. The routes taken most often by migrants are through the Western Balkans, which accounted for almost 41,000 crossings, mostly migrants from Syria and Afghanistan, and through the Central and Eastern Mediterranean, where Egyptians, Bangladeshis, Tunisians, Nigerians and Congolese are common. The figures show the number of entries and do not take account of the fact that sometimes the same person makes multiple attempts. Follow APs coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. DETROIT A Michigan police officer charged with murder after shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head has been fired, officials said Wednesday. Christopher Schurr, a Grand Rapids officer for seven years, waived his right to a hearing and was dismissed, effective last Friday, said City Manager Mark Washington. Advertisement Schurrs dismissal was recommended by police Chief Eric Winstrom after a second-degree murder charge was filed Thursday. Washington declined further comment, noting the criminal case and a likely lawsuit over Lyoyas death. Advertisement Lyoya, a Black man, was killed at the end of a traffic stop on April 4. He ran and physically resisted Schurr after failing to produce a drivers license. Schurr, who is white, claimed Lyoya had control of his Taser when he shot him. Defense attorneys said the officer feared for his safety when he shot Lyoya. The confrontation and shooting were recorded on video. Grand Rapids Police Officer Christopher Schurr stops to talk with a resident, on Aug. 12, 2015, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Emily Rose Bennett/AP) Schurr had been on leave while state police investigated the shooting and prosecutor Chris Becker decided whether to pursue charges. Schurrs personnel file showed no complaints of excessive force but much praise for traffic stops and foot chases that led to arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs. Grand Rapids, population about 200,000, is 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Detroit. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Recognition of Juneteenth, the effective end of slavery in the U.S., gained traction after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. But after an initial burst of action, the movement to have it recognized as an official holiday in the states has largely stalled. Although almost every state recognizes Juneteenth in some fashion, many have been slow to do more than issue a proclamation or resolution, even as some continue to commemorate the Confederacy. Lawmakers in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and other states failed to advance proposals this year that would have closed state offices and given most of their public employees paid time off for the June 19 holiday. That trend infuriates Black leaders and community organizers who view making Juneteenth a paid holiday the bare minimum state officials can do to help honor an often overlooked and ignored piece of American history. Juneteenth marks the date of major significance in American history. It represents the ways in which freedom for Black people have been delayed, said Democratic Rep. Anthony Nolan, who is Black, while arguing in favor of making Juneteenth a paid holiday in Connecticut on the House floor. And if we delay this, its a smack in the face to Black folks. Juneteenth commemorates when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, two months after the Confederacy had surrendered in the Civil War and about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in Southern states. Last year, Congress and President Joe Biden moved swiftly to make Juneteenth a national holiday. It was the first time the federal government had designated a new national holiday since approving Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. Yet the move didnt result in an automatic adoption from most states. In Alabama, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey issued another proclamation marking Juneteenth a state holiday earlier this week after state lawmakers refused to take action on a bill during their legislative session even after she voiced strong support for making it a permanent holiday back in 2021. The state closes down for Confederate Memorial Days in April. Similarly, Wyoming's Republican Gov. Mark Gordon issued a statement last June saying he would work with lawmakers to make it a state holiday but no legislation was filed during the 2022 session. In Tennessee, Republican Gov. Bill Lee quietly tucked enough funding roughly $700,000 to make Juneteenth a state paid holiday in his initial spending plan for the upcoming year. Despite the bill gaining traction in the state Senate, GOP legislative leaders maintained there wasnt enough support for the idea even as Tennessee law currently designates special observances for Robert E. Lee Day, Confederate Decoration Day and Nathan Bedford Forrest Day. I asked many people in my district over the last few days, well over 100 people, if they knew what Juneteenth was and only two of them knew, said Republican Sen. Joey Hensley, who is white and voted against the proposal. I just think were putting the cart before the horse making a holiday that people dont know about. In South Carolina, instead of working to approve Juneteenth as a holiday, Senate lawmakers unanimously advanced a bill that would allow state employees to choose any day they want to take off instead of the Confederate Memorial Day currently enshrined as a paid holiday in state law. However, the House sent the bill to a committee where it died without a hearing when the Legislature adjourned for the session. At the same time, many of these Republican-led areas have advanced bills limiting what can be taught about systematic racism in classrooms, while also spiking proposals aimed at expanding voting rights and police reform. This year, nearly 20 states are expected to close state offices and give most of their public employees time off. At least six states officially adopted the holiday over the past few months, including Connecticut, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, South Dakota, Utah and Washington. A bill introduced in California passed the Assembly and moved to the Senate this month, and individual cities such as Los Angeles have already signed proclamations making Juneteenth official. Becoming a state holiday will not merely give employees a day off, it will also give residents a day to think about the future that we want, while remembering the inequities of the past, said Democratic Del. Andrea Harrison, who sponsored the Juneteenth legislation in Maryland this year. It will help us to reflect how far weve come as a nation, how much more we need to do as humankind. Attempts to give Juneteenth the same deference as Memorial Day or July Fourth didnt begin to gain traction until 2020, when protests sparked a nationwide push to address race after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the deaths of other Black people by police officers. George Floyd protests against police brutality brought awareness to Juneteenth because there were people of all races learning about its significance for the first time following a public push to self-educate and learn more about Black history, culture and injustices, said Tremaine Jasper, a resident and business owner in Phoenix who has attended Juneteenth celebrations across Arizona with his family. Some cities in Arizona, including Phoenix, have declared Juneteenth an official holiday, paying city employees and closing municipal buildings. However, lawmakers are not currently considering statewide recognition. There are so many other important issues that we need to tackle education, political issues, reparations before we prioritize making Juneteenth a statewide holiday, Jasper said, noting that those looking to celebrate know where to go. Jasper, who was born and raised in Arizona, said it is going to be an uphill battle to get the state to recognize Juneteenth because there is not a large enough Black population outside of its largest cities to make the push. Arizona was also slow in recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, not doing so until 1992. It was one of the last states to officially recognize the civil rights leader. Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report. Mumphrey reported from Phoenix and is a member of The Associated Press Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her at https://twitter.com/cheymumph. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The Russian military said it used long-range missiles Wednesday to destroy a depot in the western Lviv region of Ukraine where ammunition for NATO-supplied weapons was stored, and the governor of a key eastern city acknowledged Russian forces are advancing in heavy fighting. The battle for Sievierodonetsk in Ukraine's eastern Donbas area has become the focus of Russia's offensive in recent weeks. Russia-backed separatists accused Ukrainian forces of sabotaging an evacuation of civilians from the city's besieged Azot chemical plant, where about 500 civilians and an unknown number of Ukrainian fighters are believed to be sheltering from missile attacks. It wasn't possible to verify that claim. Russian officials had announced a humanitarian corridor from the Azot plant a day earlier, but said they would take civilians to areas controlled by Russian, not Ukrainian, forces. The Ukrainian governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, told The Associated Press that heavy fighting in Sievierodonetsk continues today as well. The Luhansk and Donetsk regions make up the Donbas. The situation in the city is getting worse, Haidai said, because Russian forces have more manpower and weapons. But our military is holding back the enemy from three sides at once, he added. In the Lviv region near the border with NATO member Poland, Russian forces used high-precision Kalibr missiles to destroy the depot near the town of Zolochiv, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. Konashenkov said shells for M777 howitzers, a type supplied by the United States, were stored there. He said four howitzers were destroyed elsewhere and that Russian airstrikes also destroyed Ukrainian aviation equipment at a military aerodrome in the southern Mykolaiv region. Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the Zolochiv strike. While focusing most of their attacks on eastern Ukraine, where they are trying to capture large swaths of territory, Russian forces have also been hitting more specific targets elsewhere, using high-precision missiles to disrupt the international supply of weapons and destroy military infrastructure. Civilian infrastructure has been bombarded as well, even though Russian officials have claimed theyre only targeting military facilities. In the northeastern Sumy region, the governor said two helicopters flying in from nearby Russian territory fired five missiles late Wednesday around the city of Hlukhiv. A residential building was hit, killing one person and wounding six, and other infrastructure was damaged, Gov. Dmytro Zhyvytskyy said on Telegram. Early Thursday, loud explosions were heard in the city of Sumy while air raid sirens were going off, and the mayor urged residents to remain in bomb shelters and not to publicize any information about what was hit. NATO members are pledging to send more and longer-range weapons to Ukraine. President Joe Biden said Wednesday the U.S. will send an additional $1 billion in military aid, the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since the war began. The aid will include anti-ship missile launchers, howitzers and more rounds for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems all key weapons systems that Ukrainian leaders have urgently requested. Germany is providing Ukraine with three multiple launch rocket systems of the kind that Kyiv has said it urgently needs to defend itself against Russias invasion. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said Wednesday that Germany will transfer three M270 medium-range artillery rocket systems along with ammunition. Germany said the transfer, which echoes similar moves by Britain and the United States, will be accompanied by training and will have a swift and significant battlefield impact. In recent days, Ukrainian officials have spoken of the heavy human cost of the war, with Kyivs forces outgunned and outnumbered in the east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the new aid package. The security support of the United States is unprecedented, he said, reporting on a phone call the two leaders held earlier Wednesday. It brings us closer to a common victory over the Russian aggressor. Zelenskyy said he has accepted invitations to speak at the NATO and Group of Seven summits at the end of the month. During the 112 days of this war, the Ukrainian army has proved that courage and wisdom on the battlefield, together with the ability to tactically outmaneuver the enemy, can have a significant result, even despite the Russian army's significant advantage n number of soldiers and equipment," he said in his nightly video address. "Of course we are doing everything we can to overcome this advantage. Every day I fight for Ukraine to receive the weapons and equipment we need. Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russias Security Council, ominously suggested that Russia is intent on not just claiming territory but eliminating Ukraine as a nation. In a Telegram post, he wrote that he saw Ukraine wants to receive liquefied natural gas from its overseas masters with payment due in two years. He added: "But theres a question. Who said that in two years, Ukraine will even exist on the map? Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, responded on Twitter: Ukraine has been and will be. Where will Medvedev be in two years? Thats the question. MORE STORIES ON THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Mines are killing people in Ukraine even after the fighting leaves their areas U.S. sending $1 billion more in military aid Two U.S. veterans reported missing in Ukraine Russia again cuts natural gas exports to Europe Russia's economic forum takes place but with fewer participants __ French president suggests he will visit Kyiv to show support for Ukraine OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it may be possible to create secure corridors to transport Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea without the need to clear sea mines near Ukrainian ports. Cavusoglus comments Wednesday came a week after he discussed with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov a U.N. plan to open up Odesa and Ukraines other Black Sea ports to allow millions of tons of grains to be shipped to world markets. Russia has demanded that Ukraine remove mines from the Black Sea before grain exports can resume by ship. Ukraine rejects the proposal, insisting it would leave its ports vulnerable to Russian attacks. Cavusoglu told reporters that since the location of the mines is known, it would be possible to establish secure corridors that avoid them. Turkey, Russia and Ukraine have appointed military officers and set up a telephone hotline to try to overcome hurdles over crop exports. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric welcomed Cavusoglus comments as extremely positive but declined to discuss the plan. A U.N. delegation investigating war crimes in Ukraine has visited areas of the country that were held by Russian troops and found evidence that could support war crimes allegations. The delegation chaired by Erik Mse, a Norwegian judge, visited sites including the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha and Irpin, where Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of mass killings of civilians. At this stage we are not in a position to make any factual findings or pronounce ourselves on issues of the legal determination of events, Mse said. However, subject to further confirmation, the information received and the visited sites of destruction may support claims that serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, perhaps reaching war crimes and crimes against humanity, have been committed in the areas, he said. With Ukrainian and international organizations investigating war crimes cases, Mse expressed concern at the risk of investigations overlapping or causing witnesses more trauma by probing the same events repeatedly. Karmanau reported from Lviv. 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. Two of the top 11 steakhouses in the United States are in Nebraska, according to travelawaits.com. The No. 1 steakhouse, the website determined, is in North Platte. The website asks readers to vote in its annual Best of Travel Awards. Other categories include the friendliest small towns in the country and the best state parks. The Cedar Room, in downtown North Platte, received the top honor. Led by executive chef Trish Sculley, its known for its 100% Angus beef ribeye, a calamari appetizer and, of course, cocktails. Its a bit of a trek from Omaha (about 280 miles west on Interstate 80), but I just might have to go, if only for the salted caramel lava cake they recommend for dessert. The lists No. 7 steakhouse is closer to home in Omahas Old Market. Omaha Prime has an excellent bone-in ribeye, readers said, and an extensive wine list. Other winners on the list were, predictably, in Texas and Oklahoma, although restaurants in Illinois, Missouri, Florida and Indiana also were named. 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. SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) With jokes, upbeat Caribbean music and vacation scenes of sun-kissed beaches and palm trees, Haitian influencers on YouTube and TikTok advertise charter flights to South America. But they are not targeting tourists. Instead, they are touts for a thriving, little-known shadow industry that is profiting from the U.S. government sending people back to Haiti, a country besieged by gang violence. More than a dozen South American travel agencies have rented planes from low-budget Latin American airlines some of them as large as 238-seat Airbuses and then sold tickets at premium prices. Many of the customers are Haitians who had been living in Chile and Brazil before they made their way to the Texas border in September, only to be expelled by the Biden administration and prevented from seeking asylum. They are using the charter flights to flee Haiti again and return to South America. Some, clearly, plan to make another try to enter the United States. Rodolfo Noriega of the National Coordinator of Immigrants in Chile said Haitians are being exploited by businesses taking advantage of their desperation. They are at the end of a chain of powerful businesses making money from this circuit of Haitian migration, he said. The airlines and travel agencies say they work within the legal norms of the countries where they are operating from and are simply providing a service to the Haitian diaspora in South America. The thriving business model was revealed in an eight-month investigation by The Associated Press in partnership with the University of California, Berkeleys Human Rights Center and its Investigative Reporting Program. This story is part of an ongoing Associated Press series, Migration Inc, which investigates individuals and companies that profit from the movement of people who flee violence and civil strife in their homelands. Haitians sick of the deprivations of their island home resettled in Chile or Brazil, many after Haitis catastrophic 2010 earthquake. Then, last fall, struggling as the pandemic hit local economies and beset by racism, thousands decided to make their way to the Texas border town of Del Rio. There, they ran afoul of a public health order, invoked by the Trump administration and continued under the Biden administration, that blocks migrants from requesting asylum. Authorities returned them not to South America, where some of their children were born, but to their original homeland Haiti. Some interviewed by the AP said they feared for their lives there and wanted to return to South America. But airlines had stopped direct commercial flights from Haiti to Chile and Brazil during the pandemic; their remaining option was the charters. The flights from Haiti became a lucrative business as restrictions aimed at controlling the spread of the coronavirus decimated tourism, according to the travel agents. Planes arrive empty to Haiti but return to South America full. From November 2020 until this May, at least 128 charters were rented by travel agencies in Chile and Brazil for flights from Haiti, according to flight tracking information, online advertisements matching the flights to agencies and other independent verification by the AP and Berkeley. Since taking office in January 2021, the Biden administration has sent more than 25,000 Haitians back to Haiti despite warnings from human rights groups that the expulsions would only contribute to Haitis travails and feed more Haitian migration to Latin America and the U.S. Not all of the passengers on the charters had tried to immigrate to the U.S., but based on interviews with dozens of travel agents, Haitian migrants and advocates, and an analysis of flight data using the Swedish service Flightradar24, it is clear that the charters have become a major means to flee Haiti. Some who took charter flights back to South America have headed north again on the network of underground routes that wind through Central America and Mexico and that ultimately lead to the United States, according to immigration attorneys, advocates and interviews with dozens of Haitians. Many of the Haitians go back to Chile and Brazil, rather than places close to the U.S. like Mexico, because they have visas and other legal paperwork to get into those countries. And having lived there, they can find jobs quickly to make money for the trip north. Some, like Amstrong Jean-Baptiste, also have children who were born in South America. The 33-year-old father of two said he spent $6,000 on a harrowing trip from Chile to Texas, only to be sent back to Haiti. He said he had knives pulled on him, forged rivers that carried others away to their deaths and encountered highway robbers. In the end, he said the Haitians were handcuffed and treated like animals by U.S. immigration authorities. He said his son caught pneumonia in the immigration detention center. As he waited in Port-au-Prince for a charter flight back to Santiago, news from northern Chile underscored why he wanted to go to the United States in the first place: A demonstration against immigrants drew thousands of protesters who turned violent and destroyed the belongings of migrants living in a camp. Would he try to go to the U.S. again? He did not rule it out. The risks are so numerous that this shouldnt be an experience to repeat, he said. However, one should never say never. ___ Ana Darcelin, a travel agent with Travel VIP, a Santiago-based agency that rents planes for flights from Haiti to Chile, said Haitians who migrated north from the South American country, only to be sent back to Haiti, are scrambling to leave Haiti and get back to Chile again. Everyone is offering charter flights. There is a lot of demand, she said. Travel agencies in Brazil and Chile said in interviews that they pay anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000 to rent an aircraft. At that rate, the three airlines that rented planes for 128 charter flights between Haiti and either Brazil or Chile would have been paid a total of anywhere from $12 million to $25 million. Meanwhile, some prices for one-way tickets from Haiti to Chile have more than doubled in eight months, from $625 to more than $1,600. In Brazil, many agencies offering flights from Haiti rented from the low-cost Azul S.A. airlines, which was started by JetBlue founder David Neeleman. Most of the charters to Chile are on planes rented from SKY Airline, owned by the Chilean Paulmann family, which is worth billions. Neither Neeleman nor Holger Paulmann, chairman of SKY, responded to emails and LinkedIn messages requesting comment. SKY also signed a $1.8 million contract in April with the previous administration of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera to fly Latin American immigrants, mostly Venezuelans and Colombians expelled from Chile, back to their homelands. SKY earned about $670 for each expelled immigrant it flies to Central and South America. Under the contract obtained by the AP and Berkeley, the carrier must complete at least 15 flights carrying 180 passengers each. John Paul Spode, who has worked 35 years in the travel industry and manages NewStilo, which rents planes from SKY for the flights, said Haiti is not the only place in crisis that offers an attractive market for the charter flight business. His agency also offers charter flights between Venezuela and Chile. But there are few places with the demand for charter flights like Haiti, though he said its not an easy place to do business. In March, protesters stormed the tarmac at an airport in the countryside and set a small plane on fire. Gangs also operate in and around the airport, he said. Unfortunately, we have had many passengers who have not been able to board because there are people who stand outside (the airport) with some kind of a list and some kind of uniform and they started charging, saying You are not on the list, sir, but for $250 you can be added, and then they let them enter the airport, Spode said. Some passengers said once inside the airport they were blocked again by so-called airport business employees and told that their names were still not on the list, and they must pay again, Spode said. Many do before they reach the ticket counter where they finally are checked in by a legitimate employee with the flight. But would-be passengers brave all that. Its tough to sell tickets from Santiago to Port-au-Prince. The plane leaves usually almost empty, Spode said. But we know that on the return trip its going to be full, literally, like people practically hanging from the plane, so to speak. The demand has been so great that a second low-cost airline based in Ecuador, Aeroregional, entered the Chilean market for the first time and started offering charter flights from Haiti to Chile. At least 11 Aeroregional charters have arrived from Haiti to Chile since December. Dan Foote, a former U.S. envoy to Haiti who resigned over the Biden administrations handling of Haitians at the Texas border, said he is not surprised to hear Haitians expelled from the U.S. are making their way back to South America, and that businesses are lining up to help them. Until the root causes of instability are truly attacked in a patient, systematic, holistic way, its going to keep going, Foote said. The travel agencies and airlines denied they are facilitating Haitian migration. Aeroregionals managing director, Luis Manuel Rodriguez, said in a statement via LinkedIn that the airlines role is simply to transport people. He said that the immigration status of its passengers is checked by immigration authorities of the countries involved. Azul confirmed by email that it has provided charter flights between Haiti and Brazil, but said those contracts have confidentiality clauses. The company did not respond to a follow-up request for more information. Carmen Gloria Serrat, the business manager of SKY, said in a statement that the company offers safe, legal transportation for whoever wants it and needs it. She said airlines are responsible for validating the paperwork of passengers and must eat the costs of returning anyone who is denied entry to a country. She said the flights run four times monthly on average and represent a minuscule part of SKYs business. The act of providing safe and legal transportation is a guarantee to avoid the possibility of abuses, Serrat said. Its important to point out that in SKY we operate within the established norms for entering a country and always in coordination and under the supervision of immigration authorities. At least one travel agency is open about offering to help those who hope to reach the United States. Alta Tour Turismo Travel Agency rents planes for charter flights between Haiti and Chile. A TikTok account with the handle @altatourtravelagency posted a video on June 14, 2021, discussing how to avoid the Darien Gap, a treacherous, roadless area of thick jungle between Colombia and Panama traversed by migrants from South America heading north. In the video, two men are talking about different routes north as they show a big boat at sea. Considering the level of mistreatment Haitians endured from the Colombians in the jungle, I will never go through the jungle, says one as the camera zooms in on the boat on the horizon. It was unclear if the video was meant to connect people to boats or was a marketing tool to attract customers in need of flights to South America who intended to then take the migrant route north. Alta Tour Turismo started with a video on Facebook at the start of 2021 that informed viewers that Bolivia was not deporting people. The agency incorporated a month later. The slogan of the Santiago-based agency is travel with joy. Reservations for flights are largely done through WhatsApp. The agencys social media accounts have nearly 40,000 followers; they promote travel from Haiti to such countries as Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Chile and Mexico. Ezechias Revanget said he started the agency with three other Haitian immigrants in Chile to rent planes so fellow Haitians in Chile could go back home to see family. His agency has leased 186-seat Airbus planes from SKY airlines. Our objective is to work with our compatriots, and there are also other people such as Chileans, Bolivians, Dominicans, anyone, any nationality can buy tickets at our agency, he said. Alta Tour Turismo also advertised flights to Suriname. In an April 2021 post, the agency posted on its Facebook page that Haitians who had only a passport and wanted to leave Haiti should not miss this opportunity, asserting: you know if you arrive in Suriname you can go to other places too, followed by three smiling emoji and the agencys numbers. Revanget, who also uses the name Dave Elmyr, refused to answer more questions. They should be investigating these flights they should, said Carolina Rudnick Vizcarra, an attorney and director of LIBERA, a Santiago-based nonprofit combatting human trafficking. And by now, everyone knows that Haitians are vulnerable they dont have the money" or places to stay. U.S. officials told the AP they were unaware of the charter flights from Haiti. Some South American nations have taken action to prevent their use by migrants and smugglers. Last year, Suriname stopped charter flights from Haiti and issuing visas to Haitians, according to Suriname's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That same year, neighboring French Guiana complained about Haitians coming across its border. What was strange was that in the middle of a pandemic, so many flights were arriving from Haiti ... there were unaccompanied minors on the flight, as well as several Haitians without visas, Antoine Joly, the former French ambassador in Suriname told the French Guiana TV station, Guyane la 1ere in a video posted May 4. Shortly after that, Guyana, which also borders Suriname, canceled an earlier order allowing Haitians in without a visa, contending the country was being used as a destination for human smugglers who were taking migrants into neighboring Brazil where they would stay briefly before heading north to Mexico and the U.S. Giuseppe Loprete, chief of mission in Haiti of the International Organization of Migration, said the United Nations agency learned about charter flights from Haiti to Chile in interviews with migrants who had been sent back from the United States and Mexico. We tried to find out more, but we dont have the means to investigate these flights, he wrote in an email to the AP on April 22. Our assumption was that from Chile they move on to other countries heading (to) the Mexican-USA border, if not right away, after some time. Probably when they have collected enough money and information to move forward. ___ The Azul charter flights started on Nov. 14, 2020, from Port-au-Prince to Manaus, Brazil. The city of 2.2 million boasts one of Brazils biggest airports, is the capital of the Amazon region with a Haitian immigrant population and is also a well-known jumping-off point for Haitian migrants who travel by boats from there along a river connecting the Colombian, Peruvian and Guyanese borders before continuing north. Flight data showed that 54 Azul planes flew charter flights from Port-au-Prince to Manaus. The flights stopped in October. That same month, the Brazilian embassy in Haiti stopped issuing all visas to Haitians, according to a document from the Brazilian ambassador in Haiti obtained by AP and Berkeley. Jean Robert Jean Baptiste, 49, said he bought a $1,400 ticket for an Azul flight in December 2020 to Brazil. He spent a month in Haiti after he was deported from Louisiana, where he was held at an immigration detention center following his arrest on a DUI charge. Back in Haiti, he said an enemy threatened to kill him and had the backing of the police. He said he decided to fly to Brazil because he had a visa to get into the country after living there from 2011 to 2012 before making his way to the United States in 2016 and settled in Alabama. In 2021, he made his way from Brazil by bus and on foot. He walked for a week, most of it in the rain, through the Darien Gap, where he said he saw dead bodies of those who didnt make it. He said he had to pay bandits who blocked his path; robbers stole his phone and $500 from him. All told, he said it cost him about $7,000 to return to Tijuana, where he was trying to find a way back to the U.S. Hes driven, he said, by a determination to have a good life for his children. The Paulmann family's SKY, meanwhile, is the charter of choice between Haiti and Chile; of 71 such flights since 2020 that AP and Berkeley tracked, 60 were on SKY. The Paulmanns run one of Latin Americas biggest retail companies, Cencosud, and have a net worth of $3.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine. SKY charter planes also flew three flights between Haiti and Brazil in 2021. Etienne Ilienses said she was sent back to Haiti from Texas on Dec. 14. She talked to the AP before flying to Santiago with her three children on a Jan. 30 charter flight on SKY. To get to the USA, I braved hell, she said. Still, she did not dismiss the possibility of doing it again because Haiti offers nothing to its children. We are forced to suffer humiliations, affronts everywhere." But just because Haitians fly to Chile, it doesnt mean they can stay. Dozens have been held by immigration officials after arriving in Santiago in recent months. One group spent weeks sleeping at the airport before Chiles Supreme Court on Jan. 31 ordered police to release them and allow them to request asylum. Others were sent back to Haiti within hours of landing. SKYs Serrat said the airline works closely with immigration officials to avoid that situation, while the marketing aimed at passengers is the responsibility of the travel operators. (Aeroregionals manager did not respond to questions about flying in Haitians who were later expelled.) Theleon Marckenson, 31, was sent back to Haiti from Texas last fall. He said he spent $1,650 for a charter flight on Aeroregional to return to Chile, where he had lived since 2017. After Marckenson landed in Santiago, Chilean authorities told him the application he had submitted for permanent residency before he left for the U.S. border had expired. Hours later he was put on another Aeroregional flight to Haiti with six others. I dont have any more money, Marckenson said by phone after landing back in Port-au-Prince. I dont know what I am going to do. But I cant stay here. There is only hunger. There is no life. Gisela Perez de Acha is a supervisory reporter for Berkeleys Human Rights Center and its Investigative Reporting Program. Katie Licari is a recent Berkeley graduate journalism alum. Watson reported from San Diego, Daniel from New York. Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego; Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami; and Gonzalo Solano in Quito, Ecuador; also contributed to this report. University of California students Zhe Wu, Mar Segura, Grace Luo, Gergana Georgieva, Jose Fernando Rengifo, Pamela Estrada, Freddy Brewster, Sabrina Kharrazi, Jocelyn Tabancay, Imran Ali Malik reported from Berkeley, along with Human Rights Center Investigations Lab director Stephanie Croft. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Two U.S. veterans from Alabama who were in Ukraine assisting in the war against Russia haven't been heard from in days and are missing, members of the state's congressional delegation said Wednesday. Relatives of Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, of Trinity and Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa have been in contact with both Senate and House offices seeking information about the men's whereabouts, press aides said. Rep. Robert Aderholt said Huynh had volunteered to go fight with the Ukrainian army against Russia, but relatives haven't heard from him since June 8, when he was in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, which is near the Russian border. Huynh and Drueke were together, an aide to Aderholt said. As you can imagine, his loved ones are very concerned about him, Aderholt said in a statement. My office has placed inquires with both the United States Department of State and the Federal Bureau of Investigation trying to get any information possible. Rep. Terri Sewell said Drueke's mother reached out to her office earlier this week after she lost contact with her son. The U.S. State Department said it was looking into reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine had captured at least two American citizens. If confirmed, they would be the first Americans fighting for Ukraine known to have been captured since the war began Feb. 24. We are closely monitoring the situation and are in contact with Ukrainian authorities, the department said in a statement emailed to reporters. It declined further comment, citing privacy considerations. John Kirby, a national security spokesman at the White House, said Wednesday that the administration wasnt able to confirm the reports about missing Americans. Well do the best we can to monitor this and see what we can learn about it, he said. However, he reiterated his warnings against Americans going to Ukraine. Ukraine is not the place for Americans to be traveling, he said. If you feel passionate about supporting Ukraine, theres any number of ways to do that that that are safer and just as effective. A court in Donetsk, under separatist control, sentenced two Britons and a Moroccan man to death last week. The Britons and Moroccan were accused of being mercenaries and seeking the violent overthrow of the separatist government in the Donetsk region. The Russian military has said it considers foreigners fighting with Ukraine to be mercenaries and claims they are not protected as combatants under the Geneva Convention. Huynh's fiancee, Joy Black, posted publicly on Facebook that his family was in contact with the Drueke family and government officials, and that nothing had been confirmed other than that the two were missing. Please keep Andy, and Alex, and all of their loved ones in prayer. We just want them to come home, she wrote. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger tweeted that the Americans have enlisted in the Ukrainian army, and thus are afforded legal combatant protections. As such, we expect members of the Legion to be treated in accordance with the Geneva convention. It was unclear whether Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, had any further information about the men. He was commenting on a tweet sent earlier Wednesday by Task Force Baguette, a group of former U.S. and French servicemen, saying that two Americans fighting with them were captured a week ago. The group said Ukrainian intelligence confirmed the information. Early in the war, Ukraine created the International Legion for foreign citizens who wanted to help defend against the Russian invasion. Huynh spoke to his local newspaper, the Decatur Daily, shortly before flying to Eastern Europe in April. He explained that he was studying robotics at Calhoun Community College but couldnt stop thinking about Russias invasion. I know it wasnt my problem, but there was that gut feeling that I felt I had to do something, Huynh told the Decatur Daily. Two weeks after the war began, it kept eating me up inside and it just felt wrong. I was losing sleep. ... All I could think about was the situation in Ukraine. He said he decided to fly out once he learned that young Ukrainians were being drafted into service. Right when they turned 18, they were forced to enlist in the military to defend their homeland, Huynh said. Honestly, that broke my heart. I would say that is probably the moment where I decided that I have to do something. According to the newspaper, Huynh enlisted in the Marines when he was 19 and served for four years, though he did not see active combat. He was born and raised in Orange County, California, to Vietnamese immigrants and moved to northern Alabama two years ago to be closer to his fiancee, the newspaper reported. Associated Press writers Lynn Berry in Washington and Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Sri Lanka may be compelled to buy more oil from Russia as the island nation hunts desperately for fuel amid an unprecedented economic crisis, the newly appointed prime minister said. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he would first look to other sources, but would be open to buying more crude from Moscow. Western nations largely have cut off energy imports from Russia in line with sanctions over its war on Ukraine. In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press on Saturday, Wickremesinghe also indicated he would be willing to accept more financial help from China, despite his countrys mounting debt. And while he acknowledged that Sri Lankas current predicament is of its own making, he said the war in Ukraine is making it even worse and that dire food shortages could continue until 2024. He said Russia had also offered wheat to Sri Lanka. Wickremesinghe, who is also Sri Lankas finance minister, spoke to the AP in his office in the capital, Colombo, one day shy of a month after he took over for a sixth time as prime minister. Appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resolve an economic crisis that has nearly emptied the countrys foreign exchange reserves, Wickremesinghe was sworn in after days of violent protests last month forced his predecessor, Rajapaksas brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, to step down and seek safety from angry crowds at a naval base. Sri Lanka has amassed $51 billion in foreign debt, but has suspended repayment of nearly $7 billion due this year. The crushing debt has left the country with no money for basic imports, which means citizens are struggling to access basic necessities such as food, fuel, medicine even toilet paper and matches. The shortages have spawned rolling power outages, and people have been forced to wait days for cooking gas and gasoline in lines that stretch for kilometers (miles). Two weeks ago, the country bought a 90,000-metric-ton (99,000-ton) shipment of Russian crude to restart its only refinery, the energy minister told reporters. Wickremesinghe did not comment directly on those reports, and said he did not know whether more orders were in the pipeline. But he said Sri Lanka desperately needs fuel, and is currently trying to get oil and coal from the countrys traditional suppliers in the Middle East. If we can get from any other sources, we will get from there. Otherwise (we) may have to go to Russia again, he said. Officials are negotiating with private suppliers, but Wickremesinghe said one issue they face is that there is a lot of oil going around which can be sourced back informally to Iran or to Russia. Sometimes we may not know what oil we are buying, he said. Certainly we are looking at the Gulf as our main supply. Since Russias invasion of Ukraine in late February, global oil prices have skyrocketed. While Washington and its allies are trying to cut financial flows supporting Moscows war effort, Russia is offering its crude at a steep discount, making it extremely enticing to a number of countries. Like some other South Asian nations, Sri Lanka has remained neutral on the war in Europe. Sri Lanka has received and continues to reach out to numerous countries for help including the most controversial, China, currently the countrys third-largest creditor. Opposition figures have accused the president and the former prime minister of taking on a slew of Chinese loans for splashy infrastructure projects that have since failed to generate profit, instead adding to the countrys debt. Critics have also pointed to a beleaguered port in the hometown of then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Hambantota, built along with a nearby airport as part of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative projects, saying they cost too much and do too little for the economy. We need to identify what are the projects that we need for economic recovery and take loans for those projects, whether it be from China or from others, Wickremesinghe said. Its a question of where do we deploy the resources? The prime minister said his government has been talking with China about restructuring its debts. Beijing had earlier offered to lend the country more money but balked at cutting the debt, possibly out of concern that other borrowers would demand the same relief. China has agreed to come in with the other countries to give relief to Sri Lanka, which is a first step, Wickremesinghe said. This means they all have to agree (on) how the cuts are to take place and in what manner they should take place. Sri Lanka is also seeking financial assistance from the World Food Program, which may send a team to the country soon, and Wickremesinghe is banking on a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. But even if approved, he doesnt expect to see money from the package until October onwards. Wickremesinghe acknowledged that the crisis in Sri Lanka has been of its own making. Many have blamed government mismanagement, deep tax cuts in 2019, policy blunders that devastated crops and a sharp plunge in tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic. But he also stressed that the war in Ukraine, which has thrown global supply chains into a tailspin and pushed fuel and food prices to unaffordable levels, has made things much worse. The Ukraine crisis has impacted our ... economic contraction, he said, adding that he thinks the economy will shrink even further before the country can begin to recoup and rebuild next year. I think by the end of the year, you could see the impact in other countries as well, he said. There is a global shortage of food. Countries are not exporting food. In Sri Lanka, the price of vegetables has jumped threefold while the countrys rice cultivation is down by about a third, the prime minister said. The shortages have affected both the poor and the middle classes, triggering months of protests. Mothers are struggling to get milk to feed their babies, as fears of a looming hunger crisis grow. Wickremesinghe said he felt terrible watching his nation suffer, both as a citizen and a prime minister. He said he hasnt ever seen anything like this in Sri Lanka and didnt think he ever would. I have generally been in governments where I ensured people had three meals and their income increased, he said. Weve had difficult times. ... But not like this. I have not seen ... people without fuel, without food. Associated Press writers Bharatha Mallawarachi and Krishan Francis contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Floridas governor announced the first director of a newly reactivated Florida State Guard on Wednesday to bolster the states National Guard with a focus on responding to disasters in the hurricane-prone region. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said the director of the re-upped force would be retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Chris Graham, an Iraq veteran and former intelligence and anti-terrorism officer. I think this unit has a particularly important mission, Graham said at a news conference in Madeira Beach, Florida. As Floridians, you guys know, the last hurricanes behind us, the next hurricanes on the horizon. Anything we can do to help, I want to help. Graham said he would also like the new force to contribute the state's defense capabilities. He said there were 1,200 applicants already for 400 volunteer positions with a stipend for training sessions, but welcomed more volunteers to reach out. The Florida National Guard, in comparison, has about 12,000 members. About half of the U.S. states have active defense forces under the sole authority of the state governments, including big states such as California, Texas and New York. Floridas state guard was created in 1941 to backfill National Guard members deployed in World War II, but was disbanded in 1947. DeSantis proposed to reactivate it three-quarters of a century later, and the Legislature this year authorized $10 million for that. The head of the Florida National Guard, Adjutant Gen. Jim Eifert, said the National Guard has allocated to Florida nearly the lowest level of staffing per citizen among U.S. states and territories, leaving the states National Guard stretched razor thin. The trained civilian volunteer work force of the new state guard might help relieve the wear and tear on the National Guard following a busy couple of years responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, civil strife and storms, Eifert said. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. President Joe Biden signed a bill Wednesday to rename the Benson post office after an Omaha sailor who saved more than a dozen shipmates while serving in World War II. The legislation, which designates the U.S. Postal Service facility at 6223 Maple St. the Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Jackson French Post Office, was one of two bills Biden signed Wednesday, according to the White House. French, a Black man who enlisted in the still-segregated Navy as a mess attendant, was hailed as the hero of the Solomon Islands after the sinking of his ship, the USS Gregory, on Sept. 5, 1942, near Guadalcanal. He was credited with swimming for several hours through shark-infested waters while towing a lifeboat filled with 15 wounded shipmates, all of whom were White, until they could be rescued. French was born in Arkansas but moved to Omaha as a youth to live with an older sister after his parents died. He stayed in the military until the end of the war, then took a civilian job with the Navy in San Diego. He died in 1956, at age 37, of depression and alcoholism from untreated post-traumatic stress, according to family members. Though he was recognized at the time, Frenchs story was largely forgotten until Bruce Wigo, a former director of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, unearthed it several years ago. It was amplified on social media in spring 2021, prompting USA Swimming to honor him during the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha last June. Rep. Don Bacon, who introduced the bill to name the Omaha post office, said the designation would help preserve Frenchs legacy and give Nebraskans and other Americans the opportunity to remember his heroic actions. Despite the segregation at the time, he went above and beyond to answer the call of duty by saving his fellow sailors, Bacon said in a statement Wednesday. The post office designation is the latest honor posthumously awarded to French. In May, his family was presented with the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the services highest award for noncombat heroism. The award was presented during a ceremony in San Diego where a pool used for training Navy rescue swimmers was renamed in Frenchs honor. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. City officials and streetcar backers began an important step in the pursuit of a proposed streetcar system Tuesday. The City Council heard from the public and city officials on a redevelopment agreement that establishes guidelines for the project, including the use of $354 million in tax-increment financing. If the agreement between the city and the Omaha Streetcar Authority is approved, the TIF would help secure $306 million needed to pay back bonds that will cover the cost of constructing and launching the streetcar system. Troy Anderson, a deputy chief of staff with the Mayors Office, noted that approval of the redevelopment agreement, while an important step in moving the streetcar forward, wouldnt be the final decision on the project. The city is not responsible for or obligated to fund any expenses until the city issues a notice to proceed, Anderson said. This is just the next step in the process. This just continues to build upon the momentum and the progress made so far. Multiple council members said they hope to have an initial financial analysis of the citys streetcar financial plan in hand before they vote on the redevelopment agreement later this month. The City Council in March unanimously approved a resolution that will pay Maryland-based public finance consulting firm MuniCap Inc. up to $100,000 for an analysis of the financial plan. As part of that work, MuniCap will evaluate revenue streams for funding the project. The city then will work with investment banking firm D.A. Davidson to determine the structure of the bond-selling process. Though MuniCap hasnt yet shared an official analysis, Stephen Curtiss, the citys finance director, told council members that the company said it has so far found the financial feasibility of the plan to be in line with what the city predicted. Supporters of the streetcar have long championed it as a tool for development. We have a very good handle on what does happen when infrastructure projects like this are undertaken, said local developer and Omaha Streetcar Authority President Jay Noddle. We want to be smart about what we want, we want to be diligent about what were doing and we want to make good decisions for our community. As announced by Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert in January, the streetcar will operate along a 3-mile route using 5.5 track miles. The line will travel along Farnam and Harney Streets from 10th Street to 42nd Street and along 10th Street between Harney and Cass Streets. The $354 million in TIF would help fund the streetcars construction, as well as affordable and workforce housing solutions. It would be generated via a special TIF district spanning the entire streetcar route, as well as three blocks north and south of the route. Under TIF, the developer of a city-approved project takes out a loan to help cover eligible redevelopment expenses. The loan is paid back, generally over a 15-year period, by using the increased property taxes that are generated on the new development. Normally, property tax payments go to support schools and other local tax-reliant bodies. During the TIF period, the property owner continues to pay a portion of property taxes to local governments based on the valuation that existed before any improvements. After the TIF loan is repaid, property taxes collected on the higher-value, improved property then start flowing to those local governments. In the case of the streetcars TIF district, the property taxes on the new developments would be used in part to pay back the special revenue bonds and private placement bonds issued to pay for the systems construction. Since it was announced, the streetcar project has been tied to a massive Mutual of Omaha skyscraper planned for downtown. Mutual officials have said the streetcar system is critical to their plans to construct the $600 million skyscraper in the heart of downtown. Not only does Mutual value having its new headquarters on the line, the streetcar system brings enhanced value to the redevelopment of its current midtown campus that helps make the pricey project work financially. The council is expected to vote on the streetcar redevelopment agreement at its June 28 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. A 33-year-old La Vista man has been sentenced to three years in prison for stabbing his girlfriend in the neck. Aaron L. Crawford initially was charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, domestic assault, child abuse due to negligence and six counts of tampering with evidence. He later pleaded no contest in Sarpy County District Court to second-degree domestic assault, attempted assault and child abuse due to negligence. Crawford also was sentenced Tuesday to a year in prison for attempted assault and one year for child abuse. Those terms are to be served at the same time as the three-year sentence for second-degree assault. Under state guidelines, prisoners must serve at least half of their sentences before they are eligible for parole. Crawford is credited with 370 days served in the Sarpy County Jail. Authorities said Crawford stabbed Jessica Jones, his then-38-year-old girlfriend, in the neck on June 9, 2021. The incident occurred at the couples residence at Vivere Apartments at 8216 City Centre Drive. La Vista police officers found a blood-soaked scene and Jones in the hallway. Officers fired pepper balls at Crawford, who police said was in the bathroom and refused to drop a knife. La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten said the couple had moved to the area from Kentucky a few months before the incident. 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. Two tornadoes and powerful straight-line winds left a trail of damage as thunderstorms moved through eastern Nebraska and western Iowa Tuesday into Wednesday morning. National Weather Service meteorologist Becky Kern said two tornadoes have been confirmed, one near Murdock, Nebraska, and the other near Treynor, Iowa. Damage from several other suspected tornadoes was instead the result of straight-line winds, she said. Straight-line winds reached 115 mph near Utica, Nebraska, and 90 mph near York, Nebraska, and at Silver City, Iowa, according to reports from the weather service. Winds reached 75 mph at Hastings, Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue and in Council Bluffs. A 79 mph wind gust was reported at Kearney. The tornado near Treynor led to building damage that resulted in the closure of Prairie Crossing Vineyard & Winery. The winery posted on Facebook that no one was injured, but that they would be closed indefinitely. In Nebraska, family members in an RV suffered minor injuries when the storm toppled their large fifth-wheel camper, said Greenwood Volunteer Fire Chief Mark Sobota. Sobota said the family had been camping at the Pine Grove Campground near the Interstate 80 Greenwood exit. Kern said straight-line winds were responsible for tipping over the trailer, but the storm soon thereafter spun out the Murdock tornado. Sobota said the storm caused significant tree and power line damage in Greenwood. Volunteers pitched in to clear streets of debris and to make it easier for the Omaha Public Power District to restore power. Were seeing small-town living at its finest people helping people, he said. Chad Korte, chief deputy director of the Cass County Emergency Management Agency, said Murdock also sustained significant tree damage. Korte and Sobota said there was damage to some center pivots, grain bins, siding and roofs. The weather service received dozens of reports of large hail, including some stones slightly larger than golf balls. Hail damage was reported to crops in Lancaster County and to trees and shrubs along the path of the storm, including in York. Rainfall totals at 7 a.m. Wednesday included 1.81 inches at Eppley Airfield and 1.60 inches in Council Bluffs. Blair, Nebraska, and Harlan, Iowa, each recorded 1.46 inches, with 1.39 reported at the Millard Airport and 1.10 in Valley. Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Director Doug Reed said 63 structures sustained damage, either from downed limbs and trees or straight-line winds. The good news, he said, is that no injuries occurred. The forecast for Thursday includes another chance for thunderstorms in Omaha starting in the evening hours. An excessive heat watch has been issued for much of central Nebraska. 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. MCDONOUGH, Ga. (AP) Nearly a month after his preferred candidate for governor in Georgia was defeated by more than 50 points, former President Donald Trump has an opportunity next week to demonstrate he still has some sway in this onetime Republican stronghold. A runoff election for a U.S. House seat east of Atlanta pits the Trump-backed Vernon Jones against Mike Collins, the son of a former congressman. The winner will advance to the November general election against the Democratic nominee, also to be decided in the runoff being held Tuesday. The Jones-Collins winner will be the heavy favorite in this district drawn to elect a Republican. With that in mind, both Jones and Collins have pledged allegiance to Trump, who remains popular among the partys voters. Jones, an attention-seeking, bombastic presence with a long trail of enemies, is fond of calling himself the Black Donald Trump." Collins, who owns a trucking company is plenty Trump-like as well, promoting himself as an outsider businessman as he drives an 18-wheel truck to campaign appearances. But it's Jones who has Trump's official backing, something he constantly reminds audiences. Im Trump vetted, Im Trump trusted and Im Trump endorsed, Jones told Henry County Republicans in the Atlanta suburb of McDonough last week. I dont have to pretend I was with President Trump. ... I held the line for President Trump. And Im not backing off President Trump. Collins narrowly led Jones in the eight-candidate primary on May 24. But neither cleared the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. About 112,000 people participated in the primary, but the turnout probably will be much lower next week, when Republicans have no statewide runoffs on the ballot. Jones shot to prominence in Republican circles as a lifelong Democrat who endorsed Trumps reelection campaign in 2020. He has supported Trumps false claims of election fraud and said, "I have left the plantation, when he switched parties in 2021. He jumped into the congressional race in a district distant from DeKalb County, where Jones had long been in office, after Trump asked him to abandon a run for governor. Trump was futilely trying to clear the path to the nomination for former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, who was blown out by incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp. As part of the deal, Trump endorsed Jones for Congress. As DeKalb County's elected CEO, Jones faced investigations of an expensive security detail, and a woman accused Jones of raping her in late 2004. She dropped the charges, but never recanted. Jones said the sexual encounter was consensual. Collins has been handing out rape whistles to keep the allegation fresh. On Tuesday, Jones filed a police report claiming Collins was encouraging violence against him after Collins tweeted a picture of a gun and the campaign's anti-Jones whistle. Jones oversaw hundreds of millions in capital projects as CEO, but a special grand jury later alleged he was part of an endemic culture of incompetence, patronage, fraud and cronyism. He later lost races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House and county sheriff. Vernon Jones is a con man," Collins said in a June 6 debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club. "I think thats what were getting down to its just a trust issue. Jones has been replying with a television ad featuring voters under the tagline I trust Vernon. He's also criticized Collins for lending his campaign $465,000 after the federal government forgave $920,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans to his privately held trucking company. Theres nothing unusual about the loans being forgiven, but Jones says Collins effectively dumped federal money into his campaign. Collins denies doing so, saying it helped him keep people employed. He is the crook," Jones said in the debate. "He stole hard-earned taxpayer dollars. Jones also calls Collins a RINO," or Republican in name only, saying Collins sent out a mailer in a failed 2014 primary bid for Congress asking Democrats to vote for him. Collins calls that claim a lie and a hit job. All six of the other primary candidates who did not make the runoff have endorsed Collins, the son of former U.S. Rep. Mac Collins, who died in 2018. Other officials who have endorsed Collins include 11 county sheriffs and 17 state lawmakers. State Sen. Brian Strickland, a McDonough Republican, said he is backing Collins in part because Jones was ineffective in the legislature and had rocky relationships with other lawmakers. I dont think he will be effective," Strickland said. "I think Vernon is a show. We know that from working with him in the legislature. Jones is not without significant backing, though. Besides Trump, the National Rifle Association has given Jones the nod over Collins. And some party activists give him good reviews. I love his story. I love his fight. I love his tenacity, said Ortavia Taylor of Stockbridge, who attended the Henry County meeting. Jones has pushed an outlandish plan to install Trump as speaker of the U.S. House and then impeach, convict and remove President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris from office. That, in theory, would put Trump in position to return to the White House because the House speaker follows the vice president in line for the presidency. He has embraced other conspiracies, including the false claim that Georgia's election was stolen from Trump, saying Congress should investigate. The results in Georgia were certified after a trio of recounts, including one partially done by hand. They all affirmed Bidens victory. Jones has hosted showings of 2000 Mules, a film that purports to use cellphone location data to show Democratic operatives were paid to illegally collect and drop off ballots. Experts say the claims made in the movie are fatally flawed. Collins, too, has shown support for such claims, attending a screening, but the issue has featured less prominently in his campaign. There are few other policy differences between the candidates, although Jones has tried to position himself as even more anti-abortion and even more pro-gun than his opponent. While Jones has the Trump endorsement, Collins is arguing that with his outsider positioning, he is Trump enough. He told Henry County Republicans they should choose him if youre looking for somebody that is truly, unapologetically pro-Trump, an America First agenda candidate, conservative to the core, an outsider never been elected anything in my life. This story has been corrected to delete the reference that Vernon Jones had never lived in the congressional district. Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter, https://twitter.com/ap_politics Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. WASHINGTON (AP) Donald Trump notched a significant victory in South Carolina, where his preferred candidate easily ousted five-term Rep. Tom Rice, the first Republican to be booted from office after voting to impeach the former president last year. But another high-profile GOP target of Trump in the state, Rep. Nancy Mace, held back a challenger. Meanwhile, in Nevada on Tuesday, two election deniers who have tirelessly promoted the former president's lies about voter fraud won their primaries for key positions of power in the state. Takeaways from the latest round of primary elections: SPLIT DECISION IN SOUTH CAROLINA Rice and Mace have been objects of Trumps anger ever since a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden's presidential election win. Their transgressions? Mace stated on national TV that Trumps entire legacy was wiped out by the attack, while Rice became an apostate for joining a small group of Republicans who voted with Democrats in favor of Trumps second impeachment. He threw a temper tantrum that culminated with the sacking of the United States Capitol, Rice told NBC News on Monday. Its a direct attack on the Constitution, and he should be held accountable. Voters ultimately rendered different judgments on the duo, reflecting a split within the GOP about how to move forward from the Trump era. Rice's largely rural district is representative of Trump's America, where crossing the former president carries a steep cost. Even as Trump railed against both lawmakers, he chose to hold a rally in Rice's district earlier this year. That's because Mace's district, which centers on Charleston, is full of the type of moderate suburban voters who fled the GOP under Trump. It is one of the few districts in an overall red state where Democrats have been even moderately competitive in congressional races. The results demonstrate that the Trump factor can't be underestimated in solidly Republican territory, a potential warning sign for other Republicans, including Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who also voted to impeach Trump and has helped lead the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack. She's facing a competitive primary in August from a Trump-backed challenger. Another notable factor in the Mace contest: It amounted to a proxy battle between Trump, who is contemplating a 2024 White House campaign, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is also considering a run. Trump backed former state Rep. Katie Arrington in the race, while Haley, a former South Carolina governor, effectively challenged Trump by campaigning with Mace. In Rice's contest, Trump endorsed State Rep. Russell Fry. ELECTION DENIERS ADVANCE IN NEVADA Two Republican candidates who ardently pushed Trump's lies about voter fraud costing him the 2020 presidential election won nominations to top offices in Nevada on Tuesday. Jim Marchant, a former state lawmaker, won the GOP nomination for secretary of state, the office that oversees elections in the perennial presidential battleground that Trump narrowly lost in both 2016 and 2020. Marchant has made appearances around the country with other Trump allies, including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, to cast doubt on the election results, despite the fact that courts, election officials from both parties and his own attorney general have said the vote was legitimate. Marchant has also been working to persuade local officials to toss out voting equipment that he baselessly contends is rigged and instead require that all ballots be cast and counted by hand an arduous and unnecessary task since testing is conducted before elections and audits are held afterward to ensure the votes are recorded accurately. Marchant will face Democrat Cisco Aguilar in November. Aguilar is a lawyer and former chair of the Nevada Athletic Commission who was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Adam Laxalt, the state's former attorney general, won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in Nevada on Tuesday after promoting Trump's lies about fraud in the state in the 2020 election, including spearheading legal challenges to the vote-counting process. Laxalt, who was backed by the former president, weaved Trump's false claims of voter fraud throughout his campaign. He has already begun raising fears of voter fraud in this year's midterm elections and has talked about preemptively mounting legal challenges to try to tighten up the election. He had insisted in 2020 that ineligible and dead voters cast ballots in the presidential election in Nevada, despite the states Republican secretary of state, Barbara Cegavske, insisting that the results showing Bidens victory were accurate and reliable. Cegavske was prevented by term limit laws from running again. Laxalt will face Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in November in what Republicans see as one of their best chances to flip a seat and to win back control of the chamber. TRUMP, MCCONNELL ALIGN ON LAXALT IN NEVADA Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell don't agree on much. One rare exception is Laxalt, who won Nevada's Republican Senate primary. The two Republican leaders haven't been on speaking terms since December 2020, when McConnell acknowledged that Biden defeated Trump. But they both endorsed Laxalt, who defeated retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, a West Point graduate and Purple Heart recipient who ran an unexpectedly strong campaign as a conservative outsider. The mutual support, which brought together the Trump and establishment wings of the party, demonstrates the intense focus Republican have placed on flipping the seat held by first-term Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who is considered among the most vulnerable senators. TEXAS HOUSE SEAT FLIPS A once solidly Democratic district in South Texas will now be represented by a Republican after Mayra Flores won a special primary election to finish the term of former Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela, who resigned this year to become a lobbyist. Flores, a GOP organizer who is the daughter of migrant workers, will only hold the seat for several months before the district is redrawn to be more favorable to Democrats. But her victory in the heavily Hispanic Rio Grande Valley is an ominous sign for Democrats. They are not only losing ground in a region they long dominated, but Flores' success as a candidate also demonstrates that Republicans are making inroads with Hispanic voters. Her win also has implications for Democrats' ambitions in Congress, denying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an opportunity to add to her slim two-vote margin to pass legislation. FROM SOUTH CAROLINA TO THE WHITE HOUSE? Also in South Carolina, Republican Tim Scott coasted to an easy and unopposed primary win Tuesday for what he says will be his last term in the Senate. But another state is also on his mind the presidential proving ground of Iowa. It's become an article of faith that there are no accidental trips to Iowa by ambitious politicians. And Scott, the Senates sole Black Republican, has made several visits, including one last week. He certainly has the money to contend. As he campaigned for reelection to the Senate, Scott amassed a jaw-dropping $42 million. That's more than double the $15.7 million average cost of a winning Senate campaign in the 2018 midterms. It's also more than enough to launch a Republican presidential campaign in 2024. Even before his recent appearance at an Iowa Republican Party event, Scott has been raising his profile. He spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention and delivered the Republican response to President Joe Bidens first joint congressional address. He's also visited New Hampshire, another early-voting presidential state, and delivered a speech at the Reagan Presidential Library, another frequent stop for Republicans eyeing the White House. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Katie Britt has won the Republican nomination for Senate in Alabama, defeating six-term Congressman Mo Brooks in a primary runoff after former President Donald Trump endorsed and then un-endorsed him. The loss ends a turbulent campaign for Brooks, a conservative firebrand who had fully embraced Trumps election lies and had run under the banner MAGA Mo. But it wasnt enough for the former president, who initially backed Brooks in the race to replace retiring Sen. Richard Shelby, but then rescinded his support as Brooks languished in the polls. Trump eventually endorsed Britt in the races final stretch after she emerged as the top vote-getter in the states May 24 primary. A janitor at Otte Middle School in Blair, Nebraska, will stand trial in Washington County District Court for allegedly sending a sexually explicit photo to a student. Orlando Blair, 25, of Omaha waived his right Tuesday to a preliminary hearing at which a judge would rule on whether prosecutors had enough evidence to take the case to trial. A trial date has not been set. Blair is charged with child enticement with an electronic device, possession of child pornography, intentional child abuse and enticement by an electronic device, all felonies. The penalty for child enticement with an electronic device is three to 50 years in prison. According to an affidavit filed May 13 by an officer in the Blair Police Department, three students went to Otte Middle School Principal Brett Schwartz on May 11 with information about Blair sending an explicit photo to a 14-year-old female student. A search of the students phone the next day found a photo of Blairs genitals sent via Snapchat. A police officer and school officials then met with Blair, who voluntarily turned over his cellphone for inspection, the affidavit said. Blair told the officer that he had received explicit photos from the female student and responded with the sexually explicit photo of himself. Blair told police that he had contact with other students, boys and girls, through Snapchat, but denied sending other sexually explicit photos of himself, the affidavit said. He was released from the Washington County Jail on Tuesday after posting 10% of $100,000 bail. 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 special season allows hunters to kill as many animals as possible in the area to relieve problems landowners are having with elk destroying their crops. It's believed to be only 15 to 20 of the massive animals. A new Nebraska Department of Transportation operations center in Omaha should provide drivers with more immediate information on hazards along Nebraskas highways and interstates. State officials gathered Tuesday to celebrate the opening of the center, which is essentially a merger of the departments previous two operation centers with one located in Omaha and Lincoln each. The new combined center in Omaha is located at a Nebraska State Patrol office along South 108th Street. According to Jessica Sherwood, manager of the center, staff members have access to more than 380 live traffic cameras across the state. With access to those feeds and other information now under one roof, staff members will be able to more quickly and effectively communicate with each other, first responders and ultimately the public about obstacles and hazards on Nebraskas roads. That includes distributing real-time information via various methods including the smartphone navigation app Waze, which provides crowdsourced traffic information, and more than 330 message boards across the state. Theres nothing worse than to come up on an incident unaware where you wish you could have took that exit just prior to the incident, NDOT Director John Selmer said. We hope that this center will help meet the desires and expectation of our public. Sherwood said the center will operate at all hours. Thats a change from when there were two district operation centers, which didnt operate at a full-time capacity and relied on people working on call. The state operation centers No. 1 goal and priority is to provide the most accurate and timely information to our traveling public throughout the state, she said. The creation of the state operation center marks the latest in what Gov. Pete Ricketts said is his administrations effort to create efficiencies in state government under a philosophy of continuous improvement. Ricketts pointed to how NDOT was formed out of the merger of the states Department of Roads and Department of Aeronautics in 2017. Our mission is to create opportunities for Nebraskans (and a) more effective, more efficient and customer-focused state government, he said. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. State media say at least five people were killed when another, smaller earthquake struck an area of eastern Afghanistan that experienced a devastating quake earlier this week. The state-run Bakhtar News Agency said the quake shook Paktikas Gayan District on Friday morning. The quake injured more than 11 people, according to initial reports. The region is already reeling from Wednesdays magnitude 6 quake that killed 1,150 people and injured scores more, according to the latest figures carried in state media. The Omaha metro area is headed into a prolonged hot spell, with little relief in sight. The good news is that recent rains have helped somewhat. Weve done pretty good for the past month, but its going to be hot and dry, and drought is going to be expanding, said Taylor Nicolaisen, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Coping with the heat Drink plenty of water, even if you think you don't need it. Wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing. Stay out of the sun, seek air conditioning. Mulch around plants (and weed) to conserve moisture. During dry spells, water yards an inch a week to nourish trees and shrubs. Don't leave pets or children in hot cars. Provide pets with shade and water, or better yet, bring them indoors. Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control, University of Nebraska Extension Monday brought record heat to Nebraska. Among the records: McCook at 109; North Platte, 108; Imperial, 106; and Broken Bow at 103 degrees. The North Platte high also set an all-time June record for that community, according to the weather service. Omahas high of 101 degrees on Monday matched the citys daily record high last set in 1952, according to the weather service. The average high for the metro area at this time of year is in the mid-80s. The excessive heat is coming about a month early, Nicolaisen said. Half a dozen people were treated at Omaha-area hospital emergency rooms for heat-related ailments on Monday, according to hospital spokespeople. After a brief respite Wednesday, highs are expected to climb back into the 90s, and the metro area could see successive days of triple digits by early next week. The summer outlook, according to the national Climate Prediction Center, favors hotter and drier than normal weather across nearly the entire lower 48 states. Hot weather may be a predictable consequence of the approaching summer season, but that doesnt mean its going to be easy on the landscape. Scott Evans, horticulture program coordinator for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Douglas and Sarpy Counties, said plants are struggling. Heat is going to be a big issue for the foreseeable future, Evans said. After a tough winter of drought, plants had a heck of a time in the spring, he said. Recent rains have been helpful but have come so hard that the ground wasnt able to absorb all the moisture, he said. After Tuesday evening, another chance for rain comes Thursday, but if the weather remains dry, Evans said the landscape will need about an inch of water a week to stay healthy. World-Herald staff writer Bob Glissmann contributed to this report. Local Weather Get the daily forecast and severe weather alerts in your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Addis Faith Foundation wins $25,000 Neighborhood Assist grant In just 10 days this spring, 88,000 people cast more than two million votes in support of their favorite community causes. As a result, 100 communities, in 34 states, including Idabel will be getting an assist from State Farm. State Farm is proud to announce the Top 100 vote-getting causes that have won $25,000 grants to improve their communities. State Farm Neighborhood Assist is a crowd-sourced philanthropic program that empowers communities to identify issues in their neighborhoods. Non-profits affiliated with each of the Top 100 causes receive grants to address them. Addis Faith Foundation was born to honor Addis loving spirit to live big, fight hard and love lots. We vow to carry on her fight by funding critical childhood cancer research and we will help as many families as possible. Just like little Addi Faith, AFF strives to live big, fight hard, and love lots. We know that a cure is out theretogether we will find it! Your child has cancer4 simple words that can flip your world upside down in a heartbeat. Its every parents worst nightmare, says Amber Bender. Caring for a child with cancer is emotionally and financially exhausting and families need help. These Neighborhood Assist funds will significantly increase the number of families Addis Faith will be able to help. When a child is diagnosed with cancer it effects the entire family. Frequently, a parent will need to quit their job to provide the necessary care. This reduction in income coincides with an increase in expenses and creates an immediate financial crisis for many families. Addi's Faith Foundation strives to alleviate some of the financial burden so that parents can focus on what truly matters...helping their child fight cancer. There is no shortage of families who need our help. Every day in the US, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer and more and more of them are coming to Addi's Faith for help. It is our desire to never turn away any legitimate need and help families through this emotionally and financially devastating time. State Farm is happy to celebrate its 100th anniversary by providing these 100 causes with grant money to help them address the needs in their communities, said Rasheed Merritt, Assistant Vice President at State Farm. We look forward to seeing the impact these $25,000 grants will have. Four thousand cause submissions were accepted in February at www.neighborhoodassist.com. The State Farm Review Committee selected the Top 200 finalists and public voting determined the Top 100. In the eleven years of the program, nearly 500 causes have received a total of $12.5 million to enact change in their communities. For a complete list of this years 100 winners, please visit: www.neighborhoodassist.com. 100 years ago June 15, 1922: Many attended a dedication of a memorial marker for Abraham Lincoln at the McLean County courthouse. O.E. Carlstrom, national commander of the United Spanish War Veterans, expressed a hope that the monument would "become a shrine, passing which men and women of future generations may pause reverently in devotion to the principles for which he lived and died." 75 years ago June 15, 1947: Nine Pontiac veterans will realize the first step in their hope of putting the city on the air map when the "Chief City Airport" opens July 1. The veterans have formed a corporation known as Aer Age Enterprises Inc., and they plan flight training for ex-GIs and civilians. The new airport will be in addition to the Pontiac airport located five miles west of the city on Route 116. 50 years ago June 15, 1972: Normal officials face challenges in their efforts toward building an indoor-outdoor swimming pool complex. The town had $501,900 in funding available, but low bids for the proposed project came in at $732,537. Residents in 1971 had approved a $450,000 bond issue to build the facility, which was to be used by McLean County Unit 5 students during the school year. 25 years ago June 15, 1997: Confusion over township boundaries and election responsibilities deprived more than 500 residents of Bloomington's Old Farms Lakes subdivision of the right to vote for the people who set and collect their township taxes. Residents in rural Bloomington Township were not able to vote for those officers and were instead voting in City of Bloomington Township elections. Compiled by Pantagraph staff NORMAL A series of failed calls for help, a lunch break spent dumpster diving and compassion in the face of cruelty led to one small kitten's forever home. "You could hear him crying from the car, and we had the windows up," said one of the kitten's rescuers, Hillary Houk. Houk works in the inspections department for the Town of Normal. On May 10, she said, she received an unexpected phone call. A concerned citizen told her there was an abandoned kitten who had been crying for hours by a dumpster near the corner of Raab Road and School Street. Houk made some calls but couldn't find anyone to help, so she took matters into her own hands. She reached out to her cat-loving co-worker Jennifer Toney, community development specialist for the Town of Normal with a request around midday on May 10. "I said, 'Jennifer, it's 90 degrees outside, and this guy says there's a kitten in a tote,'" Houk said. "'Would you please spend your lunch break with me?'" Houk drove the two of them to where the man said the kitten was waiting covered up in a rubber tote near a dumpster. "He's a black cat," Houk said. "He was so hot when we got here." She said no one could get close to the kitten except Toney, who has a farm with cats and dogs. "It was a familiar scent," said Houk. Toney said they took the kitten tote, blanket and all back to the office so they could try to feed him. There, they ran into Alex Wilson from the engineering department. It was a moment that would change two lives forever. "I helped them feed him when he came in and instantly knew," Wilson said. Houk said everyone in the office was overcome, and no one had a dry eye. There was a problem, though. The kitten could not open his eyes, so Wilson took him to the vet. The vet gave her eye drops and food for the kitten, but she also received some harrowing news. "She didn't know whether he had eyes or not," Wilson said. She said the vet looked as hard as she could but could only find eyelids. Toney said she believed that's why the kitten had been abandoned. But for Wilson, who said she was never a cat-lover before, that did not matter. She took him home and gave him a name: Moony. "He reminded me of a 'Luna,' but he's a boy," Wilson said. "I Googled it and it means 'dreamy and unaware of one's surroundings.' And he's blind, so I thought it fit," she said. That was four weeks ago. "When we found him, he was about 4 weeks, was what the vet said. So he'd be 8 weeks now," Wilson said. "He has doubled his weight since we got him," she said as Moony walked through the grass, something he is not used to. "One blade of grass is as big as his arm," Wilson noted. Bringing him home was a bit of a challenge for Wilson. "It's kinda weird," she said, "because I've never had a blind animal." Moony does not mind, it seems. "He can find me," Wilson said. "If I tap on the floor (in her apartment) he comes running." When Wilson first adopted Moony, she did not have anything in her home that a cat owner needs. "One of the engineers (at work) brought some supplies in for me, like bowls," she said. "That's the toys he has, hand-me-downs." Wilson said she finally bought Moony his own bed, but he still sleeps with the blanket he was found in. Regardless, thanks to one man's concern, two government employees' lunch breaks and one person's compassion, Moony has found love and a home to call his own. Love 111 Funny 1 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 3 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. SPRINGFIELD Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed over 400 bills sent to him this calendar year. His most recent crop of signed bills from Friday included a measure taking aim at wage theft in the construction industry and a pair of bills aimed at increasing access to treatment for HIV. The wage theft measure, House Bill 5412, was a major initiative of a regional carpenters union that allows a worker with a wage theft or fringe benefit grievance against a subcontractor to sue the primary contractor to rectify the situation. The Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council was the main backer of HB 5412. Minority contractors lobbied against the proposal, which they said would drive up costs and limit work opportunities for smaller contractors. The minority groups, including the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association, the Black Contractors Owners and Executives, and the Federation of Women Contractors, argued that the measure was a union attempt to drive up the cost of non-union labor. HB 5412 specifically exempts union projects, homes built on private property where the property owner is the general contractor, and projects contracted through state, local and federal governments. A follow-up measure, House Bill 4600, was also signed Friday. It exempts any renovations or repairs to existing residential structures, any project that costs less than $20,000 to complete, and construction on any single unit within a multi-family dwelling. It also created the Bond Reform in the Construction Industry Task Force to report to the General Assembly by March 1, 2023. The laws took effect upon the governors signature. HIV Treatment: House Bill 4430 allows pharmacists to order and conduct testing and dispense pre- and post-exposure HIV medications to individuals who are at high risk for infection. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2023. The pharmacists would need to have a standing order issued by a licensed physician or county health department that would allow them to offer care for the individual seeking help, but it would not require a prior patient referral. The law also requires pharmacists to receive training and specifies that insurance providers must cover the treatments provided by a pharmacist at the same rate as treatment from a physician. The governor signed that bill the same day he signed House Bill 5549, which requires that for every $3 million in the states special African American HIV/AIDS Response Fund, the fund must maintain at least one Black-led Center of Excellence HIV Biomedical Resource Hub. Its fund balance was $4.5 million as of Monday, according to the Illinois Comptrollers database. Family bereavement: On Thursday, Pritzker signed Senate Bill 3120 expanding the states child bereavement leave act to allow for unpaid leave related to pregnancy loss, failed adoptions, unsuccessful reproductive procedures and other pregnancy-related events. It expands existing law that allows 10 days of unpaid leave for workers suffering losses, and the new law expands the list of individuals for which a worker can take the leave. The measure didnt specify an effective date, meaning it will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023. Health care visits: Senate Bill 1405 requires that a health care facility must ensure an opportunity for at least one visitor to visit a resident or patient, even amid a gubernatorial disaster declaration. A clergyperson would not count against the limit. It became effective when signed on May 27. Health safety guidelines set by the facility, U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would still apply. The person seeking entry may be required to pass a health screening and denied entry if they fail it. Rep. Chris Bos, R-Lake Zurich, the bills chief House sponsor said in April it was in response to constituent anger over Pritzkers COVID-19 executive orders. Bos said facilities would still have to comply with local health department guidance as well. Fentanyl testing: House Bill 4556 expands access for pharmacists and other health care professionals to distribute fentanyl testing strips to help reduce opioid overdoses. The testing strips can detect fentanyl in counterfeit pills and drugs. The bill is designed to expand on the Overdose Prevention and Harm Reduction Act, passed in 2019. That law authorizes government agencies and nongovernmental organizations to create needle access programs aimed at reducing HIV and other bloodborne diseases. The measure took effect immediately when signed June 2. Higher education: House Bill 5464 requires state public universities and community colleges to develop and implement equity plans to increase the access, retention, completion, and student loan repayment rates for minority students, rural students, adult students, women, and people with disabilities. The Illinois Board of Higher Education and Illinois Community College Board will guide implementation of the new equity plans. HB 5464 took effect when signed on Tuesday, June 7. House Bill 4201, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2023, requires state universities and community colleges to employ benefits navigators to connect students to any federal, state or local assistance programs. Vegan lunches: House Bill 4089 requires school districts to provide a plant-based lunch option that complies with federal nutritional requirements to any student who submits a prior request to the district asking for such an option. The law takes effect in August 2023 and was signed May 13. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Determined to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at Illinois schools in the fall, officials with the states health department are urging school districts to resume COVID-19 saliva screenings at the start of the 2022-23 school year. Officials with the Illinois Department of Public Health said the state has renewed an agreement with SHIELD Illinois that offers every public school outside of Chicago the opportunity to use the University of Illinois Systems innovative, saliva-based COVID-19 testing platform at no cost for the 2022-23 school year. Schools interested in renewing with SHIELD or beginning a partnership should sign up by July 15 in order to guarantee testing on the first day of school, IDPH officials said. Schools remain an important place for testing and preventing the spread of infection, Interim IDPH Director Amaal Tokars said in a statement Tuesday. We want to do everything possible to prevent sickness among our children, which is why this renewal and continued testing is critical, Tokars said. SHIELD Illinois provided testing for about 1 million students and staff in K-12 schools during the 2021-22 school year; 57 community colleges and universities; businesses, including Rivian and ADM; and government agencies, including the Illinois General Assembly and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, IDPH officials said. The organization also set up 48 free community testing sites. Officials said so far in 2022, SHIELD Illinois has supplied results for its PCR tests on average 16 hours from the time of collection. According to a study published earlier this month in Nature Communications, mortality in the surrounding Champaign County was reduced more than four-fold relative to what would have been predicted in Fall 2020 thanks to aggressive testing on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, IDPH officials said. We are honored to renew our partnership with the state for another school year as this pandemic continues to demonstrate a high level of unpredictability and an ongoing need for quick, reliable testing, University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen said in a statement. Testing in Illinois is paid for with federal funds from the CARES Act, American Rescue Plan and Operation Expanded Testing, IDPH officials said. A separate testing agreement with the Chicago Department of Public Health covers testing in non-CPS schools in Chicago, including private, parochial and charter schools, IDPH officials said. CPS has its own testing program. Organizations in Illinois that are interested in using the SHIELD saliva test can visit go.uillinois.edu/startSHIELD. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Im writing to support Don Knapp, Jr., on June 28, for Judge in the 11th Circuit, which includes McLean and Woodford counties, where I have lived and worked for many years. So has Don. I've known Don and his family for over 40 years. I've watched him work and communicate, know his wife and kids, and have experienced the outstanding culture he has created in the States Attorney's office in Bloomington. His love and compassion for our Central Illinois communities is only surpassed by his passion and love for the law and pursuing justice and accountability every day. He's from Woodford County, attended Goodfield and Eureka schools where we were classmates, and graduated from ISU prior to law school. He has tirelessly campaigned across the 11th District like no other candidate, from pancake breakfasts, to police and sheriff events, to non-profits, fundraisers and coffee shops in every county, just to name a few. He's demonstrating the kind of work ethic, common sense, street smarts and local focus we need from our judges. Regarding the law and his skill in court, he is meticulous in preparation, has amazing memory recall abilities, and understands the history, intent and spirit of our laws and constitution at an elite level. Don will bring his conservative values, outstanding track record in court, and unmatched respect from our law enforcement teams to the bench. He has endorsements from police departments, sheriffs and first responders in all five counties. Remember Ronald Reagan? Wouldn't he be a breath of fresh air these days?! Those values and that style, combined with toughness, common sense, and an in-depth understanding of the law and our judicial system, are what you will get from Judge Don Knapp. To Woodford County especially, Don Knapp is family. Let's put him on our 11th Circuit bench. Don D. Rood, Jr., Eureka Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, says the Development Bank Ghana will help address market failures in the Ghanaian credit markets, thereby helping businesses invest long-term and promote economic growth and job creation. Currently, there are shortcomings in the financial landscape which have a direct bearing on the countrys economic growth whereby banks and Specialised Deposit-taking Institutions (SDIs) focus on short-term financing for commercial purposes with little support for the long-term financing needed to accelerate economic development and transformation. Available data show that less than 15 percent of loans granted by banks are for five years or longer, making investments in long gestation projects unviable especially for Small-, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The Bank of Ghanas expectation is that DBG, together with the other Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) licensed by the Bank, will help address market failures in the Ghanaian credit markets; thereby helping businesses invest long-term and promote economic growth and job creation, the Governor said at the Development Bank Ghanas launch in Accra. Dr. Addison noted that the current share of banks credit to the agriculture and manufacturing sectors hovers around four percent and eight percent respectively. This data shows that only a small share of lending goes to key sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing relative to their shares in GDP and employment. This, therefore, necessitates the establishment of modern, market-oriented development finance institutions which will focus on providing medium- to long-term financing to support key sectors of the economy. This is what DBG brings on board, he said. Touching on oversight of the development bank, the central bank has assured of maintaining oversight of the Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) that DBG will be working with. As the regulator, the Bank will deploy the requisite tools to ensure effective regulation and supervision of DFIs. Starting with the DBG, the Bank will also ensure that DFIs in Ghana operate in a financially sustainable manner to achieve the development mandate, foster confidence, and attract more investments into the economy to support growth, he added. DBG will play a catalyst role in supporting businesses which form the core of Ghanas economy and provide access to funding that is currently not available. This will be based on an innovative model that provides competitively priced loans through partner financial institutions for on-lending. Given the crucial role of development banks, DBGs presence on the financial landscape is designed to provide and ensure more long-term finance to firms an area that banks and SDIs are ordinarily unable to finance. Such successful synergy between banks and DFIs is expected to ensure greater depth in Ghanas financial sector. SMEs make a significant contribution to the national economy: employing about 80 percent of the workforce and generating some 70 percent of GDP. However, this enormous contribution is seriously underserved when it comes to long-term loans. The DBG intends to develop strong partnerships with the Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) especially commercial banks and other groups to provide business development services for these SMEs to help secure loans and use them to grow their businesses. 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 Vision for Alternative Development, Ghana (VALD-Ghana) and its partners have called on the government to urgently ban the use of shisha as it is a threat to the Ghanaian youth. The partners, which include the Ghana NCD Alliance and others, said their attention was drawn to a viral video in which some students from the Sunyani Senior High School were seen smoking shisha, one of the tobacco industrys deadliest products. They said as civil society organisation (CSO) actors, they were very much concerned about the dangers this act would have on the health of these young girls involved, hence the call for an immediate ban on the product instead of regulating it. The CSOs made the call in a release signed by Mr Labram Musah, the Executive Director of Programmes of VALD-Ghana and the National Coordinator, Ghana NCD Alliance and copied to the Ghana News Agency. The release said: We are even more disturbed about the action taken by the authorities of the school to suspend these girls. The school authorities and the Ghana Education Service must be more concerned about the effects the product has had on these young girls and provide them with some medical and counselling attention. It noted that there is a need for intensive investigation by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to attain further information about the facility where the shisha is being offered and whether it meets the regulatory standards. This is a clear violation of the Tobacco Control Measures of the Ghana Public Health Act (Act 851) of 2012, which seeks to protect children from the use and exposure to tobacco smoke, it stated. The release said the CSO actors in health led by VALD-Ghana had in the past called on the FDA and the Ministry of Health (MoH) to use either an administrative fiat or guidelines to ban shisha in Ghana, but no action was taken. Shisha over the years has become a fashionable product among the second cycle institutions and at the tertiary levels and more common in many communities of Ghana. It is therefore important to note that regulating the deadliest product by the FDA given the recent increase in consumption, especially among the youth, is certainly not deterrent enough, putting the future of our children at risk, it stated. The release said additionally, considering the health implications of smoking shisha as research revealed, a session of shisha was equivalent to smoking over 100 sticks of cigarettes, thus it has become more expedient to ban it rather than regulate it, adding that many of the products were also illegally sold as they do not meet the required standards. It further stated that research by the Ghana Health Service indicates that most of the countrys youth have ditched the smoking of traditional tobacco cigarettes for e-cigarettes and shisha and that the rate at which the young people were smoking the products has shot up to 5.3 per cent, higher than the traditional use of tobacco which stands at 2.8 per cent. The release said despite the ban on tobacco-related advertisements and the law against smoking in public places, the consumption of tobacco and its related products were still on the rise in Ghana. A study on The Economics of Tobacco Control/Taxation in Ghana facilitated by VALD-Ghana revealed that the youth and women especially are now getting hooked on flavoured tobacco/cigarettes and shisha because of its appealing fragrance. There is a misconception held by many people that shisha is safer than cigarettes because of its contact with water, however, according to the American Lung Association, at least 82 toxic chemicals and carcinogens have been identified in hookah/shisha smoke, it stated. The release said smoking shisha increases the risk of oral cancer, lung cancer, and heart diseases, among others; moreover, the body fluids exchanged with multiple people sharing one pipe which was not cleaned properly or at all, present another avenue for the spread of infectious diseases. The VALD-Ghana and its partners acknowledged the efforts of the FDA in promoting education and awareness creation on the harmful effects of tobacco use, However, we believe it is time we take giant steps which go beyond education and sensitization. We, therefore, call on the MoH and the FDA as a matter of urgency to begin the process of outlawing the shisha products in Ghana. Many countries including, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Cameroon, among others, had taken bold steps in banning shisha in their respective countries, because of the public health threat it will have on their children and their youth. The release also called for a deliberate plan to rollout education in the schools, especially the second cycle and tertiary institutions on the negative effects of tobacco use on their health. 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 Afram Plains South and Birim North districts in the Eastern Region have recorded three suspected cases of Monkey Pox disease. Speaking on Nkawkaw-based Agoo FM, Richard Essien, the director of Health at Afram Plains South District explained that two suspected cases were identified in the district during a community outreach program last Saturday. According to him, samples have been sent to Accra for testing. He told the host of Agoo FMs Morning Show Ene Nso Bio , Nana Yaa Mirekua that the two suspected cases an adult and a child live in the same house. He said both have been isolated to prevent infecting others. We have put our CHPs Compounds and health facilities on alert so whenever they suspect a case they draw the attention of the District Health Directorate. We have had two suspected cases in which samples were sent to Accra but yet to receive results, He said. Richard Essien used the opportunity to advise the general public to avoid eating dead animals when found in the bush and also adhere to the usual Covid-19 protocols. On her part, the District Director of Health at Birim North District Mary Achiaa also revealed her outfit recorded the first suspected case last week but awaiting testing results from Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical research. The health director said the patient who is a visitor in the district from Accra reported herself to a nearby CHIPS compound after experiencing symptoms similar to monkeypox. Ghana recorded five cases of Monkeypox out of the 12 suspected cases tested a week ago. According to the Director-General of Ghana Health Service, Patrick Kuma Aboagye, the case are predominant in the Eastern, Western and Greater Accra regions with one imported case. So far since the outbreak in Europe occurred, we tested 12 suspected cases in Ghana since 24 May. Currently, we have confirmed five cases in three regions Eastern, Western and Greater Accra this is where we discovered the five cases, no death has occurred among the cases here, he said. One of the cases has been recorded in a Ghanaian who travelled to the US from Ghana, he might have picked it from here, the GHS boss said. Source: starrfm 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 Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves will be in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), and Accra, Ghana, from June 12-16, 2022, to meet with African government officials and private sector leaders and advance the Biden-Harris Administrations priorities of values-driven, high standard, transparent and catalytic infrastructure initiatives through clean and green growth. Deputy Secretary Graves will also reaffirm the Department of Commerces strong relationship with Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, and partners across the continent. The Deputy Secretary will speak at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on June 13 regarding mutually beneficial economic partnerships and joint initiatives that will strengthen commercial engagement between the U.S. and Africa. He will meet with both the President and the Prime Minister of Cote dIvoire and discuss opportunities for U.S. companies to support the goals of Cote dIvoires National Development Plan. He will also meet with leadership from the African Development Bank and both U.S. and African business leaders to identify projects in Cote d'Ivoire and throughout Africa that have the greatest potential to attract U.S. companies and investment. On June 15, Deputy Secretary Graves will attend a Women in Business Roundtable in Abidjan, where he will listen and engage with women business leaders about ways the U.S. Department of Commerce and American industries can support, encourage and collaborate with women leaders in West Africa. The Deputy Secretary will also provide keynote remarks at the U.S.-Ghana Business Forum luncheon on June 16 where he will speak about the U.S. Governments desire to strengthen commercial engagement between both nations. He will also meet with Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia and various Ghanaian ministers to discuss key policy issues and bilateral commercial opportunities. 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 Five Ghanaian citizens have petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) with a request for ministers and deputies who have not declared their assets to be penalized. The five believe the failure on the part of the ministers and deputies is n breach of Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution. The five are Nicholas Opoku, Lolan Sagoe-Moses, Crystal Selorm Amudzi, Francis Boye, and Elias Ashkur. They are asking CHRAJ to: Open investigations into: a. the failures of public officers to declare their assets; and b. whether the failure of the above-mentioned public officials to declare their assets amounts to a breach of the oaths of office they swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution as mandated by Article 286 (7) and the Second Schedule of the Constitution; Take appropriate action against the defaulting public officers pursuant to CHRAJs mandate in Article 287 of the Constitution, including but not limited to: a. directing each of the defaulting public officers to promptly declare their assets to the Auditor-General; and b. initiating legal actions at the courts against the defaulting public officers to compel them to promptly declare their assets to the Auditor-General or have them sanctioned for default, pursuant to CHRAJs mandate under Section 9 of Act 456. Article 286 of the Constitution and Section 1 of Act 550 place an obligation on public officers to submit a written declaration of all property or assets owned by, or liabilities owed by them, directly or indirectly, to the Auditor-General, (i) before taking office, (ii) at the end of every four years, and (iii) at the end of their term of office. Join Source: rainbow radio 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 country yesterday[June 14] joined the global community to commemorate this year's World Blood Donor Day, with a call on eligible persons to voluntarily donate blood to save lives. The Ministry of Health (MoH), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Blood Service (NBS) together appealed to benevolent individuals and institutions to also support blood donation exercises financially for better health delivery outcomes. The theme for the commemoration was: "Donating blood is an act of solidarity: Join the effort and save lives." Instituted by the UN and marked every year on June 14, the day is aimed at raising awareness of the importance of blood and blood products, the need for safe blood and how each individual, aged 17 to 60, can donate blood voluntarily to save lives. At the event, regular unpaid donors and other stakeholders were acknowledged and honoured for their life-saving gift of blood. Target At a public education forum to commemorate the day in Accra, the acting Head of the Southern Zonal Blood Centre of the NBS, Dr Dilys John-Teye, said the service aimed at achieving 100 per cent voluntary or unpaid blood donation. She said currently, unpaid blood donation was below 40 per cent, a situation which required prompt response by stakeholders, particularly the public. The target of 100 per cent is achievable if, as citizens, we accept that voluntary blood donation is a duty and civic responsibility. Every healthy person between 17 and 60 can donate blood after going through a simple medical screening exercise," Dr John-Teye added. Importance The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, in a speech read on his behalf, said the importance of blood in saving the lives of victims in emergency situations could not be overemphasised. As we strive to ensure blood safety and availability, some of the things we must guard against is wastage, perennial blood shortages and unnecessary and unsafe transfusion practices by healthcare providers, he said. According to him, unnecessary and unsafe transfusion practices exposed patients to the risk of serious adverse reactions and the transfusion of transmissible infections, adding that such acts also reduced the availability of blood products, thereby affecting healthcare delivery. The WHO has recommended the development of systems, such as hospital transfusion committees and haemovigilance, to monitor and improve the safety of transfusion processes, he said, and urged the NBS to set up such monitoring mechanisms. The Country Representative of the WHO, Dr Francis Kasolo, in a speech read on his behalf, said safe blood and its transfusion were key to quality health care of patients, including mothers bleeding during childbirth and children suffering from anaemia during malaria and malnutrition. He said others were victims of trauma, emergency, disasters and accidents. The need for blood is universal, but access to blood for those who need it is a challenge, especially because blood can only be stored for a limited time, he said. 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 Farmers in the Bono Region yesterday received gargantuan praises from the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto for strategically switching to organic fertilizer locally produced instead of striving to purchase the highly scarced and expensive international commodity of inorganic fertilizer which cannot be found. The minister was reacting to a data presented by the Bono Regional Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Mr Dennis Abugri Amenga, who made a presentation during a working visit to his region by the Agric Minister, his deputy and various portfolio directors of the ministry to familiarise with the successes and challenges of agriculture in the region. The minister was optimistic that locally manufactured organic fertilizer will give the farmers good yields and even enrich the soil for future usage than the chemical fertilizers. He encouraged the regional and district directors to intensify public education to help shape the minds of the farmers on organic fertilizer. The Regional Director Mr Abugri Amenga gave the assurance that the Bono Region will not lack food in the ensuing year as being perpetrated by some members of the public. He requested more extension officials and equipment among others to further educate the farmers to increase their yields. Mr Abugri Amenga earlier announced that farmers in the region were fast adopting to the application of organic fertilizers in the state of shortage of inorganic chemical fertilizers which is commendable. The Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu Banahene said instead of patronising the most expensive and scarce inorganic fertilizer it was imperative for the farmers to patronise poultry droppings, compound manure and locally produced organic fertilizer. She appealed to the Agric ministry to support poultry farmers in the region to improve their farms due to the recent bird flu destruction so that enough manure can be produced. 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 Vodafone Ghana Foundation, in partnership with the Otumfuo Foundation, has undergone a tree planting exercise in the Ashanti Region. The exercise was part of activities to launch its Ashanti Month campaign and also to support the governments Green Ghana Day initiative. The Ashanti Month campaign is an initiative by Vodafone Ghana to give a special focus to the Ashanti Region by undertaking a score of socially impactful initiatives in June every year. This years Ashanti Month celebration is themed Boa Asanteman (help Asanteman) to underscore the need to address key sustainable development issues in the region, including education, health, and environmental sustainability. Speaking on the tree planting exercise, Legal and External Affairs Director of Vodafone Ghana Geta Striggner-Quartey stated that the activity was in line with Vodafones commitment as a business to stand for things other than profit, as part of its Purpose-Led agenda which includes the Vodafone Planet Purpose Pillar. She also noted that the exercise was ultimately contributing to Green Ghana Day 2022. She added, As an organization, we believe that urgent and sustained action is required to address the global climate emergency. Not just by individuals, but by organizations. Therefore, the Vodafone Foundation continues to promote environmentally responsible practices and raise awareness of the urgent need to protect our planet. The prime point of our campaign is a tree planting exercise, which is aimed at helping restore the lost forests and repair the damaged ecosystem. We engage in these tree planting activities with our various partners, including NGOs and educational institutions. Seedlings are also provided to our employees, who are encouraged to grow them in their own backyards. Geta noted that the tree planting exercise would not have been a success without the support of His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu IIs Foundation. I would like to express my profound appreciation to the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation for the immense support it has given to this project. Vodafone looks forward to many more years of tree planting with the Foundation, so together, we will inspire Ghanaians and other organizations to think about the planet and how they can also contribute, she stated 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 Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, North Tongu MP, in his quest to expose the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government over some unconstitutional breaches regarding the building of a 5,000-seater National Cathedral, is claiming the compensation to those whose properties were demolished are still in arrears. In a post on his Facebook timeline, the NDC MP said, the government of Ghana owes Waterstone Realty Ltd $6.5million compensation. He alleged further that, as a first stage compensation, the government has failed to allocate 1.26 acres of land situated at Ridge Residential Area to the said company. This is because, some powerful elements in the Akufo-Addo government are scrambling and scheming to buy the same piece of land. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa wrote on his timeline, "in our latest expose on the Akufo-Addo cathedral scandal, we reveal that despite the colossal unconstitutional withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund in excess of GHC200million, and despite contractors abandoning site for lack of payment; Government still owes some of the people whose properties were demolished." "Waterstone Realty Ltd had their high-rise commercial luxury apartments razed aground. Valuations indicate that they are entitled to some $6.5million in compensation. At todays exchange rate, that is a staggering GHC1.6million. Just imagine what GHC51.6 million plus all the other demolishing compensation packages could do in this ailing economy. "Considering that the company has served government notice since the 4th of November 2021 that they will be proceeding to court having run out of patience, perhaps we should expect Ken Ofori-Atta to carry out another unconstitutional withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund in the next few days. "It is worth noting that typical of this chaotic-property grabbing government, a 12th August, 2020 allocation of an approximately 1.26 acres of land situate at Ridge Residential Area by the Lands Commission as a first stage compensation to Waterstone Ltd has so far failed because powerful elements in the Akufo-Addo government are scrambling and scheming to buy the same piece of land once again, not even the holy task of building the Lords temple appears restraining enough to tame their ungodly greed," he observed. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa concluded his post while stating that, "what a big fat mess! From a personal pledge to a national catastrophe God save our Republic." Recent issues with the project The project, over the last few days, has been a subject of controversy following the release of GHC25 million to the National Cathedral Secretariat as additional seed money for the project from the government. The release led to disagreements between the Minority Caucus in Parliament and the government. Whereas the Minority insisted that the release is not budgeted for, the government says otherwise. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Supreme Court has dismissed a review application filed by the injuncted Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North James Gyakye Quayson. The Court unanimously dismissed the application on grounds that Mr Quayson did not meet the threshold for the court to exercise its discretion in his favour. Mr Quayson, who has been restrained from holding himself as an MP, was seeking a review of the Supreme Courts decision last April 13. The Court in a 5-2 majority granted orders of interlocutory injunction against Mr Quayson preventing him from performing his Parliamentary duties until the determination of a substantive suit filed by one Michael Ankomah Nimfah, who is urging the court to declare his election as an MP invalid. The embattled MP claimed that the ruling of the court constituted a patent and fundamental error and that the apex court violated Article 129(3) of the Constitution in assuming jurisdiction over the suit determining the validity of Parliamentary elections and proceeding further to grant an injunction. In view of that, he argued that it was enough grounds for the court to review its ruling to ensure that justice was served. The substantive suit filed by Mr Nimfah which is seeking interpretation of Article 94(2a) of the Constitution had to be adjourned to July 12 because a member of the panel was informed of the death of her father. Chief Justice Kwesi Anin Yeboah announced this and said in view of the need to expedite hearing of the case, he might consider substituting the panel member with another judge if by the next adjourned date, she is still not emotionally stable to continue with the hearing. Another application filed by Mr Quayson to quash the decision of the Court of Appeal at Cape Coast in striking out his appeal against the judgment of the Cape Coast High Court also suffered an adjournment. Speaking after the Court proceedings Deputy Attorney General Diana Asonaba Dapaah said the dismissal of the review application is in place because Mr Quayson failed to meet the requirements necessary for a review. She also expressed condolences to the bereaved panel member. Source: gbc Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The police administration has promoted two of its officers for effecting the arrest of another officer carrying 84 parcels of compressed dried leaves suspected to be marijuana. The two officers promoted are Inspector Azumah Komla Justice and Lance Corporal Felix Diameh. The Police Administration has promoted two officers, Inspector Azumah Komla Justice and No. 52543 G/L/CPL Felix Diameh for their role in effecting the arrest of No. 45638 G/Sgt Lotsu Agbeko, a police officer stationed at the Formed Police Unit (FPU) in Accra, a statement from the Ghana Police Service said. Sergeant Lotsu Agbeko, 36, the police officer was said to be travelling to the Volta Region in his personal Toyota Corolla but failed to heed to a signal to stop when he got to the Have police barrier. His failure to heed to the signal resulted in a hot chase by the personnel manning the barrier. Unfortunately for him, he was involved in an accident in the process and had a fracture on his left hand. He was then rushed to the nearby health facility. It was after inspection of his vehicle that 84 parcels of substances suspected to be Indian hemp were found compressed in the boot. He is said to be responding to treatment. The above police officer was transporting the suspected Indian hemp from Have direction and failed to stop at Have police barrier when signalled by personnel on duty to do so. He attempted to escape but was given a hot chase by the personnel. On reaching a section of the road on Kpeve Mountain, he was involved in an accident and had a fracture on his left hand. 84 parcels of compressed dried leaves [were] found in his car boot, the Police statement added. The Police noted that the officer "was arrested and sent to the hospital for treatment. He has since been transferred to the Police Hospital for further medical attention where he is under guard." Source: gbc Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video SHIRLEY AYORKOR Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has stated that the Ghana Card has the potential to be used as an e-passport. According to her, at the moment, the Ghana Card cannot be used for travel to other countries either within or outside of ECOWAS, as that would require bilateral agreements with those countries for their authorities to accept the card as a travel document. The ministry is in active discussion with ECOWAS member states and our bilateral partners to achieve this, she told Parliament yesterday, while answering questions on the floor of the House. The minister, however, indicated that in light of the announcement by the Ghana Immigration Service titled: Notice to the Public: Use of Ghana Card as a Travel Document, dated February 24, 2022, Ghanaians and dual nationality holders of the Ghana Card would be able to travel to Ghana using the Ghana Card. We belong to ECOWAS which is a bloc. All the 15 countries within ECOWAS are mandated to issue national identity cards which will double as ECOWAS cards. Once all the countries do what Ghana has done, which is to put in place a national identification scheme where citizens have their identity cards, we will now be able to cross into each others country with our ECOWAS card, which happens to be our national identification card, Ayorkor Botchwey said. She explained that this is the same arrangement the EU countries have made where holders of national ID cards which states a persons citizenship, will give one the opportunity to use it as a travel document and cross into other EU countries. This is the potential that the Ghana Card has. For a country to accept our national identification card, there must be some bilateral agreement, and already we have started some requests for bilateral engagement and negotiations for some key countries to accept our national identification [card]. Especially as we speak, what we have done at ICAO where we are now part of the Public Key Directory, it means that everybody, our details are in that database, she indicated. The minister explained that what this means is that if for example you travel somewhere and you lose your passport and you have to check in at an airport, you can use your national identification card to check in because what the airline will do is to put into the database and every detail of you will come up to authenticate you as a bearer of that particular card. They will allow you to come through the airport into the aircraft and come back home. I am told that a few people have successfully come back to Ghana on the national identification card, she added. You would recall that recently, at a ceremony held in the Headquarters of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada, Ghana was welcomed into the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD), which is a central repository needed to verify and authenticate biographic and biometric information on international travel documents. As such, the congratulatory message sent to Ghana by ICAO following the latters decision to join the PKD was not to suggest in any way that the Ghana Card had become an e-passport, she intimated. The minister pointed out that the Ghana Card is not a replacement to the countrys current biometric passport, intimating, The Ghana Card may serve as an optional travel document to be used in tandem with our biometric passport. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Rev Dr Worlanyo Mensah, a chartered economist has said the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war brought more blessings to Ghana than challenges. Talking on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday (15 June), Mensah said Ghanas economic woes are mainly due to mismanagement. Definitely this also beats my imagination when even the president sometimes talk about our woes, our challenges based on the Russia-Ukraine war and the issue of COVID-19, he said. I think the issue of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war is more of a blessing than a curse to our economy. Look at the number of funds that came in to help cushion us, Mensah said. You realise that when COVID-19 came, the quantum of resources that we received to support our economy has been so gargantuan, and so as at now as a country we failed to even account for these funds. So, I believe that we could have turned this economy around if we had really made judicious use of these funds. According to him, the government is now generating more revenue from crude oil due to the Ukraine crisis. . Now, if you consider the Russia-Ukraine war, the biggest effect of the war is that it has increased international fuel price, and now Ghana is also an exporter of crude oil. So, that means that we are making extraordinary profit from crude oil than before, and so the Russia- Ukraine war has brought a much more blessing to the state Our problem now is purely mismanagement. I dont think we have any tragedy at hand. The time is now for this continent to stand on a sound footing. It all depends on the financial structures that we will put in place for the future, which is now, Mensah added. Source: asaaseradio.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 Sekondi High Court 1 in the Western Region was thrown into state of shock and mourning when the embattled MP for Jomoro on Tuesday surprisingly confirmed she holds a dual Citizenship being Ghanaian by birth and Ivorian by birth in the case challenging her eligibility to contest as MP. The embattled MP, Dorcas Affo-Toffey perhaps hit by the evidence and questions from counsel for the petitioner was purportedly seen wiping tears from her face during the cross examination when pouring out citizen status in the court. This transpired when counsel for the petitioner, Bright Okyere-Adjekum took the lawmaker who happens to be first respondent in the case through the start of his cross examination. The MP for Jomoro accepted that all documents filed by the petitioner as his evidence in chief are correct about her. She further confirmed to the court that she is an Ivorian by birth who was born on May 4, 1971 in Ivory Coast, a town called Adzope. She also affirmed to the court that she was born on May 4, 1972 in Ghana at the Kole -bu Hospital in Accra. Besides that it came to the attention of the court also that the lawmaker illegally acquired a Ghanaian diplomatic passport in 2018 when she was not a diplomat. Though she told the court she acquired her first Ghanaian passport in 2018, she later during the cross examination confirmed to the court that a Ghanaian passport of her which was acquired in 2013 was belongs to her. The cross examination of the lawmaker in the ongoing election petition commenced after Godwin Kudzo Tamaklo, counsel for the lawmaker confirmed with her if the witness statement was what she filed in court and would want to use it as the evidence in chief in the ongoing case. The lawyer therefore moved for it to be adopted and used as confirmed. The court presided over by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere adopted the witness statement as her evidence in cheif as prayed. The court therefore adjourned to July 18, 2022 for continuation. This follows an application by one, Joshua Emuah Kofie challenging that the MP was not eligible to contest as a representative of the people in the constituency. According to the applicant, the MP was holding multiple nationalities including American and Ivorian citizenships which contravenes the 1992 constitution. The MP, however, denied having American citizenship but claimed to be in possession of an Ivorian Citizenship which she said she had renounced. This made the applicant to pray the court to give an order to inspect the documents to ascertain whether the MP truly renounced her Ivorian citizenship before filing to contest as MP in 2020. Dorcas Affo-Toffey was subsequently ordered by the Court to produce documents on her alleged renunciation of Ivorian citizenship. But the MP reportedly failed to comply with the courts order which compelled the applicant to initiate contempt proceedings against her after she allegedly failed to appear in court and provide the requisite documents proving her renunciation of the alleged dual citizenship. Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, counsel for the MP, pleaded with the court to strike out the contempt case and asked for forgiveness noting his client had no intentions of disrespecting the orders of the court. Lawyer for the petitioner, Bright Okyere Agyekum asked the court to award a cost of GHC 20,000 against the MP for disobeying the orders of the court and wasting their time before striking out the case of contempt. The court presided by Justice Sedinam Agbemava subsequently struck out the case and awarded a cost of GHC 5000 against the MP after her lawyer pleaded his client could not afford the amount requested by the petitioners Lawyer, noting that things are hard. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video As the Internet Society (ISOC) celebrates its 30th anniversary as a global nonprofit advocating for an open, globally-connected Internet, the organization is calling for accelerated action to further Internet development throughout the African region. During the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) 2022 taking place from in Kigali, Rwanda under the theme Connecting the unconnected to achieve sustainable development, Dawit Bekele, Regional Vice President of the Internet Society in Africa, lauded the progress made by stakeholders in expanding access throughout the continent, while encouraging more collaborative efforts to bridge the digital divide. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest growth in global Internet penetration, increasing from less than 1% in 2000 to 30% today. Between 2019 and 2021 Internet use in Africa jumped by 23%. Despite this impressive growth, there is still a coverage gap of over 840 million people who dont have access to reliable and affordable Internet access. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the value of Internet connectivity which has been an essential lifeline for the continuity of business, healthcare, education, government, and other critical activities. We applaud the significant investments in the last decades to develop Internet infrastructure, which have made the Internet available to more people across the continent. However, the pandemic also highlights the digital divide that remains, particularly in rural, remote and even urban areas around the world, said Dawit Bekele. In Ghana specifically, ISOC has a local chapter that continues to develop an Internet Exchange Point and conduct technical training events to encourage and promote Internet policies, standards, and protocols that keep the Internet open, globally connected, and secure. Community networks are a way to help address the digital divide. They are communications infrastructures built, managed, and used by local communities and are a sustainable solution to address connectivity gaps in underserved regions. The Internet Society has a long history of working with communities worldwide to fund, build and train people with the skills needed to run and maintain community networks. In Africa, the Internet Society has helped build community networks in South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Morocco, Senegal, and Ethiopia. At WTDC, the organization will be making a pledge to support 100 complementary solutions to connect the unconnected, and to train 10,000 people to build and maintain Internet infrastructure, all by 2025 as part of the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition, an initiative led by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) that aims to foster meaningful connectivity and digital transformation in the hardest-to-connect communities around the world. Also vital to expanding the Internet throughout Africa is the interconnection between local networks, content providers, and users. Currently, millions of dollars are spent every year to route local Internet traffic through expensive international links. This not only makes the Internet slower and more costly for Internet users, but it also limits the kinds of applications that can run on the local Internet. For this reason, the Internet Society has been at the forefront of supporting the establishment and growth of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) that enable and encourage local traffic. ISOC research shows that IXPs improve the end-user experience, lower the cost of access, and stimulate the development of local Internet ecosystems and cross-border interconnections. By improving local Internet services and reducing their costs, well-managed IXPs open new worlds of possibility with modest investment. About the Internet Society Founded in 1992 by Internet pioneers, the Internet Society is a global non-profit organization working to ensure the Internet remains a force for good for everyone. Through its community of members, special interest groups, and 120+ chapters around the world, the organization defends and promotes Internet policies, standards, and protocols that keep the Internet open, globally connected, and secure. For more information, please visit: www.internetsociety.org About WTDC 2022 The World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) will be held from 6-16, June in Kigali, Rwanda. Organized by the International Telecommunications Union and held every four years, the conference brings together government representatives from around the world to determine the topics, programs, and priorities for telecommunications development globally for the next four years. WTDC is a unique opportunity to develop innovative approaches and new models of collaboration for connectivity in the final decade that is left to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For further information, please visit the conference website here. 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 former Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister under the erstwhile John Dramani Mahama administration, has shot down claims by government as having undertaken monumental infrastructural projects as part of its achievements. Joseph Yammin, sounding quite sarcastic on NEAT FMs morning show, Ghana Montie, described most achievements advertised by the government are ghosts adding that they dont exist. He continued, Mere dreams are achievements for them [NPP], immediately they dream, they will cut sod, no funds and people will clap for them. The outspoken leading member of the National Democratic Congress was discussing a post he said was made by the NPP communication team on social media claiming they will Break The 8 because of the achievements over the years. To him, the NPP's assertions are laughable and warned, they will be shocked in 2024. This government is suffering and thinks they will win with the help of Ashantis, it wont work again, Joseph Yammin told host Mac Jerry Osei Agyeman. 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 Former Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Hon. Carlos Ahenkorah has disclosed that the Komenda sugar factory can never produce sugar. According to him, there are about 37 missing essential components in the equipment build up of the factory and without those components, the factory cannot operate to even produce a cup of sugar. Members of the Minority Caucus on Parliaments Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee say persons whose actions led to the non-operationalization of the Komenda sugar factory will be prosecuted if the opposition National Democratic Congress wins the next elections. They also blamed the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) for undervaluing the price of the factory, which was pegged at US$50 million to US$12 million, hence causing financial loss to the state. They accused the current administration of playing politics with the issues relating to the factory and propagating factually inaccurate narratives to score cheap political points. This came to light after Ranking Member of Parliaments Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah led a delegation to the factory to get first-hand information on the state of the factory. But speaking on Okay Fm's Ade Akye Abia programme, he explained that when the NPP was voted into power they "contracted engineers to assess the viability of the factory to see if they can make it operational to produce sugar for local consumption and possibly for exportation. But an intensive test conducted by astute engineers with some from AESL showed that the project lacked some 37 essential components which without them the factory cannot work." "More so, the project was over priced. The Mahama administration told us that the project cost 35 million dollars but when we conducted separate pricing of the project by two separate engineering firms, the total cost of the project was 12 million dollars," he revealed. The Tema West MP further disclosed that even the sugar that was reportedly showcased as a product of the factory was bought from "The question is why did the NDC throw dust into the eyes of Ghanaians an over priced which is more or less a white elephant. The factory could not produce even a pint of sugar because documents available to Ministry of Trade and Industry indicates that the sugar that was showcased during its commissioning was bought from some one. "They actually bought 400 bags of sugar from someone who later turned up at the ministry with receipts to demand for his money but we told him off and vowed not to pay," Hon Ahenkorah said. To him, it will not be advisable for the Akufo Addo government to invest in the Komenda sugar factory again. "What the government should do now which i think they have already started is to find a strategic investor who will pump funds into the Komenda sugar factory and keep the factory running for its purpose," 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 An aspiring Chairman of the New Patriotic Party , George Kwabena Abankwa Yeboah has despised the practice of LGBTQ+. Speaking at Asempa FM on Ekosiisen program hosted by Omanhene Kwabena Asante , he answered the host who wanted to know his stand on the beleaguered and embattled issue on the concept. Mr Abankwa Yeboah aptly told the host that as a devout Christian with good upbringing, he dislikes the whole practice and sees it as an abomination. In my upbringing as a Christian,l cant and will never support this obnoxious practice . Thats not what God wants us to do as humans he created us in his image. How can we procreate and multiply as ordered by the Creator ? The top aspirant for the Chairmanship bid for the July election postulated that even dogs dont do that despicable thing how more human beings. I dont want to pray for that thing to gain roots in Ghana for my offsprings and the next generation to inherit it ! so the country must double up to pass a bill to nip it in the bud because we are a Christian country and we need to behave responsibly. With regard to the brouhaha about the National Cathedral, he said he doesnt see anything wrong about it because Ghana needs a worship center like any other country. He told the Omanhene Kwabena Asante that because of his current state of contesting for a position he wouldnt like to delve too deep into the on-going debate but all what he can say is that its a good thing and he wished Ghanaians being Christians would support the president to build that spiritual edifice. According to him lives revolve around two main pillars ; Spiritual and Physical pillars. What happens in the spirit manifests in the physical realm. Explaining further he told the host that Ghana has survived so many natural disasters, economic challenges, diseases but God has saved us from all those calamities so if we build a house for HIM its in order. He spoke a lot of many other issues some national, others economic, social ,political and personal. In the end,he gave out his vision for the party and the country . He called on delegates to vote for him to lift the party from its current state to a better and higher pedestal for progress, growth, success and victory in 2024 general elections. 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 year 2022 has been a busy year for the New Patriotic Party, NPP as they elect executives from Polling Station to National Level. The party is set to elect its national executives from 15-17th of June 2022 if all things are equal. One person who has been preaching about bridging the gap between the grassroots and the government is Dr. Kwame Afriyie who filled his nomination on 14th June 2022 at the party's head office. Addressing the press, Dr. Afriyie said, there is a wide gap between the party and the government which has demoralized the party grassroots. The grassroots are like orphans, they have no one in government to cry to for help but they are the root of the party, Dr. Afriyie reiterated. He said his bid to be the national organizer is to make sure that the party has a direct link in government to solve the problems of the grassroots and make sure that the party maintains power in 2024. "We can't hand over power to NDC in 2024, the polling station executives, constituency executives, regional executives, and the campaign team members who woke up at dawn in 2016 to vote for change and maintained power in 2020 by giving 4 more years to the NPP government to steer the affairs of this country must enjoy the fruit of their labor, they must feel the belongingness of the lower they fought for. Dr. Kwame Afriyie said. Dr. Kwame Afriyie is a farmer, a businessman, and a medical doctor by profession. He is the current Chairman of the Western North Regional Health Committee, a member of the Ghana Medical Association, a member of the World Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons, member occupational and health safety association of America. Dr. Afriyie has contributed enormously to the New Patriotic Party at both National, Regional, and Constituency Party organizations. He is the Patron of Alpha Patriots and Loyal Ladies in the Western North Region, and a Regional Campaign Team Member in charge of Health for Western North in the 2020 Elections. He was appointed by National Executive Committee to chair Sefwi Akontombra Constituency Elections Committee in 2022. 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 FORMER NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Nandom, Dr. Benjamin Kumbuor, has said the endorsement of ex-President John Dramani Mahama as the preferred flagbearer for the party in the 2024 general election, should not stop other aspirants from contesting that position. He wants others with interest in the race to be given the opportunity to go about their consultation and campaigns for the partys primary, which will determine the presidential candidate of the NDC. So far, some NDC members, including former Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, and former Kumasi Mayor, Kojo Bonsu, have declared their interest to lead the NDC, but there appears to be attempts to stop them. Recently, a member of Dr. Kwabena Duffuors Ahotor Project Team, Yaw Boateng Gyan, accused the NDC National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, of sabotage by calling off the re-launch of the aspirants Ahotor Project that was scheduled to come on at the partys headquarters in Accra. According to him, all was set for the event at the NDC headquarters when the National Chairman, through the National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, called to inform him that the party had put on hold the relaunch of the project. Speaking on TV3 at the weekend, Dr. Kumbuor, who believes that such developments are undemocratic, called on those supporting the former President not to stifle other interest groups in the party. I think that everybody, in a democracy, is entitled to his views. As to whether that view is right or wrong, it is another matter, he stated. According to him, people expressing the view that Mr. Mahama ought to go unopposed are doing so because he is their preferred choice and not necessarily what is on the grounds. People need to look at John Mahamas candidature in a completely different context. He has been a Vice President before, he has been a President before. Currently, he is a former President, so his stature looks different from all other entrants who might be coming, and particularly the media, will definitely be more interested in him because, they have interacted with him, he added. The former Defence Minister said ex-President Mahamas name comes out prominently because of his exposure, but indicated, I am not sure as a matter of politics with the NDC that this prevents any other person in a democratic competitive election from coming up and expressing what they can bring to the table. So let us not look at what individuals are saying; they are entitled to their own opinions but the facts are out there for everybody to have his view. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Helsinki (Finland), June 15, GNA-Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, Mr Kwaku Ampratwum Sarpong, at the end of the 2022 Nordic-African Foreign Ministers Meeting (NAFM) held in Helsinki, Finland has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, H.E Mr Pekka Haavisto to establish political consultations. During the meeting with Finland, both countries discussed the need to collaborate on a wide range of areas including circular economy, sustainable development, peace and security issues, climate issues, education (particularly TVET) and health. The highlight of the bilateral meeting between Ghana and Finland was the signing of a memorandum of understanding to help each other in the areas of circular economy, clean technology, agriculture, ICT, manufacturing, energy, digitization, education and health, among others. The Deputy Minister noted that the signing of the MoU which comes on the heels of the passage of Finlands National Africa Strategy was timely as it provided the framework for the two countries to engage in transparent dialogue and interaction and move relations between both countries forward in the spirit of friendship and cooperation. On the margins of the Meeting, Ghana held three bilateral meetings with Finland, Norway and Sweden to further deepen the cordial relations that exist between Ghana and the three respective countries. Mr Kwaku Ampratwum Sarpong (MP), led Ghanas delegation to the 2022 Nordic-African Foreign Ministers Meeting (NAFM) held in Helsinki, Finland from 13th to 15th June 2022. Other members of Ghanas delegation included Ghanas Ambassador to Finland, H.E. Mrs Jennifer Lartey, Director for the Europe Bureau, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, Mrs Matilda Alomatu Osei-Agyeman, Deputy Director at the Office of the Deputy Minister, Mr Charles Osei-Mensah, Minister Counsellor and Head of Chancery, Ghanas Embassy in Norway, Mr Charles Kwakye-Marfo and Counsellor for Political and Economic Affairs, Ghanas Embassy in Norway, Mr Arthur Mills. The Foreign Ministers meeting is an annual event that serves as an opportunity for an open and informal dialogue between African and Nordic countries on a variety of foreign policy and global issues related to peace and security, investment and trade and avenues for realising the potential of the youth. The 2022 NAFM was held under three thematic areas namely peace and security, sustainable societies and cooperation in multilateral fora. During the Forum, Ghana made several interventions on peace and security in the West African sub-region, maritime security and Ghanas role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that in Africa, activities of Terrorist Armed Groups/Violent extremist Organizations (TAGs/VEOs) have become more widespread, frequent and deadly with their underlying dynamics growing increasingly complex and posing high risks to coastal countries including Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin. To address this challenge and to prevent situations of conflict, Mr Kwaku Ampratwum suggested the need to strengthen Early Warning Systems (EWS) by creating a system that constantly collects, monitors and analyses data that alerts decision-makers of the potential outbreak, escalation and resurgence of violent conflicts. He further added that identifying Early Warning Systems alone was not enough to stop conflicts. He added that it could only be useful if it was strongly linked to Early Response Mechanisms including preventive diplomacy, mediation and peace-making dialogues among others. He again noted that the gap between Early Warning and Early Response was what has often escalated crisis situations into violent conflicts. Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/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 Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has disclosed that the Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Hon. Sara Adwoa Safo has spurn all efforts to communicate with the majority leadership in parliament. According to him, she has rather been dealing directly with the staff of the parliamentary service staff. Speaking on Okay Fm's Ade Akye Abia, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu revealed how arduous it has been for the majority to track down the Dome-Kwabenya MP and possibly get first-hand information about her current situation, and her interest or otherwise in serving as an MP. He pointed out since Adwoa Safo has been entrusted with the duty of representing the people of Kwabenya in parliament, it is his (Kyei Mensah's) responsibility to demand and ensure accountability of the various developmental projects on their behalf. "But If you refuse to communicate with us, how are we going to know what is wrong with you and possibly guard your interest in your constituency? "Since she left, i have not been able to speak to her directly as the majority leader. I only get access to her special assistant. Even when she needed an extension of her leave of absence, she refused to go through the right process by informing her colleagues on the majority side but sent a letter directly to the Speaker of Parliament and that has been her modus operandi since," he lamented. Hon Mensah Bonsu who is also the Member of Parliament for Suame, further disclosed that "the privileges' committee had to serve her through the same special assistant i contacted for her to get in touch with me before they could properly serve her to appear before the committee, but even with that I don't think she has even responded to the committees' invitation. "So if they are still unable to reach her, they will have to go for a substituted service to force her to appear before the committee and i clearly don't think it should get to this," he added. Watch Video Below The Privileges Committee of Parliament has summoned publicly Sarah Adwoa Safo, Dome Kwabenya MP, to appear before the committee on Wednesday, July 6, 2022.According to a press release issued by the Parliamentary Service and signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Kate Addo, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection failed to honour all invitations to appear before the Committee after the Speakers directive.The fresh summons is to be published in all relevant media.This comes after all attempts to reach Honorable Member by the Committee failed, parts of the summons read.The summons from part of the Committees work, referred to by the Speaker, Rt. Hon Alban Bagbin, pursuant to Article 97(1)(C) of the Constitution and Orders 15 and 16(1) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, for consideration and report to the House, on the absence of the Member from Parliament for more than fifteen sittings, without permission in writing of the Speaker during the First Meeting of the Second Session of the Eight Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.The Committee has employed all available means, both official and unofficial to serve the Member with an invitation letter, including sending the invitation letter to her office and pigeonhole in Parliament, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, where she superintended as the Sector Minister, her official email addresses, known social media handles and through her Personal Assistant, the statement read further. 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 Made of a single sheet of carbon atoms, graphene can be spun at the fastest rate of any known macroscopic object. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The results of the first international comparison of the measurement of graphene have been published in 2D Materials, led by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the U.K., through the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS) and in collaboration with institutes from around the world. The international interlaboratory comparison (ILC) outlined improvements that reduce measurement uncertainty, in some cases by a factor of 15, and which will be the basis for a new international standard that is currently under development within ISO/IEC for Raman spectroscopy. This will provide a verified source of data and ultimately provide more accurate and precise measurement standards for the global graphene industry. Although a wonder material with many superlative properties set to disrupt industries ranging from electronics to construction, as a single layer of carbon atoms, graphene can be difficult to measure. There is a pressing need for reliable, reproducible and accurate measurements of graphene's properties, through international standards, to facilitate industrial growth. Processes such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) allow companies around the world to now produce graphene on the scale of meters, but a standardized measurement method to determine the quality of the material is still under development within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). VAMAS was established in 1982 by the G7 group of nations to ensure best practice plus accurate and precise standardized measurement methods, in order to promote and grow world trade. More recently in 2016, a technical working area was established for "Graphene and Related 2D Materials," that now has 14 active projects. The first of these projects is the measurement of CVD grown graphene using Raman spectroscopy, a go-to measurement technique for understanding the structure of graphene related 2D materials. The Industrialisation Work Package (WP19) of the EU Graphene Flagship funded NPL's work to lead this international ILC consisting of 17 entities, including National Metrology Institutes, Universities and industry, with CVD grown graphene samples supplied by Graphenea Semiconductor, Spain. Many of the measurements for these VAMAS ILCs have been completed, however there are several projects that have been recently initiated and looking for participants. These projects will also contribute to other international standards, ultimately improving the accuracy of the measurement of graphene and other 2D materials and, in doing so enabling industry around the world. Dr. Andrew J Pollard, principal research scientist at NPL said: "Interlaboratory comparisons are vital if we are to provide a quantitative uncertainty alongside our measured values, as well as help us to improve standardized protocols to achieve the most accurate and precise values possible. These in-depth studies require both time and international collaboration but will help the whole community through reproducible and comparable measurements." Prof. Cinzia Casiraghi, professor of nanoscience at the University of Manchester said: "Raman spectroscopy is one of the most used techniques for characterization of graphene because it can quickly provide a wide range of information on the quality of this material. Despite its simplicity, discrepancies in the Raman measurements and data were reported in the literature, hence affecting industrial production and the ability to compare graphene samples produced in different labs. The VAMAS project is a first crucial step in the development of a standardized protocol for the characterization of graphene using Raman spectroscopy." Dr. Amaia Zurutuza, scientific director at Graphenea Semiconductor said: "This was our first time participating in an international interlaboratory comparison, we found the experience very positive and we would like to highlight the crucial importance of these type of studies. It was incredible that such disparate values were obtained on the same samples. We will definitely participate in another ILC in the near future." Explore further The importance of international standards for the graphene community More information: Piers Turner et al, International interlaboratory comparison of Raman spectroscopic analysis of CVD-grown graphene, 2D Materials (2022). Piers Turner et al, International interlaboratory comparison of Raman spectroscopic analysis of CVD-grown graphene,(2022). DOI: 10.1088/2053-1583/ac6cf3 Credit: Prof. Zhuangs group Theoretical calculation has become an indispensable approach to reveal the thermodynamics and kinetics of catalysis. Static computational strategy is the most popular approach in theoretical catalysis, in which the reaction thermodynamics and kinetics are evaluated based on a few stationary geometries at zero temperature and some ideal statistic mechanics models. Therefore, the accuracy of widely used static approach is limited by the compatibility between ideal models and realistic conditions. In comparison, ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulation is a well-tested approach going beyond static stationary states. However, it is very difficult to obtain a converged thermodynamics and kinetics due to significantly high computational cost for long time scale simulations. In a recent study published in Chinese Chemical Letters, Prof. Chen Jun and Prof. Chen Zhening from Prof. Zhuang Wei's group at the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter of the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed a highly efficient dynamic computational strategy for the calculation of thermodynamics and kinetics in heterogeneous catalysis on the combination of efficient potential energy surface (PES) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Using chemisorbed CO on Ru(0001) surface as the illustrative model catalytic system, the researchers achieved a large time scale MD at the level of microsecond, and the neural network-fitted PES displayed a high efficiency. They obtained reliable temperature dependent thermodynamics and kinetics at each of seven different temperatures ranging from 300 to 900 K, which goes beyond the popular static approach as well as the transition state theory, providing a more precise description of catalytic processes at realistic conditions. Furthermore, the researchers indicated that the dynamic computational strategy based on efficient PES and MD simulations is readily available as an accurate yet efficient approach to evaluate the precise thermodynamics and kinetics of catalytic processes at realistic conditions. The results can be used as an important benchmark for subsequent study of dynamic protocols for heterogeneous catalysis. This study clearly demonstrates the efficiency and reliability of the dynamic computational strategy based on efficient PES and MD simulations, which is expected as a powerful tool for the statistical thermodynamics and kinetics calculation in catalysis, in conjunction with the proper enhanced sampling approaches when necessary. Explore further New review highlights innovative catalysts: Design and application More information: Jun Chen et al, Toward accurate and efficient dynamic computational strategy for heterogeneous catalysis: Temperature-dependent thermodynamics and kinetics for the chemisorbed on-surface CO, Chinese Chemical Letters (2022). Jun Chen et al, Toward accurate and efficient dynamic computational strategy for heterogeneous catalysis: Temperature-dependent thermodynamics and kinetics for the chemisorbed on-surface CO,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.cclet.2022.03.080 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain As COVID-19 began its spread around the world after emerging in China, people of Asian descent started to experience one of the pandemic's uglier consequencesa surge in discrimination that involved both verbal and physical abuse. In some of the most grievous incidents, an elderly Thai grandfather died after being shoved to the ground in San Francisco, a Filipino-American was slashed in the face with a box cutter and a Burmese American man and his son were attacked by someone who thought they were Chinese and blamed them for the pandemic. From the extreme to more commonplace, there have been thousands of such cases of anti-Asian discrimination since the pandemic began with perpetrators often pinning responsibility for COVID-19 on them. While there was widespread awareness of the rise in hate crimes against people of Asian descent, little was known about how COVID-19 affected their sense of safety and belonging in their communities, particularly in Canada. A team at Dalhousie looked into the issue and found that many Asian Canadians experienced outright racism or felt unsafe and unsettled during the pandemic because of the unexpected and unpredictable nature of discrimination, leaving many stressed and exhausted. "I was disappointed, but unsurprised by what we found," says Josh Ng-Kamstra, a trauma surgeon, intensivist, and health services researcher in the School of Health Administration. "The study was conceived at a time when the racist rhetoric about the virus coming from U.S. political leadership was saturating the Canadian news cycle. Unfortunately, we discovered that such messages found resonance in Canada. Every single one of our participants witnessed or directly experienced discrimination during the pandemic. "One participant commented that, 'this is not [just] an American problem,' which I think is important for the Canadian public to hear." A responsibility to respond to discrimination The researchers interviewed 32 Asian Canadian women and men of different ages in different parts of the country from March to May 2021. In a paper published today (Tuesday June 14) in CMAJ Open, they describe how all participants experienced a range of emotions, including anxiety, depression and anger, leaving them feeling that they couldn't safely use public spaces for fear of discrimination. Most commented on the unexpectedness of the discrimination, causing them to feel they had to remain alert in anticipation of harm, which in turn led to distress and exhaustion. Also, all mentioned the key role politicians and media played in enabling discrimination through rhetoric and misinformation. "There is a certain kind of unsettling discomfort just knowing that people do blame such a large scale, horrific pandemic on one community, and on people that look like me, or that look like my parents," said one participant. Another said they were less willing to do things on their own or go into certain neighborhoods for fear of being harassed. Jeanna Parsons Leigh, an assistant professor in Dal's School of Health Administration and co-author of the report, says that what stayed with her is that every participant in the study said they felt politicians and media played a vital role in enabling the spread of Asian Canadian discrimination and fear toward Asians during the pandemic. "This is a crucial and truly necessary area for improvement," says Dr. Parsons Leigh. "Our politicians and media need to do more in times of crises to decry and dismantle racism and scapegoating, and it is our job as members of the general public to hold our elected officials and media outlets accountable." Information disseminated by politicians and mainstream media has been found in other research to influence public behavior. Studies have shown that the presence of anti-Asian hate speech on Twitter was more prevalent than counter-hate messages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters made a point of referring to SARS-CoV-2 as the "China virus" or "Kung flu," leading some participants to comment that politicians deliberately misled, triggered and emboldened their supporters to attack or harass Asian people. A 'tsunami of hate' The surge in discriminatory acts became so concerning that on May 8, 2020, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "the pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering." He urged governments to "act now to strengthen the immunity of our societies against the virus of hate." Most participants described the effects of racism as immeasurable and the impact on their mental and social health as devastating. Some said they experienced depression, anxiety and persistent stress through the pandemic. There some distinctions in the experiences, however. "A critical takeaway from our work is the notion that educational, linguistic, professional and economic privilege provide significant protection from the racism and discrimination faced by those working public-facing, minimum-wage jobs," said Dr. Ng-Kamstra. But many also said they felt connected to their communities. "Our findings also suggest that despite feeling scared during the pandemic, Asian Canadians in our sample felt a strong sense of belonging to Canadian society and felt well connected to their Asian Canadian communities," says co-author Stephana Julia Moss, a post-doctoral researcher in Dal's School of Health Administration. Explore further Asian Americans armed themselves during the pandemic in response to racial acts, study finds More information: Jeanna Parsons Leigh et al, Lived experiences of Asian Canadians encountering discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study, CMAJ Open (2022). Jeanna Parsons Leigh et al, Lived experiences of Asian Canadians encountering discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study,(2022). DOI: 10.9778/cmajo.20220019 Tasajerito the manatee was found lost and orphaned in a Colombian swamp last September. Last September, Tasajerito the manatee was found lost in a Colombian swamp, just three days old and separated from his mother. Nine months later, the baby sea cow weighs as much as an adult woman and is bottle fed round the clock by doting aquarium staff. Though much stronger now, Tasajerito's prognosis is still touch-and-go, said Angela Davila, a veterinarian at the Rodadero Aquarium in Santa Marta in northern Colombia, near where he was found. "Tasajerito is... still considered critical," Davila told AFP. "He appears strong, he appears lively and to be feeding well, but things can change in a heartbeat." Rescued by fishermen, Tasajerito was brought to the aquarium with little hope of survival. A search for his mother proved fruitless. Now safely ensconced in a dedicated pool at the aquarium, he has clung to lifeincreasing his consumption of a special vitamin-boosted milk formula six-fold in a few months. Today, Tasajerito measures over 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) in length and weighs 53 kilograms (117 pounds). Yet, he is still "a newborn," said Rodadero marine biologist Julieth Prieto, who noted that manatees are raised by their mothers for five years and suckle for half that time. "This makes the rehabilitation process... a challenge because we have to meet those needs that the mother usually provides," she said. Nine months later, Tasajerito measures over 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) in length and weighs 53 kilograms (117 pounds). 'Vulnerable' species Tasajerito's human foster parents are also teaching him to float, dive and swim. To be released into the wild one dayhopefully in about two years' timehe will have to grow to between three and four meters in length and weigh some 600 kg. The American Manatee species (Trichechus manatus), to which Tasajerito belongs, is listed as "vulnerable" to extinction on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, its population of some 10,000 individuals on the decline. Tasajerito's fate still hangs in the balance. Threats include residential and commercial development, aquaculture and shipping lanes, with watercraft strikes responsible for a large number of deaths, according to the IUCN. In Colombia, hunting by humans is a major threat, as are hipposa foreign species introduced by drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, who imported some as pets in the 1980s. Tasajerito's formula consumption has increased six-fold in a few months. The hippos now number more than 100, competing for food and space with manatees. The manatee is one of the world's largest aquatic mammals, and according to Prieto, fulfils "irreplaceable ecological functions" in its population area that stretches from Brazil's east coast all the way to the southeastern United States. Seasonal migrants, they help keep rivers and water channels clear, devouring as much as 50 kg of aquatic plants each every day. "If this species were to become extinct, we would have to dredge to restore water flow between rivers, swamps and the sea," Prieto said. Explore further Florida manatee feeding program to wind down as temps warm 2022 AFP Tucson on Saturday, June 11, hours after temperatures topped out at 109 degrees Fahrenheit, just two degrees shy of the June 11 high record, set in 1933. Credit: Kyle Mittan/University Communications Tucson didn't quite set a record during the National Weather Service's excessive heat warning over the weekend, but at a certain point, who can really tell the difference? Temperatures topped out at 109 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday, just shy of the date's record high of 111, set in 1933. It was a scorcher, but not as bad as what Lytton, British Columbia, experienced last summer. The village in Western Canada, which has a population of fewer than 300 people, saw the temperature hit 121 degrees last June 30. The heat wave in Lytton led to a wildfire that destroyed nearly 90% of the village. Its residents are now rebuilding. The record-setting temperatures and devastating fire in Lytton were among the results of a series of heat waves that swept North America last summer and were also felt in Tucson. As extreme heat becomes more persistent and prevalent, and as the U.S. braces for a new season of heat waves, Ladd Keith, an assistant professor in the UArizona College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, says city planners can and should lead their communities in managing and mitigating extreme heat. Keith and Arizona State University researcher Sara Meerow recently wrote a report, published by the American Planning Association, that gives planners a set of principles and guidelines to equitably address extreme heat in their communities. The report, "Planning for Urban Heat Resilience," is guided by Keith and Meerow's research on heat and climate planning, and is available to download for free. Keith talked to University of Arizona News about the causes of extreme heat, how heat impacts more than just public safety, and what those of us who aren't city planners can do to help manage and mitigate this growing threat. Q: Your report focuses on two main causes of increasingly extreme heat: climate change and the urban heat island effect. Can you explain the urban heat island effect and why it's important for cities to address both causes? A: The urban heat island effectwhen urban areas are hotter than the surrounding rural areasresults from how cities are built using heat-trapping materials such as asphalt for roads; the shape and form of the built environment; and the loss of natural landscapes. Waste heat from our vehicles and air conditioning also increase the urban heat island effect. Climate change has already increased average temperatures and has made extreme heat events more frequent, longer and more intense. These both compound each other and create more heat risk for our communities. The good news is that we can plan our communities to mitigate both urban heat and greenhouse gas emissions if we choose to. Q: Your report notes that extreme heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer in the U.S., making public safety a critical focus. What are some of other effects of heat on cities? A: A new study by The Nature Conservancy and the American engineering firm AECOM found that if increasingly extreme heat is not addressed, the economic consequences to the Phoenix metro region will cost between an average of $1.9 billion and $2.3 billion each year by 2059. These staggering numbers include increased costs to public health, labor, roadway infrastructure and energy demand. They also found that investments in heat mitigation strategies far outweigh the cost of inaction. Q: How did you come up with the seven considerations for heat planning that you lay out in the report? A: Many communities are just now beginning to plan for heat, so we thought it was important to offer a practical framework to help ensure urban heat resilience planning efforts are as effective and equitable as possible. With that in mind, we used our research on heat planning to refine the seven principles for strong climate change planningwhich my co-author, Sara Meerow, helped definefor the challenges and opportunities that are specific to heat. The seven considerations for heat planning are: Setting clear heat planning goals and metrics; building a comprehensive fact base of heat information; developing a portfolio of heat mitigation and management strategies; managing for uncertainty; coordinating across all planning efforts; using an inclusive public participation process; and implementing, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of heat planning efforts. Q: Is there a city that already does heat mitigation and management well? A: There isn't one example just yet, since heat planning is still so new, but we highlight exciting examples of innovation throughout our report. For heat mitigation, the city of Tucson and Tucson Water are leading the way on green stormwater infrastructure to help mitigate the urban heat island effect while conserving our water resources. For heat management, the Maricopa Association of Governments and partner communities and organizations have helped coordinate their cooling centers in Phoenix through the Heat Relief Network, a network of partners providing cooling centers, hydration stations and water donation sites throughout the Phoenix area. For a city that addresses both, though, I'm keeping an eye on the city of Boston. They just finalized their Heat Resilience Solutions for Boston report, which comprehensively addresses both heat mitigation and management. It will be interesting to see how their recommendations are implemented and if other cities follow their example. Q: What other promising progress have you seen? A: Miami, Phoenix and Los Angeles recently created dedicated staff positions like chief heat officers to help coordinate and direct their heat planning efforts. This is an exciting development that shows communities are taking the growing risk of extreme heat seriously, but many medium and smaller-sized communities and rural areas across the U.S. likely don't have the resources to create a dedicated position for heat. We hope our report offers practical guidance that all communities, regardless of resources, can use to help advance their urban heat resilience efforts. Q: How does extreme heat disproportionately affect marginalized communities, and what are some tools planners have to make urban heat resilience more equitable? A: Several studies have established that historic discriminatory land use and financial practices, such as redlining (a discriminatory practice whereby banks refused loans to people from certain ethnic backgrounds or neighborhoods), have resulted in neighborhoods that to this day are hotter, by as much as 12.6 degrees Fahrenheit based on land surface temperatures, compared to non-redlined neighborhoods. Systemic inequities also increase heat risk, such as quality of homes, access and reliability of energy for indoor cooling, access to health care, and thermally safe workplaces and schools. Although we make many recommendations in our report on how to plan equitably for urban heat, two primary considerations for planners are to focus on inclusive public participationto ensure all community voices are heardand to target heat mitigation investments in the areas that have highest heat risk, such as formerly redlined neighborhoods. Q: What kind of feedback have you received from planners who have seen the report? A: The report is free to download, thanks to a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and has been pretty widely shared, especially by federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations that work directly with local communities. We've gotten great feedback from planners and other local practitioners, mostly along the lines of, "This is exactly the information and guidance what we needed to get started," which was one of our main goals in writing it. Although our audience was U.S. communities, we've had great feedback from international practitioners, too. Q: These recommendations are for planners, but what can the average person dofor themselves or their communitiesto help manage and mitigate extreme heat? A: Everyone can prepare beforehand for heat and be more familiar with the signs of heat-related illness. During hot periods, we should limit our daytime outdoor activities, stay hydrated, keep pets inside, and check on family, friends and neighbors who may be at high risk. Homeowners can choose drought-tolerant trees and use water harvesting in their yard, weatherize their homes through insulating walls and roofs and weather-stripping doors and windows, and select energy efficient appliances and air conditioning when upgrades are necessary. Renters should be aware that landlords in Arizona are required to provide sufficient cooling and that they have a right to safe indoor temperatures. Explore further Estimating heat wave frequency and strength: A Chicago case study Susan Higashio uses a virtual reality program called PointsCloudVR to look at stars with disks. Credit: NASA/Matthew Brandt Swirling disks of gas and dust, the stuff that could one day form planets, surround young stars. Through NASA's Disk Detective program, citizen scientistsvolunteers from the publiccollaborate with professional scientists to help search for dusty disks around nearby stars, revealing clues to the early lives of stars and the ingredients of planets. Since the program began in 2014, citizen scientists have identified more than 40,000 disk candidates using data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, WISE, mission, which now operates as NEOWISE, as well as other surveys. Equipped with so many examples of possible disks, researchers next wanted to find out: How old are these disks? Scientists turned to virtual reality (VR) to tackle this complicated question. A team led by Thomas Grubb at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, developed custom VR software, called PointCloudsVR, specifically for Disk Detective to allow scientists to explore the galaxy in a brand new way. Researchers presented their first VR-enabled discoveries, including the ages of 10 stars with disks, on Tuesday, June 14, at the summer meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Pasadena, California. "Young stars like the ones we study often form in groupsand when we view our data in VR it enables us to see things from a new perspective. It can be easier to spot these groups," said Susan Higashio, lead author of the Disk Detective team's new paper, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. She conducted this work as a visiting researcher at Goddard and has since moved into the aerospace industry. Higashio flew through the Milky Way with a VR headset strapped to her face. In the virtual environment, each star is a labeled dot encoded with position and velocity information from Gaia, an ESA (European Space Agency) mission. The software, designed by Goddard engineer Matthew Brandt, simulates the stars moving over time in 3D, looking like a dense cloud that spreads out into a chaotic sea of data. Since the 40,000 stars with disks that the citizen scientists found are color-coded, Higashio looked to see if any of them moved with groups of stars called young stellar associations, which orbit the galaxy as teams. This is important because stars that move together likely formed at the same time, created as a result of the same cosmic event. In the new study, Higashio and colleagues found 10 of the citizen-science star discoveries in young stellar associations. This allowed them to determine ages for each dusty disk star, ranging from about 18 to 133 million years old. "Now we can place them in a time sequence, and they become part of the story of how disks form and evolve and how planets form and evolve," said co-author Marc Kuchner, NASA's Citizen Science Officer and an astrophysicist based at Goddard. One of these stars with disks has proven to be an oddballscientists call it an extreme debris disk. That's because it seems to have too much dust for its age of 45 million years. By then, much more of the dust should have spiraled into the star or blown away into space. The scientists also identified a young stellar association that hadn't previously been known. Higashio's team informally calls this group "Smethells 165" after the name of its brightest star, cataloged by astronomer William George Smethells. The group's stars are all small, faint red dwarfs. The Disk Detective project is still hard at work, searching for more disks. Says Disk Detective citizen scientist Lisa Stiller, "We are all part of a great team that works to make new discoveries in astronomy." Anyone can help join the search for more stars with dusty disks. Visit diskdetective.org to participate. To find more NASA citizen science projects, check out science.nasa.gov/citizenscience Explore further Astronomers image dusty disks, uncover companions to distant stars More information: Susan Higashio et al, Disks in Nearby Young Stellar Associations Found Via Virtual Reality. arXiv:2205.09133v1 [astro-ph.SR], Journal information: Astrophysical Journal Susan Higashio et al, Disks in Nearby Young Stellar Associations Found Via Virtual Reality. arXiv:2205.09133v1 [astro-ph.SR], arxiv.org/abs/2205.09133 Researchers led by the University of Iowa have discovered two new species of crocodiles that roamed parts of Africa between 18 million and 15 million years ago and preyed on human ancestors. The Kinyang giant dwarf crocodiles (in gold) were up to four times the length of their modern relatives, dwarf crocodiles (shown in green). The new species discovery comes after analysis of the skull of a Kinyang specimen. Credit: Christopher Brochu, University of Iowa Millions of years ago, giant dwarf crocodiles roamed a part of Africa with a taste for our human ancestors. In a new study, researchers led by the University of Iowa announced the discovery of two new species of crocodiles that roamed east Africa between 18 million and 15 million years ago before mysteriously disappearing. The species, called giant dwarf crocodiles, are related to dwarf crocodiles currently found in central and west Africa. But the giant dwarf crocodiles were a lot biggerhence, the namethan their modern relatives. Dwarf crocodiles rarely exceed 4 or 5 feet in length, but the ancient forms measured as long as 12 feet and likely were among the fiercest threats to any animal they encountered. "These were the biggest predators our ancestors faced," says Christopher Brochu, professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Iowa and the study's corresponding author. "They were opportunistic predators, just as crocodiles are today. It would have been downright perilous for ancient humans to head down to the river for a drink." The new species are called Kinyang mabokoensis and Kinyang tchernovi. They had short, deep snouts and large, conical teeth. Their nostrils opened somewhat up and to the front, not straight upward as they do in modern crocodiles. They spent most of their time in the forest, rather than in the water, waiting to ambush prey. "They had what looked like this big grin that made them look really happy, but they would bite your face off if you gave them the chance," Brochu says. Kinyang lived in the East Africa Rift Valley, in parts of present-day Kenya, in the early to middle Miocene perioda time when the region was largely blanketed by forests. Yet, beginning with the end of a period called the Miocene Climatic Optimum about 15 million years ago, both species appeared to die out. Why did they vanish? Brochu thinks climate change led to less rainfall in the region. The reduction in rainfall led to a gradual retreat of forests, which yielded to grasslands and mixed savanna woodlands. The change in landscape affected Kinyang, which the researchers think probably preferred wooded regions for hunting and nesting. "Modern dwarf crocodiles are found exclusively in forested wetlands," says Brochu, who has studied ancient and modern crocodiles for more than three decades. "Loss of habitat may have prompted a major change in the crocodiles found in the area. "These same environmental changes have been linked to the rise of the larger bipedal primates that gave rise to modern humans," Brochu adds. Brochu acknowledges what caused the Kinyang to die out requires further testing, as the researchers are unable to determine precisely when the animals became extinct. Also, there is a gap in the fossil record between Kinyang and other crocodile lineages that came on to the scene beginning about 7 million years ago. The new arrivals included relatives of the Nile crocodile currently found in Kenya. Brochu examined the specimens during several visits since 2007 to the National Museums of Kenya, in Nairobi. The study was published in The Anatomical Record. Explore further New study says modern-day crocodiles and alligators came from variety of surroundings More information: Christopher A. Brochu et al, Giant dwarf crocodiles from the Miocene of Kenya and crocodylid faunal dynamics in the late Cenozoic of East Africa, The Anatomical Record (2022). Christopher A. Brochu et al, Giant dwarf crocodiles from the Miocene of Kenya and crocodylid faunal dynamics in the late Cenozoic of East Africa,(2022). DOI: 10.1002/ar.25005 The drought affecting Italy's longest river, the Po, is the worst in the last 70 years. More frequent and intense heatwaves are the most deadly form of extreme weather made worse by global warming, with death tolls sometimes in the thousands, but they can also have devastating economic impacts too, experts say. The prolonged and unseasonable scorchers gripping the central United States and rolling northward across western Europe, sending the thermometer above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), are likely to cause both. Deadly and costly Very high temperatures caused nearly 10 percent of the two million deaths attributed to extreme weather events from 1970 to 2019, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Virtually all that heat-related mortality, moreover, has been since 2000, especially the last decade: from 2010 to 2019 scorching heat was responsible for half of 185,000 extreme weather deaths registered. In Europe, heatwaves accounted for about 90 percent of weather-related mortality between 1980 and 2022, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has reported. Heatwaves rack up economic costs as well, but they are harder to quantify than damage from a storm or flood, and more difficult to insure. But extended bouts of great heat can result in more hospital visits, a sharp loss of productivity in construction and agriculture, reduced agricultural yields, and even direct damage to infrastructure. Excess mortality has an economic cost too. The EAA estimates that heatwaves in 32 European countries between 1980 and 2000 cost 27 to 70 billion euros. The damages over the last 20 yearswhich included the deadly heatwave of 2003, with 30,000 excess deathswould almost certainly be higher. Premature death The national public health agency in France, which will be blanketed by extreme conditions over the coming days, has called heatwaves "a mostly invisible and underestimated social burden." In France alone, heatwaves from 2015 to 2020 cost 22 to 37 billion euros due to health expenses, loss of well-being and especially "intangible costs stemming from premature deaths". Reduced productivity The heatwaves of 2003, 2010, 2015 and 2018 in Europe caused damages totalling 0.3 to 0.5 percent of GDP across the continent, and up to two percent of GDP in southern regions, according to a peer-reviewed study in Nature Communications. This level of impact could be multiplied by five by 2060 compared to a 1981-2010 baseline without a sharp reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and measures to adapt to high temperatures, the study warned. At sustained temperatures of around 33C or 34C, the average worker "loses 50 percent of his or her work capacity", according to the International Labor Organization (ILO). The ICO estimates by 2030 heatwaves could reduce the total number of hours worked globally by more than two percentequivalent to 80 million fulltime jobsat a cost of 2.4 trillion dollars, nearly 10 times the figure for 1995. "Climate change-related heat stress will reduce outdoor physical work capacity on a global scale," The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in its most recent synthesis report, noting that in some tropical regions outdoor work may become impossible by the end of the century for 200 to 250 days each year. Drought and agriculture Both heatwaves and drought are a major threat to agriculture, and thus food security. Long-term drought is agriculture's worst enemy when it comes to extreme weather, but heatwaves can provoke major damage as well. In 2019, a heatwave caused a nine percent drop in drop in maize yields across France, and a 10 percent decline in wheat, according to the French agricultural ministry. A 2012 scorcher in the United States led to a 13 percent drop in maize production, and a sharp jump in global prices. Heatwaves also have a negative impact on livestock production and on milk production, according to the IPCC. Explore further Drought makes heatwaves hotter but less deadly More information: David Garcia-Leon et al, Current and projected regional economic impacts of heatwaves in Europe, Nature Communications (2021). Journal information: Nature Communications David Garcia-Leon et al, Current and projected regional economic impacts of heatwaves in Europe,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26050-z 2022 AFP Indigenous council houses (such as this reconstructed example at Mission San Luis de Apalachee in Tallahassee, Florida) were the site of public gatherings and ceremonies for early American communities, and evidence for them has been located in many sites around the Southeast. Credit: UGA Laboratory of Archaeology Democracy is widely understood to have arisen in the Mediterranean world about 2,500 years ago before spreading through cultural contact to other parts of the globe. But new research from the University of Georgia Laboratory of Archaeology, together with its partners in the Muscogee Nation, indicates that inhabitants of the Americas may have been practicing democratic-style collective governance at least a millennium before European contact. According to a new paper published in the journal American Antiquity, artifacts from the Cold Springs site in central Georgia indicate the presence of a "council house" on the site, which was occupied about 1,500 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. Still in use today by descendants of those early American communities, council houses were large, circular structures that could accommodate hundreds, even thousands of participants in ritualized gatherings that involved collective decision making. The Iroquois Confederacy, a league of five Indigenous nations residing in what would become the northeastern United States, has been held up as an example of an early American democracy. However some archaeologists date the emergence of the Iroquois Confederacy as late as the mid-15th century, just a few decades before European contact. Based on the analysis of the Cold Springs materials, the UGA team suggests that democratic institutions associated with collective governance arose much earlier in time. "The key takeaway is that these kinds of democratic institutions were very long lived and existedperhaps for millenniabefore European arrival," said Victor Thompson, Distinguished Research Professor and director of the Laboratory of Archaeology. "That's a really different perspective on Native governance in this region than most archaeologists have." The Cold Springs site, located about 75 miles east of Atlanta, was partially submerged beneath what is now Lake Oconee when the Oconee River was dammed in the 1970s. Since the sites excavation nearly 50 years ago, Cold Springs artifacts had been archived in the Laboratory of Archaeologys collections until the UGA team reexamined them with new interest and new technologies. Credit: UGA Laboratory of Archaeology Historically, Thompson said, the interpretation of council houses has been tied to that of earthen platform mounds; concentric circles of post holes, the telltale archaeological evidence for council houses, often have been found near or on top of platform mounds. Over the centuries since European arrival, a consensus emerged that, up until about 1,000 years ago, mounds and houses were purely ceremonial in purpose and constructed by largely egalitarian peoples, but at one point they suddenly transformed into political structures dominated by the village "chief." "[The predominant view holds that] prior to 1,000 A.D., platform mounds are communal and they're built by these societies that don't have chiefs or anything like that," Thompson said. "But as soon as 1,000 A.D. hits, everyone has a chief, and the chief lives on top of the platform. Very convenient. Our new work adds more depth to this perspective and sheds light on the fact that while different positions existed in these governmental structures it is vastly more complicated, and democratic, than the traditional models posed by archaeologists since the 1970s." Indeed, ever since Spanish explorers reported the first eyewitness accounts, indigenous American cultures have been portrayed as chiefdoms, led by autocratic-style individuals imbued with significant power over their people. However, according to UGA's tribal partners, this view conflicts with the forms of collective governance they still practice today and which, tradition has taught them, long predate the arrival of Europeans. "We still have a National Council in our council house, which meets within it and passes national lawsit's been this way for hundreds of generations," said Turner Hunt, preservation officer for Muscogee (Creek) Nation and a co-author on the paper. "[The idea of chiefdoms] is a nuisance, and it's a grand narrative that's been very hard to overcome." Today the Cold Springs site lies partially submerged by Lake Oconee, a human-made reservoir about 75 miles east of Atlanta. The site was excavated in the early 1970s prior to completion of the dam on the Oconee River that created the lake. For their current research, Thompson and his colleagues reexamined artifacts from that dig that have been in the Laboratory of Archaeology's collections for nearly 50 years. Also referred to as rotundas or townhouses depending on the region, council houses often had highly structured seating arrangements denoting rank and status, as well as painted histories of the community on their walls. Credit: UGA Laboratory of Archaeology "That's the beauty of museum collections," Thompson said. "They've just been sitting there, and they can tell you so much. All it really takes is new ideas, new methods, to be able to go back and look at these collections again." The researchers performed new radiocarbon dating on the existing physical artifacts44 new dates in all, which make Cold Springs now one of the best-dated early mound sites in the Southeast. The testing placed primary occupation of the site between A.D. 500 and 700, with construction of the council house beginning sometime around 500 A.D. As Thompson and his colleagues sifted through artifacts and other evidence, they stayed in continual contact with their Muscogee partners in Oklahoma. "We were meeting on Zoom and looking at pictures of post holestons of pictures of post holes," said RaeLynn Butler, manager of the Historic and Cultural Preservation Department for the Muscogee Nation. "Our major contributions were to digest the information and provide the traditional knowledge and perspectives as tribal people that helped bring to this research some much-needed context of our social organization and traditional forms of government." At the end of the day, both Hunt and Butler said, they hope to emphasize that sites like Cold Springs are not removed from contemporary society in a way similar to Stonehenge or the pyramids of Egypt. They are not relics of long-dead cultures with only historical or archaeological relevance. "This is a paper about Ancestral Muskogean institutions, but there is a living, active culture that is directly connected to it," Hunt said. "We believe our governments, our democratic institutions, have been practicing this way of life for thousands of years. We are connected to these people through the way we still conduct ourselves today." Explore further New evidence challenges Euro-centric narrative of early colonization More information: Victor D. Thompson et al, The Early Materialization of Democratic Institutions among the Ancestral Muskogean of the American Southeast, American Antiquity (2022). Journal information: American Antiquity Victor D. Thompson et al, The Early Materialization of Democratic Institutions among the Ancestral Muskogean of the American Southeast,(2022). DOI: 10.1017/aaq.2022.31 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Before the pandemic, around 1 in 10 older adults in the U.S. experienced elder mistreatment. In 2020, this number doubled to 1 in 5a nearly 84% increase. Mistreatment comes in many forms, including various types of abuse, neglect, exploitation and fraud. Adult Protective Services agencies exist in every U.S. state and territory to investigate adult mistreatment reports and work with clients to address their needs. APS staff members gather information from clients, alleged abusers and third parties such as family members, friends or neighbors to determine whether there is enough evidence to support a mistreatment claim. They also use this information to match clients to social, health care, legal or other services as desired. Since APS agencies do not receive dedicated federal funding, and regulations vary by state and local jurisdiction, standardized assessment of APS involvement in mistreatment cases has been challenging. As an elder justice researcher, I wanted to examine what differences APS agencies make in their clients' lives and, more specifically, what services can help ameliorate mistreatment. In our recently published study, my colleagues and I identified the four most common types of elder mistreatment and found that while APS can help ameliorate abusive situations for older adults, different types of elder mistreatment require different services to address them. Matching service to mistreatment We collaborated with San Francisco and Napa APS agencies in California to identify which services decreased the severity of elder mistreatment. In California, county APS agencies focus on nine types of mistreatment: emotional abuse (called "mental suffering" by the California APS), physical abuse, financial abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, isolation, abandonment, abduction and self-neglect. We trained San Francisco and Napa APS staff members to evaluate and measure how effective provided services are at reducing mistreatment. Staffers documented what types of services were given for each type of mistreatment and recorded how severe mistreatment was before and after services were provided. We found that APS interventions were able to decrease abuse severity for four of the most common types of elder mistreatment: 43% for emotional abuse, 62% for physical abuse, 31% for financial abuse and 72% for neglect. Not surprisingly, we found that services targeting the specific problem worked best. Victims and survivors of physical and emotional abuse benefited most from care and case management services. Emotional abuse victims benefited from additional legal services. Financial abuse victims had better outcomes with financial planning services. Finally, victims of neglect benefited most from care and case management as well as language translation and services provided to their alleged abusers, such as counseling and behavioral health treatments. Elder abuse can happen to anyone. Shedding light on APS service outcomes There are still many unknowns about Adult Protective Services report outcomes. Notably, APS agencies cannot force their clients to accept services they do not want unless a health professional determines that they don't have decision-making capacity. And once an APS case is closed, agencies will not know what happens to these older adults unless they or someone else sends another report. My colleagues and I are currently conducting another study following up with APS clients after case closure. In addition to tracking mistreatment severity across time, we will also track other longer-term factors that affect one's ability to live independently and safely, such as physical and mental health. Those who decline services will be a natural comparison group. In addition to their elderly clients, many APS agencies also work with dependent adults, often younger people with physical, mental or intellectual disabilities. Not much is known about mistreatment in this vulnerable group. While our study did not have a large enough sample size to focus on this population, we would like to do so in the future as we collect more data. Finally, self-neglect, in which an older or dependent adult puts their own health or safety at risk, makes up the majority of mistreatment cases APS receives. My colleagues and I are also working to identify subtypes of self-neglect and which services would best address them. Adult Protective Services agencies are the only governmental entities dedicated to addressing older and dependent adult mistreatment. However, even with APS staffers ready to connect older and dependent adults with service providers, clients need to be willing to accept help. APS is not a silver bullet that makes elder mistreatment magically disappear. It takes a villagestarting with recognizing when elder mistreatment is happening, and taking action to stop it. Explore further More than one in 10 elderly adults experience mistreatment This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain As the West endures another year of unrelenting drought worsened by climate change, the Colorado River's reservoirs have declined so low that major water cuts will be necessary next year to reduce risks of supplies reaching perilously low levels, a top federal water official said Tuesday. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said during a Senate hearing in Washington that federal officials now believe protecting "critical levels" at the country's largest reservoirsLake Mead and Lake Powellwill require much larger reductions in water deliveries. "A warmer, drier West is what we are seeing today," Touton told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "And the challenges we are seeing today are unlike anything we have seen in our history." The needed cuts, she said, amount to between 2 million acre-feet and 4 million acre-feet next year. For comparison, California is entitled to 4.4 million acre-feet of Colorado River water per year, while Arizona's allotment is 2.8 million acre-feet. The push for a new emergency deal to cope with the Colorado River's shrinking flow comes just seven months after officials from California, Arizona and Nevada signed an agreement to take significantly less water out of Lake Mead, and six weeks after the federal government announced it is holding back a large quantity of water in Lake Powell to reduce risks of the reservoir dropping to a point where Glen Canyon Dam would no longer generate electricity. Despite those efforts and a previous deal among the states to share in the shortages, the two reservoirs stand at or near record-low levels. Lake Mead near Las Vegas has dropped to 28% of its full capacity, while Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border is now just 27% full. Touton said it's critical to achieve the additional cutbacks and her agency is in talks with the seven states that depend on the river to develop a plan for the reductions in the next 60 days. She warned that the Bureau of Reclamation has the authority "act unilaterally to protect the system, and we will protect the system." Though Touton didn't spell out what that could entail, the Interior Department could impose cuts if the states fail to reach an agreement on their own. Touton said her agency is "working with the states and tribes in having this discussion." "We need to see the work. We need to see the action," Touton said, calling for representatives of the states "to stay at the table until the job is done." The Colorado River supplies water to nearly 40 million people in cities from Denver to Los Angeles and farmlands from the Rocky Mountains to the U.S.-Mexico border. The river has long been over-allocated, and its reservoirs have declined dramatically since 2000 during a severe drought that research shows is being intensified by global warming and that some scientists describe as the long-term "aridification" of the Southwest. "What has been a slow-motion train wreck for 20 years is accelerating, and the moment of reckoning is near," said John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which supplies the Las Vegas area. He pointed out that Lake Mead's water level, now at 1,045 feet above sea level, has continued to decline toward critically low levels. Hoover Dam could still release water down to a level of 895 feet, but below that, water would no longer pass through the dam to supply California, Arizona and Mexicoa level known as "dead pool." "We are 150 feet from 25 million Americans losing access to the Colorado River, and the rate of decline is accelerating," Entsminger told the senators. Avoiding "potentially catastrophic conditions," Entsminger said, will require reductions in use that many water managers previously considered unattainable. In talking with representatives of other states, Entsminger said, they all recognize the urgency of the situation and are working to increase conservation efforts. "However, and there's no way around this, cities alone cannot address this crisis," Entsminger said. Entsminger pointed out that roughly 80% of the river's flow is used for agriculture, and most of that for thirsty crops like alfalfa, which is mainly grown for livestock, both in the U.S. and overseas. "I'm not suggesting that farmers stop farming, but rather that they carefully consider crop selection and make the investments needed to optimize irrigation efficiency," Entsminger said. "By reducing their use of Colorado River water, agricultural entities are protecting their own interests." Last year, the federal government declared a shortage on the Colorado River for the first time, triggering substantial cutbacks in water deliveries to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. Farmers in parts of Arizona have left some fields dry and unplanted, and have turned to more groundwater pumping. The cuts have yet to limit water supplies for Southern California, but that could change as the reservoirs continue to drop. The timeline that Touton laid out, to come up with an agreement for water reductions within 60 days, puts the deadline just before the Bureau of Reclamation is scheduled to release its mid-August projections for reservoir levels on the river. Those projections determine the level of the shortage in 2023 and the severity of the required cuts in water deliveries. "Let's get to the table, and let's figure this out by August," Touton said. "That's what we're working towards." Explore further As drought crisis deepens, government will release less water from Colorado River reservoir 2022 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Side view of the crater Moltke taken from Apollo 10. Credit: Public Domain The European Space Agency and NASA on Wednesday talked up the prospect of putting the first European on the moon, as they signed a deal strengthening collaboration for future lunar exploration. The space agencies had already agreed that three European astronauts would fly on the Orion spacecraft to NASA's Gateway, a space station that will orbit the moon as part of the Artemis program. Now it seems one of those astronauts will go a step further. "We look forward to having an ESA astronaut join us on the surface of the moon and continuing to build on our longstanding, critical partnership," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said after attending an ESA council meeting in the Netherlands. "NASA is counting on cooperation with ESA to propel exploration of the moon through the Artemis program," Nelson said in a statement, adding that "the European Service Module is the powerhouse of the Orion spacecraft". The agencies also signed a deal on the Lunar Pathfinder, a planned communications satellite being built by British firm SSTL. The ESA bought SSTL's services last year and will provide NASA with lunar communication under the deal. In exchange, NASA will launch the Pathfinder into orbit. The two space agencies will also carry out joint tests to create a satellite navigation network on the moon, "just as today we navigate using Galileo and GPS on Earth," the ESA statement said. They also discussed the future of the ESA's ExoMars mission, after its planned launch on a Russian rocket later this year was canceled due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The ESA has previously said it hopes to work with NASA to launch the mission, which will drill for signs of life on Mars. Nelson said that "NASA is determining how best to support our European friends on the ExoMars mission". ESA director general Josef Aschbacher told a press conference that "intense discussion" was being held on the subject. "It's going the right way and I am very confident that we find a good partnership on ExoMars," he added. Explore further European Space Agency stops cooperation with Russian lunar missions 2022 AFP ARGYLE An Argyle man is expected to receive a sentence of 1 to 3 years in prison after admitting to firing a gun in the direction of a woman during a domestic incident. Raymond K. Bates III pleaded guilty in Washington County Court on May 27 to felony third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Bates was arrested on July 16 of last year. Police said he fired two shots in the womans direction, when she tried to leave at around 4:30 p.m. He then barricaded himself inside the residence. A Washington County sheriffs negotiator was able to establish phone contact with Bates, who agreed to walk out and meet deputies. He was taken into custody without incident. Police recovered a firearm at the scene. Bates is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24. Post-Star staff report 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 boards of elections in Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties have set early voting hours and locations for the upcoming primary elections on June 28. Early voting will start on Saturday, June 18, in both counties. Early voters for the June primaries will be able to cast ballots in Democratic primaries for governor and lieutenant governor, as well as a Republican primary for governor. On the Republican side of the ballot, former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, businessman Harry Wilson and Andrew Giuliani are vying for the partys nomination for governor. The Democratic primary for governor will see current Gov. Kathy Hochul, Jumaane Williams, who is the elected public advocate for New York City, and U.S. Rep. Thomas Suozzi, from Long Island, on the ballot. For lieutenant governor, the Democrats have current Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who was sworn in to the position by Hochul in May. Her previous second-in-command, Brian Benjamin, resigned in April following his arrest on bribery charges related to a past campaign. Delgado will be joined by challengers Ana Maria Archila and Diana Reyna on the primary ballot. In Warren County, there is only one local election, which is for the Lake Luzerne Town Board. Republican candidates Timothy Hanlon, Rayl Zubal and Pamela Pettys are running for the unexpired three-year term. The special election was triggered by the resignation of former board member David ONeal, who had taken office on Jan. 1 and resigned on Feb. 14. He had been elected to a four-year term in the previous election last fall. The term is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025. Washington and northern Saratoga counties do not have any local races on the ballot for the June election. In Warren County, early voters will be able to cast ballots at two locations the Warren County Human Services Building and Glens Falls City Hall. Any voter enrolled on the county can vote at either early voting site. There is one early voting site in Washington County. Early voters will be able to cast their ballots at the Washington County Board of Elections office at 1153 Burgoyne Ave. in Fort Edward. Saratoga County has three early voting sites open starting June 18. Early voters will be able to cast their ballots at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library at 475 Moe Road in Clifton Park, the Recreation Center at 15 Vanderbilt Ave. in Saratoga Springs, and the Board of Elections office at 50 West High St. in Ballston Spa. All polling sites listed will be open: Saturday, June 18, 9 a.m5 p.m. Sunday, June 19, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, June 20, 9 a.m.8 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, 9 a.m.5 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, 9 a.m.8 p.m. Thursday, June 23, 9 a.m.5 p.m. Friday, June 24, 9 a.m.5 p.m. Saturday, June 25, 9 a.m.5 p.m. Sunday, June 26, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sample ballots and other information about the upcoming elections can be found on each countys Board of Elections website. Those choosing to vote early cannot vote again on Election Day. 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 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. LAKE GEORGE A state Supreme Court judge has granted a preliminary injunction annulling the Lake George Park Commissions June permits for an aquatic herbicide to kill an invasive lake weed. The decision comes after hearing comments on June 8 from the attorneys representing both the park commission and the Lake George Association, along with other petitioners of the lawsuit. The preliminary injunction blocks the park commissions use of the herbicide temporarily until the court feels it has enough information to make a definitive decision. A document outlining the courts decision notes that while petitioners may not ultimately prevail, they have set forth the minimum degree of proof required. The LGA, Lake George Waterkeeper, the town of Hague and a lakeside resident contended that the Adirondack Park Agency rushed the permits approval process, did not offer enough data and should have held a public hearing on the proposed use of the herbicide. The LGA and the waterkeeper, in a news release, wrote that this injunction will protect the lake while the court conducts a thorough review of the regulatory process used by the Adirondack Park Agency to issue the herbicide permits. During the June 8 hearing, Josh Tallent, a state assistant attorney general, argued before Judge Robert Muller, that the herbicide had been successfully used with no negative side effects in Minerva Lake, Saratoga Lake and Glen Lake. In response, the petitioners made a case for the uniqueness of Lake George, and that there needs to be more data on the specific application of the herbicide in Lake George. Officials want to use the chemical against invasive Eurasian watermilfoil. Dave Wick, executive director of the Lake George Park Commission, said on Tuesday: We are state agencies. We do not have a separate agenda, and were not breaking new ground here. But I do respect the courts decision. Muller had made note of the exceptional amount of public interest during the June 8 hearing. The judge will meet with attorneys from both sides in a private conference on June 29. Now that the injunction has been granted, the LGA and the waterkeeper said they plan on moving ahead with their own scientific research in tandem with The Jefferson Project. While the injunction is temporary, Wick said that this delays the planned use for at least another year, as the park commissions permits were for June, and the courts action effectively annuls the permits. Wick said officials had until the end of June to use the herbicide, the time when Eurasian watermilfoil begins to grow aggressively. The court order also states that the preliminary injunction is contingent upon petitioners posting an undertaking in the amount of $100,000 within 15 days of this decision. This money will go toward the Lake George Park Commission if the commission ultimately wins the litigation on the merits of the case, and would be used to cover any damages the commission might sustain as a result of the legal challenge. A spokesperson for the Lake George Association said that the association has contributed more than $1 million over the past decade to assist with the hand-harvesting program, and will continue its support this year. In a previous Post-Star article, Wick said hand-harvesting costs $8,750 per week for each diver removing the plants. Drew Wardle is a reporter for The Post-Star. You can contact him at 518-681-7343 or email him at dwardle@poststar.com. Love 4 Funny 1 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. EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP Kirby Reed is the new assistant director of development and community outreach for The Arc of Atlantic County, a role in which shell help organize fundraisers crucial to the organizations survival and public service. I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside the dedicated staff of The Arc of Atlantic County, and I look forward to growing the agencys footprint across the communities we serve, Reed said in a statement Tuesday. Atlantic Countys chapter of The Arc is one of many the nonprofit runs in the state. The organization serves those with intellectual disabilities by providing direct services, advocacy, education and prevention activities. More than 1,000 people and their families use the services of the Atlantic County chapter, the organization said. Arc of Atlantic County athletes get big sendoff before Special Olympics EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP Area residents gathered at The Arc of Atlantic County on Friday to sho Reed adds to The Arc a person skilled in serving local social service agencies and national nonprofits. She has more than eight years of experience in the nonprofit sector, The Arc said. She has a bachelors degree in journalism from Hofstra University, in New York. In her new role, Reed will aid The Arc in planning and overseeing fundraisers, events, grant funding, fueling donor relationships, maintaining corporate relations and other functions, The Arc said. Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. They had walked several miles that last Saturday in May when a woman dressed as Harriet Tubman approached. She wore a long black skirt, a jacket with tattered sleeves and a large black hat. She held a lantern in her right hand. Come on, keep a steady pace going, said Daisy Nelson Century, the Tubman interpreter. Were almost to the river. Come on, were almost to freedom land. It was the final eight miles of a 165-mile journey. That morning, Ken Johnston, a walking artist from Philadelphia, and Deborah Price, a volunteer at the Underground Railroad Museum in Eastampton, Burlington County, were completing the Walk to Freedom that began in Cape May on April 2. The goal of the walk was to trace the South Jersey routes Underground Railroad conductors used to help Black people fleeing from enslavement. Johnston planned the walk in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of abolitionist and Civil War spy Tubman in 1822. For nearly two months of mostly weekend trips, Johnston, Price and Alvin Corbett, a New Jersey-based public historian, walked on their own. Occasionally, one or two others joined them. On May 28, about 50 people gathered at 8 a.m. at Timbuctoo, a village in Westampton, Burlington County, settled in 1826 by free and formerly enslaved Black people. Among those present were state Sen. Troy Singleton and Westampton Mayor Sandy Henley. Others joined along the way, bringing the total walkers to about 60, Johnston said. The walk has always been about protecting and preserving our civil rights, Johnston said. Ive been trying to get people to recognize that our civil rights are in jeopardy. Johnston has made other walks: In 2018, from Selma, Alabama, to Memphis, in observance of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. From 2019 to 2021, he made a similar walk tracing Tubmans movements on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, from Maryland to New York. This was the most spiritual walk Ive ever been on, Johnston said after the South Jersey walk concluded. It was in Burlington City that people fleeing slavery crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania to journey farther north. Some settled in Bristol, others went on to New York and Canada. After a ceremony at the riverfront, the walkers and guests attended a celebratory program at the nearby Burlington Quaker Center Meeting House and Center for Conference. A number of the people whom Johnston, Price and Corbett met along the way from Cape May to Burlington City came. Nearly 150 people filled the meeting house. They came from the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May. They came from Greenwich Township, where the walkers worshiped with an interfaith group on Easter Sunday. Quakers came from New Jersey and beyond. The Lenni Lenape also came, from Cumberland County. They came from the Peter Mott House in Lawnside, and from Jacobs Chapel in Mount Laurel, where Dr. James Still, Philadelphia abolitionist William Stills older brother, is buried in the church cemetery. They came from Timbuctoo Village. A white Quaker family, a mother and her two adult children, came from Maryland and Virginia to visit the Burlington meeting house the day before the walk to find out more about their family history. The brother and sister learned about the Walk to Freedom and joined it the next day. The Burlington City gathering took place at a time when the country was still reeling from mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. But here, white people, Black people and Native American people joined together to celebrate a journey dedicated to freedom seekers in a spirit of hope and peace. It was the magic of the souls that came together, Price said. It was just so beautiful. Marches against gun violence planned in Ocean City and Atlantic City OCEAN CITY Like millions of Americans, Stefany Mayz watched in horror as news broke of yet Louise Davis, 86, of Bristol, is a third cousin of Harriet Tubman. Davis mesmerized the gathering with a commanding voice to speak of liberation with a poetry reading: Many thousands crossed the river Some go weakly, and some rejoicing, some in silk, some in shackles. No more auction block for me. No more drivers lash for me. Price, of Willingboro, Burlington County, used her networking skills to bring out a large group for the final walk. Her Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sisters walked. So did a contingent of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and other Divine Nine sorority and fraternity members. She also invited the North Carolina A&T University New Jersey Alumni Chapter. At the Quaker Center ceremony, the Essence of Harmony Choral Society sang beautiful old spirituals. Price said her next mission is to bring together representatives of all of the Underground Railroad sites they visited in South Jersey. She hopes they can collaborate to benefit each other. C. Joyce Fowler, vice president of the Lawnside Historical Society, which manages the Peter Mott House, said it has been hard to maintain the structure, originally built in 1845. Its a struggle keeping our history together, Fowler said. Its a struggle keeping our house open. 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. A Tuckerton man pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated assault for his involvement in a shooting that injured a Little Egg Harbor Township man last year. Donald Rutter, 55, also pleaded guilty to stalking before Judge Wendel Daniels, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said Tuesday. Rutter is scheduled to be sentenced July 25. Prosecutors are seeking a seven-year prison term for the aggravated assault charge and 7 to 18 months for the stalking charge, Billhimer said in a news release. Additionally, prosecutors will ask the judge for a restraining order. Tuckerton man indicted in attempted murder of boat dealer Donald Rutter, 52, also was indicted on charges of possession of a weapon for an unlawful pu Rutter shot Thomas Jarvis, 55, at Jarvis Marine off Radio Road on Jan. 5, 2021. Authorities found Jarvis at the boat dealership injured from an apparent gunshot wound. He was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center for treatment and was eventually released. Rutter hid from authorities while they obtained a warrant for his arrest. He was apprehended in Atlantic City on Jan. 28, 2021. He was been held at the Ocean County jail since his arrest, Billhimer said. Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PLEASANTVILLE The city Board of Education voted Tuesday night to conclude an investigation into Superintendent Natakie Chestnut-Lee. Chestnut-Lee was put on leave by the school board in October, setting off months of caustic board meetings and meandering controversy that has derailed how business is done in the district. The board originally voted to put Chestnut-Lee on leave over allegations that she had lied about why she left her previous job as chief school administrator of the then International Academy of Atlantic City Charter School in Egg Harbor Township. Karin Farkas was appointed acting superintendent in her stead. Chestnut-Lee said she had no comment on the meeting Wednesday. J&J Investigations was appointed by the board in January to conduct the investigation at a rate of $150 per hour for a total amount not to exceed $15,000. How much to pay investigators had been a matter of dispute before the appointment of J&J and became the subject of controversy again Tuesday. The resolution to conclude the investigation stipulated that the district pay J&J an additional $13,887.50 for its work leading some residents and members of the board to question why further work had been completed before the firm had obtained board authorization. Yes, we approved $15,000, but part of the agreement was that before they exceeded $15,000 they need to come back and ask for permission to be granted more money to do further investigation, board member Julio Sanchez said. That never happened. Board President Jerome Page questioned whether Sanchezs interpretation was correct. Although board member Doris Rowell agreed, she said it was the responsibility of investigators to have returned to the board before doing the additional work. Board Solicitor Jim Carroll said the question partially turned on whether the board was satisfied with the work that investigators had done. A similar dispute was held about paying an additional $7,600 to Lou DiJoseph Associate for the conclusion of the investigation. Chestnut-Lee has maintained she was not dishonest when applying to be superintendent and argued that the board members targeting her were driven by ulterior motives. She filed a complaint against some members of the board with the state School Ethics Commission shortly after being put on leave, arguing she had not been properly sent a Rice notice before action was taken against her. The commission dismissed her complaint in May, saying the issues at hand would fall well beyond the scope, authority, and jurisdiction of the Commission although it clarified that Chestnut-Lee may be able to have her complaints adjudicated in an appropriate tribunal. It also denied a claim filed by Page asking that the commission sanction Chestnut-Lees complaint as frivolous. Another complaint Chestnut-Lee filed centered on a January meeting that ended prematurely due to lack of a quorum after several members left before a motion to adjourn. The complaint alleges some members were directed to leave by a third party so they could unduly stop a motion to reinstate Chestnut-Lee from being considered and acted on. Page, among the members accused, has argued there was already a lack of a quorum when he left because the live feed of a member attending virtually had cut out. The School Ethics Commission transferred that complaint to the state Office of Administrative Law, while reserving judgement on a request to have the complaint sanctioned as frivolous. The board did work to deal with substantive issues at several points in the four-hour meeting. It voted to submit a proposal in conjunction with the city government to apply for a school safety grant that could total $500,000 with the district matching a quarter of those funds. School safety has been an issue raised by concerned parents and teachers in recent months, leading to the appointment of two Class III officers from the Pleasantville Police Department to help patrol the citys schools. Farkas said in a May 27 letter that the district would be stationing two additional school resource officers on school grounds starting in the 2022-23 school year. She added the district would be enhancing security equipment by September and expressed condolences for the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 21 people on May 24. Priscilla Noel, a resident who frequently speaks at board meetings, admonished the board for setting a bad example for students. She added the board needs to handle issues like improving material conditions for the districts student drama clubs. The discord thats up here is creating an environment that will cultivate more burdensome citizens to society, so yall need to figure that out, Noel said. You want to have your personal vendettas and attacks and leave the children suffering when were supposed to be developing them into beneficial citizens for society. The strife on the board the past few months is the latest in a sequence of tumultuous turnover for a school district that has had 14 superintendents in the past 13 years. The state had assigned fiscal monitors to supervise the district from 2007 until last fall. Several days after the tenure of the final fiscal monitor came to an end, the controversy around Chestnut-Lee ignited. Contact Chris Doyle cdoyle@pressofac.com 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. GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP A student teacher recognized by the state Department of Education credits her mentor at Southern Regional High School for the accomplishment, preparing her for when she has her own classroom someday. She (Kathleen Cornelius) has truly inspired me to continue to learn and reflect on my work so that I can be the best teacher that I can be for my students, said Jalynn Pagano, who graduated summa cum laude in May from Stockton University with a bachelors degree in math. Pagano, of Bayville, Ocean County, was one of 15 student teachers honored last Wednesday during the New Jersey Distinguished Clinical Intern of the Year ceremony, part of a collaborative program between the New Jersey Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the Department of Education. The program highlights top graduates at New Jerseys 25 colleges and universities preparing to become teachers. Each school, since 1985, delegates its top three student teachers, and 15 are chosen by an independent board of educators and named distinguished clinical interns, Stockton said Tuesday. The universitys other nominees this year were Erin Flynn, of Beach Haven Crest on Long Beach Island, and Chelsea Williams, of Millville. Flynn earned her certification in early childhood education and worked with mentor Katelyn Micek, a second-grade teacher at the Beach Haven School. Williams worked at the Fairfield Township School to earn her certification in elementary education. Her mentor was Shawna Beals-Rivera, a 2005 Stockton graduate, who also earned her masters degree in Holocaust and genocide studies from the university in 2009. We are extremely proud of Jalynn and all of our nominees, said Claudine Keenan, Stocktons dean of the School of Education. This is a very competitive achievement, as it also includes graduate education students. This continues to be a challenging time for educators, and we appreciate the dedication of our student teachers, their teaching mentors and our partner school districts in helping guide the next generation of educators. Cornelius adored having a true math geek instruct her students. Pagano said the Southern Regional teacher exemplified the importance of building relationships with students and supporting them inside and outside the classroom, something Pagano may not have learned until she was given control of the chalkboard. I won the lottery when Jalynn was assigned to me, Cornelius said. She is enthusiastic, driven, smart, responsible, professional and most important she cares deeply about kids and their educational experience. Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin 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. Belgium helps Vietnam seek dioxin treatment technology at Bien Hoa airport Results of dioxin treatment technology tested at Bien Hoa airport, the most contaminated spot in Vietnam, were released at a seminar in Hanoi on June 15. At the seminar to announce results of dioxin treatment technology tested at Bien Hoa airport (Photo: VNA) This cooperation is between the Environment Treatment Technology Centre under the Chemical Corps of the Ministry of National Defence, Defence Economic Technical Industry Corporation (GAET) and Haemers Technologies SA of Belgium. The key objective of the trial treatment is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Smart BurnersTM treatment technology and design in order to meet the site-specific dioxins target levels. Under the memorandum of understanding reached by the sides, the trial treatment was scheduled to take place from November 2019 to March 2020 on an area of around 2000 sq.m. However, due to COVID-19, it was conducted from January 2020 to April this year. It has been proven that thermal treatment is able to destroy all vapors and condensates. The results have created a premise for the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Science and Technology and other relevant agencies to select the most feasible technology for dioxin remediation at Bien Hoa airport, located in the southern province of Dong Nai, said Major General Ha Van Cu, Commander of the Chemical Corps. The officer expressed his hope that the Belgian group will perfect the dioxin treatment technology for it to be applied in hot spots in Vietnam. Belgian Ambassador Paul Jansen said Belgium is ready to transfer core technologies in the spirit of partnership to help Vietnam speed up dioxin treatment. Located about 30 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City, Bien Hoa, was a major base for US Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine units during the war. In 2016, USAID, in partnership with the Government of Vietnam, completed an assessment of dioxin contamination at the airbase. The assessment identified almost 500,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil and sediment in need of remediation almost four times the volume that was remediated at Da Nang Airport. The awards ceremony for the One Step Chinese-Hungarian Drawing Competition was simultaneously held both offline and online in Central China's Hubei and Henan provinces, and Hungary's Gyor-Moson-Sopron county recently. The event, which drew nearly 100 participants, including students, teachers and government representatives, was jointly organized by the respective local governments. It was aimed at boosting China-Hungary ties through friendly exchanges between teenagers, according to the organizing committee in Hubei. Between March and May, students from middle schools in the two Chinese provinces and the Hungarian county submitted more than 120 creative works themed on the bilateral relationship, inventions made by the two countries and environmental protection. Huang Shihui from Xianning Xiangcheng Middle School, Hubei, won the first prize for her painting titled China in the Rubik's Cube. Her work featured a giant Rubik's cube on a tableau. Each square of the cube showcased things that embody Chinese history and contemporary development, such as the compass, traditional medicine books, the Great Wall, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, and the Shenzhou spaceship. "The Rubik's cube was invented in Hungary. I wanted to introduce China to our Hungarian friends through a familiar invention of theirs," Huang says, adding that she hoped her painting would further help cement the friendship between the two nations. Fanni Kotrics-Szabo of Hungary also won the first prize. Speaking at the awards ceremony in Gyor-Moson-Sopron, she said her interest in Chinese culture prompted her to take part in the competition. "I'm proud of my work and will continue to create more paintings," she adds. Hubei and Gyor-Moson-Sopron forged "sisterhood ties" in 2014. Various bilateral initiatives, including the building of a section of the Hungary-Serbia Railway and student exchange programs, have since been carried out. "The painting competition has built a bridge of communication between young people in China and Hungary," said Zhao Haishan, vice-governor of Hubei, at the awards ceremony. Zhao pledged to hold further activities of a similar nature to promote mutual understanding and friendship between the two nations. WILDWOOD From a neighboring building, Maria McBride had a clear view of the smoke and flames that began to show from the roof of the Windward Motel at 5200 Ocean Ave. on Tuesday. She said a young man was on the roof with a fire extinguisher, trying to put out the fire before it spread. She and others were yelling at him to get down and leave the flames to the firefighters who were already on the way. It was surreal, she said. It took firefighters about 90 minutes to get the smoky blaze under control, and 3 hours to clear the scene Tuesday afternoon, fire officials said. No injuries were reported, and the Cape May County fire marshal ruled the blaze accidental, caused by welding work taking place on the second floor, the Fire Department said in a news release. The first 911 call about the fire came in at 11:28 a.m. Bergen County man 3rd person to drown in Wildwoods in 8 days At 5:23 p.m. Wednesday, police responded to a call of a swimmer in distress at Youngs Avenue By that time, fire Chief Ernie Troiano III said, the fire had already gotten a strong start in a crawlspace between the upstairs ceiling and the roof, an open area that extends over much of the building. The placement presented challenges to firefighters, he said, requiring large sections of the roof to be cut and removed to give access to the flames. You could tell the fire had been burning in there for a while prior to our arrival, Troiano said. The companies were able to get a trench cut in the roof there. Because the fire was essentially protected by the roof, even a rainstorm during the fire did little to help extinguish the blaze. There was also a steady wind, Troiano said, which helped the fire, not his crews. He said firefighters were stationed on the roof of a neighboring motel as flames shot out to the south. There and behind the motel, he said, firefighters were able to keep the blaze from spreading. The Fire Department estimated the damage at about $500,000. Troiano did not believe anyone was staying in the motel when the fire broke out, and everyone was able to get out of the building. There were contractors at work at the time, he said. Fire crews from Wildwood and North Wildwood were at the scene, with a ladder truck extended onto the roof of the motel while firefighters probed for additional hotspots Tuesday afternoon. Fire crews from Wildwood Crest, Rio Grande, Stone Harbor, Villas, Erma, Cape May and Ocean View also responded. McBride, who lives in Washington Township and spends her summers in Wildwood, said the area was crowded over the weekend, but on an overcast June weekday there were fewer people around. Wildwood police had closed off that block of Ocean Avenue and asked residents to avoid the area between Cresse and Rio Grande avenues while the fire was still threatening. In May, Wildwood fire crews assisted Wildwood Crest at another motel fire on Ocean Avenue, this one in the 6400 block. In that instance, a fire broke out in a unit on the fourth floor of the property. Firefighters said that fire was contained to the unit where it began. 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. Hyowon Hugh Lee, a Purdue University associate professor of biomedical engineering, has created a magnetically controlled medical device to remove blood accumulating in the brain during a stroke. The research was published in Nature Communications. (Purdue University photo/Vincent Walter) WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. A new treatment for strokes caused by bleeding in the brain that uses a magnetically controlled microrobot-enabled self-clearing catheter has been shown to be 86% effective in animal models, according to a paper published in Nature Communications. Hyowon "Hugh" Lee, a Purdue University associate professor from the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, created the magnetically controlled microdevice that removes blood accumulating in the brain during a stroke. The innovation was tested on porcine models of hemorrhage in collaboration with neurosurgeons Dr. Timothy Bentley from Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine and Dr. Albert Lee from Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine in Carmel, Indiana. The microrobots successfully removed the blood in six of the seven animals in the treatment animal model. "This innovation is a real advance in the care of strokes, which are notoriously difficult to treat," Hugh Lee said. The current gold standard to treat strokes is a blood thinner called tissue plasminogen activator, which cannot be used for some hemorrhagic strokes. "Patients with brain hemorrhages have a mortality rate of up to 50%," Albert Lee said. "Currently there is no great therapeutic solution for intraventricular hemorrhage. The only other option is blood clot-dissolving drugs that have undesirable risks." Hugh Lee's innovation, which was developed with a former graduate student, Qi Yang, can be remotely activated using externally applied magnetic fields. "There is no need for an implanted power source or complicated integrated circuit," Hugh Lee said. "As you change the direction of the magnetic field, the microdevice moves like a compass needle with a magnet nearby. They can be part of an implantable shunt system or a part of extraventricular drainage systems." Hugh Lee disclosed the innovation to the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization, which has filed for a patent on the intellectual property. The next step to further develop the device is to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a first-in-human study. Lee's collaborative research was funded by grants from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute and the National Institutes of Health. About Purdue University Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://stories.purdue.edu. About Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities through commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual property. The office is housed in the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration in Discovery Park District at Purdue, adjacent to the Purdue campus. In fiscal year 2021, the office reported 159 deals finalized with 236 technologies signed, 394 disclosures received and 187 issued U.S. patents. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. In 2020, IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Contact otcip@prf.org for more information. Writer: Steve Martin, sgmartin@prf.org Sources: Hyowon "Hugh" Lee, hwlee@purdue.edu Albert Lee ABSTRACT Application of magnetically actuated self-clearing catheter for rapid in situ blood clot clearance in hemorrhagic stroke treatment Qi Yang, Angel Enriquez, Dillon Devathasan, Craig A. Thompson, Dillan Nayee, Ryan Harris, Douglas Satoski, Barnabas Obeng-Gyasi, Albert Lee, R. Timothy Bentley & Hyowon Lee Maintaining the patency of indwelling drainage devices is critical in preventing further complications following an intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and other chronic disease management. Surgeons often use drainage devices to remove blood and cerebrospinal fluid but these catheters frequently become occluded with hematoma. Using an implantable magnetic microactuator, we created a self-clearing catheter that can generate large enough forces to break down obstructive blood clots by applying time-varying magnetic fields. In a blood-circulating model, our self-clearing catheters demonstrated a > 7x longer functionality than traditional catheters (211 vs. 27 min) and maintained a low pressure for longer periods (239 vs. 79 min). Using a porcine IVH model, the self-clearing catheters showed a greater survival rate than control catheters (86% vs. 0%) over the course of 6 weeks. The treated animals also had significantly smaller ventricle sizes 1 week after implantation compared to the control animals with traditional catheters. Our results suggest that these magnetic microactuator-embedded smart catheters can expedite the removal of blood from the ventricles and potentially improve the outcomes of critical patients suffering from often deadly IVH. A former Davenport and Eldridge police officer pleaded guilty to sex abuse charges involving a 14-year-old girl during a hearing Tuesday in Scott County District Court. Andrew Patrick DeNoyer, 24, pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree sexual abuse. Each of the charges is a Class C felony that carries a prison sentence of 10 years. District Court Judge Joel Barrows scheduled DeNoyers sentencing for July 29. The case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. DeNoyer was arrested Sept. 28, 2021. He had resigned from the Eldridge Police Department the day before. DeNoyer had been a police officer with Davenport before moving to the Eldridge department. According to a news release issued Tuesday by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the case began Sept. 24 at the request of the Eldridge Police Department as DeNoyer was suspected of having sex with a 14-year-old girl. According to the trial information filed by Asst. Attorney General Scott Brown, the acts occurred between Aug. 19, 2020, and the time when DeNoyer was arrested. According to the arrest affidavit filed by DCI Special Agent Ryan Kedley, DeNoyer admitted to committing the sex act with the girl during a post-Miranda interview. DeNoyer remains free on bond. 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. Less than a quarter of one percent of Davenport residents are driving roughly half of gun violence in the city, according to new statistics compiled by the National Network for Safe Communities. Using federal pandemic relief dollars, Davenport contracted with John Jay College to do an analysis of the last five years of gun crime in Davenport to inform the city's strategy to tamp down gun violence. According to the new statistics, 0.18% of Davenport residents are driving between 51% and 56.5% of gun violence in the city. That fraction of a percent are "Group Member Involved," which National Network defines as being involved with an active street group like a gang, drug crew or neighborhood set. About 5.5% of perpetrators of gun crimes were "likely" involved with groups. About 25.8% of gun crimes analyzed were not connected to groups. The statistics, Davenport Chief Strategy Officer Sarah Ott told city council members this week, inform a strategy that engages directly with people in or involved with active street groups in an attempt to intervene in cycles of violence. The strategy involves community members with credible moral messages against violence, such as a former group member or a mother who lost a child to gun violence, a social service provider to make an offer of services, and law enforcement officers to emphasize the consequences of continued violence. "Oftentimes, we can feel like that gun violence is a very large problem, a very nebulous problem," Ott said. "How are we ever going to wrap our arms around this? How are we ever going to bring this under control? But what we have found out is that it's actually a very small number of people that are driving over 50% of this crime. So if we can reach out to in effect that less than two tenths of a percent of our population, we can see a dramatic reduction in our gun crime." Davenport city staff pitched the strategy for Davenport after the city saw record gunfire in 2020. "We know that there are groups in our communities, we use the term group and not gang," Ott said. "All gangs are groups, but not all groups are gangs. Groups are social affiliations. And we know that their cycles of retaliation and retribution with each other are often driving a lot of this violence. And so that social concentration between groups is something that GVI is looking to intervene in." This summer, the city hired DeAmbuir Carter, a former probation and parole officer and Davenport resident, to lead the strategy. As part of Carter's job, a two-year grant-funded position, she'll find and coordinate messengers, track data on the program, and coordinate resources to address participants challenges, such as housing, physical and mental health care and substance abuse, according to the city. 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. Also in South Carolina, Republican Tim Scott coasted to an easy and unopposed primary win Tuesday for what he says will be his last term in the Senate. But another state is also on his mind the presidential proving ground of Iowa. It's become an article of faith that there are no "accidental" trips to Iowa by ambitious politicians. And Scott, the Senate's sole Black Republican, has made several visits, including one last week. He certainly has the money to contend. As he campaigned for reelection to the Senate, Scott amassed a jaw-dropping $42 million. That's more than double the $15.7 million average cost of a winning Senate campaign in the 2018 midterms. It's also more than enough to launch a Republican presidential campaign in 2024. Even before his recent appearance at an Iowa Republican Party event, Scott has been raising his profile. He spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention and delivered the Republican response to President Joe Biden's first joint congressional address. He's also visited New Hampshire, another early-voting presidential state, and delivered a speech at the Reagan Presidential Library, another frequent stop for Republicans eyeing the White House. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WAPELLO Two Louisa County men have been arrested in connection with an investigation into the illegal sale of THC vapor cartridges to Wapello High School students. According to a press release from the Louisa County Sheriffs Office, Mason Beik, 24, of Wapello, faces charged of felony possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, a Class B felony; felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class C felony; two counts of felony possession with intent to deliver, a Class D felony; and two counts of drug tax stamp violations, a Class D felony. He has bonded out of jail. Also arrested was Levi Leibli, 20, of Morning Sun. He is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class D felony. He has also bonded out of jail. On May 7, a residential search warrant was executed at 11473 County Road G56 in Wapello. As a result two pounds of marijuana, 0.5 pound of psychedelic mushrooms and THC cartridges/vaping devices were seized. A subsequent traffic stop on Beik was conducted near the residence on Highway X61. An additional one ounce of menthamphetamine/opium mix, half a pound of marijuana, 0.75 pound of THC wax, THC edibles, packaging material, U.S. currency and a Glock 19 handgun were seized. The arrest report also said a search warrant had been granted for Beiks Facebook account. Officers observed several Messenger conversations showing Beik to be supplying narcotics to the other individual. Earlier in the day another residential search warrant was conducted at 5672 County Road X37 in Morning Sun. As a result packaged marijuana, THC wax and substances were seized. Leibli, of the same address, was charged. The Louisa County Sheriffs office was assisted by the Wapello Ambulance Service, Louisa County Attorneys Office, Columbus Junction Police Department, and the Winfield Police Department. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The city of Bettendorf currently is the only defendant named in the lawsuit related to the fatal crash on the I-74 bridge pedestrian path in Moline. The Chicago-based attorney representing the family of one of the victims from the bridge declined Wednesday to say whether others could be added to the lawsuit, saying the case is, "... in the early days." The Iowa Department of Transportation, DOT, was responsible for approving the design of the bridge and its connected bike and pedestrian path on the Illinois-bound span. But attorney Devon C. Bruce, who has filed a complaint in federal court against Bettendorf, said it is too soon to say whether he will pursue action against the DOT or any other agency, business or individual for the failure to install bollards or other access restrictions at the path entrances. Bruce is representing the family of Anthony Castaneda, the 18-year-old who died days after he sustained critical injuries from being struck by women who drove her SUV onto the pedestrian path from Bettendorf at 2 a.m. May 22. Ethan Gonzalez, 21, died at the scene. The third pedestrian, Charles Bowen, 22, also was seriously injured. While some have questioned what the trio was doing on the path at 2 a.m., Bruce said the question is irrelevant. "Think about it in these terms: They were pedestrians," he said. "They were on a pedestrian bridge. They were where they were supposed to be." The path is open 24-hours a day. Chhabria A. Harris, 46, of East Moline was the driver of the Cadillac Escalade that struck the three men, police said, and she has been charged with three counts of aggravated DUI, great bodily injury or death; three counts of failure to stop after a crash causing personal injury or death; three charges of aggravated reckless driving and two counts of reckless homicide. East Moline woman accused in fatal I-74 bridge collision waives preliminary hearing Chhabria A. Harris, 46, East Moline, waived her preliminary hearing Tuesday. She's accused of driving her SUV across the Interstate 74 bridge's pedestrian path, killing two men and injuring a third. Both the Bettendorf and Moline entrances to the path have been protected from vehicle access since the crash. Large planters, signs, cones and fencing have been added. At a Moline City Council meeting Tuesday, Fire Chief Jeff Snyder referred to the crash and the city's response to it in introducing a plan to provide emergency services on the path. Emergency responders encountered difficulties in getting to the injured, Snyder said, because the path was an active crime scene. The city is looking into the purchase of a specially equipped John Deere Gator designed for emergency medical response. It has space for a patient on a backboard and another in a seat, along with space for medical equipment. It also would be equipped with emergency lights and a siren, he said. A purchase price and other details are to be presented to the council in coming weeks. Bettendorf officials did not immediately respond Wednesday to questions about their plans for providing emergency response to the path. Reporter Grace Kinnicutt contributed to this story. Love 1 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. WHAT WE KNOW: The Colona Fire Department, like other fire departments around the country, is having trouble attracting volunteer firefighters who can work during the daytime shifts. WHAT'S NEW: The Colona fire district is putting a question on the June 28 ballot for a rescue tax that would generate less than $40 per year on a home with a market value of $100,000. Fire Chief John Swan spoke to the City Council on Monday about the referendum, saying the department has solid finances and is replacing a 30-year-old firetruck this year and looking at replacing a 33-year-old truck. The proceeds of the rescue tax would be used to hire two firefighters to be paid to work full-time for $15 or $16 per hour during the daytime. He said the department is pushing 1,000 calls this year, of which 80% are rescue calls. He said the department had had the same levy for over 40 years and by rights should have a rescue tax supporting the department. "We're hoping to get the support of the community behind us," he said. "We're in fear that we're going to start missing some calls." He said Colona was getting a great deal on ambulance service at a levy of $.075 compared with other communities' $.30 or $.40 because it is subsidized by Genesis. Swan noted the same rescue tax was shot down by voters two years ago during COVID restrictions when firefighters could not get before groups to inform people about it, and he hopes that this time things will be different. WHAT'S NEXT: Public Works Director Mike Stephens said the outside consultant would look at the sludge press at the sewer treatment plant that failed earlier this year. Colona is having to fly someone in from Georgia to look at the press on June 21 at a cost of nearly $7,000. "Hopefully he can diagnose something and get the sludge machine working," Stephens said. Stephens has one estimate of $90,000 to remove 80 trees at Colona's Scott Family Park since one tree fell on a campsite in May. He said over 40 of those trees were identified as being "super bad" threats to safety at the resort. He will continue getting estimates from tree contractors. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 China's resolute efforts over the past decade to make its industrial economy grow huge and robust have resulted in this sector being more competitive and resilient in a world fraught with uncertainties and risks. China's industrial output logged an average annual growth of 6.3 percent in the 2012-2021 period as the country's manufacturing sector gained strength, Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology, told a press conference on Tuesday. The growth, well above the global average of about 2 percent for the period, drove industrial output to 37.3 trillion yuan (about 5.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2021, a significant rise from 20.9 trillion yuan in 2012. Despite the COVID-19 epidemic, the average growth rate for 2020 and 2021 reached 6.1 percent, playing an important role in stabilizing the global industrial chain and promoting the recovery of the world economy, Xin noted. Specifically, the manufacturing value-added output had expanded from 16.98 trillion yuan (about 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2012 to 31.4 trillion yuan in 2021, accounting for 30 percent of the global manufacturing output. Beneath the growing scale is the improving structure of the industrial economy, with traditional industries quickening the pace for upgrading and emerging sectors such as service robots and intelligent wearable equipment showing robust momentum. The most telling evidence is that China's production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) have topped globally for seven consecutive years since 2015. Accumulated sales of NEVs amounted to 11.08 million units as of the end of May, compared with 20,000 at the end of 2012. Chinese brands occupied six of the global top 10 best-selling NEV models in 2021, and among the top 10 companies in terms of power battery shipments, six are Chinese enterprises. The share of high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing in the country's total industrial output had risen to 15.1 percent and 32.4 percent, respectively, in 2021. In the field of innovation, numerous major landmark projects including the country's indigenously developed C919 large passenger aircraft and space exploration are propelling the manufacturing industry to new heights. Although the geopolitical conflicts and COVID-19 resurgence have added downward pressure on the industrial economy, the impacts would be temporary, Xin noted. From a long-term perspective, the fundamentals of China's complete and resilient manufacturing system have not changed. With continuous support policies, the industrial economy is expected to return to the normal track as soon as possible, the vice minister said. Going forward, efforts will be made to consolidate China's industrial chain and complete industrial system, improve weak areas and forge strong areas, and promote the high-end development, intelligent upgrade and green transformation of the manufacturing industry, according to the ministry. CEDAR RAPIDS Despite political headwinds, Iowa gubernatorial nominee Deidre DeJear sees hope and common ground among Iowa voters, including rural voters, which could pave success for Democrats in November. From pushing to provide taxpayer funding to pay for students to attend private schools, to a flat tax and abortion restrictions, DeJear argues Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has prioritized extreme policies over Iowans while real issues like rural revitalization and access to quality, affordable health care and mental health care have been shortchanged. Were seeing minimal results out of the governors office, DeJear told a gathering of 25 supporters and Linn County Democrats. DeJear stopped at Raygun in Cedar Rapids Monday evening as part of a statewide campaign swing ahead of Iowa Democrats state convention Saturday in Des Moines. She delivered her report card on Reynolds performance during her first term. The Des Moines business owner and activist, who became the first Black candidate to be nominated for statewide office in Iowa with her unsuccessful run for Iowa secretary of state in 2018, gave Reynolds failing grades on the environment, education, health care, government transparency, housing, womens issues, jobs and the economy. Are we willing to fight for that common ground? DeJear asked the group of supporters. To be real? To talk about the real issues that Iowans are facing, not the ones that people want to use to divide us like what bathroom somebody goes to. Cmon. People need homes. They need a roof over their heads. They need insurance. They need to be able to choose to go to school or a grocery store knowing they can come home safe. This isnt about culture right now, this is about progression as Iowans. This is about fighting for a democracy that we all need to work, but weve got leadership unwilling to use it. DeJear criticized Reynolds push to use $55 million in state public school funding to provide 10,000 students with scholarships to pay private school expenses. One hundred percent of our students need the undivided attention of our governor in order to improve their opportunity within the education system, DeJear said. She also criticized the governor for stating she believes the effects of climate change were overstated, despite the increasing frequency of severe storms and flooding across the state, including the August 2020 derecho that hit Cedar Rapids hard and heavy. DeJear also called out Reynolds for pushing a conservative agenda that supports an unfair 4 percent flat-rate state income tax she argues benefits the super wealthy and corporations, while rural counties continue to lose population, rural hospitals have closed and Iowans grapple to access needed mental health care. The vast majority of Iowans are going to get $55 a month four years from now, DeJear said of the gradual income tax cuts. Meanwhile, were sitting on a $1 billion (state budget) surplus and we know that money could go to good use today. We can put resources into education. We can put resources into mental health care, as well as workforce and affordable housing. When we look at the legislation and when we look at this cycle from this current governor, were not seeing the work happen, DeJear continued. GOP RESPONSE Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann pushed packed on DeJears assessment of Reynolds first term. Gov. Kim Reynolds has transformed education in Iowa by ensuring students have a 100 percent in-person learning option, banning mask mandates, and defending parents' rights to be involved in their child's education, Kaufmann said in a statement of DeJears Reynolds Report Card Tour. Because of Reynolds' record of success, Iowa's students are on a better path than students in blue states. To DeJear, teacher unions are in control not Iowans. That's not the kind of education policy Iowans want out of their governor. The latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll from March showed Reynolds with an 8-point lead over DeJear. Both ran unopposed in Iowas June 7 primary. MATHIS SPEAKS DeJear was joined on her Cedar Rapids stop by Democratic state Sen. Liz Mathis of Hiawatha, who is running to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson of Marion in the November general election. Mathis mentioned a recent fundraising call where a woman told her she would not donate to her campaign, but wished her the best of luck. We cannot wish our candidates into office, Mathis told the small gathering of Linn County Democrats. We have got to roll up our sleeves. We have got to knock on doors. We have got to get out there and spread the word and getting a candidate like Deidre DeJear, who is passionate and compassionate, and is putting her all into this campaign. And thats whats going to get us a win. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DES MOINES Colleges, K-12 school districts and day care centers in Iowa cannot require students and children to be immunized from COVID-19 under legislation signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The bill was among 10 signed into law Tuesday by the governor. Iowa schools, by state law, require eight types of immunizations by age 5. Immunization from COVID-19 will not be added to that list, thanks to House File 2298, which passed the Iowa Legislature mostly on party-line votes, with Republicans supporting the proposal and Democrats opposing. Reynolds has until a week from Thursday to take action on all bills approved during the recently concluded legislative session. The governors spokesman said Thursday that roughly a couple dozen bills remain. Among the other bills she signed into law Tuesday were: House File 2578, the health and human services budget bill. It budgets $2.1 billion for various state services over the next state budget year, which begins July 1. Senate File 529, which is designed to assist victims of fertility fraud. The legislation is a proactive approach in Iowa, in reaction to stories from other states in which fertility doctors secretly impregnated patients with their own sperm. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 Grand Gateway Hotel owner Connie Uhre, 75, did not appear in court personally on Wednesday morning for her initial appearance on three simple assault charges. Instead, her lawyer appeared on her behalf. After her May 27 arrest for spraying three demonstrators with Pledge cleaning spray, Uhre was set to appear in court on June 9. She requested the date be moved and the court rescheduled her initial appearance for Wednesday morning. While the courtroom was busy with people appearing before Magistrate Judge Scott Bogue on charges ranging from reckless driving to possession of controlled substances, Uhre was nowhere to be seen. About three dozen people were on Bogue's 8:15 a.m. docket for status hearings and initial appearances. Uhre and four other defendants had representation attend for them. During an initial appearance, the judge informs defendants of the state's allegations and their personal rights, defendants enter their pleas, and the court sets dates for follow-up hearings. Matthew Lucklum, Uhre's retained attorney, informed the court Uhre knowingly waived her right to appear. He also entered a not guilty plea on her behalf and requested a dispositional conference be set for 60 days after the initial appearance. During a dispositional conference, the defense meets with a state's attorney to discuss the possibility of a plea deal. Of the 15 dispositional conferences scheduled for defendants who appeared before Bogue on Wednesday, Uhre's was the only one not scheduled on July 13 or July 15. The court granted her lawyer's request and set Uhre's conference for Aug. 15 without dispute from the prosecution or the judge. Uhre entered the public eye when she made racist social media comments following a March 19 shooting at the Grand Gateway Hotel. She stated she would no longer allow Native Americans on the premises of the hotel or the adjoining Cheers Lounge because she could not tell between a bad native or a Good native. Members of NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led activist organization, attempted to book rooms after Connie's statements and said they were turned away. Amid protests and national media coverage, the hotel shut down for approximately a month. After reopening, Connie found herself in the custody of the Rapid City Police Department after she sprayed a cleaning product at NDN Collective demonstrators outside the hotel. She was released from jail the same day using a program funded by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation, which she has publicly criticized. Several NDN Collective members attended Uhre's initial appearance Wednesday. They declined to comment directly following the hearing. Lucklum declined to comment on the case as well. The state's charges against Uhre are class 1 misdemeanors. The maximum sentence for each charge is one year in jail, a $2,000 fine, or both. Contact Shalom Baer Gee at sgee@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 2 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A former Box Elder police officer is heading to federal prison for 13 years after pleading guilty to aggravated sexual abuse of a minor at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Judge Jeffrey Viken sentenced Ricardo Olandez, 35, on May 27 to serve the 13 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release after he entered a guilty plea to forcing a minor girl to engage in sexual acts with him over the course of six weeks in April and May 2021. A grand jury originally charged Olandez with three counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact. On Nov. 5 he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual abuse as part of a plea deal. The acts took place on Ellsworth Air Force Base, where Olandez's wife was stationed, according to court documents. The victim was 16 years old at the time and living with Olandez and his wife. She moved in with the couple in 2017 for reasons not listed in court documents. According to a factual basis statement, which Olandez signed, he began making inappropriate, sexually suggestive comments to the victim on April 6, 2021. That evening, he called her from her bedroom to the living room under the guise of asking her to massage his back. The rest of the family was asleep at the time. "The defendant started touching her underneath her shirt. (She) froze and did not grasp what was happening," the document states. Within a matter of days, Olandez raped the girl. Over the next six weeks he assaulted her "repeatedly." After the assaults, Olandez would tell the victim he loved her and require her to tell him that she loved him. On May 14, 2021, the victim told Olandez's wife. She confronted him, and he apologized repeatedly before fleeing to Montana. Law enforcement arrested him in Georgia on June 7, 2021. The Box Elder Police Department ended his employment there on May 18, 2021. Viken credited Olandez with 355 days time served toward his sentence. He will also have to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. According to a United States Attorney's office press release, the Department of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Sazama prosecuted the case. Olandez had five retained attorneys listed on his case from two different law firms. Two public defenders were assigned to the case and then removed when a retained attorney appeared in court to represent Olandez. Contact Shalom Baer Gee at sgee@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Douglas School District Board of Education said farewell to associate member Col. Brady Vaira at their regular board meeting Monday evening, honoring him with a resolution recognizing his two years of service to the district, and wishing him well as he relocates with the United States Air Force. The resolution noted the purpose of the associate board membership being to provide Ellsworth Air Force Base representatives an opportunity to better understand the operation of the Douglas School District and to express opinions as reflected in the military community. The resolution commended Vaira for his outstanding contributions to the Douglas Schools Community. During Vairas committee report, he presented the board with a gift for the Douglas School District a metal cutout depicting Mount Rushmore with a B-1 above and what Vaira described as their best guess of the incoming B-21 below. Vaira said the B-1 represents the legacy mission, what we do its what you guys support day in and day out. Mount Rushmore represents the Black Hills community, just a fantastic community that we get to be a part of coming here in the Air Force, and that felt like home for us, and youve been a fantastic journey for us. The B-21, he said, represents looking to the future, as the Douglas School District is doing all the time, and that is inspiring. Vaira read an inscription from the cutout, thanking the district for their expertise and passion in developing our United States Air Force children into lifelong learners. In other business, Bud Gusso, executive director of Operational Support Services, introduced an integrated transportation management system from Tyler Technologies, a system that would help create and track bus routes and track students on and off buses, among other things. As we've considered growing across the interstate and having two schools on that side of the interstate, we need to start thinking about busing, Gusso said. There's a lot of considerations and also it expands the number of kids that are going to have to be bused, and we want to do a better job of making sure that we track all of those students and all of our classes. Gusso said one person manually plans the bus routes currently, but this technology would make bus routes incredibly easy. The Tyler Technologies system would allow GPS navigation and tracking on all buses, track miles per hour, how many students have been picked up and who. Students would be able to scan themselves in and out, which would send a notification to parents. The district is currently working through an agreement with Tyler Technologies using the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, with an aim of October and January for training sessions, and a launch by second semester. A presentation was given on the districts first ever summer transition program by Elementary Curriculum Director Ann Pettit and Secondary Curriculum Director Kit Veit. The program has a total of 276 students, including 91 incoming kindergartners. The purpose of the program is to build transitional skills for students, continue academic progress, and provide social and study skills, according to the presentation. Transitional skills include taking field trips to new buildings and practice getting into lockers, while also continuing the academic and behavioral process. We also wanted it to be a time where they get to do some of that fun stuff that maybe we hear they don't have time for, Pettit said, adding that another big component was offering both breakfast and lunch, and trying to build that community service. The program runs through June 30, four days a week. The program is funded through ESSER III (three years) and USDA Summer Feeding Program. As their first year, Pettit and Veit said they are looking for ways to improve in coming years, including advertising earlier and possibly beginning closer to the school year. Contact Laura Heckmann at lheckmann@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Rapid City Regional Airport's Board of Directors instructed administrative staff on Tuesday to proceed with preliminary designs for a larger commercial airline terminal potentially adding five more boarding gates and more than 34,000-square feet of space. In March, the Airport Board approved a $6.8 million contract with consulting firm Mead & Hunt to begin the planning and design phase for a six-year-long terminal expansion project. The original plan called for expanding the ticket counter area and baggage handling area, expanding the security checkpoint, enlarging the rental car and baggage claim area, and extending the airline concourse from seven gates to 10. However, new studies and data have shown the enlarged concourse may not be big enough to handle larger than expected population growth. Also adding to capacity issues is that larger commercial aircraft are being used. Mead & Hunt's Senior Aviation Advisor Tom Schauer told the Airport Board Tuesday that an examination of the current terminal's passenger hold-room capacity, population growth in the Black Hills, and larger aircraft flying to Rapid City support the larger plan for 12 gates instead of 10. Schauer said the airlines are moving away from the 50-passenger regional jets that have been a mainstay at the airport and changing to larger 70- to 90-seat regional planes, and even larger Airbus and Boeing jets that seat up to 190 people. He said the move in the industry to larger jets is based on a nationwide pilot shortage and other efficiencies within the industry. He said the passenger hold rooms inside the terminal are not large enough for the traffic the airport is currently handling. "You'll notice that in your existing layout, your hold rooms are notably deficient from what we would consider as a routine level of service," Schauer said while displaying statistics for the board. He said when they looked at the smaller expansion to 10 gates, it did widen the terminal's concourse and the deficiency in adequate seating for passengers decreased, but it still didn't raise the level of service enough for the peak travel times in the summer. By expanding to 12 gates, the airport saw a significantly better level of service and enough room for the projected population growth and the larger aircraft. Additionally, it would provide room for new carriers to provide service to and from Rapid City. The larger expansion would also allow for more concessions and retail locations in the concourse. Schauer said there would be design efforts to have the ability to close off portions of the terminal during the slower winter months and reopen it during the summer, thereby decreasing utility and maintenance costs when the airport is not seeing as much traffic but being able to provide enough space for the busiest times of the year. Rapid City Regional Airport is served by Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. Airport Executive Director Patrick Dame said last month he came back from a conference with air service consultants and spoke with several airlines. He said Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, Breeze Air, Frontier Airlines and Alaska Airlines are "seriously looking at entering into the market in the next five years." Schauer said Mead & Hunt will come back to the Airport Board next month with a better cost estimate, but previously said the estimated cost would be between $140 million and $160 million. Dame said the majority of the costs would be handled through grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The airport's funding reserve would also contribute. However, Dame said there would likely be a need for contributions from state and local government as well. The airport expansion project is expected to take six years for all phases to be completed. Contact Nathan Thompson at nathan.thompson@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. The Rapid City Area Schools Board of Education approved the interim CEO and interim assistant superintendent positions without public discussion Tuesday evening. The board voted 5-0 to approve Nicole Swigart as interim CEO and Central High School Principal Michael Talley as interim assistant superintendent. Board members Jim Hansen and Amy Policky were absent from Tuesday's meeting. The item approving the roles, which will both see $130,000 salaries for the year, appeared on the board's consent agenda, which does not require discussion unless requested by a board member. The district announced the offers to Swigart and Talley Monday. In an email to the Journal ahead of the meeting, Board President Kate Thomas said the CEO position is the same as the superintendent position and a new position isn't being created. Thomas said a CEO permit is an alternative to holding a superintendent certification, and because Swigart does not have a superintendent certification, she cannot be called a superintendent. "She will apply for a CEO Permit from the South Dakota Department of Education to hold her position as CEO of the Rapid City Area School District," Thomas said in the email. "Given her longevity with the district, we trust that Ms. Swigart will use her unique skillset and experience to provide oversight to the district for an interim period." She said it's the board's intention to begin a search for a superintendent in August starting with interviewing for a search firm. Thomas said Talley and Swigart will work together to accomplish the responsibilities of both an assistant superintendent and superintendent positions, which could include coordinating the district's operations and activities, providing leadership and supervision to building principals and leaders, promoting the success of every student, implementing and administering board policy, and implementing budgetary changes to improve the overall financial status of the district. She said the positions were posted at the end of May, and the board reviewed applications and interviewed candidates over the last few weeks. She said the board was impressed with both Swigart's and Talley's experience with the district, their leadership skills and dedication to student achievement. Thomas said the board was also impressed with their willingness to work together over the course of the next year. She said an interim principal will be hired at Central High School while Talley takes on the role as interim assistant superintendent. During the meeting, the board also voted 5-0 to accept the results from the June 7 school board election. According to the agenda attachment, there were a total of 4,113 votes cast in the Area 3 race between incumbent board member Gabe Doney and challenger Michael Birkeland, and 4,090 votes cast in the Area 6 race between Jamie Clapham and Janyce Hockenbary. Birkeland received 56.917% of the vote with 2,341 votes while Doney received 1,772 votes. Clapham received 59.56% of the vote with 1,701 votes in Pennington County and 735 in Meade County for a total of 2,346 votes. Hockenbary received 1,148 votes in Pennington and 506 votes in Meade with a total of 1,654 votes. Business and Support Services Director Coy Sasse said the board members would see the signature count from the poll box would not match the total votes from board races. "That's because this is a combined primary," Sasse said. "Because of the additional races, there were a significant amount of under-voting situations that happen for whatever reason, either people chose not to vote for those board races or because the precincts don't match up exactly to the areas, they may not have been eligible to vote." He also said the overall vote numbers wouldn't match the number of votes cast in the board races because of the combined primary. 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 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. United States Rep. Dusty Johnsons office and the U.S. Army have taken interest in the case of a baby who was taken from the Pine Ridge Reservation in April. Joann Hoof was born on April 27. Two days later, the babys father, Jacob Barajas, took her out of state without her mothers consent. Lassandra Hoof said she was getting her hospital bag from the Prairie Winds Hotel parking lot when she saw Barajas leave with her baby. She said she was visiting Barajas at the hotel where he was staying following the birth of the baby. The two are married, but their relationship formed and crumbled in a matter of months. Barajas, a sergeant in the U.S. Army, was on leave when Joann was born. After taking her out of state, he went back to his deployment in Camp Buehring, Kuwait with the 11th Combat Aviation Brigade. Lassandra Hoof reported the incident to the Oglala Sioux Tribal Police Department (OSTPD) and Missing Children Minnesota. Joann is listed as officially missing on the South Dakota Attorney Generals missing persons list. OSTPD 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. Despite her missing status, Lassandra said she has not received much assistance from law enforcement in finding her baby. 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. 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. On June 1, Lassandra contacted Johnsons office requesting constituent assistance in finding Joann. I dont know where my baby is, and have had no word on her whereabouts or well being for over two weeks, and cant be sure that any information I have received since she was 2 days old (is) accurate. I dont know if she is being taken care of or who is taking care of her, Lassandra wrote. Johnsons office took interest in the case, emails show. David Forsythe, military and veteran services representative for Johnson, wrote in an email the office reached out to the Army for assistance with this important and urgent matter. Johnson's office told the Journal that they cannot comment on an active case. The Army replied with a two-page response and update from Col. Matthew Hill, which states Barajas unit released him from Camp Buehring on June 7, and he returned to the United States. This unit released Sergeant Barajas to minimize distractions to this unit currently conducting combat operations and to enable his ability to properly handle the pending child custody issue, the letter stated. The document confirmed Barajas took Joann two days after she was born while on leave and informed military leadership of the situation on April 30. Lassandra said she is happy for Johnsons offices involvement, but she is frustrated the military knew about the situation all along and didnt take steps to getting her baby back. They got the Army to actually step in and do something about it instead of just ignoring it, she said. It kind of (expletive) me off that the military knew about all of this from day one, basically. I was under the impression that they didnt know what Jacob was doing, but they knew from the day after he took her that he took her. The court order granting Lassandra temporary custody was set to expire if one of the parents did not appear in court on May 24. Barajas didnt attend the hearing, and the Army claims he was never properly served documents regarding the hearing. Oglala Sioux Tribal Court documents state the court served both parties with proof of service returned to the court. He knew about the court hearing, he just chose not to acknowledge it, Lassandra said. The document also reveals the Federal Bureau of Investigation was aware of the case by May 5 and had determined it was a custody issue and no federal investigation was pending. According to the letter, Lassandra was in contact with FBI Agent Steve Berry about the case, but Lassandra denies ever speaking to someone with the FBI. She said Wilson Quintana, an investigator with the Oglala Sioux Tribal Police Department, was in contact with the FBI. I have never talked to anyone by that name, she said. Lassandra said Quintana has been mostly unhelpful and refused to file charges against Barajas even though she obtained a tribal court custody hearing, and the judge told her to bring the order to Quintana so he could file kidnapping charges. He basically blocked me from filing charges and told me the judge had no authority to do that, Lassandra said. The Journal reached out to the FBI regarding the matter. No response has been received. On May 9, Capt. Monica Sparks, Barajas' company commander, called local law enforcement where Joann is located, and they conducted a health and welfare check on the child. The sheriff sergeant who checked on the baby informed Sparks she was safe and with adequate supplies for care. Nobody even told me that a welfare check was made or that anyone made contact with her and seen her, Lassandra said, who has requested law enforcement conduct another welfare check on the baby. The case currently sits in a limbo. Lassandra sent the tribal court order to the county where Barajas filed for custody in hopes of having it recognized under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), a multi-state compact that helps to ensure separated parents cannot move their children across state lines simply in order to avoid a child custody order or child visitation order. As for the Army, The 11th Combat Aviation Brigade seeks a resolution of this contentious civilian custody matter in an expeditious manner. The 11th Combat Aviation Brigade has, and continues to work, with multiple law enforcement agencies regarding this custody matter. Contact Shalom Baer Gee at sgee@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 2 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. Well, the Primary Election for the legislature has come and gone. Seems like a long time ago already. In District 30, the House of Representatives race, the unofficial results were as follows: Dennis Krull 2,535 votes for 27% Trish Ladner 2,133 votes for 25% Patrick Bauman 2,033 votes for 23% Lisa Gennaro 1,309 votes for 15% Gerald Herrick 660 votes for 8%. Congratulations to Representative Elect Dennis Krull and Representative Trish Ladner on winning. In District 30, Senate race, the unofficial results are: Julie Frye-Mueller 2,848 votes for 50% Timothy R. Goodwin 2,802 votes for 50%. So, there you have it. Everyone is asking if I am going to request a recount. The closeness of the race is within the recount window. So... yes. I am going to request a recount. My laymans understanding is the Secretary of State validates the election on Tuesday, June 14. After that I have three days to ask for a recount. I plan on submitting my recount request paperwork on Wednesday, June 15. From there, the Secretary of State, Steve Barnett, coordinates the recount with the three county seats in Rapid City, Custer, and Hot Springs. I am asking for the recounts not to be done simultaneously like they have in the past. My understanding is if there are multiple counties, I can ask to do the recount sequentially and not all at the same time. No dates are obviously set yet, but my estimation would be the last week of June. We have Special Session about the impeachment trial June 21 and 22. Even though the House has already impeached the Attorney General, we are required to be there for the two-day Special Session. So, it looks like we will gavel in on June 21 and gavel out on June 22, or what is called sine die. I wrote an article about sine die a couple of years ago. You can look up all my articles at my internet page. Just search timrgoodwin.com then click on blog. The next possible conflict is the Republican Convention in Watertown, of which Marcia and I are delegates. Those dates are June 23 through 25. The other question everyone is asking after, Are you going to request a recount? is, Do you think you will win? My answer is that I am cautiously optimistic. Yes, I know some election details that are very much in my favor. Until then To the citizens of South Dakota and to the men and women in uniform, in honor of all who served, in respectful memory of all who fell, and in great appreciation to those who serve today, Thank You, for giving me the opportunity to represent you. Tim R. Goodwin, District 30 Representative You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 For country shopping for distinctive items in a small-town atmosphere, visit Darby Farmers Market, open 10 a.m. 2 p.m. every Tuesday through Sept. 14 at Main Street Park. Last week 14 vendors provided casual but quality small-town shopping. Each week vendors pay $5 and select their location on a first-come, first-served basis. Locals eager to visit with friends and tourists passing through town on U.S. Highway 93 often crowd the market. Darby Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Teri Mountford is in charge of the friendly country market. Were a voluntary advisory committee to the town, Mountford said. A couple of years ago the committee decided to help the staff facilitate the market. We show up and help the vendors get set up. I sent out the initial postcard asking for vendors, Mountford said. We have to follow county health rules for those who are selling food, but otherwise it is very informal. She said the farmers market has grown since the Parks and Rec committee has been overseeing it. Last year we had 10-12 vendors per week, Mountford said. Im continuing to get emails requesting people to come. We will have someone coming to do produce and wed like to get more produce vendors. Cultivating Connections came last year they were very popular. She said Tuesdays are an unusual day for a market but weekend activities during the summer were a conflict. We get quite a bit of tourist traffic in the summer, Mountford said. Trish Becker, of Wild Turkey Acres, had a full display with new apron fabrics featuring horses, dinosaurs and designs including a Japanese-style reversible apron with large pockets. Little Tin Cup Goat Milk owner Dana Stelatto was selling her colorful and fun-scented soaps. Vendor Patty Conn lived in Darby for 26 years before moving to Hamilton and this is her first summer at the Darby Farmers Market. She sells a variety of items including decorative pillows with wild fabric and birds, home-sewn table runners, placemats, polar fleece quilts and floral arrangements. This is home to me, Conn said. Im here to see people that I know and it is good to visit with friends. Ive made hundreds of fleece blankets that sell well in the fall. I brought some of the ones that might go well in the summer. Woods Creek Soaps owner Susan DeGeus, a retired journalist, is selling homemade soaps and skin care products from organic goat milk. I have goat milk lotions, hydration cream, body oils, solid lotion bars, salt scrubs and lip balms, she said. When her seven children were at home they had goats, ducks, rabbits and pigs, and she felt tied to home. When the children left home, taking jobs across the country, she and her husband downsized. Now they have a few chickens and support a local goat. She calls herself a scentaholic and all her wrapped soaps have a hole on the bottom for better sniffing. I cant stop making different scents, DeGeus said. When tourists come because they think they are going to see the Dutton Ranch, they buy anything with a Montana theme or that says, Made in Montana. DeGeus also sells her products at the Stevensville Farmers Market on Saturdays. Friendship Muffins Bakery owner Wendy Blake Embree has delicious scones and cookies and has added homemade cards to her inventory. When I closed the Friendship Muffins Bakery I had to do something with my creativity, she said. I really love making beautiful cards. This is her second year at Darby Farmers Market and said she enjoys the sales and visiting. Its a good way of getting the creativity out, Embree said. I enjoy it, it keeps me busy. Allison Dunn owns Classy Cowgirls and has sold jams, jellies, syrups, sauces, honey, crafts and jewelry made from Montana rocks for many years. A lot of the Montana Agates were found over by Yellowstone, Dunn said. The rhodolite garnet glows with light behind it we found it when fly-fishing so it is naturally smooth. The hardship is waiting on my bottle and jar order. Its been delayed and now the shipping costs more than the jars. Visit the greenery-covered table of Rowena May and Crystal Chaffin for fresh eggs, and herb and vegetable starts. I have mint mojito, orange mint, spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint, cabbage, rosemary, spicy orange thyme, raspberries and a couple of trees I dug up, Chaffin said. The rhubarb starts sold quickly. These are all medicinal, they are all good for you. Chaffin is a familiar face at the Darby Farmers Market. During the school year, she works at Darby Elementary School in the special education department. She lives up Tin Cup and has a greenhouse for starting plants early. Cynthia Hansen is selling jewelry she made, and a book written by her mother-in-law called Mollie Chronicles Rescued! For every book sold, $2 goes to a local dog shelter or an animal rescue to help. It has a sequel. Most of Hansens beads are salvaged. I just love finding something and making something new, she said. The seed beads I could buy, but I just love to find new and different ways to do them. She has been at the Darby Farmers Market for years but missed the last two years due to COVID and related issues. I come whenever I have time and items made, she said. I work full time at the school. This summer Ill be here nearly every Tuesday. Mountford said that once the weather gets nicer more people will shop at Darby Farmers Market. I like how we do it, she said. Everyone gets along and everyone helps out. People are appreciating it. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Gov. Greg Gianforte's office on Wednesday said he was "returning early and as quickly as possible" from an international trip in response to historic flooding in Montana. The Montana State News Bureau reported Tuesday that Gianforte was out of the country. His office said he left "late last week on a long-scheduled personal trip with the first lady." The governor's office has not said what day Gianforte left or when he's expected back. It's also not clear where Gianforte was traveling. Since Monday, parts of Montana and Yellowstone National Park have been devastated by flooding. Receding waters in some areas are already showing major damage and rivers are expected to rise again as a heat wave is slated for later in the week. Thousands of Montanans and tourists have been stranded by flood waters and stuck in communities without food or water. Several have lost their housing and are using shelters. The state's disaster declaration was signed by Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras, the Montana State News Bureau reported, in the capacity of acting governor. Gianforte's office said the governor "verbally authorized" the disaster declaration and provided Juras with "express written authorization to act on his behalf in response to the flooding in Montana" on Monday. The bureau has asked for a copy of the authorization. The governor's office did not provide a copy of the document, but said the language it contained read: "Lt. Gov. Juras, During my brief absence from the state you have my delegated authority to act on my behalf in response to the flooding in Montana." The office said the communication was made Monday. On Tuesday, Juras traveled to Red Lodge, which has seen some of the worst damage, "at the governor's request," spokesperson Brooke Stroyke wrote in an email. Gianforte is being briefed regularly on the flooding and emergency response while he is out of the country, she added. "Gov. Gianforte has also been in regular communication with local elected leaders (including commissioners and legislators), local law enforcement officials, and state and local disaster and emergency services personnel," Stroyke wrote. It was not immediately clear that Gianforte was out of the country until the executive order declaring the disaster was released with Juras' signature. A formal request submitted to President Joe Biden on Wednesday seeking a major disaster declaration also had Juras' signature. The letter requests direct assistance from several federal agencies to help communities recover and assess damage. Gianforte's absence has drawn criticism from political opponents. In a moment of unprecedented disaster and economic uncertainty, Gianforte purposefully kept Montanans in the dark about where he was, and who was actually in charge, said Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, in a press release. Again, we ask, where in the world is Gov. Gianforte? Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 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. By BILL LOHMANN Richmond Times-Dispatch As a high school student, Gracie Marcellus volunteered at the Richmond International Film Festival, scanning tickets, selling merchandise, doing whatever needed doing. As an aspiring writer, she found the opportunity to hang around those in the business and to talk to filmmakers exhilarating. She soaked up everything she could. Now a 20-year-old college student, Marcellus attended the Richmond festival again last weekend, but this time, she walked the red carpet at the Byrd Theatre as a participant and a winner. Marcellus, who grew up in Powhatan, won the Merit Award for Best Virginia Teleplay in the festivals 2022 screenwriting competition for her television pilot script, Kosher Nostra. It was really fun, said Marcellus, who lives in Chicago and is a rising sophomore at Indiana University Northwest, where she is majoring in digital media and storytelling. Remarkable is how Heather Waters, RIFF founder and producer, described it. We are elated for Gracie, and this is exactly the kind of success story that inspired RIFF to begin 11 years ago, Waters said. To have her script win a screenwriting award this year is astounding, and its also a big win for the fest. Marcellus has been leaning in this direction for a long time. As a child, she was involved in theater with organizations such SPARC, the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community. By middle school, she was hunting online for scripts for television shows, such as Friends, as she tried to teach herself how to write for the small or big screen. I was always really interested in characters and backstories, and I really wanted to write my own stories, she said. I was always intrigued by the film and television world. At the time, though, she didnt have a clear picture of what she wanted to do or how she might get there. By high school, she did. After being home-schooled through most of elementary and middle school, she attended the Appomattox Regional Governors School for the Arts and Technology to study theater, in particular. The following year, she was home-schooled again, in part so she could work as a production intern (and also appear on screen as an extra) on a film set in West Virginia. The film was a Christmas comedy, Feast of the Seven Fishes. She finished her last two years of high school at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, a boarding school in Michigan that she said kind of propelled me toward the film and television world. Her senior year was interrupted by COVID-19, and she and the rest of the students were sent home a couple of weeks after she had finished filming the short film for her senior thesis. She spent the early part of the pandemic editing the film Elevated on her laptop, then submitting it for graduation and to several film festivals, at which it gained recognition. In those early months of the pandemic, she also received an honorable mention for her screenplay, Bubble Gum, at the 2020 High School 48 Short Script Project competition, which challenges participants to write a script in 48 hours. It was also during the pandemic that she began work on the script that won last weekend. She described Kosher Nostra as a combination coming-of-age and crime drama of a teen girl growing up in a rural place that Marcellus named Middle of Nowhere. She gets a job at the familys local deli, and it happens to be a front for the Jewish mafia, Marcellus said. She does that in order to save up and go to college and get out of the town that shes in. RIFF was the 12th competition for Kosher Nostra, which was a finalist at the Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition and a semifinalist and quarterfinalist at others. The process of moving Kosher Nostra from the page to the screen is coming along. Production of the pilot is in the works. Producer Coco Lloyd said casting is complete, and the plan is to shoot the pilot this summer and then shop it around as a potential television series. I cant wait to bring Gracies vision to life, Lloyd said in a text message. RIFFs Waters foresees a long, successful career ahead of her. I have a hunch that if she continues on her path, Waters said, Gracie will be another creative force that helps put Virginia on the map. Here's a look at the history of NATO membership changes since 1997, and how Russia reacted to the events of the era. Richmond police released the identity of the man who died June 2 after falling from the Forest Hill Avenue overpass onto Powhite Parkway. The victim was Erik Cook, 44, of Hanover County. Officers arrived on scene around 6:38 a.m. after receiving reports of a person falling from the overpass. They found Cook who was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The medical examiner will determine cause and manner of death. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Detective Sergeant M. Mocello at (804) 646-6775 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000. Police investigating death of man on Powhite Parkway Bridge Richmond police said officers were called to the bridge at about 6:38 a.m. after getting a report of a person falling from the Forest Hill Avenue overpass. Days after Richmond launched a new branding campaign, the Virginia Department of Historical Resources unveiled a marker for an invisible cemetery believed to be the largest burial ground for free people of color and the enslaved in the nation. The Shockoe Hill African Burial Ground had disappeared without a trace at the site of an abandoned service station. The $450,000 Richmond Real rebranding, launched amid fanfare last Wednesday, was called a celebration of all that is authentic and unique about the great city of Richmond, by Mayor Levar Stoney. But the real Richmond I know habitually demolishes, paves over or plows highways through its African American history and communities. Richmond is in the midst of reinvention, reimagining and repair. Its messy work of the roll-up-your-sleeves variety not the stuff of a slick marketing campaign. Perhaps thats why Richmond Real is causing consternation among some folks. Of all of our citys myriad needs, a branding campaign wasnt one of them. Nearly a half-million dollars is the kind of money that could save people from being evicted a real problem in Richmond that, on the subject of brands, has brought us unflattering national publicity. Any campaign that touts real smacks of inauthenticity. But mainly, this promotion of the unfinished product that is our city feels like an avoidance of the real work we need to be doing to make our two Richmonds into one just and equitable whole. In any event, the launch of Richmond Real: Real People. Real Places. Real Stories inspired a bit of a tweetstorm, in part because of what it deemphasized: Real problems. Real poverty. Real politics. Richmond Virginia wont be REAL until it has REAL affordable housing, REAL equity in education, and REAL leadership, tweeted Senior Pastor Ralph Steven Hodge of Second Baptist Church South Richmond. I have soooo many questions about taxpayer dollars being used (without adequate community engagement) for a rebrand that is unhelpful? tweeted communications strategist Sheri Shannon. Richmond Real was never gong to solve the fundamental problems in the city, including within City Hall. Allan-Charles Chipman, a local activist who ran for City Councils 6th District seat last fall, took issue with the timing of the campaign launch, two days after you start demolishing public housing without one for one replacement. Chipman, in a phone interview, was speaking of the demolition of Creighton Court, which will likely leave some impoverished residents housing insecure as Richmond continues its evolution into a gentrifying, whiter, wealthier city. Which begs the question: For whom was this campaign created? Is Richmond the new frontier that were inviting people to gentrify and colonize? Chipman asks. If this branding effort is meant to lure visitors or tout our Black culture bona fides, it seems redundant. We have Richmond Region Tourism and BLK RVA, a collaboration with the local tourism bureau and community leaders to promote and celebrate Richmonds black culture. As far as the campaigns emphasis on storytelling goes, Richmond has museums, historians, artists, scholars and journalists for that. The branding, Chipman maintains, says nothing significantly unique about Richmond. Richmond, Calif., could say real people, real places, real stories. For me, theres something about Richmond Real that seems premature and lacking in humility. Richmond has always had a rich history, in all of its ugliness and redemption. But today, we are a city in transition, our work far from finished. Theres no better time to actually move forward on rebranding and writing a new chapter than after the last couple of years weve been through, Stoney said, citing the protests of 2020 and the removal of Confederate monuments. But we are far too early in the what comes next phase for a victory lap. Richmond is at a crossroads, deciding what it wants to be and frankly, the outcome could go either way. What we do from this day forward not a branding campaign will determine our fate. The removal of the monuments was not an end in itself, but a promise to do better. Yes, Richmond, in some ways, is on the rise. But the flip side of our ascendancy is the legions of folks it is leaving behind. There are many real things about Richmond: Its fortuitous setting on a zestful river; the talent and creativity of its denizens; its resilience; its abundance of history and culture; its cohesive and attractive neighborhoods. There are many other real things about Richmond: Its dysfunction; its racism; its challenged schools; its inadequate school buildings; its children dying of gun violence; its whole neighborhoods lost to gentrification; a deficit of housing security and opportunity. The people enduring these circumstances dont need branding; they need a break. They need affordable housing, better schools, safe neighborhoods, healthy food access and more hope than a slogan can provide. And thats whats real. The Hanover County School Board was scheduled to meet Tuesday night to discuss whether to remove a childrens poetry book from shelves. A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart, written by Zetta Elliott, came under fire after county Supervisor Michael Herzerg publicly criticized the work on Facebook. The story is about a Black boys emotional journey as he grapples to describe his feelings in the wake of the death of a Black woman who was shot and killed by police. The book received the 2021 Randolph Caldecott Medal for its illustrations by Noa Denmon. Herzerg called those illustrations garbage, referring to two pages in the book that depict a crowd of people and a Black Lives Matter sign, while a third illustration shows five faceless police officers, one holding a baton, in front of a crowd. Hanover: Its time for your school board to create policy to get garbage like this out of YOUR libraries, Herzbergs Facebook post read. Indoctrination has been going on for years and it has to stop. Slicing through flesh and bone is not appropriate for K-5. Herzberg asked that the School Board remove the book and any other it deems inappropriate. It is the latest book to come under fire for content across the U.S. About 1,600 books have been pulled from school libraries or classrooms this academic year, according to the nonprofit group PEN America, compared to about 300 challenges or bans in previous years. Most of the targeted books feature LGBTQ or Black characters or themes. The Times-Dispatch this spring reported 23 Virginia school districts have taken at least one book out of circulation for content reasons. Elliott told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in an interview in May that she hopes the board will consider keeping the book in its schools. Well, well have to wait and see what happens, whether that book gets banned in Hanover County, I certainly hope not, Elliott said. But Im really happy for all the people who are supporting me and think that books should stay in kids hands. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Officials in Connecticut say the decision of Lego Group to build a new factory in Virginia wont affect the companys North American headquarters in Enfield, but industry watchers say there could be cause for concern. The Denmark-based global toymaker announced last week it plans to invest more than $1 billion to build a factory in suburban Richmond. Gov. Ned Lamont's office tells Hearst Connecticut Media that the company has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining its presence in the state. But some experts say it's not necessarily a good sign that the state wasn't chosen. Former Roanoke City Councilman Robert Jeffrey Jr. faces a possible penalty of 22 to 57 months in prison when sentenced later this summer for financial crimes that cast him out of office in March. How much time he might spend behind bars and an estimate of the size of his repayment obligation came to light at bond hearing Monday at which he was denied interim release. Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Sheri Mason filed a document that she said detailed unauthorized transactions totaling an estimated $200,000 half of it cash withdrawals and said that authorities will be asking for a court order that Jeffrey pay the money back. The preliminary figure is the first public accounting of the money he stole from the Northwest Neighborhood Environmental Organization, a Roanoke nonprofit organization where Jeffrey worked as a property manager. He pleaded guilty to embezzlement in March. The newly filed transaction list describes unauthorized payments for utility, hotel and restaurant bills; construction services; online services; and purchases at home improvement stores in 2020 and 2021. The list of cash withdrawals contains 55 entries, the largest for $10,010 on July 10, 2020. Asked outside of court what Jeffrey did with the cash, Mason said its hard to say. Jeffrey was jailed three months ago after a jury convicted him of obtaining money by false pretenses from the Roanoke Economic Development Authority. Later in the dual-victim case, he admitted bilking the NNEO. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 22. Virginia law declared Jeffreys council seat forfeited upon his guilty plea. Jeffreys attorney requested Jeffreys release for medical reasons and provided testimony that the 53-year-old Jeffrey is suffering from advanced kidney disease and needs a transplant. Jeffrey had arranged to live with his wife and mother-in-law in Roanoke. Evangeline Jeffrey, Jeffreys mom, testified that her son had been slated for a transplant at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but missed his preoperative appointment scheduled for late March because he had just entered jail and now the procedure is on hold. Mason said jail officials have arranged for continuing medical care including three sessions a week of dialysis. Jail officials have contacted a Richmond hospital about the possibility of a transplant, she said. Circuit Court Judge David Carson, in denying Jeffreys request for temporary freedom, noted that Jeffrey has been convicted of three felonies. Carson told Jeffrey the court has dates available for his sentencing sooner than Aug. 22 including on June 24, a previously scheduled sentencing date that was canceled due to his lawyer being ill. Attorney Melvin Hill, who represented Jeffrey at Mondays hearing, succeeded Jeffreys former trial defense attorney, Jonathan Kurtin. Hill said outside court that he is new to the case, needs time to prepare and is working toward being ready Aug. 22. Lego plans to invest at least $1 billion to construct its only U.S.-based manufacturing plant in Chesterfield County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. The Virginia factory a 1.7 million-square-foot giant that will be Legos seventh manufacturing facility in the world and supply the Americas is estimated to create more than 1,700 jobs over 10 years and is projected to open for production by mid-2025. Construction, along with hiring, begins later this year, but an exact month has yet to be set. This best-in-class, world-class facility will be built brick by brick, Youngkin said at the Science Museum of Virginia to a crowd of state economic and political leaders, top Lego officials and Denmarks U.S. ambassador. This is the future of manufacturing, and it is right here in the commonwealth of Virginia. The 90-year-old global toymaker hasnt had a factory in North America since closing its first one in Enfield, Conn., nearly 15 years ago and shifting production to Mexico. With the U.S. a key market, the expansions goal is to shorten supply chain issues and reduce the companys carbon footprint a hefty goal that Lego Group CEO Niels B. Christiansen said hinges on reducing emissions by 37% by 2032. Conversations about bringing the Lego plant to Virginia date back to at least October, when Gov. Ralph Northam was in office. Christiansen said its commitment to ensuring the toy companys plants are environmentally sustainable will be released in public reports. He said the Chesterfield factory will be designed to be carbon neutral, which means offsetting carbon emissions through projects such as renewable energy efforts. Two of the companys major ambitions for the site include making it highly energy efficient with 100% being matched by on-site renewable sources to minimize energy use. The factory will also be paired with a solar park, which will be built by 2025 and generate the energy needed for the plant to run. For us, sustainability is super important. When you serve kids, it cannot be anything but ... important. The world and the planet they inherit needs to be a place for them to live, Christiansen said. I can tell you every week, I get a lot of letters from kids who write to me about their concerns and their wishes and their visions of what to do. In 2020, Lego announced its removal of single-use plastics and proposed a mission to make all of its core products from sustainable materials by 2030. The move comes years after nearly 5 million Legos were lost at sea when a 28-foot wave hit a cargo ship in 1997. Scientists have estimated a single Lego block could take anywhere from 100 to 1,300 years to decompose. The facility will be housed in Chesterfields Meadowville Technology Park, which has been around for more than 20 years and sits adjacent to I-295 and the James River. In 2020, the county put forth $3 million out of the $21 million total used to buy 353 acres as an add-on to the park. Online Chesterfield records assessed the land at about $3.5 million. Garrett Hart, director of Chesterfield Economic Development, said the partnership with Lego shows why its critical for the county to have project-ready sites. The only feasible option available was Meadowville. Its taken us several months to get here, but the first day they saw the site and met us on the site, they picked the site, Hart said. They didnt tell us that until about a month ago. Chesterfield residents have voiced criticism for another technology park known as Upper Magnolia Green, which will partially include plastics manufacturing. Lego manufactures more than 100 billion plastic bricks every year. A written Q&A the company provided to the media included: Is it environmentally sustainable to spend $1 billion building a factory that will produce millions of tonnes of plastic? Lego said the bricks are inherently sustainable because theyre passed down from one generation to the next. The Q&A also appeared to distance the company from the governors push to ban critical race theory in K-12 schools stating we stand against racism and inequality. Another question in the Q&A asked How can / Does the LEGO Group, as a brand, support the current Governors political agenda? It answered: This is a long-term, multi-generation investment which goes beyond the politics of today, globally or locally. It also noted how Legos have helped children develop creativity and problem solving skills. Lego executives didnt share whether potential tax breaks made Virginia a more attractive possibility for housing its sole facility in the U.S. and instead cited the countys transportation networks, how the state aligned with the companys mission and the opportunity to invest in communities while expanding its manufacturing network. But in a release, Youngkins office shared the LEGO Group will be eligible to receive $56 million in Major Employment and Investment Project performance grants subject to General Assembly approval. The MEI Project Approval Commission was established to review financing for individual incentive packages, including but not limited to packages offering tax incentives, for economic development, according to Virginia law. Those incentives are driven by the economic growth that Lego will bring, and this is a framework that we are using in order to strike these kinds of great arrangements with companies that actually bring economic growth, more jobs, and as a result, more tax revenues to the county and to the commonwealth, Youngkin said. The announcement follows two other recent economic development wins for Virginia as Boeing and Raytheon Technologies announced they were moving their headquarters to Northern Virginia. Christiansen could not say Wednesday whether there would be any plans to add a Lego store to Chesterfield to accompany the site. You are here: World Flash Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he had discussed defense cooperation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "Further defense cooperation was discussed," Zelensky tweeted after the talks. The parties also coordinated the next steps in counteracting "Russia's aggression against Ukraine" on the eve of important international events, Zelensky said. The Ukrainian president added that he thanked Canada for its leadership in supporting Ukraine. Last month, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand announced that Canada would donate more military aid to Ukraine, including over 20,000 artillery rounds of 155 mm NATO standard ammunition. A meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group is set to take place at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday. Two years after the discovery of skeletal human remains in a Colorado wilderness area initiated a intensive recovery and identification effort, officials have confirmed they belonged to a Roanoke native. Gregory Allan Woodford, 30, was a U.S. Navy veteran living in Colorado Springs who went missing in June 2019. Park County Coroner David Kintz Jr. said he died that same week. One of our biggest responsibilities is to make sure that the unidentified get a name, that their story is told, their families know what happened to them, Kintz said during a press conference Monday. Woodfords identity was confirmed through genetic technology that connected his DNA to that of his sister. Kintz said some of Woodfords family members still live in Roanoke. On June 19, 2020, some teenagers hiking in the Lost Creek Wilderness southeast of Denver found Woodfords remains. At 6 a.m. the next day, the sheriffs office launched a search and recovery mission. The teens directed authorities to the site of the remains. With a signifcant weather system on the way, the recovery team had just a few hours to complete its search. Every time weather came into this area, this area was slightly altered, Kintz said. It was very critical to process this scene as thorough and quickly as possible. The coroner said the search began with forensic canines. They located almost all the human remains within a short period of time in an area from about 100 to 150 yards long down the slope, Kintz said. The slope was dangerously steep with lots of rock outcroppings and trees, Kintz said. But after completing a grid search and gathering all of Woodfords personal affects, the recovery team had successfully cleared the scene by sundown. However, we knew very quickly that this individual was going to be very difficult to identify, Kintz said. In this case, all personal effects had no identifying markers of any kind. No initials, no wallet, no ID, nothing that had a name for us to begin with. The coroner said his office couldnt rely on fingerprints or dental identification for an ID, either, so he called on an anthropologist to perform a forensic analysis of the remains. The anthropologist determined Woodfords age, race, sex, stature and how long he had been deceased. Then, the coroners office compared the profile to profiles of missing persons in the Colorado area. After failing to come up with a firm lead, Kintz said specimens of Woodfords DNA were submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a database of missing persons DNA, for analysis. While that specimen spent months in a laboratory, Woodfords case was entered in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). Woodfords case information features several photos of the personal affects that were found with his body. Among them were a backpack, hiking poles, a star of life knife, Atlanta Braves cap, Size 10.5 shoes, a Samsung S4 phone and a shotgun. Woodfords DNA was uploaded into CODIS and again compared to other cases, but there were still no hits, Kintz said. None whatsoever. With other options exhausted, the coroners office turned to United Data Connect, Inc., a forensic genealogy company based in Colorado. We were lucky enough in this case to get a whole genome sequence, which is an awful lot of data from the individual, Mitch Morrissey, the companys chief of operations, said Monday. We took that data, we uploaded it in the database, and we started to get genetic leads. United Data Connect examined those hits in search of a common ancestor and found Woodfords great-great-grandfather. We then started down the family tree, contacting people, talking to people, excluding lines of those trees, Morrissey said. Its an awful lot of work to do this genealogy, but obviously when you get answers like we have today, its important work. Genetic technology is still new to forensic science. Morrissey said United Data Connects technology was first used to solve a criminal case in California about four or five years ago. Morrissey said the companys databases took time to build as people inputted their personal samples. Woodfords case is the 12th or 13th case the company has helped solve. It does come with a lot of luck, but you kind of make your own luck, Morrissey said. Woodfords mother expressed her gratitude for his identification in a statement, which Kintz read aloud during Mondays press conference. Greg, who was also named Mario when he served in the Navy, was an extraordinary son and human being. He was such an intelligent, caring, kind, generous and selfless man, she said. Greg was drawn to Colorado due to its exquisite beauty and his inherent love for nature and animals, especially dogs, and his deep passion for the wolf sanctuary. Greg was dearly loved by many people whose lives he touched, and he will forever be missed. Words cannot sufficiently express my gratitude and appreciation, especially to Dave, and also to the genealogists and everyone else involved and all the time, effort and resources used to identify my son, she continued. You have my deepest, heartfelt thanks for not giving up. Hiker from the Netherlands dies after fall near McAfee Knob outside Roanoke Paul Classen, 23, died in a Roanoke hospital Sunday after a dramatic rescue from Virginia's famous McAfee Knob. The longtime head of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday that she plans to retire after 22 years with the advocacy group that represents over 700 businesses across the valley. Joyce Waugh, president and CEO of the chamber, said her last day will be Dec. 31, which falls one month after what will be her 70th birthday. The chambers board has tapped Eric Sichau, vice president of membership services for the agency, to take the helm as her successor. Waugh said she was pleased to be leaving the organization with a strong team in place, and added the valleys business community had a bright future ahead. Im just grateful I had the opportunity to be part of an organization that has had a big impact on creating a strong business climate for our community that helps all boats rise, she said. Bolstering local business creates jobs, feeds families and generates taxes that support public amenities, noted Waugh, whose entire career in economic development and business advocacy has spanned 44 years. She was working as the assistant director of economic development for Roanoke County in 2000 when she was hired by the chamber to serve as its vice president of public policy and strategic issues. She rose to become its president in 2008. The work, she said, has been challenging and ever-evolving but also fulfilling. There are so many components and parts to it, she said. Its almost like a puzzle. I love that. The complexity of the mission is reflected in the wide variety of initiatives the chamber has tackled. Its projects have ranged from spotlighting new businesses to fostering workforce development programs in schools to lobbying state leaders on policy and infrastructure priorities. The organization, as a whole, has a history drawing back more than 130 years. It was founded in 1889 by business owners who banded together to work with city leaders to find a way to build a better network to replace what was then a muddy tangle of dirt roads. Its been a theme what can we do to make our region better? Waugh said. That spirit of problem-solving and partnerships continues in the valley to this day, she added. In tough times, people have dug down to find new ways to get around obstacles. I think we are exceptionally strong, and our outlook is very positive, Waugh said, pointing to the adaptability demonstrated by the areas small businesses over the past two years and the regions growing hub of medical and higher education innovation. I think that is one of the hallmarks of the Roanoke Valley. We figure out a way to keep moving forward. Over her tenure, Waugh has served on the boards of several other local groups, including the Roanoke Regional Partnership, Visit Virginias Blue Ridge and Downtown Roanoke Inc. She was recognized as chamber executive of the year in 2012 by the Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, and became the first woman in the valley to earn the designation of certified economic developer from the International Economic Development Council. Local chamber leaders said she brought a steady hand to an era that was hit with the historic challenges of the Great Recession and the pandemic. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we thank Joyce for not only her dedication to western Virginias largest and oldest business advocacy organization; but to her vision and leadership that has provided a strong foundation for continued success, said Greg Brock, board chair, in an announcement of Waughs retirement plans. As much as well miss her, were excited for her as she begins her next, well-earned adventure, he said. Waugh said she was looking forward to traveling and spending more time with family in retirement. She might consider taking on new work Im not an idle soul, she said but anticipated it would be part-time. She had been weighing the prospect of retirement for some time, which allowed the chamber to develop a succession plan that culminated in Sichau being named as its next president. Waugh described Sichau as a talented and dedicated person who understands well the chambers role in the intricacies of supporting local businesses. Im just thrilled, she said of the decision, adding of the chambers staff as a whole, This team works extremely well together, and we have exceptionally good partners in the community. Working alongside those groups, she added, had been an honor and a privilege. 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. Last month, Roanokes Gun Violence Prevention Commission awarded about $500,000 in grant funds to community organizations with plans to interrupt gun violence trends though programs and events. But Joe Cobb, a city council member and chair of the commission, said the group continues to receive complaints related to the organizations that submitted applications but didnt get money. Ive heard from three different people that these funds were just given to Joe Cobbs friends. And Im going to tell you right now, that is bogus, Cobb said during Tuesdays meeting. Cobb said the grants were awarded based on an organization or events ability to do three things: collaborate with others, impact a large number of people and sustain a program for a period of time. We spent at least 12 hours in network meetings going through these thoroughly, Cobb said. We appreciated every grant that was submitted. The team of commission members received 37 applications that when combined asked for $1 million. Only one or two organizations were awarded the full dollar amount they requested. We had a million dollars of requests and $400,000 in money, commission member Tim Harvey said. That was the reality. For organizations that werent funded, we are keeping the proposals, because were always looking for additional funding, Cobb said. If we can figure out a way to fund these things or learn more about the specific programs, we want to do that. Roanoke Sheriff Antonio Hash said the commission can do everything right but still get negative feedback from community members. This force can go save the world, and were still going to have people that are not happy, Hash said. Do what you can do, and as long as you know that youre doing the right thing, you dont have the answer to nobody. But if theres stuff in the house thats going wrong, you all know it. But commission member Nicole Ross said the group could communicate better with city residents. I understand the frustration, Ross said, but I also feel like we need to do a better job of communicating what we are doing, so that we can silence some of that, and so that the community can feel what were doing, and they can see it. And I think that will help us all get through this a little bit better. The commission agreed at its Tuesday meeting to allocate $34,000 of its remaining fiscal year budget to a new initiative that provides neighborhoods impacted by acts of gun violence with immediate support and tangible changes. Cobb said the initiative mimics Operation Pinpoint in Philadelphia. After police identify gun violence hot spots, they sweep a neighborhood and make arrests. Then, they go in immediately with this team that may create an event, they may focus on reducing blight or cleaning up awful sections on the block, whether its a house that needs to be torn down, or a lot that needs to be cleaned up, or additional lighting, Cobb said. The whole idea is to invest immediately in those areas as a way to intervene and reduce crime and gun violence by having more of a ready and sustainable presence, including foot patrol. The project in Roanoke would feature a group of about twelve community members, including business owners, religious leaders, school administrators and commission members. The group would be led by a project manager, Chris Roberts, the citys youth and gang violence prevention coordinator. These teams would meet on a weekly basis. They would have the data from the police department. They would have the support of the city, Cobb said. This is something we can move very quickly on. The allocated $34,000 will be managed by a fiscal agent, Cobb said, which would distribute the funds to neighborhoods that would in turn spend the money on quick fixes. The neighborhoods that need the most help are concentrated in the citys northwest quadrant. Between Jan. 1 and June 14, the Roanoke Police Department has reported 17 aggravated assault or homicides where the victim was hit by gunfire in northwest Roanoke. The entire city, including the northwest, has recorded 32. The commissions Tuesday meeting was held at the Williamson Road Branch Library, which sits just feet away from the scene of a fatal shooting that occurred on June 3. Cobb said the number of shootings that occur in the Williamson Road area make the strip a trouble spot. Other northwest spots include 8th Street, Patton Avenue and Delta Drive. Commission members agreed during their meeting to select one neighborhood or street as the focus of its new rapid response initiative. Member Elliott Major said its important the commission and the city dont dilute their human resources. We do need to have something, and we need to have something tangible. But you want to be able to build it out, Major said. You want to be able to replicate it. Do it the right way with a lot of planning and get a lot of people involved, commission member Kathy Cohen agreed. When we can come up with the right plan and enact that, then we can tweak it for other neighborhoods. The citys RESET (Rapid Engagement of Support in the Event of Trauma) team responds to violence in Roanoke neighborhoods in a similar manner. The team conducts community visits to homes and neighborhoods impacted by a recent violent event. Were not taking from the RESET team, but more of like a FEMA response, said Angie OBrien, chief strategy officer in the city managers office. We would pull in people to put these resources in immediately and cool down this area. Were taking back the street. Were taking back our neighborhood. This is not what happens here. Commission member Decca Knight said the RESET team was deployed four times in the month of May and spoke with about 40 residents. Those residents have indicated that the individuals engaging in acts of violence werent from their neighborhood. Residents feel that acts of violence always stem from people who live in the neighborhood, but feel that people from other places, like New York, are contributors, Knight said. Who knows if its accurate, but thats what they tell us. Hash said that if people who arent Virginians are committing crimes and leaving the state, theyll be harder to arrest. Were not able to target these individuals, and come up with these arrests, because were not detaining them, the city sheriff said. Once they commit the crime, they can go back to New York, or wherever theyre coming from. D.J. Jordan, chief of staff in the office of Virginias attorney general, said gun violence is a statewide issue that Attorney General Jason Miyares is prepared to discuss and address. Gun violence is rising across the commonwealth, especially in a handful of cities. Its taken way too many Virginians, especially way too many young people. So, this is an issue that were talking about, Jordan said. Were willing to work with anybody on this issue. And that means anybody. Its not a partisan issue. People are dying. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Two Roanoke police lieutenants have each sued the city police department alleging that they were denied promotions after reporting sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions. Susanna Camp and Jeffrey Newman have both served as patrol lieutenants in the Roanoke Police Department. Camp was hired in 2003 and Newman in 2005. Camp claims she was subjected to sexual harassment by her male counterparts and experienced safety and discrimination issues within the department related to homicide investigations, 2020 George Floyd protest management and the COVID-19 pandemic response. Newman claims he made similar reports about sexual harassment within the department regarding another female officer. He also claims the actions of his colleagues diminished the safety of some of its operations. Both lieutenants reported the unsavory behavior, but they claim that as a result of the complaints, they were passed over for at least two promotions to the rank of captain. The lawsuits were filed in Roanoke Circuit Court in October 2021, but amended complaints by both plaintiffs were filed in February and answered by the police department in March. The filing of the lawsuits was first reported June 7 by The Roanoke Rambler, an online news site. Camp and Newman each have filed for $5 million for equitable relief, compensatory, liquidated, and/or punitive damages from the police department. Their lawsuits each claim that the Roanoke Police Departments actions have caused the two officers to suffer pecuniary loss, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and other noon-pecuniary loss. The lawsuits claim that the RPD engaged in a discriminatory practice or practices with malice or reckless indifference to the federally protected rights of Camp and Newman. The departments answers to the filed suits deny almost all the allegations made by Camp and Newman. The city attorneys office said in a statement that it is the citys practice to not comment on pending litigation. However, we believe once the evidence is presented before the court, it will show that the police chief at all times acted appropriately towards the two individuals who filed suit against the city, the office said. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Inmates held in long-term solitary confinement, one of them for 11 consecutive years now, gained ground Tuesday in their legal effort to improve conditions at two high-security prisons in far Southwest Virginia. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the inmates have adequately pleaded both that they suffered extreme injuries and that Defendants were aware of them. The unanimous decision upheld a lower courts denial of a motion made by the Virginia Department of Corrections to dismiss the case. Filed in 2019 by the American Civil Liberties Union, the lawsuit now returns to federal court in Big Stone Gap, where 12 inmates are claiming they were subjected to cruel and unusual punishment at Red Onion and Wallens Ridge state prisons. Long periods of solitary confinement the inmates spend 22 to 24 hours a day in a cell the size of an automobile parking space, with little opportunity for communication with others have led to mental health problems that include psychosis, hallucinations, suicidal acts and permanent neurological damage, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that a so-called Step Down program, which DOC argues gives inmates an opportunity to return to the general population, is a vague and confusing system of malleable jargon designed to keep them where they are. U.S. District Judge James Jones, who denied DOCs motion to have the case thrown out, will eventually be asked to discontinue both the solitary confinement and Step Down programs. When Red Onion and Wallens Ridge were built in the late 1990s in Wise County, state officials described them as the final destination for the worst of the worst offenders in the prison population. But there were never enough truly dangerous criminals to fill the two supermax prisons, each with about 1,200 beds, and the lawsuit claims inmates are being warehoused to justify the cost of constructing the facilities. We are pleased with the Fourth Circuits decision affirming the district court, and look forward to completing ongoing discovery into the facts and getting to the merits of this case, Vishal Agraharkar, a senior attorney with the ACLU of Virginia, wrote in an email Wednesday. Agraharkar said he plans to seek a class-action certification to cover all inmates held in long-term segregation at the two prisons. One of the inmates named in the original lawsuit is Frederick Philip Hammer, who is serving multiple life sentences for killing three men at a Grayson County Christmas tree farm during a botched robbery in 2008. At the time, prosecutors said the victims families supported a life sentence with no possibility of parole, describing it as in some aspects, a worse punishment than death. Hammer was placed in isolation in 2011 has been told by staff at Red Onion that he will remain there for the rest of his life due to the news media attention his crimes drew, the lawsuit states. Solitary confinement includes bright lights that are kept on 24 hours a day, according to the lawsuit, and outdoor recreation is limited to one hour daily in a small cage that resembles a dog kennel and has no exercise equipment. Mental health treatment and other rehabilitative services are limited. The overwhelming weight of research shows that solitary confinement has a devastating and often irreversible effect on prisoners mental and physical health, according to a number of psychiatric experts who filed a friend of the court brief that backed the ACLU. In addition to claiming that the conditions at Red Onion and Wallens Ridge violated the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment, the lawsuit also asserted that the Step Down program ran counter to the Fourteenth Amendments right to receive sufficient process. When the case was argued in January, Assistant Attorney General Margaret OShea told the court that a policy, known as the Administrative Segregation Step Down Program, allows inmates to re-enter the general population by exhibiting good behavior. Since 2012, the number of inmates being held in restrictive housing has decreased from 511 to 37 at the two prisons, OShea said at the time. However, the lawsuit claims that reviews of inmate behavior are conducted in cursory visits and that denial forms had already been pre-filed. Inmates were often kept in solitary confinement for exhibiting traits such as apathy, poor grooming and failure to maintain an orderly cell, which the Fourth Circuit found to be the very symptoms solitary confinement generates. The three-judge panel wrote that the formal reviews, however impressive they sound on paper, do nothing for the Plaintiffs in practice. In asking Jones to dismiss the lawsuit against Department of Corrections Director Harold Clarke and about a dozen other prison officials, the state sought the protection of qualified immunity, a defense that would shield them from liability if there was a showing that a reasonable person would not have known their actions violated the constitutional rights of another. That did not become clear until after the lawsuit was filed, when the Fourth Circuit ruled in another prison case, the state argued. But prison officials had other reasons to know at the time that their actions were harmful to inmates, the Fourth Circuit ruled. The district court was right to deny immunity and give Plaintiffs the opportunity to prove Defendants deliberately inflicted the harm, Senior Judge Henry Floyd wrote in an opinion joined by Judges Roger Gregory and Stephanie Thacker. For qualified immunity cannot shield them if they did. 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. Students majoring in philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University pay nearly $15,000 annually in tuition bills. But according to a recent analysis, the average graduate still earned minimum wage five years after graduation. The analysis, which estimated the earnings for 750 school-specific majors in Virginia, found that VCU philosophy majors earned the least in the state. Other programs at the bottom include Regent Universitys drama department and Mary Baldwins arts program. Meanwhile, graduates of the University of Virginias computer science program made $110,000 annually five years after graduation, the most in the state. They were closely followed by Washington and Lee Universitys computer science grads and UVAs computer engineering alumni. Together, the data indicates that whether college provides a positive financial return on investment depends mostly on the field of study and somewhat on the college the student attended. Colleges in Virginia have long debated how to weigh the intrinsic value of certain majors versus their pecuniary value. At a time when tuition costs are rising, student debt remains high and jobs are unfilled, many students in the state are choosing majors that are more likely to provide a good paycheck. Peter Blake, the head of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, said colleges have a responsibility to make sure programs are aligned to meet employment demands as closely as possible, especially now. A programs return on investment, he said, is particularly important. The study, which estimates earnings for bachelors degree programs nationwide, was published last fall by the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, a think tank described as right-of-center. Researchers used 2017 and 2018 earnings reported to the College Scorecard, a government database that compiles wage values shortly after graduation, and Census Bureau data to project future income. The study does not address students with graduate and professional degrees. Some majors never provide a financial return on investment. Those students would have earned more money across their lifetimes had they saved the $100,000 or so in tuition costs, started earning a paycheck four years earlier and begun climbing the wage ladder sooner. Nearly one in four college majors in Virginia fails to provide a lifetime return on investment, according to the study. The majors least likely to provide a financial windfall are psychology, biology, fine arts, drama, English and social work. The schools that house the highest number of negative-ROI majors are Liberty University, VCU, University of Mary Washington and Radford University. The majors that provide the highest ROI tend to focus on science, technology, engineering, math and business. Several nursing programs are near the top of the list, too. You dont have to go to a prestigious school or an expensive school to get a good-paying job. High-earning majors are found at VCU, Old Dominion University and for-profit schools such as ECPI University. Some perhaps unexpected majors landed in top 100: romance languages at Washington and Lee, politics at UVA and interdisciplinary studies at UVA, indicating that graduates of the most prestigious schools are more likely to earn high-paying jobs even if they are not enrolled in a high-value major. A civilized world needs philosophy Though they arent rich, philosophy grads earned a wide range of estimated salaries five years after graduation, from $44,000 at the College of William & Mary to $17,000 at VCU. VCUs figure, which comes from 2017 and 2018 data, is close to minimum wage at the time. Donald Smith, department chair for VCU philosophy, said the results do not fit with his analysis of the jobs VCU philosophy graduates earn. I was in disbelief, he said. In recent years, VCU philosophy grads have become a research analyst at OrthoVirginia, a researcher at the Economic Policy Institute and a senior analyst at Lumber Liquidators. About half of the graduates go to law school or some other postgraduate degree, he estimated. The median estimated wage for philosophy grads nationwide is $37,000 in this study, which is a lower figure than some other studies cite. For instance, a 2021 New York Fed study on the labor market for recent college graduates found that philosophy graduates have a median wage of $39,000 early in their careers, but that it rises to a mid-career median wage of $62,000. Because of the specificity of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity report, its sample sizes are small. I have no reason for thinking that VCU philosophy majors fare significantly worse with respect to ROI than what these other studies indicate, Smith said. Just because a major doesnt pay well doesnt mean it has no value, said Blake, head of the State Council of Higher Education. Return on investment is an important measure of a programs success average debt for a Virginia college graduate is $30,000. But its not the only measure. A civilized world needs people who are trained and educated in English, history, social work, early childhood education, art, anthropology, et cetera, he added. Philosophy improves reasoning skills, the ability to be open to criticism and the ability to disagree in a rational manner, Smith added. All of those skills are relevant to any career a student might pursue. Josh Hartt, 21, graduated from VCU last month after double majoring in political science and philosophy. Philosophy hasnt helped his job search much, but if he could do college over again, he wouldnt change a thing. It taught me to think in a way most people dont, and that was worth every single penny, Hartt said. Hartt doesnt have a job yet, but he has enough money saved up to get an apartment in Richmond while he applies. He plans to apply to law school next year. Whats helped him the most with his career are the job prospects working on political campaigns. He says the teachers and students he met in philosophy classes were some of the best at VCU. If youre interested in philosophy, dont let job prospects deter you from it, he added. Hartts sentiments match those of most students, who are largely happy with their decision to attend college. In a poll of 15,000 Virginia college graduates from the past 15 years, 88% reported feeling satisfied or very satisfied with their undergraduate experience. A majority, 70%, say their time in college prepared them for the workplace. But only 56% said their education was worth the cost. Ethan Hamilton broke the mold. Days after he graduated from VCU philosophy last year, he got a job offer as an ontology analyst for a consulting firm in Arlington County, building data models for computers and earning about $70,000, far more than the national average. His employer was interested in applicants who understand logic and rules exactly what he had learned in philosophy. For this field, its a perfect fit, he said. A $2 million ROI Students in the top-paying majors typically earn six-figure salaries by age 27. Of the 25 best-paying degree programs, 17 are engineering or computer science. Joshua Sahaya Arul, 21, took computer science as a high school class at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria and got hooked. At UVA, he chose it as his major primarily because he enjoyed the subject. A summer internship at Capital One turned into a job offer months before he graduated from UVA. By age 21 he finished college in three years he was earning close to $110,000, the estimated salary for his major for graduates five to seven years older than he. He recently accepted a job at Google. According to the study, he and other UVA computer science grads will receive a return on their college education of more than $2 million. The State Council of Higher Education does not shut down programs that fail to deliver good jobs. Instead, it pays attention to a programs popularity. If students stop enrolling, the program can get shut down. In essence, the state council lets the market decide. If majors have high demand, there must be some value students see in them, Blake said. For years, students have chosen majors that do not guarantee a big paycheck. Psychology is the states most popular major, with 5% of students enrolled, and its been among the most popular majors for at least 30 years. The highest-paying psychology program is at Virginia Military Institute, where graduates earn an estimated $47,000 five years after graduation. Everyone has their own price point when it comes to return on investment, Blake said. In the survey of college graduates from the past 15 years, about one in three graduates said they went to college for reasons other than preparing for a specific job either because they felt they were expected to, they wanted a well-rounded education, or they were trying to figure out what they wanted to do. But not all majors have sustained the popularity of psychology. In 2010, there were 1,500 college students in Virginia studying English. By 2020, that number had cratered by 40%. VCU has seen that trend with its new students. In the past four years, fewer incoming freshmen have chosen the College of Humanities and Sciences, which is home to such departments as biology, English and philosophy. Whats growing are engineering, business, education and health programs with clear job destinations, said Tomikia LeGrande, VCUs vice president for enrollment. The universitys goal, she said, is to make sure students can envision a career no matter what major they choose. We have in our possession an item so potent that at least one Roanoke Valley school system has taken great pains to make sure no grade school student can idly get their hands on it and put themselves in danger. Were referring, naturally, to the Stonewall Book Award winning childrens picture book When Aidan Became a Brother, written by Kyle Lukoff and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita. Published in 2019, this very sweet, slender volume tells a straightforward story of a boy named Aidan whose parents are about to have a second child. Aidan wants to be a good older brother but worries hell do something wrong, until he comes to the realization that he knows how to love and that should be enough. A parents complaint in November led to the removal of When Aidan Became a Brother from the Herman L. Horn Elementary School library. Though three Roanoke County school district librarians who reviewed the request ruled the book should remain in circulation, an appeals group composed of three community members overrode them, and now one can only read about Aidan and his family after checking the book out from the Horn Elementary guidance office. The aspect that got Aidans story placed in Roanoke County Public Schools guidance office jail is that Aidan is a transgender boy, accepted by his parents and his school friends. Author Lukoff, a transgender man, worked as a school librarian before becoming a full-time writer. In his author note at the back of the book, he explains that he wrote this story for kids who are transgender, or for any child who might in other ways feel like they dont fit in, that they might grow up to help create a world that supports and believes in them. He dedicates the book To those who came before me, to those who came up with me, and to those who will come up after me. Disappearing books The Publishers Weekly review states that the creators exploration of one transgender childs experience emphasizes the importance of learning how to love someone for exactly who they are. Its recommended for ages 5-8. Hypothetically, it might well be understandable that some not all, but some parents might feel awkward explaining what transgender means to their elementary school-aged child if they hadnt been planning for that particular conversation. The parents complaint to Roanoke County schools, acquired by Roanoke Times reporter Sam Wall through a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request, carries that imagined concern to an extreme, arguing that encountering this book unsupervised could traumatize a child, and that no books on this theme should be stocked in elementary school libraries. Roanoke County Public School officials have not confirmed whether the complaint against Aidan led to a proposed policy change for how books are added to the schools collection. The additional requirements for reviewing new books create what a retired school librarian described as an unreasonable workload (Officials eye changes to library policy, May 29). Even if the new Roanoke County policy isnt a direct result of that parental challenge, it doesnt take much brain strain to guess precisely what problem the school system is trying to head off at the pass. Across the country, conservative activists have demanded the removal of LGBTQ-themed and race-themed books from library shelves, often working from shared lists. In a truly saddening development, school districts of their own volition have begun preemptively pulling targeted books before any angry complaints can be filed. Popping bubbles Hiding books wont keep children sealed tight in idea-proof bubbles. At the very least, the internet exists. Put blocks on it, kids know how to get around those. Even if the blocks are successful, theres always the old-fashioned way that controversial subjects spread: chatter from peers in school. When it comes to transgender related-issues, at least, Lukoffs book could double as a tool for addressing the topic in a well-informed, healthy, positive manner, should a parent choose to do so. Regarding campaigns to remove books from public libraries: Independent journalist Matt Taibbi notes the irony that the same conservatives who complain that their opinions are being silenced by the woke left are squandering an opportunity to seize the moral high ground on free speech. In a recent essay with the blunt title Democrats and Republicans have one thing in common: Both suck on free speech, Taibbi argues that Republicans, who in the past have embraced censorship campaigns, have great reasons to reverse course and set a better example. This script by all rights should have flipped once campuses, the executive ranks of internet companies, and federal agencies like Joe Bidens CDC began pushing increasingly draconian censorship concepts to deplatform right-wing or conservative ideas, Taibbi writes. Instead, having had years in the political wilderness to stew over the problem, the red response to new left censoriousness has often instead come via unoriginal and equally batty attempts at legislative bans. Of course, it doesnt stop at legislative bans. Consider the case in Virginia Beach (May 23 editorial, Virginia is for book censors?) in which two Republican politicians are seeking to use the courts to get a pair of books declared obscene so that restrictions can be placed on booksellers that carry them. Those of a certain age who recall the eras of Satanic Panic and the Parents Music Resource Center know that nothing calls more attention to a creative work than a public censorship campaign. For anybody out there who may have grown newly curious about When Aidan Became a Brother, but who find themselves intimidated by the prospect of calling Horn Elementary to request the book from the guidance office, youre in luck. A Google search turns up dozens of videos of Lukoff and Juanitas book read aloud, sometimes in celebration of Pride Month which is this month. Watching or sharing those videos could be a small way to join in the celebration. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Flash Ukraine and the European Union have agreed on the final text of a deal on road transport liberalization, the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The agreement, which is set to be signed by the end of this month, will significantly improve and speed up logistics between Ukraine and the EU, the ministry said on Facebook. In particular, the deal stipulates that the EU will cancel the obligation for Ukrainian haulers to obtain special permits for transporting goods in the EU. "This is critically important today, when, in the conditions of the blockade of seaports, the Ukrainian economy is completely dependent on stable logistics on the western borders," said Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Ukrainian infrastructure minister. Ukraine and the EU began negotiations on road transport liberalization last year. After the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February, 12 EU countries have temporarily allowed permit-free passage for Ukrainian freight automobile transport. Theres been reflection of late across America, with its dysfunctional government and raging political debates over everything from gun violence and abortion to the foundations of power, that the notion of American exceptionalism is waning. Here are some thoughts from seven years ago that still apply today: Walking along the River Seine flanked by grand palaces and magnificent French Empire buildings, its easy to think of how the French once ruled the world and captured riches galore. Just like the sun once never set on the British Empire. Or how the Spanish conquered the Americas and enriched themselves with gold. Or how the Dutch discovered places never dreamed of in days long gone by. These days, its clear the influence of these European countries has peaked on the world stage, although they are far from inconsequential and their people generally live in societies with outstanding qualities of life. But theres a palpable tension these days between political, historical and daily realities that causes one to pause when thinking about America and her future. Is what happened in France, Great Britain and other former world powerhouses the future path for our country? Is the notion of American exceptionalism waning? Interestingly enough, a Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville, coined the notion that there was something special about the United States. In his Democracy in America, published in two installments after an 1830s trip across the then-expanding country, de Tocqueville noted: [I]t may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar one. Their strictly Puritanical origin, their exclusively commercial habits, even the country they inhabit, which seems to divert their minds from the pursuit of science, literature, and the arts, the proximity of Europe, which allows them to neglect these pursuits without relapsing into barbarism, a thousand special causes, of which I have only been able to point out the most important, have singularly concurred to fix the mind of the American upon purely practical objects. Often cited as components of American exceptionalism are the countrys vast natural resources and its revolutionary history of creating a democratic republic that still inspires freedom in people in countries across the world. American innovation and her zeal for knowledge led to great inventions and wealth. Theres a sense throughout the country that Americans have a destiny of freedom peppered with the fruits of capitalism to continue to fulfill. And then theres the sheer firepower of the United States, which has the mightiest armed forces in the world and a big place at the tables of diplomacy as the world encounters one international crisis after another. But with all of Americas exceptional qualities, theres also a feeling for some that Americas time of preeminence is in danger of passing, perhaps to Asian tigers like China. Theres a notion now that politicians and other leaders arent doing enough to secure the nations premier place in the world. Republicans and Democrats bicker worse than ever before. They moan. They groan. They seem unable or are just inept to find common ground and get real things done to make differences in peoples lives, whether in Washington or Columbia. For example, where in Washington is the bipartisan commitment to do something against the gun violence that slashes through the country on a daily basis? Where in Columbia is a vigorous team approach to do something more than talk about improving education so tomorrows leaders in the Palmetto State will have the intellectual framework to continue to be the innovators of the future? Lets demand this of our leaders of all stripes: Tell us in specific detail how theyll continue to ensure that America remains exceptional and doesnt go the way of France, Great Britain or Spain on the world stage. Then get to work. Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com. FLORENCE,S.C. Master Beekeeper David Yannello instructed about 20 people Tuesday about the need for bees and steps to be a successful beekeeper at Dr. Bruce and Lee Foundation Library in Florence. Yannello is president of the Pee Dee Beekeepers Association. Beekeeping is crucial to the Florence community because Florence is a Bee City. There was an observation hive, taste testing of honey, and beekeeping 101 for those interested in pursuing the art of beekeeping at the event. A question and answer session wrapped up the session. In his speech, Yannello broke down how beekeepers raise queens and other bees to sell to farmers for pollination. He informed the audience on the different classifications of beekeepers and the commodities that bees provide, such as: honey, beeswax, pollen, propolis and royal jelly. We have an observation hive at Briggs Elementary school which the students have access to and the second observation hive is at the All Saints Episcopal Day School, Yannello said. This is just a way to encourage people to think about bees and beekeeping. The more beehives we have in this area, the better off our community will be. Yannello said he got into beekeeping when he was invited to a local church and was asked to watch a man extract honey from a beehive. He said he was interested ever since. He said he started off with two hives and now has 30. Beekeeping is a stress reliever because it quiets the mind. I hope that people gained an interest in bees and beekeeping today, Yannello said. Even if they dont want to keep bees, I hope they have learned ways to keep the bees going in this area. Andy Thompson and his wife Mya Thompson attended the event. Their son bought them a beehive and they wanted to learn how to properly care for the hive. Our son brought us a hive and we wanted to learn more about it, Andy Thompson said. It is a small hive and we are trying to attract bees naturally. We dont have the queen and the bees yet. Hopefully this spring we will have bees, but if not we will order them later in the fall for next year. He said he hoped to get honey to give to family and friends. Kelley Lee of Florence said the event was a great resource for those interested in beekeeping. Lee was interested in bees because they provide natural honey and it is always good to get food naturally. Debbie Quesada, the adult program coordinator, said the event was put together by the library to educate the public. She said the bee event is always popular and is important to Florence because of the area being known as a bee area. 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. BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) Devastating floodwaters that wiped out miles of roads and hundreds of bridges in Yellowstone National Park and swamped scores of homes in surrounding communities moved downstream Wednesday and threatened to cut off fresh drinking water to residents of Montanas largest city. Heavy weekend rains and melting mountain snow had the Yellowstone River flowing at a historically high level of 16 feet (4.9 meters) as it raced past Billings. The city gets its water from the river and was forced to shut down its treatment plant at about 9:30 a.m. because it can't operate effectively with water levels that high. Billings had a just a 24- to 36-hour supply of water and officials asked its 110,000 residents to conserve while expressing optimism that the river would drop quickly enough for the plant to resume operations before the supply ran out. None of us planned a 500-year flood event on the Yellowstone when we designed these facilities, said Debi Meling, the citys public works director. The unprecedented and sudden flooding that raged through Yellowstone earlier this week drove all of the more than 10,000 visitors out of the nation's oldest park, which remains closed. It damaged hundreds of homes in nearby communities, though remarkably no one was reported hurt or killed. It also pushed a popular fishing river off course possibly permanently and may force roadways torn away by torrents of water to be rebuilt a safer distance away. On Wednesday residents in Red Lodge, Montana, a gateway town to the park's northern end, used shovels, wheelbarrows and a pump to clear thick mud and debris from a flooded home along the banks of Rock Creek. We thought we had it, and then a bridge went out. And it diverted the creek, and the water started rolling in the back, broke out a basement window and started filling up my basement, Pat Ruzich said. And then I quit. It was like, the water won. Park officials say the northern half of the park is likely to remain closed all summer, a devastating blow to the local economies that rely on tourism. In Gardiner, Montana, businesses had just started really recovering from the tourism contraction wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, and were hoping for a good year as Yellowstone celebrates its 150th anniversary, said Bill Berg, a commissioner in Park County. Its a Yellowstone town, and it lives and dies by tourism, and this is going to be a pretty big hit, he said. Theyre looking to try to figure out how to hold things together. Meantime, as the waters recede, parks officials are turning their attention to the massive effort of rebuilding many miles of ruined roads and hundreds of washed-out bridges, many of them built for backcountry hikers. Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said assessment teams won't be able to tally the damage until next week. Kelly Goonan, an associate professor at Southern Utah University and an expert in national parks and recreation management, said rebuilding will be a long process. This is something were definitely going to feel the impacts of for the next several years, Goonan said. As the Yellowstone rebuild efforts get underway, rangers will have to consider the reality of the parks altered landscape as well as potential future natural disasters. We certainly know that climate change is causing more natural disasters, more fires, bigger fires and more floods and bigger floods. These things are going to happen, and theyre going to happen probably a lot more intensely, said Robert Manning, a retired University of Vermont professor of environment and natural resources. Officials may also be able to rebuild in a way thats more ecologically sound than the roads and bridges built a decade or century ago, he said. The rains hit just as area hotels filled up in recent weeks with summer tourists. More than 4 million visitors were tallied by the park last year. The wave of tourists doesnt abate until fall, and June is typically one of Yellowstones busiest months. Yellowstone officials are hopeful that next week they can reopen the southern half of the park, which includes Old Faithful geyser. Closure of the northern part of the park will keep visitors from features that include Tower Fall, Mammoth Hot Springs and the Lamar Valley, which is known for viewing wildlife such as bears and wolves Still unresolved is how it will handle all the tourists when only half the park is open. One thing that we definitely know is that half the park cannot support all of the visitation, Sholly said Tuesday. The park will likely implement some kind of reservation or timed-entry system to let people in without sending crowd sizes sky-high. Whitehurst reported from Salt Lake City. Associated Press writers Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, R.J. Rico in Atlanta, and Brian Melley in Los Angeles 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 The main runway at the Lincoln Airport is almost 13,000 feet long, making it one of the longest runways at any commercial airport in the U.S. The nearly 2-mile-long strip of concrete and asphalt is a relic from the airport's past as an Air Force base that was home to B-47 bombers in the 1950s and '60s. While commercial airlines and private planes don't need a runway anywhere near that long, its length has always been a feather in the cap of the airport and, by extension, the city itself. The long runway gave Lincoln status at one time as an emergency landing site for the space shuttle. It also can handle jumbo jets that need to be diverted because of weather or in-flight emergencies. And it occasionally plays host to giant cargo planes, such as the Russian Antonov AH-124 that landed here last fall to deliver a 220,000-pound boiler to a plant near Sioux City, Iowa. The runway length also has allowed Offutt Air Force Base to station planes at the airport several times over the years during projects, including the current $150 million reconstruction of its runway. But days could be numbered for Lincoln's ultra-long runway. As part of a 10-year master planning process, airport officials have determined that the runway, which has been rehabbed several times but never reconstructed, needs to be completely rebuilt. And that potentially presents a problem. The Federal Aviation Administration, which pays for 90% of most airport-related capital projects, will only pay to reconstruct a runway long enough and wide enough to accommodate so-called "critical" aircraft defined as those that have a minimum of 500 operations annually. And it only includes civilian flights in those calculations. "The best way to look at it is the FAA is a civilian agency, and so when they look at it, they want to see what is the civilian usage of your airport," said Chad Lay, the airport's director of planning and development. At the Lincoln Airport, the largest civilian planes that fly on a regular basis are the regional jets that United Airlines uses for flights to Chicago, Denver and starting in September Houston. Lay said that under those parameters, his best guess is that the FAA would be willing to pay for a runway that's somewhere between 60% and 80% of its current length, which would put it in the range of 8,000-10,000 feet. That would be plenty long enough for the United planes that fly out of the airport daily, but it's unclear whether it would suffice for some other flights. Larger planes occasionally use the airport, including charter flights that take University of Nebraska athletes to competitions and bring their competitors to Lincoln. A 10,000-foot runway would likely accommodate those flights. An 8,000-foot runway might not, depending on the size of the planes. What might help save the long runway is the fact the airport is home to the Nebraska Air National Guard's 155th Air Refueling Wing, with its fleet of eight Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers, which are very large planes that need a longer-than-normal runway. The Air National Guard said the runway's current dimensions are vital and the Guard's commander said he thinks it's highly unlikely it will be shortened due to its strategic value. Col. John D. Williams, commander of the 155th Air Refueling Wing, said program managers from the National Guard Bureau have tentatively reached an agreement to fund the planning process to cover the militarys share of the runway project. He said the discussion hasn't been about shortening the runway, but rather determining the appropriate cost share between the military and the FAA. David Haring, the airport's executive director, acknowledged that because it's still so early in the planning process, "there's sort of a lot of question marks going forward on this." One is the cost. Depending on a number of factors, including how long the runway ultimately is and what construction costs do over the next couple of years, the airport has estimated the reconstruction project would cost anywhere from $30 million-$80 million. For whatever portion the FAA decides to pay for, the airport's cost would be 10% of the total amount. Another question mark is timing. Lay estimated that a runway reconstruction project wouldn't occur for at least a couple of years, and it's possible the airport could attract more commercial flights on larger airplanes, which could spur the FAA to pay for a longer runway. The FAA said in a statement that it is working with the airport to analyze what its critical aircraft are to determine what it would be willing to pay for. If the FAA won't pay for a runway long enough for the National Guard planes, there is precedent for the military to step in and provide funds. Last fall, the Department of Defense gave a $5.9 million grant to the Manhattan Regional Airport in Manhattan, Kansas, to ensure the 7,000-foot runway keeps its 150-foot width after the FAA said it would only pay for a 100-foot-wide runway as part of a reconstruction project set to start next year. The 150-foot width was deemed necessary for military charter flights that ferry soldiers to and from the nearby Fort Riley Army base. Also in Kansas, the National Guard Bureau a few years ago paid to reconstruct 5,500 feet of the 12,800-foot main runway at Topeka Regional Airport, after the FAA agreed to pay for only 7,300 feet. However, the runway in Topeka was narrowed from 200 feet to 150 feet. The runway in Lincoln also is 200 feet wide, so it's possible, even likely, it will be narrowed. In a statement, Sen. Deb Fischer said she and her staff have been "coordinating" with the airport, the FAA, the National Guard and the Department of Defense to examine all potential funding sources for the runway in Lincoln. "The airport is in the early stages of this multi-year process, but we will continue to work together to ensure the best path forward, Fischer said. Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The Russian military said it used long-range missiles Wednesday to destroy a depot in the western Lviv region of Ukraine where ammunition for NATO-supplied weapons was stored, and the governor of a key eastern city acknowledged Russian forces are advancing in heavy fighting. The battle for Sievierodonetsk in Ukraine's eastern Donbas area has become the focus of Russia's offensive in recent weeks. Russia-backed separatists accused Ukrainian forces of sabotaging an evacuation of civilians from the city's besieged Azot chemical plant, where about 500 civilians and an unknown number of Ukrainian fighters are believed to be sheltering from missile attacks. It wasn't possible to verify that claim. Russian officials had announced a humanitarian corridor from the Azot plant a day earlier, but said they would take civilians to areas controlled by Russian, not Ukrainian, forces. The Ukrainian governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, told The Associated Press that heavy fighting in Sievierodonetsk continues today as well. The Luhansk and Donetsk regions make up the Donbas. The situation in the city is getting worse, Haidai said, because Russian forces have more manpower and weapons. But our military is holding back the enemy from three sides at once, he added. In the Lviv region near the border with NATO member Poland, Russian forces used high-precision Kalibr missiles to destroy the depot near the town of Zolochiv, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. Konashenkov said shells for M777 howitzers, a type supplied by the United States, were stored there. He said four howitzers were destroyed elsewhere and that Russian airstrikes also destroyed Ukrainian aviation equipment at a military aerodrome in the southern Mykolaiv region. Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the Zolochiv strike. While focusing most of their attacks on eastern Ukraine, where they are trying to capture large swaths of territory, Russian forces have also been hitting more specific targets elsewhere, using high-precision missiles to disrupt the international supply of weapons and destroy military infrastructure. Civilian infrastructure has been bombarded as well, even though Russian officials have claimed theyre only targeting military facilities. In the northeastern Sumy region, the governor said two helicopters flying in from nearby Russian territory fired five missiles late Wednesday around the city of Hlukhiv. A residential building was hit, killing one person and wounding six, and other infrastructure was damaged, Gov. Dmytro Zhyvytskyy said on Telegram. Early Thursday, loud explosions were heard in the city of Sumy while air raid sirens were going off, and the mayor urged residents to remain in bomb shelters and not to publicize any information about what was hit. NATO members are pledging to send more and longer-range weapons to Ukraine. President Joe Biden said Wednesday the U.S. will send an additional $1 billion in military aid, the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since the war began. The aid will include anti-ship missile launchers, howitzers and more rounds for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems all key weapons systems that Ukrainian leaders have urgently requested. Germany is providing Ukraine with three multiple launch rocket systems of the kind that Kyiv has said it urgently needs to defend itself against Russias invasion. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said Wednesday that Germany will transfer three M270 medium-range artillery rocket systems along with ammunition. Germany said the transfer, which echoes similar moves by Britain and the United States, will be accompanied by training and will have a swift and significant battlefield impact. In recent days, Ukrainian officials have spoken of the heavy human cost of the war, with Kyivs forces outgunned and outnumbered in the east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the new aid package. The security support of the United States is unprecedented, he said, reporting on a phone call the two leaders held earlier Wednesday. It brings us closer to a common victory over the Russian aggressor. Zelenskyy said he has accepted invitations to speak at the NATO and Group of Seven summits at the end of the month. During the 112 days of this war, the Ukrainian army has proved that courage and wisdom on the battlefield, together with the ability to tactically outmaneuver the enemy, can have a significant result, even despite the Russian army's significant advantage n number of soldiers and equipment," he said in his nightly video address. "Of course we are doing everything we can to overcome this advantage. Every day I fight for Ukraine to receive the weapons and equipment we need. Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russias Security Council, ominously suggested that Russia is intent on not just claiming territory but eliminating Ukraine as a nation. In a Telegram post, he wrote that he saw Ukraine wants to receive liquefied natural gas from its overseas masters with payment due in two years. He added: "But theres a question. Who said that in two years, Ukraine will even exist on the map? Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, responded on Twitter: Ukraine has been and will be. Where will Medvedev be in two years? Thats the question. MORE STORIES ON THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Mines are killing people in Ukraine even after the fighting leaves their areas U.S. sending $1 billion more in military aid Two U.S. veterans reported missing in Ukraine Russia again cuts natural gas exports to Europe Russia's economic forum takes place but with fewer participants __ French president suggests he will visit Kyiv to show support for Ukraine OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it may be possible to create secure corridors to transport Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea without the need to clear sea mines near Ukrainian ports. Cavusoglus comments Wednesday came a week after he discussed with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov a U.N. plan to open up Odesa and Ukraines other Black Sea ports to allow millions of tons of grains to be shipped to world markets. Russia has demanded that Ukraine remove mines from the Black Sea before grain exports can resume by ship. Ukraine rejects the proposal, insisting it would leave its ports vulnerable to Russian attacks. Cavusoglu told reporters that since the location of the mines is known, it would be possible to establish secure corridors that avoid them. Turkey, Russia and Ukraine have appointed military officers and set up a telephone hotline to try to overcome hurdles over crop exports. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric welcomed Cavusoglus comments as extremely positive but declined to discuss the plan. A U.N. delegation investigating war crimes in Ukraine has visited areas of the country that were held by Russian troops and found evidence that could support war crimes allegations. The delegation chaired by Erik Mse, a Norwegian judge, visited sites including the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha and Irpin, where Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of mass killings of civilians. At this stage we are not in a position to make any factual findings or pronounce ourselves on issues of the legal determination of events, Mse said. However, subject to further confirmation, the information received and the visited sites of destruction may support claims that serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, perhaps reaching war crimes and crimes against humanity, have been committed in the areas, he said. With Ukrainian and international organizations investigating war crimes cases, Mse expressed concern at the risk of investigations overlapping or causing witnesses more trauma by probing the same events repeatedly. Karmanau reported from Lviv. 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 President Donald Trump, his former aides testified, faced a fateful choice on election night 2020: Heed the best advice of his top political and legal advisers? Or go with the erratic drunk guy? Trump chose Option No. 2. "President Trump rejected the advice of his campaign experts on election night," Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., alleged at the start of Monday's hearing of the House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, "and instead followed the course recommended by an apparently inebriated Rudy Giuliani to just claim he won and insist that the vote counting stop, to falsely claim everything was fraudulent." A video of Jason Miller, a senior Trump campaign adviser, flashed on the screen above the dais in the Cannon Caucus Room. "The mayor was definitely intoxicated," Miller testified, but "I do not know his level of intoxication when he spoke with the president." What, he wasn't carrying a Breathalyzer? Whatever his blood alcohol level, Giuliani's nonsense quotient was over the limit. He was saying, "We won it, they're stealing it from us," Miller recounted. And "anyone who didn't agree with that position was being weak." So Trump did as Giuliani instructed: He cried fraud and declared victory. Giuliani, once America's Mayor and Time's Person of the Year, long ago became a national punchline, with his melting hair dye and his post-election news conference at Philadelphia's Four Seasons Total Landscaping. But thanks to the select committee, we now know that people inside the Trump administration and campaign also thought him preposterous -- with one key exception: Trump. The committee relived some of Giuliani's most ludicrous claims, sometimes accompanied by footage of his wild-eyed TV appearances. Votes "in garbage cans" and in "shopping baskets" being wheeled in for counting under orders from Frankfurt, Germany. Eight thousand dead people voting in Pennsylvania. A suitcase full of ballots pulled from under a table in Georgia. Votes manipulated via Italy, the Philippines and a deceased communist dictator in Venezuela. In depositions screened by the committee, a veritable parade of Trump advisers testified that they told the president what they thought of such ideas: "Bulls--t." "Completely bogus." "Silly." "Completely nuts." "Crazy." "Incorrect." "Debunked." "Idiotic." White House lawyer Eric Herschmann, in his videotaped deposition, wondered aloud whether Giuliani, "at this stage of his life," had "the same ability to manage things at this level or not." Trump campaign lawyer Matt Morgan, in his deposition, spoke about his conversations with outside counsel: "The general consensus was that law firms were not comfortable making the arguments that Rudy Giuliani was making." But Trump still sided with Giuliani's lunacies -- which "demoralized" the attorney general, Bill Barr. "I thought, 'Boy, if he really believes this stuff, he has . . . become detached from reality.'" Barr worked for Trump for two years before this occurred to him? Even Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, no profile in courage, testified that he disagreed with Crazy Rudy. Asked in his deposition whether he ever shared with Trump his "perspective" on Giuliani, Kushner paused 10 seconds as he searched for a reply: "Um . . . I, I guess . . . [Sigh] . . . Yes." Finally, Kushner said he told Trump it was "basically, not the approach I would take if I was you." The committee played the deposition of Bill Stepien, Trump's campaign manager, in which he testified that he disassociated himself from Trump's bogus election-fraud claims. "There were two groups," he said, "my team and Rudy's team." Stepien's was, he said, "Team Normal." But Trump disbanded Team Normal the second week after the election. Instead, he arranged for "Mayor Giuliani to be moved in as the person in charge of the legal side of the campaign, and, for all intents and purposes, the campaign." A Republican-appointed U.S. attorney from Georgia explained how he chased down the Giuliani allegation that a "black suitcase" stuffed with ballots was the "smoking gun": It was "actually an official ballot box," handled correctly. A former Republican official from Pennsylvania testified about investigating Giuliani's claim to the state legislature that 8,000 dead people voted. "Not only was there not evidence of 8,000 dead voters voting in Pennsylvania, there wasn't evidence of eight." A supposed 68 percent error rate of Michigan voting machines? Trump Justice Department official Richard Donoghue's deposition said the actual error rate was 0.0063 percent. But the debunking of each zany conspiracy theory ("whack-a-mole" was Barr's description) would only cause Trump to "move to another allegation," Donoghue testified. And so the "big lie" was born -- of no evidence but limitless repetition. Even now, Giuliani is, well, drunk on the idea. "If you gave me the paper ballots, I could probably turn around each one of these states," he said to the Jan. 6 committee in his own deposition. "I'd pull out enough that were fraudulent that it would shake the hell out of the country." Thanks, Rudy. But Team Abnormal has already done damage enough. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) A prosecutor in South Carolina decided Tuesday not to charge two police officers in the fatal shooting of a Black man who lunged at them with a broken piece of wood from a chair after family members warned them the victim was mentally ill. The Richland County deputies were justified to shoot Irvin Moorer Charley because he was a danger to the officers and family members who called police to their home, initially telling them Charley was armed with a knife, Solicitor Byron Gipson said in a statement. Gipson called the shooting reasonably necessary based on Charley's unfortunate response to lunge at the officers with the stick, which they thought was a sharpened stake. The use of force was applied in good faith based upon the perceptions of a reasonably trained officer and the objectively reasonable facts the officer had at the time of the incident, Gipson said. The deputies are white. Gipson, the elected prosecutor for Richland County, is Black. Lawyers for Charley's family said in a text message Tuesday that the family would hold a news conference later to respond to Gipson's decision. The family was unhappy because the Richland County Sheriff's Department investigated the shooting by its own deputies. Sheriff Leon Lott said his investigators had the expertise and temperament to fairly investigate their fellow officers and Gipson would review the findings. Gipson said he had two professors who are police force experts from the University of South Carolina review the evidence too, but he didn't include any of their comments or findings in his statement. Deputies were called to the home outside Columbia on March 19 by someone who said Charley was attacking his mother. Body camera video showed Charley's brother telling the first officer to arrive that Charley was mentally ill and had a knife, which he quickly corrected to scissors while saying, "dont shoot or nothing. He dont got no gun. Body camera footage showed the first deputy, John Anderson, pointing his gun at Charley after he suddenly came out of a house with a piece of wood with what appeared to have a pointed end. He told the deputy yall can shoot me. A second deputy, Zachary Hentz, arrived about the same time and shot Charley with a Taser, but he had no reaction. Charley then charged at Hentz, who fired his gun seven times while backpedaling, stumbling on his back about the same time Charley fell bleeding to the ground. The sheriff's department initially only released a 15-second clip with Charley walking at the deputy, saying the shooting itself was just not something everyone needs to see. They then released the dashboard camera video that showed the shooting from a distance, but when the family held a news conference suggesting deputies were hiding evidence, the sheriff's department released the full 13 minutes of body camera footage. The footage primarily showed the deputies doing CPR on a bloody Charley as his head wobbled uncontrollably back and forth with each chest compression. The day after the shooting, the sheriff said he thought his deputies did the right thing. We cant expect these deputies to go out here and be killed, Lott said. They have to protect themselves. And thats what this deputy did yesterday. He protected himself. Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP. 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 night of terror was punctuated with a night of miracles for Warren and Patty Sessink, recalling a dark night 50 years ago defined by three distinct occurrences that made the difference between life and death. The first was a roadblock. Warren was on his way home from work at the Rapid City K-Mart on a hot and humid evening in June. He didnt remember a lot of rain, just the heat. He left at 6 p.m. on the dot a time that would make all the difference. He headed up the highway to Rapid Canyon like any other evening. He found the entrance flanked with police cars the first indication that this night would be different. He wasnt sure why, but they were preparing to stop letting traffic in. Warren was the last car through. Had he left work one minute later, that would have been a different car. While he didnt realize it at the moment, his timing may have saved his wifes life. Patty was nearly nine months pregnant and at home with their 17-month-old son Brian. Patty later admitted that had Warren not made it back to them that evening, she never would have left the house. But Warren did make it through and back to Patty for what began as a pleasant evening meal, consisting of leftovers from Warrens birthday dinner two days earlier. With no warning systems or blaring alerts, it was the Sessinks garbage cans that sounded the alarm that night. The racket of their garbage cans crashing along with charging water startled them. It sort of shook me up, Warren said. Prompted to look out the window, Warren and Patty saw rain coming down in buckets, laced with lightning and thunder. Patty gauged their evolving perspective that night through her tomato plants, the baseline for a priority meter of sorts. She had planted tomatoes earlier that day, and as the rain fell, her first thought was for her plants. Theyd be ruined. As the night progressed, so did their concerns. By 7 p.m., concern had grown from the tomatoes to the house. And it wasnt much longer till the house didnt matter, Warren said. It was their lives. 'We're going' Their neighbors were undeterred, using the past three or four decades as a barometer of what they thought was harmless rain. One said she was going to curl up with a book and go to sleep. Warren made a different call. That was miracle number two, they said. He was the only one in their entire neighborhood convinced they had to get to higher ground. He said, 'Get a sturdy pair of shoes. Get Brian. And we're going,' Patty said. The car was no longer an option, so they set out on foot. Warren grabbed their son Brian and we just climbed up, he said. They followed their street back out to the main road along the highway, spotting some property with a guesthouse. While not much higher than their own house, it was on higher ground. There was room in the inn, and the owners happily obliged, Warren said, providing what would prove to be a temporary respite. As they waited, they noticed the water beginning to recede. A deceptive omen, Warren decided to venture back down to their own house and survey the damage, leaving Patty and their two children in the guesthouse. He found four inches of mud caked to their floors, and a neighbor to swap complaints with. They talked about the gnarly cleanup to come until Warren noticed the water was rising again. His only thought now was getting back to Patty. The water continued to rise as he waded back uphill toward the guesthouse. On his way back, the Sessinks third miracle occurred Warren looked up. Not just up the road, but higher. He happened to spy light floating in the distance, high above the guesthouse. National Guardsman risks everything They were flashlights. And they belonged to members of the National Guard. I think wed better get out of here, Warren told Patty. The water was rising too quickly. Warren looked to the flashlights. He went outside, waded across the water, and yelled. Trying to get their attention, he screamed over the crashing debris and pouring rain that he had a nine-months-pregnant woman in the house and they needed to get out. He convinced one of the guardsmen to come down a lifesaver, Patty, said. The guard risked his life to cross the water and come down to meet them at the guesthouse. I said to Patty, just hang on to him, Warren said. The rain was coming down hard and the water was chest-high, Patty said. She remembered stepping down off the porch of the guesthouse, uncertain if shed be able to touch bottom. They clung to anything they could for dear life the guard, fencing anything that would help them maintain their footing. One wrong step, they said, and theyd have been uprooted by the crashing debris and swallowed by the water, with no second chances. Lightning strikes revealed debris from dislodged houses and trees charging through the water. What Warren described as a huge, steep hill lay between them and the safe haven where hed first spied the flashlights. Two guardsmen hoisted Patty up, arms under her elbows, pushing as fast as they could. Safely at the top, Patty remembered a moment that felt like eternity she didnt see Warren. She didnt know where he was, or their son Brian. Time froze as her mind spun around endless possibilities. I looked around, and there he was, she said, relief in her voice, as if itd happened moments ago. I was so relieved, because I thought he might have been taken in the water. He had Brian safely in tow. Safely on higher ground, their thoughts now turned to getting Patty to a hospital. The National Guard had a jeep, and decided to make a go of it. They didnt get far. Both Warren and Patty fought back tears as they paused, remembering what came next. A wall of water We heard that a 15-foot wall of water was coming, Warren said. Strangers approaching the jeep painted a bleak picture, warning of people trapped on rooftops down below, screaming for help. Warren and Patty figured theyd made it out of the canyon with minutes to spare. Driving into the city was no longer an option. The bridge was covered in water. Patty couldnt get to a hospital. Plan B was a large house even higher up than the embankment theyd climbed earlier. Spotted by the guardsmen, they went up to the owners to ask if Patty, Warren and Brian could spend the night. They were so nice to us, Patty said of the homeowners. It was a real nasty night, and we were happy to get into a warm house. The kindness of strangers was a theme for Warren and Patty that night. They let them sleep in their own bedroom. Many more came. They estimated 15-20 people took shelter in that house. Warren recalled a humorous moment where he polled the assembly of strangers for anyone that might be able to assist him if Patty went into labor. A hand shot up from the crowd. Im a dentist, the man announced. That brought them a smile, Warren said if Patty went into labor, hed have a dentist to help. The morning and days after The night passed and no baby. Morning brought both relief and horror for the survivors. Knowing a tremendous amount of homes had been destroyed, Warren went in search of a hotel. Unfathomable destruction met him when he reentered the city. A beautiful stone house on his street had been completely leveled. His own home had a water line right up to the ceiling. The front and back walls had been blown out. Warren found a hotel on a hill called the Star Motel. They set up camp for a week before the owner of the K-Mart Warren worked at offered to put them up in his basement apartment. Their daughter Laura was born on June 28. Shortly after, they moved back into the Star Motel before Warrens job took them to Salt Lake City in April 1973. It is so amazing how we look back now and we didnt think much of it at the time how we narrowly escaped, Patty said. Warrens emotions crept in again, imagining three different futures that didnt include his wife and children some not even himself. I imagine what my life would have been, if they would have been killed, Warren said, struggling to complete the sentence. I cant imagine. Because I love my wife. Heartbreak and gratitude Warren recalled a customer he spoke with at his store who had his 17-month-old son ripped from his arms during the flood. He never saw his son again. Warren had his son in his arms that night, too the same age. He thought back to the night he carried Brian through the rain, and up the steep embankment, and how he could have been ripped from his arms at any moment. He heard the man say if I couldve just hung on a little tighter. There was just so much devastation, Patty said. It didnt register right away. Mingled with the devastation was overwhelming gratitude, as both Warren and Patty recalled the village that helped them. The strangers who opened their homes, the dentist who offered to help deliver their baby, the National Guard members who saved their lives, and friends who sheltered them after the storm, loaned them a car and watched Brian when Laura was born. For many, they never knew their names, wishing desperately they could thank them. Warren and Patty live in Michigan now, remembering nothing but kindness from the people of Rapid City. And we've had a wonderful life, Warren said, married 52 years. When the flood came in 1972, they were just starting their lives together. When we were walking out along the chain link fence, the sound of the water was so loud, and I yelled out to Warren, 'I love you,' Patty remembered. Because I didn't know if that was going to be the end, you know? The insignificance of material things and the fragility of life have shaped their perspective since that terrible night in June, Patty said. You can, at any time, lose that. And that's the most important thing, she said. She described their years together as a gift. They were 34 and 25 when they experienced the flood together, 84 and 75 today. After coming so close so many times, and the fragility of life paramount in Pattys mind, every year since has been a gift. Contact Laura Heckmann at lheckmann@rapidcityjournal.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SIOUX CITY -- Tayvon Davis told a police investigator he didn't want to blame anyone for the injuries that led to Maelynn Myers being rushed to an Omaha intensive care unit. But during an interview at Children's Hospital, he told Officer Brad Echter at least three times daycare providers might be responsible for the toddler's injuries, which included head trauma, older back fractures and a kidney that wasn't functioning. He could be heard telling Echter in an audio recording of the interview that he'd noticed Maelynn return home from daycare with bruises in the past. "I don't know," Davis said when Echter asked him what he thought caused Maelynn's injuries. "I don't want to point fingers, but I wonder if daycare had something to do with it." Davis told Echter the 19-month-old girl, the daughter of his girlfriend, Shannon Myers, often cried after being picked up from daycare. Maelynn hadn't been there for two or three days before Aug. 22, 2018, the day she was rushed to a Sioux City emergency room after she became unresponsive in Davis' care. After tests and scans showed hemorrhaging in the girl's brain and abdomen, she was flown to Omaha, where Echter and fellow detective John Sanders began their investigation by talking with Myers and Davis. "The daycare is what he primarily focused on," Echter testified Tuesday. In a followup interview a few hours later, Echter told Davis in the audio recording that he'd spoken with doctors, and because of the severity of Maelynn's injuries, there had to be some other explanation. "It's not the daycare," Echter told Davis in the recording, played during the third day of witness testimony in Davis' trial for the Aug. 25, 2018, death of Maelynn. Davis, 26, of Sioux City, is charged in Woodbury County District Court with first-degree murder, child endangerment resulting in the death of a child and multiple acts of child endangerment. He is accused of injuring Maelynn numerous times in the weeks leading up to her death, which a medical examiner ruled a homicide caused by blunt-force injuries. Previous evidence showed the girl had brain hemorrhaging and swelling, a left kidney with no blood supply, a recent fracture in the tibia in her right leg, hemorrhages in both eyes and a partially detached retina in the left eye and healing fractures to at least two vertebrae and in the bone in her upper right arm. Bruises on her forehead, back and buttocks also were observed. She never regained consciousness after her transfer to the Omaha hospital and died three days later. Under questioning by Davis' attorney, public defender Jennifer Solberg, Echter said he reviewed accident reports at the daycare facility Maelynn attended, but didn't make copies for his file. He couldn't recall the dates on the reports. During the recording of his interview with Echter, Davis said he couldn't remember any times Maelynn had recently fallen or hit her head other than when she had thrown her head back and struck it on the floor a couple days earlier during a diaper change. He said the girl hadn't been herself for two or three weeks, and had been seen several times by doctors for illnesses, which included an ear infection and hand, foot and mouth disease. Echter said during cross examination he didn't recall interviewing any of the doctors who saw Maelynn during those visits. Davis told Echter that on the morning of Aug. 22, she was in his care after Shannon left for work. He said Maelynn woke up crying in her crib and he could not calm her. He tried to feed her, but she wouldn't eat much. He stepped outside their apartment to smoke a cigarette and when he returned, he said, Maelynn was slumped over in her chair crying. Becoming emotional, Davis said Maelynn kept crying and passed out. He tried a little bit of CPR, he said, and then took her to Shannon's mother, Jaime Myers, who lived in another building in the same apartment complex. The two immediately drove Maelynn to the emergency room, and Davis said he attempted a few chest compressions in the car on the way. During a second interview with Davis, investigators confronted him, telling him, based on what they were being told about Maelynn's injuries by doctors, they believed he wasn't telling them the whole story. "Something happened today. You need to tell us," Sanders was heard telling Davis in an audio recording of the interview. "You're not telling us what the evidence is telling us." Becoming emotional and hard to understand on the recording, Davis said he had given Maelynn in an attempt to calm her, but she was still crying when he took her out of the bathtub and he dropped her. He did not know what she might have hit her head against. The interview ended shortly after that as Davis pleaded with the officers to let them see Maelynn, to whom he referred as his daughter, though he and her mother had been dating for about six months. "I want to see my daughter. Can I see her, please?" Davis was heard asking. Davis was arrested in November 2019 after a 15-month investigation. If found guilty of first-degree murder, Davis would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. After jurors were dismissed for the day, Shannon Myers was called to the witness stand to testify about her drug use in the months before her daughter's death as the defense continued to seek District Judge Tod Deck's approval to introduce her use of drugs as evidence. Myers said a hair sample she provided to the Iowa Department of Human Services the day Maelynn was injured tested positive for marijuana, cocaine and hydrocodone. She told public defender Jennifer Solberg that in June and July 2018 she used cocaine once or twice a week and smoked marijuana daily with Davis from April through July. She also continued to get hydrocodone from a friend once she used up her prescription after having her wisdom teeth removed. She said she and Davis would often smoke marijuana on their apartment balcony or in the bedroom with the door closed, leaving Maelynn alone in another room while watching her through the balcony door or between hits of marijuana. Myers said she quit using cocaine and cut back on her marijuana use at the end of July after an incident in which she and Davis were doing drugs in their bedroom while Maelynn was outside screaming and pounding on the closed door. Deck said he would allow the defense to question Myers in front of jurors about her drug use, and Solberg acknowledged it would likely lead to testimony about Davis' drug use, too. The trial will resume Wednesday morning. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SIOUX CITY -- A Spencer, Iowa, man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for illegally possessing firearms. Demetrius Wright, 41, pleaded guilty in November in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced June 3. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Wright possessed a Glock .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun on Aug. 1 after another person used it in a Sioux City shooting. Wright had another person buy a Smith and Wesson M&P 15-22 .22-caliber handgun for him in April 2021 and then made a video with it to threaten another person. Wright was prohibited from owning firearms because of a 2017 domestic violence conviction and two separate protection orders filed against him. 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. Flash The White House announced Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Saudi Arabia during his upcoming trip to the Middle East in mid-July. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, now the chair of Gulf Cooperation Council, will be the president's last stop during the trip scheduled for July 13 to 16, which also brings him to Israel and the West Bank. The president "looks forward to this important visit to Saudi Arabia, which has been a strategic partner of the United States for nearly eight decades," Jean-Pierre said, adding that "ensuring global energy and food security" is among the issues to be discussed. The visit to the oil-rich country comes as the Biden administration is facing mounting domestic pressure to lower sky-high gasoline prices. The price of U.S. gasoline averaged more than 5 dollars a gallon for the first time on Saturday. OPEC+, the group of oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia, recently agreed to raise oil production to help bring down the surging prices. The research team investigating the human health and environmental impacts of the AltEn ethanol plant near Mead will share an update of their ongoing study on Thursday evening. The presentation featuring researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, will be at the Mead Fire Hall at 7 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and will include a question-and-answer session and general discussion of the 2021 sampling. AltEn, which used pesticide-treated seeds to produce ethanol, creating toxic solid and liquid waste products along the way, was ordered to shut down in February 2021 for violating numerous state environmental regulations. Faculty from UNL, UNMC and Creighton University then launched a wide-ranging research project to study the movement of pesticides through the environment, as well as the chemicals' effects on humans, animals and pollinators. Environmental sampling started in the spring of 2021, while a survey of perceived health effects from 1,000 individuals living near the defunct plant was closed in May. Dr. Eleanor Rogan, interim chair of the Department of Health Promotion in UNMC's College of Public Health, said the research team is still analyzing the results of the survey. UNMC will also look for the presence of pesticides and toxic compounds in the blood or urine of individuals who wish to provide samples. The study got a boost from the Legislature in April when it approved an amendment from Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue appropriating $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to continue the study through 2022. Members of the research team who will present their findings and lead a discussion about their results include Rogan; Ali Khan, dean of UNMC's College of Public Health; Jesse Bell, director of the Water, Climate and Health Program; Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, department chair of civil and environmental engineering at UNL; Liz Van Wormer, coordinator of the One Health program at UNL; and Judy Wu-Smart, extension and research entomologist at UNL. Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SIOUX CITY A student representative to the school board and a high-profile community member spoke out on Monday condemning the actions of Board President Dan Greenwell and other school board members at a previous school board meeting. Greenwell and Board Member Monique Scarlett verbally clashed on May 9 regarding the decision to appoint former Sergeant Bluff-Luton Superintendent Rod Earleywine as the Sioux City schools interim superintendent. Alarcon-Flory and Scarlett, who served as president and vice president, respectively, prior to Greenwell's election as president last November, claimed Earleywine's selection for the position lacked transparency. In remarks at the May 9 school board meeting, Greenwell described Scarlett and Alarcon-Flory's claims as a false narrative, adding that each board member needs to take responsibility for their own lack of action or lack of attention, instead of blaming others for their shortcomings." He also claimed the concerns were an intentional effort to be divisive or gain some type of attention without merit or substance. Dominic Eastman, a recently graduated senior from East High, has attended school board meetings throughout the year as a representative of the Student Council. He said when Greenwell was elected as board president, he had high hopes despite the representation Scarlett and Alarcon-Flory provided as women of color. Eastman said in the last year of school board meetings, he has witnessed bullying. He said the board needs new leadership and he and others are taking steps to petition for a leadership change. Dan, I sat here and I have watched you for the last year now and I feel you are unfit for the title of president, Eastman said. Community member Kristie McManamy also took to the podium Monday night to denounce Greenwell's bullying, as well as the board members who sat by and acted as bystanders and did not say anything. Since the 2012 release of the Bully documentary that included a 13-year-old student at East Middle School who was bullied and reached national headlines, the district and community have worked to address the problem, said McManamy, a former local TV news anchor who now works in her family's real estate business. How can we as a community stand by and watch our school board members - in my opinion repeatedly bully other school board members, employees of the district and other members of this community with differing viewpoints? McManamy asked. During the May 9 meeting, Scarlett took issue with the tone of Greenwells remarks at that meeting. Stay professional. If youre president of this board, act accordingly, she told Greenwell. Thats your opinion, madam, Greenwell responded. No thats the facts and the tapes speak clear, Scarlett interrupted. It is not your time to speak, I am not finished, I didnt interrupt you, Greenwell said. But you always interrupted other board members, Scarlett responded. At one point, Greenwell slammed his gavel on the table, stopping Scarlett from speaking and responding to his comments, saying, Youre not the president, Madame. You have never respected a board member up here, Scarlett responded. Scarlett said she wouldn't be "bullied" by Greenwell. Eastman walked out of the meeting following the clash. He said he was seeing his own story of being harassed and bullied playing out in front of him. The past eight years of my K-12 education has been filled with people who called me names and bullied me, he said. When I did speak out I was told I was looking for attention and was literally told to stop looking for my 15 minutes of fame. Greenwell said at the previous meeting the two board members needs to take responsibility for their own lack of action or lack of attention instead of blaming others for their shortcomings or seeking attention, grabbing headlines or 15 minutes of fame. Eastman read of a section of the school board policies, stating board member actions reflect on the district. He asked if Greenwells actions were reflective of the district. Board members dont trust cabinet members, cabinet members dont trust Dan Greenwell and board members dont trust each other, he said of the board meeting dynamics. Progress is not possible with this dynamic. On Monday, Greenwell said his actions were not the right way to handle the situation. "I will do better, I promise," he told the audience. Alarcon-Flory, who did not attend the May 9 meeting, apologized to Scarlett for not being there to support her. The former board president said the actions of the board reflect on the professionals in the district, the students, families and the community. Board member Bob Michaelson said the meeting reminded him of middle school and said if the board is fighting with each other, they can't be working for the children. Jan George, who like Michaelson joined the board last fall, apologized for sitting and saying nothing and recommended the board use resources on hand to resolve issues instead of making disparaging remarks about each other. Board member Juli Albert, who also did not attend the May 9 meeting, suggested the board consider limiting board comments to five minutes each and setting parameters for what is allowed to be discussed. Love 8 Funny 1 Wow 7 Sad 3 Angry 9 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. LE MARS, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate joined Plymouth County Auditor Stacey Feldman in Le Mars on Wednesday as the county conducted a post-election audit on a randomly selected precinct from the June 7 primary. County election officials gathered to hand-count ballots cast in the Brunsville precinct on election night. The post-election audit matched 100% to the total reported by the voting tabulator on election night. The audit board met and hand-counted 93 ballots checking the results of the U.S. Senate race, Feldman said. The results matched the tabulator 100%, which is the goal whenever we complete a post-election audit. Post-election audits take place after every Iowa election, with the Secretary of State's office choosing a random drawing to select the precincts to be audited. In Woodbury County, election officials audited Precinct 15 earlier this week. A party balanced board hand counted 368 ballots that comprised the total ballots counted from Precincts 14 and 15 because those precincts were consolidated on Election Day. The results of the audit exactly matched the results that were counted by the optical scanner machine on Election Day. I think this post-election audit was a total success, Pate said. It demonstrates the integrity of the vote and shows the public one of the many steps Iowa takes to ensure the counts on election day are accurate. 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. BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) The white gunman who killed 10 Black people in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket was charged Wednesday with federal hate crimes and could face the death penalty. The criminal complaint filed Wednesday against Payton Gendron coincided with a visit to Buffalo by Attorney General Merrick Garland. The attorney general was expected to address the federal charges and meet with the families of the people who were killed. Garland placed a bouquet of white flowers tied with a yellow ribbon at a memorial to the victims outside the store, which has been shuttered and undergoing renovations since the attack. Gendron was already facing a mandatory life sentence without parole if convicted on previously filed state charges in the May 14 rampage. The attack, at Tops Friendly Market, also left three survivors one Black, two white. Ballistics evidence indicated that Gendron fired approximately 60 shots during the attack, according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint. Gendron's radical, racist worldview and extensive preparation for the attack were laid out in documents he apparently authored and posted online shortly before authorities say he started shooting. FBI agents executing a search warrant at Gendron's home the day after the shooting found a note in which he apologized to his family for the shooting and stated that he "had to commit this attack" because he cares "for the future of the White race," according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint. Gendron signed the note and addressed it to his family, the affidavit said. Agents at the Conklin, New York home also found a receipt for a candy bar purchased from the supermarket on March 8, the day Gendron said in an online diary he went to scout out the store, as well as hand drawn sketches of the store's layout, the affidavit said. The affidavit also includes detailed accounts of Gendron's plot to attack the store, which he documented in detail in an online diary, and the attack itself, which he live streamed on social media. In his writings, Gendron embraced a baseless conspiracy theory about a plot to diminish white Americans' power and "replace" them with people of color, through immigration and other means. The posts detail months of reconnaissance, demographic research and shooting practice for a bloodbath aimed at scaring everyone who isn't white and Christian into leaving the country. Gendron drove more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from his home in a nearly all-white town near the New York-Pennsylvania border to a predominantly Black part of Buffalo. There, authorities say, he mowed down shoppers and workers using an AR-15-style rifle, wearing body armor to protect himself and livestreaming the carnage from a helmet-mounted camera. Gendron's rifle had writings on it, including the names of other people who've committed mass shootings, racial slurs and statements such as, "Here's your reparations!", and a reference to the replacement theory, the affidavit said. The 18-year-old surrendered to police as he exited the supermarket. He has pleaded not guilty to a state domestic terrorism charge, including hate-motivated domestic terrorism and murder. According to the online documents attributed to Gendron, he had scouted out the supermarket in March, drawing maps and even counting up the number of Black people he saw there. Federal authorities had said they were considering hate crime charges in the killings, which compounded the unabating toll of gun violence in the United States. Ten days after the attack in Buffalo, another 18-year-old with a semi-automatic rifle opened fire at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school, killing 19 children and two teachers. Soon after, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed 10 public safety-related bills, including one prohibiting New Yorkers under age 21 from buying semi-automatic rifles and another that revised the state's "red flag" law, which allows courts to temporarily take away guns from people who might be a threat to themselves or others. The U.S. Senate followed on June 12 with a bipartisan agreement on more modest federal gun curbs and stepped-up efforts to improve school safety and mental health programs. The case is likely to present a quandary for Garland, who has vowed to aggressively prioritize the prosecutions of civil rights cases but also instituted a moratorium on federal executions last year after an unprecedented run of capital punishment at the end of the Trump administration. The moratorium put in place in July 2021 halts the Bureau of Prisons from carrying out any executions. But the memo does not prohibit federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, a decision that ultimately will fall to Garland. The Biden administration has previously asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate the Boston Marathon bomber's original death sentence. The executions have been halted as the Justice Department conducts a review of its policies and procedures for capital punishment. The review, which is ongoing, comes after 13 people were executed at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana between July 2020 and January 2021. President Joe Biden has said he opposes the death penalty and his team vowed that he would take action to stop its use while in office. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) A commercial bus driver has been charged with 38 counts of reckless endangerment after blacking out behind the steering wheel while snacking on gummies he says he didnt know were infused with THC. Jinhuan Chen appeared Tuesday in Bridgeport Superior Court after being arrested at his home in Boston. Chen was driving 38 passengers from the Mohegan Sun Casino on March 13 when he stopped the bus on the side of Interstate 95 in Stratford. Police said they found Chen slumped unconscious in the driver's seat, next to an open package of Smokies Edibles Cannabis Infused Fruit Chews. Toxicology tests showed Chen had a high level of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, in his bloodstream, prosecutors said. Chen told Judge Ndidi Moses on Tuesday that he had no idea he had been snacking on anything but regular candy. I didnt know it was marijuana, Chen said through a Chinese interpreter, according to Hearst Connecticut Media. I didnt know. Moses ordered Chen held in lieu of $25,000 bond and set his next court date for Aug. 25. Victor Chen, the manager of Go Go Sun Tour, the bus company, told Hearst that Jinhuan Chen had been driving for the Boston-based company for 10 years and has an exemplary record. He doesnt drink, he doesnt smoke, but he has a sweet tooth and likes candy, Victor Chen said. This would never have happened a couple of years ago. but now theres marijuana everywhere here, he added. 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 PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Three firearms bills, including a ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, are headed to the governor's desk after passing the Rhode Island Senate. The bills passed Tuesday night intended to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings like recent ones in New York and Texas also raise from 18 to 21 the state's minimum age for buying rifles and shotguns, and prohibit loaded rifles and shotguns from being carried in public. The bills were passed last week by the state House of Representatives. A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Dan McKee said Wednesday that he is expected to sign them. The Senate version of the large-capacity magazine ban stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but the full Senate passed the House version of the legislation 25-11. High-capacity magazines have no legitimate purpose for hunting or self-defense," Democratic committee Chair Sen. Cynthia Coyne said in a statement. They enable shooters to unleash torrents of bullets and inflict maximum harm in mere seconds, making them a tool of the trade for mass shootings, drug trafficking and gang violence." Some lawmakers had sought to exempt high-capacity magazines that Rhode Islanders already own, but the proposal failed. Under the bill, those who already own large-capacity magazines or weapons will have 180 days to permanently alter them so they comply with the law, surrender them to police, or sell them to buyers in places where they remain legal. Law enforcement and military personnel are exempted. The state Republican Party said the high-capacity magazine ban will turn law-abiding citizens into criminals. This is rather breathtaking," the party said in a statement. In just a few months, tens of thousands of Rhode Island gun owners could become felons. Never have so many law-abiding citizens been put at risk for jail time since the days of Prohibition when possession of alcohol was a crime." Another bill amends current state law that bars the sale or possession of handguns to people under 21 to include rifles and shotguns. It is well-settled science that teenage and post-teenage brains are still developing," Democratic Sen. Maryellen Goodwin said in a statement. Its common sense that we shouldnt be selling lethal weapons to people who weve decided are not old enough to buy cigarettes or beer." Supporters of the measure noted that the suspects in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, were both 18. 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 BEIJING (AP) Chinese President Xi Jinping reasserted his countrys support for Russia on issues of sovereignty and security in a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, state media said. Xi told Putin that all parties should responsibly push for a proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The Kremlin said in its account of the call that Putin outlined his fundamental assessments of the situation in Ukraine. Xi noted the legitimacy of the actions taken by Russia to protect the fundamental national interests in the face of challenges to its security created by external forces, according to Moscow's official readout. China has refused to criticize Russias invasion of Ukraine or even to refer to it in such terms, while accusing NATO and the West of provoking Moscow into attacking. Weeks before the Russian attack, Putin and Xi met in Beijing in February and oversaw the signing of an agreement pledging that relations between the sides would have no limits. It remains unclear whether Xi knew at the time of Russia's plan to invade Ukraine. In that meeting, the two leaders pushed back against U.S. pressure, declaring their opposition to any expansion of NATO and affirming that the island of Taiwan is a part of China, as they met hours before the Winter Olympics kicked off in Beijing. Xi told Putin on Wednesday that China "is willing to work with the Russian side to promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral pragmatic cooperation," Xinhua reported, China is willing to, together with Russia, continue to support each other on issues concerning core interests and major concerns such as sovereignty and security." While offering its tacit support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China has sought to appear neutral and avoid possible repercussions from supporting the Russian economy amid international sanctions. Moscow and Beijing have increasingly aligned their foreign policies to oppose liberal democratic forces in Asia, Europe and beyond, making a stand for authoritarian rule with tight borders and little regard for free speech, minority rights or opposition politics. 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. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DOVER, Del. (AP) House lawmakers have approved a bill raising the minimum age for anyone in Delaware to legally possess or purchase any rifle, or firearm ammunition, from 18 to 21, the same age requirement for handguns. The bill cleared the House 27-13 on a mostly party-line vote Tuesday after being amended to exempt members of the National Guard and to clarify that a person under 21 could still use a gun for self-defense if the use of such force is justifiable under state law. The legislation, part of a package of gun restrictions that Gov. John Carney and fellow Democrats are pushing to pass by the end of this month in the wake of recent mass shootings in other states, now goes to the Democrat-controlled Senate. The bill does not apply to shotguns or muzzleloaders and allows possession of a firearm by a person under 21 for hunting or other recreational activity while under the direct supervision of a person 21 or older. 18 to 21 doesnt mean you cant use that gun. You have to be supervised, and you cannot go buy one, said House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, chief sponsor of the legislation. Schwartzkopf, a Rehoboth Democrat, also sponsored the amendment clarifying that a person under 21 can use a gun in self-defense if that deadly force is justified under the provisions of Delawares criminal code. Our self-defense doctrine in our state would allow them to do that, but I wanted to make it perfectly clear, said Schwartzkopf, citing concerns raised during a committee hearing last week. This basically tells anybody that if youre home and youre in danger, you can use whatever you need to use, whether it be a gun that you're not supposed to have possession of, or anything, in self-defense, he explained. Democrats also agreed to exempt National Guard members from the legislation, which already included exemptions for police officers, active members of the military, and holders of concealed-carry permits. They rejected GOP proposals to exempt rimfire rifles and ammunition, people under age 21 who own real estate or who have been married for at least six months, and those who have obtained written consent from a parent or guardian to buy a gun. I think were going to make criminals out of young adults trying to start families, said Minority Leader Danny Short, a Seaford Republican. Meanwhile, House lawmakers voted unanimously Tuesday for legislation putting state law enforcement officials in charge of background checks for gun purchases. A bill approved Tuesday and sent to the Senate would resurrect Delawares Firearm Transaction Approval Program, which was eliminated more than a decade ago when lawmakers voted to rely on the federal governments National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. That vote came amid concerns at the time that Delawares background check system was not providing NICS with information about mentally ill individuals prohibited from buying or possessing firearms. The bill authorized state agencies to provide such information to NICS, created a federally mandated program allowing individuals previously deemed mentally ill to re-establish their eligibility for gun ownership, and abolished the states existing background check system as redundant. Lawmakers now want to reverse course amid concerns that NICS may not capture people prohibited under Delaware law from possessing firearms, including people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors and those subject to outstanding warrants. The bill calls for the State Bureau of Identification to be the point of contact between gun dealers and the federal databases checked by the FBI. The SBI would thus become responsible for determining whether a person is prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm under state or federal law, and would be able to search other databases other than NICS in making that determination. 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 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Four officers won't face criminal charges for shooting and killing a man armed with a gun who tried to drive through a wildfire evacuation checkpoint near a Northern California marijuana farm last summer, the Siskiyou County district attorney said Tuesday. Soobleej Kaub Hawj, 35, of Kansas City, Kansas, was driving a pickup truck loaded with guns and 132 pounds of marijuana when he ignored orders to turn west onto a main road at a checkpoint June 24 as a lightning-sparked fire threatened a rural Big Springs area near the Oregon border, District Attorney Kirk Andrus said. The blaze forced thousands to flee. Hawj, who had both amphetamines and methamphetamine in his system, pulled a .45-caliber handgun and pointed it at a law enforcement officer, causing other officers to open fire, Andrus said in a letter to law enforcement agencies explaining his decision, the Sacramento Bee reported. Hawj was struck several times in the head, chest, arms and legs. In addition to the handgun and the marijuana, investigators found another handgun and two loaded assault rifles with large magazines, the letter said. The shooting sparked accusations that racism played a role in the shooting of Hawj, who was a member of the Hmong ethnic group. Authorities last year said the Mount Shasta Vista subdivision in the Big Springs area had as many as 6,000 greenhouses illegally growing marijuana, with the farms mostly run by people of Hmong and Chinese descent. The county has tried to crack down on the illegal grows, in part by prohibiting trucked-in water deliveries to Hmong farmers who run illegal operations. The growers sued and last fall a federal judge issued a temporary injunction against the ban, saying the practice raises serious questions about racial discrimination and leaves the growers without a source of water for drinking, bathing and growing food. In his letter, however, Andrus said the fire checkpoint wasn't being used to find marijuana but merely to get people out of an area endangered by the fire. Hawj, however, may have thought he would be stopped and searched, Andrus said. He had a cash crop in the back of his truck that he apparently was willing to defend, Andrus wrote. He may have had the misapprehension that residents were being funneled into an area where they would be searched for marijuana. He would have been wrong. Hawj also had an arrest warrant out of Mesa County, Colorado, where he was wanted for marijuana and firearms felonies, the newspaper 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 BERLIN (AP) Russia's Gazprom announced a reduction in natural gas flows through a key European pipeline for the second day in a row Wednesday, creating further energy turmoil for Europe as it tries to reduce its extensive use of Russian oil and natural gas amid the war in Ukraine. The state-owned energy giant said on Twitter that deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany would be cut again Thursday, bringing the overall reduction through the undersea pipeline to 60%. The drop in shipments of gas used to power industry and generate electricity would amount to some 16 billion cubic meters by the end of the year, or around 10% of total European Union gas imports from Russia, according to Simone Tagliapietra, an energy policy expert at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. The new cut came a day after Gazprom said it would reduce flows by 40% after Canadian sanctions over the war prevented German partner Siemens Energy from delivering overhauled equipment. It blamed the same issue for the additional reduction. But German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said Wednesday that Gazprom's initial move appeared to be political rather than a result of technical problems. He said the new developments clearly show the Russian sides explanation is simply an excuse. Obviously, the strategy is to unsettle people and push up prices, Habeck said. Gazprom also told Italian gas giant Eni that it would reduce gas through a different pipeline by roughly 15% on Wednesday. The reason for the reduction has not been made clear, and the Italian company said it was monitoring the situation. The reduced flows to two of Europe's biggest importers of Russian natural gas follow Russia's previous halt of gas supplies to Bulgaria, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark. Europe is working to reduce its dependence on Russian energy as the war worsens rising oil and gas prices that are fueling record inflation. Gas demand has fallen after the end of the winter heating season, but European utilities are racing to refill storage ahead of next winte r with prices high and supplies uncertain. While gas storage is refilling well, the cutoffs and reductions come on top of an explosion at a liquefied natural gas terminal in Texas whose exports were largely going to Europe, adding another squeeze to the tight natural gas market, energy expert Tagliapietra said. He urged Europe not to be complacent and urgently scale-up coordination" so the continent is prepared for a possibly difficult winter ahead." Tagliapietra said the Kremlin was pursuing several goals in order to undermine European unity and backing for sanctions against Russia. One was short-term market manipulation to drive up gas prices, creating more stress on Europe and more revenue for Russia. Another goal, after the cutoffs to smaller countries, "is to remind the big countries that the gas is not to be taken for granted. Russia never acts on a general level. It is always targeting individual countries, one by one, always to play this divide and rule strategy from the very beginning," Tagliapietra. This is a strategic game, this is not random. Siemens Energy said a gas turbine that powers a compressor station on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline had been in service for more than 10 years and was taken to Montreal for a scheduled overhaul. But because of sanctions imposed by Canada, the company has been unable to return the equipment to Gazprom. Habeck, who is also Germany's economy minister and responsible for energy, told reporters in Berlin that he had established with the EU's executive Commission that the maintenance of Siemens compressor stations on the pipeline isn't subject to EU sanctions. He said officials are in contact with Canada to check what is possible under Ottawa's sanctions. But he added that, as far as German officials know, the first relevant maintenance session isn't due until the fall, and because there are several such installations, that wouldn't explain a 40% reduction. So I also have the impression that what happened yesterday is a political decision, and not a decision that is technically justifiable, Habeck said. What effect it has on the European and German gas market, we will have to wait and see. As a rule, suppliers have always succeeded in getting hold of gas from other sources. He said there's no supply problem in Germany, which gets about 35% of its natural gas from Russia, and it should be able to keep filling up reserves. Habeck said the missing gas can be obtained on the market but the price will be higher. The EU has outlined plans to reduce its dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds by years end. Economists say a complete cutoff would deal a severe blow to the economy, consumers and gas-intensive industries. The 27-nation bloc is already reeling from high inflation this year. If you have the feeling that all your homework is done and everything is going well, you're wrong, Habeck said. It isn't over yet. It may only just be beginning ... making ourselves independent from fossil energy and Russian fossil energy must be advanced at high pressure. AP reporter Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed. 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 Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday afternoon held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. During their conversation, Xi noted that since the beginning of this year, bilateral relations have maintained a sound development momentum in the face of global turbulence and transformations. The economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has made steady progress, Xi said, adding that the Heihe-Blagoveshchensk cross-border highway bridge has opened to traffic, creating a new channel connecting the two countries. The Chinese side stands ready to work with the Russian side to push for steady and long-term development of practical bilateral cooperation, Xi said. China is willing to work with Russia to continue supporting each other on their respective core interests concerning sovereignty and security, as well as on their major concerns, deepening their strategic coordination, and strengthening communication and coordination in such important international and regional organizations as the United Nations, the BRICS mechanism and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Xi said. China is also willing to work with Russia to promote solidarity and cooperation among emerging market countries and developing nations, and push for the development of the international order and global governance towards a more just and reasonable direction, he added. For his part, Putin said the Russian side sincerely congratulates China on its remarkable development achievements under the strong leadership of Xi. Since the start of the year, the practical cooperation between Russia and China has been developing steadily, he said, adding that Russia supports the Global Security Initiative proposed by the Chinese side, and opposes any force to interfere with China's internal affairs using so-called issues regarding Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan, among others, as an excuse. He noted that Russia is ready to strengthen multilateral coordination with China so as to make constructive efforts in boosting multipolarization of the world, and establishing a more just and reasonable international order. The two heads of state also exchanged views on the Ukraine issue. Xi emphasized that China has always independently assessed the situation on the basis of the historical context and the merits of the issue, and actively promoted world peace and the stability of the global economic order. All parties should push for a proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis in a responsible manner, Xi said, adding that China for this purpose will continue to play its due role. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) Calmer winds and cooler temperatures Tuesday allowed firefighters across the U.S. West to get a better handle on blazes that have forced hundreds of people from their homes. As red flag warnings expired and winds died down in northern Arizona, firefighters took advantage of the weather changes to attack a 31-square-mile (81-square-kilometer) blaze by air and at the fire's edges. They're optimistic to make some headway, fire information officer Cathie Pauls said. The forecast for later this week called for a chance of showers, which could dampen the blaze but might bring the chance of new fires from lightning strikes. Meanwhile, authorities downgraded evacuations for the larger of two wildfires burning on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Arizona. That fire made a run into a wilderness area and reached a lava dome to the northeast, away from most neighborhoods. One home and a secondary structure had burned, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office said. About 350 homes remained evacuated Tuesday. Another 280 homes were evacuated because of a smaller wildfire that burned about 6 square miles (16 square kilometers) in a more remote area. Sandra Morales planned to return home Wednesday, a day after evacuations for her neighborhood were lifted. Still, she worried about the smoke, potential wind shifts and the risk of flooding later in the fire area. Next thing you know, we have to be worried about the monsoons and all that, she said. That debris, if it gets severe, it's going to come down the mountain. Climate change and an enduring drought have fanned the frequency and intensity of forest and grassland fires. Multiple states had early starts to the wildfire season this spring. The number of square miles burned so far this year is more than double the 10-year national average, and states like New Mexico have already set records with devastating blazes that destroyed hundreds of homes while causing environmental damage that is expected to affect water supplies. Nationally, more than 6,200 wildland firefighters were battling nearly three dozen uncontained fires that had charred over 1,780 square miles (4,611 square kilometers), much of it in the U.S. Southwest, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. In southwest Alaska, favorable winds shifted the progression of a fire that's burned 202 square miles (523 square kilometers) of dry grass and brush, fire managers said Tuesday. No one had been evacuated, and no structures were damaged or lost. In California, firefighters reported significant progress against a wildfire near the San Gabriel Mountains community of Wrightwood, but evacuation orders and warnings remained in place. The blaze has scorched about 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers) since erupting over the weekend and was 27% contained. In Northern California's Tehama County, firefighters gained 30% containment of a fire that destroyed 10 buildings, damaged four others and threatened about 160 structures, fire officials said. In a wildfire-related situation, a 50-mile (80-km) stretch of State Route 70 in Northern California remained closed indefinitely after mud, boulders and dead trees inundated lanes during flash floods along a burn scar. Associated Press writers John Antczak in Los Angeles and Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, 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 United States Rep. Dusty Johnsons office and the U.S. Army have taken interest in the case of a baby who was taken from the Pine Ridge Reservation in April. Joann Hoof was born on April 27. Two days later, the babys father, Jacob Barajas, took her out of state without her mothers consent. Lassandra Hoof said she was getting her hospital bag from the Prairie Winds Hotel parking lot when she saw Barajas leave with her baby. She said she was visiting Barajas at the hotel where he was staying following the birth of the baby. The two are married, but their relationship formed and crumbled in a matter of months. Barajas, a sergeant in the U.S. Army, was on leave when Joann was born. After taking her out of state, he went back to his deployment in Camp Buehring, Kuwait with the 11th Combat Aviation Brigade. Lassandra Hoof reported the incident to the Oglala Sioux Tribal Police Department (OSTPD) and Missing Children Minnesota. Joann is listed as officially missing on the South Dakota attorney generals missing persons list. OSTPD 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. Despite her missing status, Lassandra said she has not received much assistance from law enforcement in finding her baby. 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. 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. On June 1, Lassandra contacted Johnsons office requesting constituent assistance in finding Joann. I dont know where my baby is, and have had no word on her whereabouts or well being for over two weeks, and cant be sure that any information I have received since she was 2 days old (is) accurate. I dont know if she is being taken care of or who is taking care of her, Lassandra wrote. Johnsons office took interest in the case, emails show. David Forsythe, military and veteran services representative for Johnson, wrote in an email the office reached out to the Army for assistance with this important and urgent matter. Johnson's office told the Journal that they cannot comment on an active case. The Army replied with a two-page response and update from Col. Matthew Hill, which states Barajas unit released him from Camp Buehring on June 7, and he returned to the United States. This unit released Sergeant Barajas to minimize distractions to this unit currently conducting combat operations and to enable his ability to properly handle the pending child custody issue, the letter stated. The document confirmed Barajas took Joann two days after she was born while on leave and informed military leadership of the situation on April 30. Lassandra said she is happy for Johnsons offices involvement, but she is frustrated the military knew about the situation all along and didnt take steps to getting her baby back. They got the Army to actually step in and do something about it instead of just ignoring it, she said. It kind of (expletive) me off that the military knew about all of this from day one, basically. I was under the impression that they didnt know what Jacob was doing, but they knew from the day after he took her that he took her. The court order granting Lassandra temporary custody was set to expire if one of the parents did not appear in court on May 24. Barajas didnt attend the hearing, and the Army claims he was never properly served documents regarding the hearing. Oglala Sioux Tribal Court documents state the court served both parties with proof of service returned to the court. He knew about the court hearing, he just chose not to acknowledge it, Lassandra said. The document also reveals the Federal Bureau of Investigation was aware of the case by May 5 and had determined it was a custody issue and no federal investigation was pending. According to the letter, Lassandra was in contact with FBI Agent Steve Berry about the case, but Lassandra denies ever speaking to someone with the FBI. She said Wilson Quintana, an investigator with the Oglala Sioux Tribal Police Department, was in contact with the FBI. I have never talked to anyone by that name, she said. Lassandra said Quintana has been mostly unhelpful and refused to file charges against Barajas even though she obtained a tribal court custody hearing, and the judge told her to bring the order to Quintana so he could file kidnapping charges. He basically blocked me from filing charges and told me the judge had no authority to do that, Lassandra said. The Journal reached out to the FBI regarding the matter. No response has been received. On May 9, Capt. Monica Sparks, Barajas' company commander, called local law enforcement where Joann is located, and they conducted a health and welfare check on the child. The sheriff sergeant who checked on the baby informed Sparks she was safe and with adequate supplies for care. Nobody even told me that a welfare check was made or that anyone made contact with her and seen her, Lassandra said, who has requested law enforcement conduct another welfare check on the baby. The case currently sits in a limbo. Lassandra sent the tribal court order to the county where Barajas filed for custody in hopes of having it recognized under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), a multi-state compact that helps to ensure separated parents cannot move their children across state lines simply in order to avoid a child custody order or child visitation order. As for the Army, The 11th Combat Aviation Brigade seeks a resolution of this contentious civilian custody matter in an expeditious manner. The 11th Combat Aviation Brigade has, and continues to work, with multiple law enforcement agencies regarding this custody matter. Contact Shalom Baer Gee at sgee@rapidcityjournal.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RACINE A Racine man allegedly didnt report a womans death for weeks. Joseph G. Sorenson Sr., 31, of the 1600 block of North Main Street, was charged with a misdemeanor count of fail to report death under unexplained, unusual or suspicious circumstances. According to a criminal complaint: On Saturday, officers were sent to the 1600 block of North Main Street, for a death investigation. The caller, Sorenson, said a woman was dead in the residence and had possibly been dead for two weeks. Upon arrival, an officer smelled a strong odor coming from the residence. Inside there were dog feces throughout, rotting food in the fridge and flies and maggots all over. A medical examiner advised that the woman appeared to be dead for at least three weeks. The body would not be able to be identified due to decomposition. An officer spoke with Sorenson who said that two weeks ago he found the woman no longer breathing. He did not report the death because he did not believe she was dead. He continued to live in the residence until calling. In speaking with an investigator, Sorenson said he had been living in the apartment for about three years and that he was paid to provide care for the woman who also lived there. He said when he got up and went to make her breakfast, she did not respond and he knew she passed away. When asked why he did not call the police, he said he did not want her to go. Sorenson was given a $500 signature bond in Racine County Circuit Court on Tuesday. A status conference is on Aug. 15 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records show. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The city no longer has a fairness ordinance that extends protections in city code to include gender expression and sexual orientation, following a narrow vote Monday by a City Council divided about how best to proceed on an issue they all said they support. Bennie Shobe, the only council member not to say publicly how he would vote, ultimately sided with Richard Meginnis, Tom Beckius and James Michael Bowers in voting to rescind the ordinance the council passed on a 5-0 vote in February. Sandra Washington, who introduced the ordinance, Jane Raybould and Tammy Ward all voted against rescinding it. Meginnis made the motion to reconsider nearly four months after opponents launched a successful referendum, which means the council either had to put the ordinance to a vote or rescind it. He said now isnt the right time to take it to a vote because its become too divisive. Shobe, who is Black, said he believes it is wrong to allow one group to vote on the civil rights of another putting him in the position of making a horrible choice. He talked about growing up in Kentucky, where his parents went to segregated schools and lived as second-class citizens until the Supreme Court and the Civil Rights Act guaranteed their rights under the law. However, if the civil rights of my parents had been put to a vote of the people I am confident they would have been denied, he said. The vote to rescind is a do-over, he said, and hell work to educate people about the legal rights the federal government granted to LGBTQ residents. The vote illustrated the division thats arisen among supporters. From early on, some members of the transgender community have said they were concerned they would be targeted by the opposition and that supporters were unprepared to launch a successful campaign to win at the ballot box. Others, including those who have worked for decades to have such rights made a part of city code, were convinced voters who elected a Democratic mayor and three openly gay council members would uphold the ordinance. Washington, who is Black and openly gay, spoke to that division Monday, saying as maddening as opponents claims were, it was the opposition from the left that disappointed her. She talked about the civil rights struggle, and how those Martin Luther King Jr. considered allies tried to convince him to wait. The journey toward the promise (of equality) was never guaranteed to be easy or short or convenient, she said. To the upcoming generations to the youth of our city I want you to know I see you. I have been where you stand now and I promise you it will get better. Beckius and Bowers, the other two openly gay council members, both said they voted to rescind because they didnt feel supporters were prepared to effectively win at the ballot box. But Beckius noted that although protections are not specifically included in city code after Monday vote, those protections exist because of a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that said the definition of sex in the Civil Rights Act includes sexual orientation and gender identity. Based on that ruling, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird signed an executive order last year saying the Lincoln Commission on Human Rights would investigate and enforce protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Initially, after the ordinance passed, it appeared there was enough support on the council to take it to a vote, but the death by suicide of a transgender advocate brought momentum to a halt. Bowers also said, moving forward, it is important to put transgender voices at the center of the discussion. We will win when we have the ability and resources to counteract the lies and scare tactics from those whose actions intentionally or unintentionally create lifelong harm, Bowers said. We will continue to push forward while shielding our community from ongoing attacks on our freedom. Raybould appealed to her colleagues to vote against rescinding the ordinance because it negated years of effort by many. Ward said she rejects the argument that fear of losing means the ordinance shouldnt proceed to a vote. She noted that Omaha passed a fairness ordinance 10 years ago with no defeatism getting in their way" and no tragedies have followed there. None. Yet here we are. The council also voted to rescind a fairness ordinance thats been on the books since 2012, when a different council passed a more narrow ordinance extending the same protections to gay and transgender residents. That vote passed 5-2, with Tammy Ward joining the majority as a way to clean up the old legislation. The Nebraska Family Alliance, which led the referendum petition drive, said the City Council did the right thing, and that the ordinance they'd dubbed the "transgender bathroom ordinance" was needlessly divisive and undermined both fairness and freedom. But those who have been working for decades to see such protections made a part of city code said they were devastated by Mondays vote. I just feel despair, said Kay Siebler. I hear Sandra (Washington) saying hope but how can you hope when the very people that you put into office to advocate for you betray you in this way. Council members vowed to keep working to codify such rights. I will continue to advocate for the full inclusion of all, Washington said. Our work is not yet done and I have not lost hope. Reach the writer at 402-473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSreist Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Iowa deer hunters will be allowed to use semi-automatic weapons including AR-15 rifles to kill deer in more parts of the state during a newly created antlerless season in January under a bill signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Iowa lawmakers passed the bill in May and it was signed by Reynolds on Friday. Advocates say the new law will help control the deer population and respond to complaints that excess deer eat corn and are hazardous to motorists. Iowa has had January deer hunting seasons in the past but they were limited to a few counties where the deer population was more of a problem. The bill is expected to expand the January hunt counties from five to as many as 15, depending on rules from the Department of Natural Resources. DES MOINES School districts in Iowa will have access to more resources designed to help prevent school violence thanks to $100 million in federal pandemic relief funding that Gov. Kim Reynolds is putting into the states school safety bureau. Reynolds announced the move Tuesday during a news conference at the state public safety offices near the Iowa Capitol complex. The resources will include state personnel, training, and emergency communication systems, all designed to help schools prevent school violence or react to emergency events like school shootings. The dedication of federal funding to the state school safety bureau comes in the wake of multiple new mass shootings across the U.S. in elementary schools, churches and other public spaces. Every family should be able to confidently send their children to school knowing that they will be safe, Reynolds said during the news conference. And as the Governor of Iowa and a grandmother of school-aged children, I want to assure parents that your childrens safety at school is just as important to me. Reynolds said more than $80 million of the federal funding will go toward conducting vulnerability assessments at school buildings and creating grants for districts to make any recommended physical changes or upgrades. Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens said the goal of the school safety bureau is prevention. One of the new bureau positions made possible by the federal funding will monitor threats being made through digital sources. The goal is to identify concerning behaviors early so parents, school officials, mental health professionals and others can begin providing assistance with and without the need for having formal law enforcement intervention, Bayens said at the news conference. The bureau also will make emergency radio systems available to any school that wants one, and will create a program through which individuals can anonymously report to the bureau via phone, website or mobile app concerning behavior. Bayens said the bureaus resources will be created to supplement any efforts already underway at Iowa school districts, and not duplicate or supplant those efforts. I wish we could say this is all unnecessary. But we cannot simply rely on the optimistic thought that it will never happen here in Iowa, Bayens said. Rather, reality mandates that we roll up our sleeves and we tackle this issue head on. We owe it to our kids. We owe to our teachers. We owe it to our communities. And we will do everything in our power to put action behind the prayer that itll never happen here. Reynolds created the school safety bureau in January 2020, but the Republican-majority Iowa Legislature has not funded the bureau in the three legislative sessions since. Reynolds on Tuesday announced she will use funding from two federal pandemic relief packages: one each passed under former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden. Reynolds said the school safety bureau was established despite the lack of state funding, and that state government officials from various state agencies have been working to make the bureau as useful as possible. (The lack of state funding) hasnt stopped us from doing some stuff, Reynolds said Tuesday. We didnt get the funding, so we havent stood it up in a manner that it needed to be stood up. But now we will be able to, which I think is a wonderful use of some of the funds that are coming into the state. Reynolds said the $100 million infusion of federal funding will sustain the school safety bureau through 2026, and could be funded even longer pending new gun control, school safety and mental health care legislation being considered in Congress. Reynolds said in the meantime she will work with state legislators to ensure the bureau is funded long-term. She said once the federal funding is exhausted, her office estimates it will cost $1.5 million annually to operate the bureau. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 After a very expensive winter, home heating costs fall. Household use of natural gas fluctuates with the weather, and as furnaces go dormant, utility bills ease. But that seasonal decline is masking a breakneck rise in price. The spot price of U.S. benchmark Henry Hub has doubled since March, according to Insider. It surpassed $9 per thousand cubic feet last week triple its spot price at this time last year for the first time in almost 14 years. Some natural gas companies in the Intermountain West say the regions lack of access to overseas markets is partly to blame. If we were able to export the natural gas thats trapped in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah to Asia, that would lead the price around the world, said H. Howard Cooper, president of Colorado-based Three Crown Petroleum. The problem for Wyoming and its landlocked neighbors is that they cant export that gas on their own. Their only access to international markets comes through coastal states. But the countrys existing capacity is concentrated along the distant shores of the East Coast, the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, all too far away to be of much use. There are no liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals in the West and the West Coast doesnt want them. Wyoming very much does. Ongoing shortages The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the international rejection of Russian energy exports that followed are directly responsible for the spike in global oil and gasoline prices and European natural gas prices. That disruption has been much more muted for natural gas markets outside of Europe. U.S. natural gas prices are going up primarily because the countrys production is still recovering from its collapse early in the pandemic, and coronavirus-related supply chain issues and labor shortages are now impeding companies that want to drill, slowing the industrys growth. As temperatures rise and air conditioners kick on, people consume more electricity much of it generated from natural gas. And the supply of natural gas isnt keeping pace with that demand. Europes search for non-Russian sources of natural gas has also exacerbated the imbalance. The U.S. forecast to be the worlds top LNG exporter this year maxed out its export capacity as European prices soared. Its LNG shipments went up 18% in the first four months of 2022, according to the Energy Information Administration, and arent expected to slow anytime soon (though an explosion at one of the biggest U.S. LNG export plants on Wednesday will take about 20% of the countrys processing offline for at least the next few weeks). We have the capability of displacing all of the Russian natural gas thats flowing into Europe, today said Paul Ulrich, vice president of government and regulatory affairs at the Denver-based oil and gas company Jonah Energy. Now, with our current LNG infrastructure, most of that natural gas will be coming through Gulf of Mexico ports. Before Europes energy crisis, existing U.S. ports primarily exported natural gas to Asia. Between January and April of this year, 74% of the countrys exports went to Europe. LNG export capacity is a hard thing to change, at least in the short term. Scaling it up is a lengthy, costly and controversial process, embroiled in concerns about the terminals long-term economic prospects and contributions to climate change. Which means, as Cooper emphasized, that devoting most of the existing capacity to Europe has left less natural gas available to send to Asia. He believes additional capacity is the solution, and wants that new development to happen a lot faster. We need to open up LNG facilities on the West Coast so we can supply Asia with natural gas from Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, Cooper said. We have the gas here. So let us replace Russian gas with U.S. gas. Staunch opposition The attention in recent months on LNG exports has left Wyomings producers feeling burned. It can be hard for companies operating in the state to compete with the cheaper natural gas produced in other parts of the country, according to Rob Godby, an economics professor at the University of Wyoming. The states natural gas industry pinned its hopes on Jordan Cove, a major LNG export terminal that was proposed for southern Oregon in 2013 and secured federal approval two summers ago. But landowners, environmental groups and Indigenous communities worried about water, tourism and climate change fought back. State regulators denial of key permits ultimately led to the projects cancellation late last year. Had the terminal been built, it could provide an outlet to allow Wyoming natural gas to kind of be sold onto the international market, Godby said. So they wouldnt be so wholly dependent on the domestic market. He figured the additional exports would have a more muted effect on consumers. Would that single port have made a huge difference to international LNG prices? Godby said. Probably it would make some difference. But its going to be, you know, a marginal change. It would take a lot more than Jordan Cove to transform energy markets in Asia and beyond, an attractive prospect for Western natural gas producers. Many believe exporting the fuel some of the cleanest in the country, if not the world, based on methane intensity and how responsibly we produce natural gas, Ulrich said would oust other, leakier sources of natural gas and replace some higher-emitting coal-fired power generation. The whole concept is a hard sell to environmental groups. Shannon Anderson, staff attorney for the Powder River Basin Resource Council, a Wyoming landowners group, said shes not convinced that the potential contribution to Europes energy needs is reason enough to commit to an option as costly and permanent as Jordan Cove. Why are we talking about natural gas when we can talk about renewables and electrification and other options that are available? Anderson said. I think that the challenge right now with natural gas, similar to coal, is, you know, why invest in something that may not have a future that is going to be challenged with climate change and a global reckoning around fossil fuel use? The Powder River Basin Resource Council didnt take a position on the Oregon terminal. It felt the decision was best left to the community where it was proposed. Looking elsewhere Natural gas producers frustration over Jordan Cove parallels the Wyoming coal industrys experience with a string of blocked coal export terminals proposed and fought by local residents in Washington and Oregon. In Wyoming, the coal market, in some ways, resembles the natural gas market, Godby said. The coal market kind of functions primarily as a domestic market. Exports dont play a huge role. Thats partly because, like with natural gas, Wyoming cant export its coal without the coastal states consent. The states attempt to force Washington to build one such terminal came to an end when the Supreme Court refused to take up the case last June. The fact of the matter is that there are markets in Asia that want our coal, that could use our coal, and we just cant get it there, said Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association. Wyomings natural gas industry is now in a similar position. While its prospects in the U.S. energy market in the coming years are brighter than those of coal, it will also face more domestic competition. So its not giving up on international buyers. But instead of turning to the courts, landlocked Western natural gas producers are looking to Mexico, where San Diego-based Sempra Energy plans to build two LNG export terminals south of California. The first of those terminals is expected to open in late 2024. The bottom line is currently, no, there isnt a project moving forward on the West Coast, domestically, Ulrich said. So the reality is, if were going to have a, quote, West Coast terminal right now, the current path is this through those two facilities. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 When the men disappeared, it felt like nothing, reflects Jane Pearson in the first line of Sandra Newmans new novel The Men. But more than a hundred years of literary history tell us that what follows will not be nothing. The Men was the subject of online debate earlier this year when Newman announced its premise on Twitter: everyone with a Y chromosome suddenly, mysteriously disappears. Indeed, Newmans characters walk through all the familiar beats of the all men vanish or die plot: the disaster in workplaces dominated by males, like operating rooms and oil refineries; the grief and fear and occasional guilty excitement of the women who are left over; the emergence of factions; the interesting adjustments such remnants might make in their sexual relationships in a post-hetero world. Newmans not pretending shes new to this territory; in her acknowledgments, she thanks Joanna Russ, Alice Sheldon (who wrote as James Tiptree Jr.), Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Sheri Tepper, lauding them as writers who explored the idea that there should be no men. But there have been so many more. Recently, I read more than 20 of these booksthousands of pages of worlds erased of the unfairer sex. Often, the theme felt exhausted and repetitive, though sometimes, when I found myself immersed in a book that did something new with this idea and my husband interrupted me to ask where he put his wallet, I got it. Why is this plot so durable? And, after all these years, has it finally lost its bite? 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. Perhaps surprisingly, many of the first writers to imagine the end of men were themselves men. British novelist J.D. Beresfords A World of Women (1913), reissued this year as part of MIT Press Radium Age series of early science fiction, is an experiment in social critique. Jasper Thrale, the books deeply misogynistic hero, calls women sheep, addicted to frippery like machine lace, ribbons, yokes, cheap blouses, feathers, insertions, belts, fifty thousand different kinds of bits and rags. Thrale is one of the surviving men, resistant to the plague that kills more than 9 out of 10 in England. Hes forced to endure a world in which, Beresford seems to be saying, generations of confinement in proscribed roles have made women incapable of taking the reins. The end result is a novel packed with hilariously useless women. The story features Mrs. Gosling, a homemaker whose refusal to adjust to the new conditions of the post-male world turns her effectively comatose, and Mrs. Isaacson, a Jewess (oof) who works her way into the only functioning small community of women to become a parasite on their largesse. A few women try their hardest to learn male trades like butchering and engineering, but only the deus ex machina of the arrival of a ship full of men from the United States, where the evolving bacillus has taken less of a toll, saves these fools from their fate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beresfords early entry in this genre was typical in its scorn for the way women would function if they were left alone. (Gilmans Herland, a utopian story of a women-only paradise in a pocket of the world isolated by a natural disaster, was first published in serialized form in 1915, but remained largely unread until it was republished as a book starting in 1979.) For much of the 20th century, as the author Joanna Russ pointed out in a 1980 essay, male science fiction authors told stories of worlds where women dominated, but men still lived, ready to take the upper hand. These matriarchies, created by mostly forgotten writers (Wallace G. West? Edmund Cooper? Bruce McAllister?), were purposefully unnatural: The women in them are messed up, indulgent of excesses of authoritarianism (men being the only true individuals), and sexually unsatisfieduntil the men come back to set them straight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The end result is a novel packed with hilariously useless women. Philip Wylies very thoughtful The Disappearance (1951) is an outlier to this paternalistic plot. Wylie is probably remembered best now for his Generation of Vipers (1943), a polemic that, in its most famous chapter, took American mothers to task for being overbearing, demanding, vapid, and useless. Id always perceived Wylie as a Grade A midcentury woman-hater, but reading The Disappearance made me think of him quite differently. Wylie finds (some) women in his novel ridiculous and thinks they would be lost without men, but he doesnt have much of a better opinion of menand he blames American culture for everyones folly. Advertisement Advertisement Most stories in the gendercide genre employ a virus or a bacillus to dispense with half the population, but Wylies men and women simply lose one another in the middle of a random afternoon, as if they had stepped into alternate timelines. The parallel structure of Wylies novelhe intersperses chapters following Bill Gaunt, a philosopher, with chapters devoted to Paula, Bills wifemeans that we get to see the men fall apart without the women (Americans and Russians nuke one anothers cities; the remnant descends into banditry) and the women fall apart without the men (the wives of congressmen take over government, then waste time arguing over the details of their uniforms; cities burn for lack of firefighters). Advertisement Advertisement Despite the stresses of this new reality, Paula, formerly a housewife, and Edwina, the Gaunts once-spoiled daughter, truly flourish in their alternate timeline. Paula immediately becomes a leader, organizing local women into committees to keep the citys infrastructure up and running. Falling back on her college education in languages, she acts as envoy to Russia, successfully negotiating a peace between the two all-female countries. Edwina roams through the Everglades, hunting meat for the womens meals. If she had told the truth to herself Paula would have admitted that at times and in certain ways the absence of Bill had compensations, Wylie writes. She enjoyed management free of criticism and safe from arbitrary change. She had put to good use the good brain she owned. At the end of the book, after four years, the male and female timelines come back together, and theres the possibility of a new gender utopia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That potential was nowhere to be found in the men gone stories written by authors influenced by second-wave feminism. Joanna Russ short story When It Changed (1972) takes the plot into space, to the colony of Whileaway, made up only of women; they lost their men 30 generations before, and they have figured out how to reproduce by combining their own genetic material. Male astronauts from Earth land, and announce they plan to stay. One colonist thinks the men should be killed; another stays her hand, later to regret it. This tragic ending was a major step forward. As the Australian academic Justine Larbalestier points out in her criticism of the genre, the sci-fi versions of this plot published earlier in the century always assumed that the manless worlds needed saving. Advertisement Russ wasnt having it. Her manless worlds are, definitively, better off that way. Her 1975 novel The Female Man weaves together four stories of women in parallel universes, one of which is another Whileaway, this time an Earth society 900 years out from a man-killing plague. These worlds merge and cross, and Janet, of Whileaway, comes to a more familiar version of Earth, where her self-assurance and confidence stuns her equivalents from alternate timelines. Shes interviewed on a television show by a male talking head, in a very funny sequence in which he works his way clumsily through her explanation of how her people combine ova to make babies, clearly hoping to pose a more prurient question. There is more, much, much moreI am talking about sexual love, he finally says. Oh! You mean copulation, says Janet. You say we dont have that? How foolish of you. Of course we do. With each other. Allow me to explain. She is cut off instantly by a commercial poetically describing the joys of unsliced bread. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Alice Sheldons 1976 novella Houston, Houston, Do You Read? (published under her pen name, James Tiptree Jr.), three male astronauts experience a time jump after their ship is damaged by a solar flare, and when they return to Earth, they realize that they are hundreds of years in the future. A plague has eliminated all men, and women, who clone themselves, live happily in a distributed network of settlements. They retain some ability to travel to space, but their tech is old and odd-looking to the mens eyes, incorporating plants and animals into its design. We live a lot simpler than you did, I think. We see your things all over, were very grateful to you, one woman tells the time travelers. The women dont have governments or professions, instead rotating workers through jobs in five-year hitches. Things are basically far more stable now, says the woman. We change slowly. Advertisement In the end, the men, who had thought they would go down to Earth and take charge, betray themselves by their masculinity. Sheldon contributed another story in this genre, The Screwfly Solution, in 1977 (this time under the pen name Raccoona Sheldon). In that story, male violence and female passivity are amplified (thanks, we find out at the end, to aliens bent on human destruction), and male violence toward women becomes an extinction-level event. You see the same concern in Houston, Houston, Do You Read? when the three interloping men, given a truth serum by the women who have discovered them, likewise cant help themselves. Asked Why do there have to be men? the first of the three astronauts, a brutish, alpha type, responds, Why, you stupid bitch. Because, dummy, otherwise nothing counts, thats why. He tries to rape one of the women. Another in the crew, a patriarchy-minded Christian, complains of the women, Nobody has given them any guidance for three hundred years. The third, a slight and shy scientist, voices fantasies of domination, which he fruitlessly promises not to pursue. The women see that the men cant reintegrate into their society, and poison all three. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tiptrees women are notthe necessary killing of these astronauts asideaggressive. Russ Whileawayans duel one another but generally cooperate; further back, the women of Beresfords and Wylies manless worlds are far too hapless to wage war. The question of whether women, left to their own devices, might be as violent toward one another as men can be came later in the development of the genre. Nicola Griffiths gorgeous 1992 novel Ammonite, another story set on a distant planet, features women from a long-lost Earth colony who live in seminomadic tribes, reproducing via the gift of parthenogenesis given them by the same virus that killed the colonys men. This is no utopia, or not totally: Some tribes practice slavery, there are feuds between them, and one of their leaders seems bent on destruction, instigating conflict with visiting soldiers. As did the creators of Y: The Last Man, the comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, which published between 2002 and 2008 and featured bad leaders and violent sects, Griffith takes care not to assume that women in an all-women world would do the right thing. A woman-only world, it seems to me, would shine with the entire spectrum of human behavior, wrote Griffith in an afterword to Ammonite. There would be capitalists and collectivists, hermits and clan members, sailors and cooks, idealists and tyrants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But would they all be cis? Until recently, men gone books largely assumed so. The book that explores in greatest depth the ramifications the men gone plot might have for trans people is Gretchen Felker-Martins Manhunt, which came out earlier this year. The novel is a bloody, gory story of a virus that works on anybody whose body has higher levels of testosterone, transforming them into ravening monsters. Central to the tale is a friend group of two trans women, one trans man, and one cis, queer doctor who helps the women transform the estrogen in the testicles of man-monsters they kill into something their bodies can assimilate. The quartet faces down the monsters, but, as the cliche goes, the real danger is humansin this case, a group of militant TERFs who have seized upon the situation to scapegoat and murder trans women. Advertisement Advertisement In style, inventiveness, and ambition, Felker-Martins book is miles beyond the other recent entries in this genre, which sleepwalk through the logistical implications of male absencethe understaffed hospitals, the airlines with no pilots, the women learning how to maintain plumbing and electrical wiringwithout much inquiry into the ways that life in the regular world might deliver us to a men gone world with particular gender-related baggage to be interestingly, and movingly, unpacked. Felker-Martins book does that, and so does Sandra Newmans. This is somewhat ironic, given that Felker-Martin was among those who, back in March when Newman announced her new novel on Twitter, publicly criticized the book. Most seemed to be responding solely to the premisethe idea that a book called The Men would be about the disappearance of people with a Y chromosome. (Felker-Martin, to her great credit, did not condemn unseenshe gave an advance copy of The Men a very deep reading. I ultimately disagree with her argument; I think the objectionable moments and themes she identifies in the book are things Newman consciously included, to serve as points of inquiry.) Advertisement Advertisement In The Men, the two central women have reason to welcome the new world: Both were deeply harmed as teenagers by the world that was. Jane Pearson, a white woman, was groomed and manipulated by a male ballet teacher into having sex with young boys, then socially rejected as a convicted sex offender. Evangelyne Moreau, a Black woman, shot two police officers when they came to her familys home with guns drawn. Did you ever have something happen thats so exactly what you wanted to happen, it feels as if you had to have made it up? Moreau asks Pearson, explaining how the vanishing occurred just as another set of police, called by a racist white neighbor, approached her homebut also, how the event seems to have opened the way for her to finally build the world shes been working toward. Advertisement Advertisement And, indeed, things seem to be going well: The Commensalist Party of America, the movement Moreau leads, organizes socialized housing, trash pickup, and distribution of resources, to demonstrate to those left behind that they will provide. The ComPa position on the loss of those whove vanished is that a girl world might be able to dispense with domination: Even erotic love might lose its tone of upward worship. Trans men could be masculine without making sex into a two-tier system, as cis men always had. Pearson, Moreaus onetime friend, is swept along in this revolution, falling into the role of Moreaus lover and second-in-commandthough she, unlike Moreau and most of the other ComPas, is not sure that she wants the world to stay this way. She had her problems with her husband, but she also had a young son. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The major plot innovation of Newmans book is a grim reality show, also called The Men. While the women in most other men gone stories dont have much reason to hope (or fear) that their vanished counterparts will return, the survivors of The Men can see their worlds men (and trans women) on screen. They have been banished to a burned-down, broken world, walking endlessly across a landscape that the viewers eventually realize is meant to represent the way the Earth would have looked if things had continued as they were. Some of the remnant watch obsessively, becoming something like a fandom: forming theories, detailing their ideas online. In the end, theirand especially Janesinability to stop looking back betrays them all. Advertisement If Evangelynes reaction to the event represents the Russ visionthe world would be a better place, if still not a perfect place, after this resetJanes mind, smaller and (despite her relative privilege) much more scared of change, proves Griffiths point. If such an event were to occur, some of the remnant would, inevitably, find themselves unable to get free. Its a fascinating and grim thought. Before reading Felker-Martin and Newman, I would have said the long life of this kind of story had run its course. Now, Im not so sure. Slate receives a commission when you purchase items using the links on this page. Thank you for your support. Something highly irregular is happening in the United States Senate: Bipartisan gun reform talks havent completely collapsed several weeks after they began. You might even say theyre progressing. A group of twenty senators, including 10 Republicans, signed off on a rough outline of a deal over the weekend in the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde. The compromise, according to the leaders of the negotiation, would provide resources to states to administer or pass red-flag laws that allows authorities to intervene and seize weapons from those deemed (through the courts) a danger. It would close the so-called boyfriend loophole that allows certain dating partners with records of abuse to pass background checks. It doesnt raise the gun ownership age to 21, but it does enhance background checks for younger buyers. It cracks down on straw purchasers, invests in mental health programs for young people and families, and offers more resources for school safety measures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This comes up well short of the sort of gun control package Democrats agree is necessary. Were they in a stronger midterm position, they might reject such a meek response to unspeakable tragedy and instead hammer Republicans for blocking meaningful reform. But its also notably farther than Republican negotiators have been willing to go before. Democrats insistence on closing the boyfriend loophole, after all, was one of the issues that held up reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act for years; Democrats eventually dropped the demand. And even though the red flag laws provision is pretty softthrowing some money at states and giving them a chance to do itthe politics of the federal government making it easier to seize anyones firearms are thorny for Washington Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement The politics of the moment favor action in a way they usually dont. Democrats want to get something done on guns, and President Biden wants a well-broadcast bipartisan signing ceremony, before they lose control of at least one chamber of Congress. Republicans dont need to worry about such a bill depressing base turnout this fallthe Republican base is ready to turn out, no matter what happens between now and Novemberand signing off on such a deal could help Republicans recoup some of their suburban losses under Trump. Advertisement Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whos the leader because he has the best grasp of the politics of any given move, opened his Tuesday press conference by saying that if the legislation ends up reflecting what the framework indicates, Ill be supportive. And Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrats point-person on gun legislation whos ever-careful not to raise expectations too high, was coming awfully close to declaring victory on Tuesday. Advertisement The heavy lifting is done, Murphy told reporters Tuesday. All were doing now is taking a framework and putting it into legislative text. And Im confident we can get there, and get there soon. Advertisement Advertisement So how could this all fall apart? It was interesting to hear Murphy say that all were doing is putting a framework into legislative text. Another way of putting it is: They had some bullet points they shook hands on, and now they have to write a bill. One thing I was reminded of in this negotiation is where two people can hear the same word, and hear different things, or make inferences, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the lead Republican negotiator, explained of the challenge of grinding out the legislative text. So eliminating some of those ambiguities, and just making sure we all understand one another. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Republicans who arent keen on doing this have, so far, been disciplined in holding their fire publicly. A couple of Republicans whom I gave the opportunity to tee off on the proposal, Sens. John Kennedy and Ron Johnson, curtly said they wouldnt comment until theres legislative text. This may partially come out of respect for Cornyn, a former no. 2 Senate Republican whom colleagues trust not to cut a deal that would get them in trouble with pro-gun groups. When Cornyn presented the proposal and took questions during Republicans private lunch Wednesday, things were mostly respectful. There was nobody that lost their cool or anything, Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, whos open to the proposal, told me. Advertisement The two planks that will be most delicate to draft are the closure of the boyfriend loophole and the grants for state red flag laws. Both make Republicans susceptible to arguments from gun-rights groups, and their base, that theyre infringing on Second Amendment rights, and that red flag laws sidestep due process laws by not requiring the person to be present in court. Cornyn, meanwhile, told me Tuesday that his big concern is combating misinformation coming from certain quarters. Hes spent an inordinate amount of time in the last couple of days, for example, insisting that there is no federal red flag law, and this would just be giving states resources to pursue their own. Advertisement Advertisement Sure enough, by Wednesday morning, Cornyn conceded to reporters that there were hang-ups in the negotiations over red flag laws and the boyfriend loophole. At some point, if we cant get to 60, then were going to have to pare some of this, some of it down, Cornyn said Wednesday, according to NBC News. This would be how it falls apart: Republicans slink away from the two items that Democrats most want. Democrats then question the point of passing such a bill. Each side blames the other for sabotaging talks, and finger-pointing replaces legislative action. Onward to the election. But theyre not there yet. The morning after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the Federalist published an op-ed with the headline Tragedies Like the Texas Shooting Make a Somber Case for Homeschooling. In the essay, the author immediately dismissed calls for gun control as petty and insincere, offering home-schooling as the true solution to keep children safe. It is clear now from the long list of school shootings in recent years that families cant trust government schools, in particular, to bring their children or teachers home safely at the end of the day, the author wrote. Advertisement On first blush, the idea is somewhat understandable or, at least, relatable; its natural for parents to look for ways to protect their children. But then the author added, The same institutions that punish students for misgendering people and hide curriculum from parents are simply not equipped to safeguard your children from harm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And the parental rights political agenda emerged. Many politically powerful conservatives promote home-schooling as a way to undercut or weaken the influence of public schools, and to shield their children from the liberalism they believe public schools foster. The Federalist was just one of a number of conservative voices calling for home-schooling in the wake of the Uvalde tragedy. (And there were plenty of news stories about parents who were considering it.) Advertisement But the groundwork of the movement was laid by conservative Christians who have been working for years to siphon power from public schools, pushing both home-schooling and parental rights legislation at the state and federal level. Its just that finally, their ideas are becoming mainstream. A Powerful Anti-Public School Tradition Christopher Lubienski, a professor of education policy at Indiana University who has studied the American home-schooling movement, said it initially grew out of left-leaning countercultural ideals of the 1960s. Quickly, though, the movement was taken over by white evangelicals shaken by the seismic cultural changes of the era. In the early 60s, the Supreme Court ruled school-sponsored prayer and Bible readings in the classroom unconstitutional. As many parents shuffled their kids off to Christian schools or other private institutions, others opted to take full control over their childrens religious education. You started to see a push that good Christian parents needed to get their kids out of schools, Lubienski said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As home-schooling gained popularity, the movement won its political victories quickly. In the early 80s, home-schooling was largely illegal. By the early 90s, it was legal everywhere. It was also virtually unregulated. A lot of that success can be traced back to the work of the Home School Legal Defense Association. A Christian organization founded in 1983, HSLDA helps sponsor home-school conventions, often with conservative political speakers, and connects home-school parents with one another for resources and advice. But more importantly, HSLDA defends the legal rights of home-school parents and takes on related political fights, pushing arguments about parental rights and religious freedom. Advertisement Advertisement According to Kristin Kobes Du Mezs Jesus and John Wayne, a history of the past half-century of white evangelicalism in the United States, in 1994 a Democrat in Congress proposed an amendment to a bill that would have required home-schooling parents to be certified in the subjects they taught. The founder of HSLDA, Michael Farris, spoke passionately about this violation on James Dobsons Focus on the Family radio show, imploring listeners to lobby their representatives. Hundreds of thousands of phone calls later, Congress dropped the amendment and instead passed legislation offering greater protections for home-schooling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HSLDA has stayed busy since, responding aggressively any time a state considers any regulation. According to Julie Anne Smith, a former home-schooling mother and blogger who writes about abuse at church and the Christian home-schooling movement, HSLDA keeps home-school parents in a state of anxiety with newsletters and other media portraying them as under attack. And according to James Dwyer, the author of Homeschooling: The History and Philosophy of a Controversial Practice, HSLDA has harnessed that anxiety quite skillfully. Theyve been extremely effective at lobbying and political action and persuading legislators that if they dont support the HSLDA platform, theyre likely to lose elections and be harassed by members, barraged with emails, phone calls, etc., Dwyer said recently, over the phone. Advertisement The reality is they dont really need to convince any governments, and theyve already got a very welcoming legal environment for home-schooling throughout the country, Dwyer added. There are a dozen states where you dont even have to tell anyone that youre home-schooling. Your child just doesnt show up anywhere, and nobody cares. HSLDA claims to have more than 100,000 dues-paying member families, and according to experts and academics, they put those numbers to good use. They would ask their members to lobby at state capitols, and whole families would go, Smith said. They taught them how to go to senators offices, and congressmen, and knock on their doors. Imagine all these families with boatloads of kids convening in state capitols. It would overwhelm the state capitols. And it would bring the news. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HSLDA also dabbles more directly in youth activism; its Generation Joshua organization brings teenagers together to work on voter registration drives and knock on doors for conservative Republican campaigns. It also hosts summer camps and promises to teach students about their country, where it comes from, why its free, and how to keep it that way. Pivot to Politics Today, HSLDAs founder, Michael Farris, is not working in education. He is the president and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedomone of the most powerful conservative legal entities in the nation. Best known for defending the Christian cake shop owners discriminating against gay customers in the 2018 Masterpiece Cakeshop Supreme Court case, ADF has been involved in a number of high-profile religious freedom cases; it was one of the key parties in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. Advertisement A lawyer and Baptist minister who previously worked as the Washington state director of Jerry Falwells Moral Majority, Farris became a celebrity in the evangelical world through his advocacy of home-schooling. In 1988 he founded Patrick Henry College, a deeply conservative school geared to home-schooled students that, according to Kobes Du Mez, has placed an unusually high number of White House interns. (One notable former PHC student: Madison Cawthorn.) Advertisement Advertisement But in more recent years, Farris has grown even more ambitious, seizing the opportunity of the conservative-majority Supreme Court to file religious lawsuits designed to erode gay and transgender rights, pushing for anti-LGBTQ legislation and even, after initially scoffing at Trumps candidacy, strategizing to keep Trump in power. (According to the New York Times, Farris played a critical behind-the-scenes role in drafting the lawsuit Republican state attorneys filed to overturn the 2020 presidential election.) Farris is also hoping, he told the Washington Post, to one day add a parental-rights amendment to the Constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The HSLDA-ADF connection may be the most obvious tie between the home-school movement and the politically active Christian right, but it isnt the only one. Ultraconservative schools like Bob Jones University put out curricula for home-schooled students that pushes a Christian nationalist worldview. During this years heated debates over critical race theory and the grooming of children, many of the people agitating for parental rights wound up discussing home-schooling as a way to save their children from the corruption of liberalism. And some right-wing voices directly offer home-schooling as a way to avoid raising woke children. (The most popular source of Christian home-schooling materials, Abeka Press, has been accused of pushing a deeply racist, revisionist version of American history.) Advertisement In a recent interview with Fox News, the actor Kirk Cameron, of ABCs Growing Pains, said he supported home-schooling because of his disgust with liberalism. You can take your pick, he said, about his reasons. Just go down the list. The things that are destroying the family, destroying the church, destroying love for our great country: critical race theory, teaching kids to pick their pronouns and decide whether they want to be a boy or a girl, the 1619 Project. Relatedly, on Monday and Tuesday, Cameron aired a documentary called Homeschool Awakening in movie theaters around the country. The film is meant to expose the immoral things being taught in public schools. Its sad to say theyre doing more for grooming, for sexual chaos, and the progressive left than any real educating about the things that most of us want to teach our kids, Cameron told Fox News. Advertisement They learn to reject a God, he added, referring, ostensibly, to public schooleducated children. They learn to reject our country. And how did that happen? Well, thats the kind of regret that we dont want as parents. The Battle for American Society There are many families who choose to home-school their children for reasons that have nothing to do with a conservative Christian political agenda. In 2020, for example, there was a notable increase in Black home-schooling, rising from 3.3 percent of households to 16.1 percent. Many families cited racism and impoverished and underperforming local schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And even among white evangelicals there are, of course, vast differences. As Lubienski noted, the majority of home-schooling is still done for religious reasons. But many who home-school for religious reasons have no fundamentalist or political leanings. Advertisement Still, it remains true that the Christian right is the movements greatest advocate. It doesnt matter that home-schooling is virtually unregulated and families already have control over what their children learn. For many conservative Christians, its a cultural fight. The goal: preserve conservative Christian values, and ensure those values are the dominating cultural force of American society. Which brings us back to school shootings. For the kinds of strategic players who see government schools as the enemy of a good Christian society, the cynical deployment of whatever sparks anxietygender politics, a pandemic, a mass shootingprovides opportunity to promote family values solutions to an even broader population of initiates. They adapt these different kinds of ideologies and grab hold of them, Smith said. Whatevers new, they push it into their agenda. On Wednesday, Republicans fake investigation into Wisconsins 2020 election fell apart in the most spectacular manner possible. This implosion took the form of a stunning 25-page ruling that marks the end of this particular road for the states election deniers. After undergoing a full-on meltdown in open court, the man in charge of the partisan probeformer Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gablemanis now at risk of losing his law license. His office faces fines of $2,000 a day. And the records surrounding his conspiracy-fueled 2020 election investigation that he has fought so hard to conceal from the public will soon see the light of day. Advertisement It is difficult to imagine a more humiliating conclusion to this sad chapter in Wisconsin history for those in the state pushing Trumps Big Lie. The lawyers who were supposed to find evidence of fraud have destroyed their professional careers. The GOP politicians who supported this bogus audit are in contempt of court. And no one has produced an iota of evidence to suggest that Democrats stole the election. While attempting to discredit Joe Bidens victory, Wisconsin Republicans have only bolstered its legitimacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sign Up for the Surge The most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. The Gableman probe began when Robin Vos, Republican speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly, created and funded an Office of Special Counsel to undermine the legitimacy of the 2020 results. He appointed Gableman to lead the effort, which immediately collapsed into a bizarre smear campaign against the states election officials. (Shortly after the election, Gableman falsely claimed that elected leaders let these officials steal our vote. He never presented any evidence for his claims.) The ex-justice issued sweeping, error-ridden subpoenas demanding mountains of documents, then threatened to arrest his targets. His fishing expedition sought to intimidate civil servants into turning over so much information that he could craft a nonsensical narrative of fraud that might convince unsophisticated, aggrieved, and brainwashed observers. (Early on, this tactic worked.) And he intended to withhold the basis for his claims from the public. Advertisement Advertisement Wisconsin, however, has a robust public records law, and the liberal watchdog American Oversight sought records from the probe that would illustrate its deceptive nature. Gableman refused to turn over key documents, which led to extensive battles in Wisconsin state courts. In short, the courts ordered Gableman, Vos, and their allies to turn over the relevant records, which they declined to do. Vos was held in contempt of court due to his abject disregard of a court order. Gableman, uncowed, went on deleting documents sought by American Oversight, and the organization requested that his office be held in contempt as well. On Friday, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Frank Remington sided with American Oversight from the bench, but did not issue a written decision until Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement At Fridays hearing, Gableman threw a tantrum, as Remington described it. Gableman refused to answer questions, instead accusing the judge of acting as an advocate for American Oversight. He then gestured toward the bailiff and taunted the court by saying: I see you have a jail officer here. You want to put me in jail, Judge Remington? Im not gonna be railroaded. With a raised voice, accusatory tone, and twisted facial expression, Gableman pointed and shook his finger at the judge while accusing him of engaging in a fishing expedition. (The ex-justice did not, it seems, see the irony in this accusation.) Advertisement Advertisement Here is part of Michael Gablemans meltdown on the witness stand last Friday during a hearing over documents he allegedly withheld from the public relating to his investigation into Wisconsins 2020 election. From @WISN12News. pic.twitter.com/081wu4Fayb Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 16, 2022 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a short recess, Gableman told an attorney that this hearing was Remingtons time to shine what passes for success for him. He ensured that a microphone picked up his comments. Then, in a mocking tone, he impersonated Remington asking a female attorney in the courtroom to come to his chambersimplying that she would engage in sexual activity with the judge. When Remington reminded Gableman that the microphone picked up every word, the ex-justice persisted in his tirade. Here is Michael Gableman, fully aware that hes on a hot mic, making contemptuous and sophomoric comments about the judge and opposing counsel during a recess.https://t.co/tPijYfKLsf pic.twitter.com/kKsCWNEzjT Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 16, 2022 Advertisement Advertisement The circus Gableman created in the courtroom, Remington wrote on Wednesday, was an affront to the judicial process. Gablemans demeaning conduct has discredited the profession, disrupted a court proceeding, and violated both his oath as an attorney and duty of professional responsibility. Moreover, his sophomoric innuendo about the female attorney is a sad reminder that in 2022, woman lawyers still have to do more than be excellent at their job. The judge referred Gableman for appropriate disciplinary action by Wisconsins Office of Lawyer Regulation, strongly suggesting that he should be stripped of the ability to practice law. He also imposed a $2,000 daily fine on Gablemans Office of Special Counsel until it produced the required records. Advertisement Advertisement Finally, Remington noted that only two weeks ago, our colleague the Honorable Judge John P. Roemer was assassinated by a person who he had sentenced. This crime, he wrote, was unmistakably intended to affect the court system as a whole, and lawyers who appear in court should help to protect the court system even if they have a problem with the judge. Gablemans unfounded accusation that I am biased has already provoked threats against Remington, which the ex-justices conduct seems designed to escalate. That these threats originate with the statements of a retired judge, Remington concluded, is the saddest part of this whole experience. It is hard to see how Gablemans investigation can continue after this mortifying episode. As recently as Tuesday, Trump cited the Wisconsin audit as the one that was going to vindicate his lies about the 2020 election. Yet the public has no reason to trust the probe and every reason to dismiss it as an assault on free and fair elections in Wisconsin. Rather than root out nonexistent fraud, Gableman is fighting to save whats left of his legal career. Vos and his fellow Republicans in the Assembly have distanced themselves from the ex-justice and appear eager to put this whole sham behind them. And no one has put forth any proof of any mass fraud to steal the 2020 election from Trump. To the contrary, this episode has only demonstrated the resilience and integrity of the states judiciary. Incredibly, Gableman was once a part of that judiciary. Now he will be lucky to hold onto his law license. Welcome to State of Mind, a new section from Slate and Arizona State University dedicated to exploring mental health. Follow us on Twitter. The question before the court was complexand, attorneys said, never before litigated. The circumstances in question were not those of the crime itself, but the defendants competency and willingness to take antipsychotic medications ahead of the trial. At issue: How many doses was it OK to skip before the government had to step in? Johnathan Mitchell was charged with robbing an Iowa cab driver at the time of her death, in 2011. The robbery charges, filed in 2016, came three years after Mitchell was acquitted of first-degree murder in the same case. Advertisement Shortly after being charged in 2016, Mitchell, who according to court records had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder, was deemed incompetent to stand trial and committed to a Bureau of Prisons facility for competency restoration, which involved medication. A year later, it appeared to have worked: Mitchell was deemed competent to stand trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That didnt, however, last for long. In February 2018, a judge again declared Mitchell incompetent and sent him back to the Bureau of Prisons for treatment. It was there that a psychologist noted Mitchell was only willing to take his prescribed antipsychotic medication about 50 percent of the timea rate that, the psychologist opined, was unlikely to render him competent to stand trial. Over the next two years, Mitchells voluntary compliance with medication bounced around: up to 90 percent, down to 60, then 20, 62, 90, 50. He was found competent, then incompetent, and finally, in October of 2020, competent again. Advertisement Advertisement It was then that the government filed a motion for involuntary medication, should Mitchell fall behind again on his treatment regimen. The government hoped to avoid, as the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals would later write in its decision, a defendant who cycles in and out of competency indefinitely and who may never be able to stand trial if the cycle continues. The legal precedent that made such a motion possible traces back to a 2003 Supreme Court case, Sell v. United States, which sought to answer a question that has echoed in hundreds of courtrooms since: When can the government forcibly administer antipsychotic medication in order to render a defendant competent to stand trial? Before he was a name on a Supreme Court docket, Charles Sell was a dentist. His office sat on the outskirts of St. Louis, Missouri. It was there, in spring of 1997, that Sell was arrested for submitting false records to insurance companies. He was later charged, alongside his wife, with 56 counts of mail fraud, six counts of Medicaid fraud, and one count of money laundering. Advertisement When they arrested Sell, FBI agents found 11 rifles and a handgun in his car, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported at the time. This was particularly concerning given that, during the investigation, Sell allegedly said the FBI will never take me alive, never again, I outrank them. God told me for every FBI person I kill, a soul would be saved. Advertisement Advertisement By the time he was arrested, Sell had, as the Supreme Court would later put it, a long and unfortunate history of mental illness. In 1982, after an episode in which he claimed the gold he used to fill cavities was contaminated by Communists, he was hospitalized and treated with antipsychotic medication, according to court records. In 1984, he supposedly asked police to respond to a leopard that was boarding a bus outside of his office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And so it was not surprising that, in this case, a judge ordered that Sell be evaluated for competence. Courts throughout the U.S. perform tens of thousands of competency evaluations each year. They are looking for two basic things: first, that defendants understand the charges against them, and second, that they are able to consult with their attorneys and assist in their defense. If found incompetent, defendants can be referred for competency restoration, which, depending on their diagnosis, may involve medication. At the time, federal doctors determined Sell was indeed competent to stand trial, but noted there is a possibility he could develop a psychotic episode. He does have paranoid personality characteristics which are pervasive and will color interactions between Dr. Sell, counsel, and the Court. Sell was subsequently released on bail. Advertisement This, however, did not last long. In early 1998, the government accused Sell of intimidating a former employee who planned to testify against him in the fraud case. According to newspaper coverage at the time, the witness said Sell smiled at her through a window while gesturing threateningly toward her with his hand in the shape of a gun (Sell denied this). At his bail revocation hearing, Sell was, said the judge, totally out of control. He screamed, shouted, used personal insults and racial epithets, and even spat in the judges face, according to court records. His bail was revoked, and he now faced new, more serious charges: allegedly hiring a hit man to attempt to murder both the former employee and the FBI agent who had arrested him. Advertisement Advertisement Sell was evaluated again, and this time deemed incompetent to stand trial. Psychiatrists and a magistrate judge also found he was a danger to himself and others, but the district court, appeals court, and Supreme Court would later find this ruling erroneouswhich meant, in Sells case, the justification for involuntary medication relied on competence, not dangerousness. Two months into competency treatment, doctors recommended Sell take antipsychotic medication. He refused. I have a God given right not to have [my brain] altered by the governments antipsychotic, psychotropic medication, Sell said, according to court records. The Sell case, in many ways, is illustrative of the American criminal justice systems grasping-at-straws approach to treating mental illnessan admittedly difficult task. Advertisement In a particularly striking line of questioning from oral argument in the Supreme Court, you can hear Justice Antonin Scalia boil down the dilemma at the heart of Sell quite simply: Its a viciouswhatwhat do we do with him? Do we continue to hold him with the inability to stand trial, not treat him, because he refuses treatment? Iits just a crazy situation. What can be done about it? That sentiment echoes across jails and prisons around the country: What can we do with people diagnosed with severe mental illnesses who are accused of serious crimes? Advertisement Advertisement In Sell, the Supreme Court ended up solving the central dilemma of the case with a four-prong test, outlined in an opinion written by Justice Stephen Breyer. To forcibly medicate someone charged with serious but nonviolent crimes in order to render them competent to stand trial, a court must find that important government interests are at stake, such as the interest in prosecuting a serious crime; forced medication will significantly further those interests, and is both substantially likely to render the defendant competent to stand trial and substantially unlikely to cause side effects that would interfere with the trial; medication is necessary because alternative, less intrusive options are unlikely to achieve the same results; and administering the medication is medically appropriate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the majority opinion, Breyer predicted it would be rare for cases to meet those four requirements. But in practice, studies have found forcible medication has actually become routine. Since the 2003 ruling, more than 130 federal district court decisions involving Sell hearings have been published on commercial legal databases, according to a review provided to Slate by Susan McMahon, a law professor at Arizona State University. (Disclosure: ASU is a partner with Slate and New America in Future Tense, and my employer.) In 62 percent of those cases, the motion for forcible medication was granted. The real number of cases with such a hearing is likely much higher, because many of these hearings take place in state courts, and even for federal courts, commercial databases dont capture all decisions. Advertisement One of the key challenges with the Sell decision is that it leaves a lot of room for interpretation. The Supreme Court failed to define standards like substantially likely, which means that in practice, different courts use different thresholds (70 percent? 85? more likely than not?). The Supreme Courts focus on side effects further complicates the matter, because while medical professionals can make general predictions about side effects for different antipsychotic medications, its impossible to know exactly how someone will react to a particular medication until they take it. In addition, to evaluate government interest, the court must determine whether someone is charged with a serious crime. However, the Sell decision leaves the definition of serious crime open to debatesome courts, for example, determine whether a crime is serious by looking at the maximum possible sentence for the charge, while others assess the likely sentence. There are some crimes that are obviously serious, but otherssuch as credit card fraud or illegal reentry, which have both been declared serious by federal courtsare more debatable. At the same time, courts are supposed to assess special circumstances that mitigate the government interest in prosecuting a crime. For example, if a defendant has already been incarcerated for a length of time equivalent to the likely sentence for their charged crime, its harder for the government to make the case that it has a strong interest in prosecution. But again, across jurisdictions there is no clear standard for which special circumstances sufficiently mitigate government interest. By the time his case got to the Supreme Court, Sell had already been detained for about five yearslonger than the 46 to 57 months recommended by the sentencing guidelines for his fraud charges. (While he faced other charges, the litigation surrounding his forced medication was focused on the fraud.) Many of the involuntary medication cases after the Sell ruling have followed a similar pattern. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several scholars point out that the gray area painted by the Sell test is problematic, both in the way it erases the idea of equal justice and in the way it treats individuals with mental illness. The way that the Supreme Court set out the test allowed judges to allow their fears, allow their biases, allow their thinking about people with mental health conditions and the kinds of risk they pose to overtake the actual question, which should be, is this a case worth prosecuting? said McMahon, who has extensively studied Sell cases. McMahon has found that judges almost always decide in prosecutors favor on the question of government interest. McMahon argues the special-circumstances analysis of Sell cases should look at not only how long a defendant has been incarcerated, but also whether or not the crime itself was likely the result of the defendants mental health condition. Advertisement One of the key arguments the government makes for prosecuting these crimes, despite clear manifestations of serious mental illness, is that doing so serves as a deterrent. This is an argument that deserves extra scrutiny: Many individuals with serious mental health conditions caught in the criminal justice system dont end up there because they perceive the system as lax, but rather because of systemic factors that mean they arent getting the treatment they need outside the system nor the representation they need within it. (Here, its important to remember that the vast majority of people with mental illness never commit a crime, and indeed people with psychiatric issues are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violence.) Advertisement Advertisement The other argument the government often makes is that prosecution is necessary for the good of the community or for the individuals themselves. Even if an individual has already served an amount of time equivalent to the likely sentence for their crime, a conviction made possible by medication often comes with supervised releaseimportant, the argument goes, for individual and community safety. (Its worth remembering that the Sell standards apply in cases where someone has been determined not dangerous. The Supreme Court cases Washington v. Harper and Riggins v. Nevada deal with forcibly medicating people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.) Advertisement In the face of few or overburdened alternative public systems to adequately treat serious mental health conditions, this may be a convincing argument to a judge. But the lack of available alternatives in our current system shouldnt be a justification to further criminalize mental illnessif anything, its justification for a massive, systemic reboot. Advertisement Forensic psychiatrist Gregory Leong said in an interview that in his more than 40 years working in mental health, hes seen advances in the delivery of mental health care, but ultimately were kind of at an impasse. We havent addressed, in some ways, those with serious mental illness, and thats because theyre the most difficult persons to work with, and their conditions dont respond as well to our treatment efforts. Advertisement Advertisement All this said, its important to note that the majority of people deemed incompetent to stand trial end up voluntarily taking medication. In its briefing for the Supreme Court in the Sell case, for example, the government noted: Over a recent twelve-month period, the Bureau [of Prisons] evaluated and treated 285 patients who were deemed incompetent to stand trial. Of the 226 persons who voluntarily accepted treatment, which in almost all instances included medication, 197 or 87.2% were restored to competency. Of the 59 persons who were involuntarily medicated following an administrative hearing under the Bureaus regulations, 45 or 76.3% were restored to competency. Advertisement But even those who voluntarily accept medication may spend months waiting for the treatment they need in order to stand trial, due to insufficient capacity in competency restoration facilities. Many of those caught up in the competency restoration cycle have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or delusional disorder. These conditions are related, but manifest in different ways. With schizophrenia, said Leong, who is a professor at the University of Southern Californias Keck School of Medicine, usually a person suffers from delusions or hallucinations and disorganized thinking and behavior. With delusional disorder, a person usually suffers from non-bizarre delusions, and outside of that symptom of their particular delusion they appear normal, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Delusional disorder, thus, is difficult to study, because many individuals experiencing it dont seek treatment and never come to the attention of mental health systemsso long as their particular delusion does not get them to run afoul of societal norms, especially legal norms, Leong said. Advertisement It is estimated that 1 to 2 percent of the population lives with schizophrenia at some point in their lives, whereas the best estimate for delusional disorder is about 0.2 percent, according to Leong, who said antipsychotic medication leads to good clinical responses in about 70 percent of schizophrenia cases. (The prevalence estimates should be taken with a grain of salt, because they are notoriously hard to pin down and subject to disagreement among researchers.) While the research on medication to treat delusional disorder is much more limited, Leong said, it appears to produce a similarly positive outcome. As the American Psychiatric Association noted in its Sell amicus brief, Antipsychotic medications are not only an accepted but often essential, irreplaceable treatment for psychotic illnesses. Advertisement There is reason to believe that delusional disorder is overrepresented in involuntary medication cases. In a review of Sell cases published in 2013, McMahon found that individuals with delusional disorder account for at least 21 percent of defendants in reported Sell casescompared with, remember, 0.2 percent of the overall population. This, she writes, is perhaps because these individuals are associated with litigious behavior. They have been known to file multiple lawsuits or send hundreds of letters of protest to government and judicial officials. These crimes may teeter on the brink of crimes of violence, writes McMahon, but the very fact that they are being considered under Sell, which applies to defendants who have been judged nondangerous, indicates that mental health professionals do not believe these individuals were likely to carry out their threats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While there are several types of delusional disorder, the type that most often shows up in Sell cases is persecutory. As the American Psychological Association noted in its amicus brief in the Sell case, persons with delusional disorder, persecutory type, usually entertain deep-seated convictions that they are the subject of vast, surreptitious plot[s] to do them harm. This can complicate the doctor-patient relationship, as patients may be especially suspicious of treatment plans involving medication. Sell also puts a unique burden on defense attorneys, whose job is to represent their clients wishes. One moment, they may be arguing that theyre concerned for their clients mental health and ability to assist in their defense, and therefore request a competency evaluation. But then, if the client is ordered to take a medication they object to, the attorneys role may suddenly become to fight that order, explained Andrea George, the executive director of Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho, a community defense program. Advertisement Its kind of just arguing against what you think is best for the client, George said. It feels, she said, both righteous, because youre advocating for what the client wants, and very sad, because you know that the medication would likely really help them. There are serious questions about the future of Sell. For one, researchers and advocates point to the definitional vagueness surrounding important government interest. They also point out that the other three Sell factorswhich relate to side effects, alternatives to medication, and medical appropriatenessare essentially medical, rather than legal, determinations. Dorie Klein, a law professor at St. Marys University focused on the intersection of law and psychology, argues that courts should determine whether the government interest is important enough to justify involuntary medication at the same time they determine competence. Once the judge decides that the charges against the defendant are serious enough, and that no special circumstances diminish the governments interest in rendering the defendant competent to stand trial, the other three Sell factors could be left to the determination of medical personnel, she wrote in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change in 2013. Advertisement Advertisement There are others who question the entire principle underlying the Supreme Court decision in Sell. To me, the biggest problem with Sell is that youre treating somebody not to make them better, but to make them competentand thats a very different thing, said McMahon, the Arizona State University professor. McMahon argues the government should be able to order medication to restore competence only in cases where someone is accused of serious violence or murder and facing a lengthy potential sentence. Otherwise, she said, forced medication for competence restoration opens the door to so many abuses, where individuals accused of nonviolent crimes get stuck in the system for years, untreated and unconvicted. Advertisement Advertisement For those individuals, she said, it would be much better to use this as a springboard to actually get them mental health treatment. Get them out of the criminal justice system, into the mental health systemso that they can be treated with the goal of making them better, instead of with the goal of just making them competent. Advertisement While its complicated, and she recognizes there is legitimate disagreement over this point, McMahon said she can see a role for forcible medication in the context of mental health treatmentjust not to restore competence for trial. When were doing it within the context of the criminal trial, were doing it so that the government can prosecute, were doing it to achieve a government interest, whereas when were doing it within the context of the mental health system, were doing it because its in the best interests of the individual, she said. Sell spent part of his incarceration in solitary, which has been shown to exacerbate mental health conditions. On any given day, an estimated 80,000 incarcerated people in the U.S. find themselves in some sort of isolation. Advertisement Advertisement In 1999, while confined in a federal prison hospital, Sell was allegedly pulled from his jail cell by seven guards, moved to an isolation cell, sedated, and handcuffed to a concrete slab for 19 hours, according to reporting from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In 2000, guards allegedly sprayed him with scalding hot water, leaving him with first-degree burns on his legs, chest, and back. Advertisement In a 2004 competency evaluation after the Supreme Court decision, a psychiatrist testified that Sells fixation on this abuse meant that he was still unable to effectively participate in his defense. Dr. Sell is currently preoccupied with the comparison between his treatment while in federal custody and the torture of prisoners in Iraq. All his thoughts and feelings are pervaded by his recollections of having been intimidated, humiliated and abused by the staff of the Springfield Medical Center, wrote C. Robert Cloninger, the defense psychiatrist who evaluated Sell, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Advertisement And so, seven years and a Supreme Court decision later, Sell found himself, in many ways, in the same place. There he remained for a few more months, until April 2005, when he entered an Alford pleaa legal maneuver that allows defendants to accept punishment without admitting guilt. He was sentenced to time served, with three years supervised release. In the more recent case of Johnathan Mitchell, whose willingness to take medication fluctuated between 20 and 90 percent, the courts ultimately granted the governments motion for involuntary medication. If Mitchell does not voluntarily comply with his medication regimen, the Bureau of Prisons is authorized and directed to involuntarily administer antipsychotic medication as deemed appropriate by Mitchells treating psychiatrist until and while Mitchell stands trial, the district court ordered. Mitchells rate of medication compliance, the court added, shall not be allowed to fall below 76% per month. (This number was based on an estimate for how many doses he would have to miss to render the medicine ineffective, given his previous experience.) The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the decision, and in 2021, Mitchell petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case. The Supreme Court denied his petition. His trial is currently scheduled to begin in August. State of Mind is a partnership of Slate and Arizona State University that offers a practical look at our mental health systemand how to make it better. 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. The impending Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade will likely be a catastrophe for the health, safety, autonomy, and privacy of pregnant people in America. At the same time, its bringing to a head the twin crises of digital life: the right to speak without government interference and the right to online privacy. Step one in the extremist playbook is making abortion illegal. Step two is preventing pregnant people or health care providers from discussing it online. It is no accident that Republican politicians efforts to outlaw abortion and exert state control over womens bodies have moved in tandem with their crusade to provide the government with control over what people can say, write, or teach. Conservative extremists want to force everything from websites to news to book apps for children to conform with their 1930s version of cultural norms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In recent years the focus of their campaign has been Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law I co-wrote in 1996 with Republican Rep. Chris Cox. Despite a coordinated attempt to misinform the public about Section 230, its simple. The law says the person who creates and posts online content is the one responsible for it. And it preempts any state laws about regulating First Amendment rights online. Section 230s protections, although criticized by some Democrats, have never been more important than in the face of Republicans all-out war on reproductive freedom. In coming months well-funded anti-choice extremists will launch a coordinated campaign to deluge websites and social media companies with lawsuits over user speech in Republican-led states where just seeking information about an abortion could become illegal. Just as anti-abortion activists worked to attack reproductive rights in statehouses across the nation, these fundamentalists will use the same playbook of coordinated laws and legal actions against the online speech of those they dislike. Theyve already targeted libraries and bookstores over LGBTQ books and classified health care for trans youths as child abuse. Advertisement Advertisement With 230which preempts state laws when it comes to online speechthose suits will get tossed out. But without 230, these suits will have the effect the extremists are gunning for: to ban even the mention of abortion in any forum, anywhere. Advertisement They dont need to win these suits, only overwhelm the smaller companies that lack the resources to fight these claims or intimidate the big tech companies into taking down any posts on the topics of abortion or reproductive health care. The last reform to section 230, a bill called SESTA-FOSTA, resulted in marginalized groupswomen, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, and sex workersbeing silenced when tech companies tried to avoid lawsuits. Meta has already banned discussion of abortion on its internal messaging platform. Is there any doubt it would do the same to Facebook and Instagram in the face of conservative pressure? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Step three in the reactionary playbook is hijacking the digital tools that we depend on in modern life and using them to track down people who get abortions. Ive been sounding the alarm for years that location data leached from phone apps is ripe for abuse. In a world where extremists make abortion illegal, that goes from a problem to a matter of life and death. Shady data brokers have already tracked women to and from Planned Parenthood health centers and sold their information to anyone with a credit card. Thats just the beginning. Advertisement Advertisement When abortion is illegal, researching reproductive health care online, updating a period-tracking app, or bringing a phone to the doctors office all could be used to track and prosecute women across the U.S. It amounts to uterus surveillance. Advertisement Advertisement Texas-style bounty laws and laws being proposed in Missouri to limit peoples ability to travel to obtain abortion care also raise the likelihood that the investigation and harassment of women will be outsourced, with a profit motive. Congress must protect Americans privacy from abuse by far-right politicians who want to control womens bodies. First, we need to pass a consumer privacy law to restrict how Americans private data is collected, used and shared. Reducing the amount of sensitive data that companies hold, and the number of companies that have that data, would also make it harder for radical right-wing prosecutors to sift through private records to control womens private decisions. Second, I have a bipartisan bill called the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act. It says the government cant buy information from data brokers to avoid getting a warrant. Passing our bill would make it harder to buy up big databases of information without warrants and then hunt down anyone seeking an abortion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These bills wouldnt fix the privacy and civil liberties disaster that will accompany the repeal of Roe. That is why we need to pass the Womens Health Protection Act to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law, which will require putting more pro-choice elected officials in office. But, in tandem with a strong defense of Section 230 and the First Amendment, they would go a long way to ensuring pregnant people maintain a measure of freedom over their own bodies. The United States is poised to become one of the only nations on earth to move backwards on womens rights. No privacy or speech protection can change that. But that reality makes clear the dangers of failing to protect the right to free expression and privacy are no longer hypothetical. Theyre already here. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. In 1966, a writer for the Village Voice sat down with Nathan Rappaport in an out-of-the-way hotel on Manhattans Upper West Side. The divorced, disgraced, and debarred physician was ready to come out of the shadows: He was an illegal abortionist and had been for more than 35 years and 25,000 procedures. By that point, he realized that he was going to continue, despite the risks: I tried to quit after I got out of prison the first time and just to do something related to medicine, Rappaport told the alt-weekly. But, with my license revoked and my jail record, I couldnt get a job anywhere in the world. Advertisement At the time, in most states, the situation on the ground was tense. Legal hospital abortionsor therapeutic abortionswere offered only in the narrowest circumstances, typically when the pregnant persons health was threatened or when two psychiatrists would (or could be paid to) testify that being forced to carry a pregnancy to term might drive the woman in question to suicide. That meant only about 8,000 of the estimated 200,000 to 1 million total abortions performed in the U.S. each year were done legally. The rest were a hodge-podge of home remedies, quacks and butchers, and the occasional skilled surgeon willing to risk it all. Each year, hundreds of women died as a result of botched abortions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And each year, hundreds of women went to Dr. Rappaport. He had long believed abortion should be legala perspective he shared in the 1962 book The Abortionist, published by Doubleday under the pseudonym Dr. X. But Rappaport wasnt just an advocate for women; he hadnt gotten where he was on principle alone. His practice had started in dire financial straits, and his legal situation forced him to keep going. He made the best of things and helped a lot of women throughout his career. But as described in the third episode of this season of Slow Burn, going to his apartment for an abortion could also be a frightening experience: Filled with old wives tales and horror stories, many feared they were about to die, Rappaport said. Those who went through with it often were so terrified no amount of assurance I could give them during the preliminary interview did any good. Advertisement Advertisement While most abortionists remained anonymous, by the late 1960s Rappaport became one well-known and enduring example of the unregulated, underground providers who women were forced to trust in the years before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal nationwide. He was joining women at rallies for abortion and taking interviews with local and national outlets. His impassioned speeches helped earn him the title of Americas most loquacious abortionist, which the reporter Susan Brownmiller would bestow on him in 1969. In some ways, he was an outspoken advocate for the procedure that came to define his life. But in another light, he was an opportunist who took advantage of a bad situation. Advertisement Little is known about Rappaports life outside of his practiceand, even then, the pieces can be hard to fit together as anecdotes, dates, and other details changed over decades of retelling. He was born in 1900, possibly in Russia, but grew up in New York City. He attended City College for his undergraduate degree and medical school at the University of Arkansas. Shortly after graduating in 1926, Rappaport hung his shingle in Jackson Heights, Queens, near where his parents lived. His abortion practice was born of a dual necessity: During the Great Depression, more and more women asked me for abortions because they could not afford to feed another mouth, he said. The collections from my practice had dwindled to almost nothing. There was pressure from my family to take the abortion money. At the time, he charged $25 for the servicein a period when the average annual income for a family was just $1,368 a year and more than 18 percent of Americans were out of work entirely. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rappaport moved frequentlyCensus records, newspaper accounts, and other documents place him in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Miami, and Chicagobut he spent most of his time at his New York City practice. For women who were in their first trimester, he relied on a method called dilation and curettage, or D&C, which involved dilating the uterus and scraping out fetal tissue with a small rake. Each procedure took between 5 minutes and an hour, depending on the amount of tissue that had to be removed. Later in a pregnancy, he used a method of injecting the amniotic sac containing the fetus with a saline solution, which poisoned the fetus and then caused delivery within about a day. While Rappaport tried to do no more than five abortions a day, he said his record was 27 in one day. Still, Rappaport had to turn about 10 percent of the women who approached him away, for lack of time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was lucrative work, which proved difficult to reconcile in public accounts of his career. (Was he a feminist, a hustler, or both?) By the 1940s, Rappaport was charging between $300 and $600 for his services, which was significantly more than his peer, Robert Spencer (better known as Dr. S) in Ashland, Pennsylvania, who never charged more than $100. But it was much less, Rappaport maintained, than other providers in midtown Manhattan who catered to upscale clients. Either way, Rappaport saw himself as a crusader for the poor: At times, he operated on a sliding scale, charging an industrialist $10,000 for an abortion for his teenage sons girlfriend to compensate for the abortions he performed for poor women at what he believed was a reasonable rate. Women wake up crying for joy after its over, so happy to be free, he told the Chicago Daily News in 1969. Thats how I get my kicks, I guess. You know, an abortionist has his satisfaction, too. Advertisement Advertisement All told, Rappaport was pulling in more than $200,000 a yearor $2.5 million in todays dollars. In some accounts, he seemed to brag about the money, and at other times he rationalized it: There are many expenses and legal fees, he told Newsday in 1969, reportedly with a touch of embarrassment. And there were legal fees. Between 1949 and 1968, Rappaport spent nine years in jail for his illegal abortion practice. His trials were often the subject of media scrutiny. In one salacious story, the New York Daily News described a raid on Rappaports office, part of a larger sting operation involving a woman sleuth. More than a decade later, The Miami News observed him at another trial, this time for illegally practicing abortion in Florida, sitting behind the defense table and chewing gum with machine-gun rapidity. Advertisement Advertisement There were less-than-legal fees, too. Bribing cops, judges, and other criminals was commonplace; a $10,000 pay-off was just part of doing business. If an abortionist resisted the rules of the street, the consequences could be swift and serious. When gangsters in New York caught wind of his practice, they asked for money in return for their silence. Rappaport refused to pay, so they called the policeresulting in his 1950 jailing and the loss of his medical license. When he was arrested again, in Florida, the police, always glad to be of service, gave his instruments to another abortionist who was paying off at a higher rate, the Village Voice reported. But no amount of money could get Rappaport what he wanted mosthospital privileges. Complications may arise in any surgery, he told the Daily News, but in a hospital youre prepared. You have immediate access to blood banks, drugs and special equipment Outside the hospital the abortionist is alone in a hostile world. In 1968, Rappaport had been jailed and charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a 20-year-old woman who had reportedly fallen into a coma and later died from a salt infusion that had entered her bloodstream after her abortion. (Rappaport denied all wrong-doing, and said that none of his patients had ever died as a result of an abortion.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the twilight years of his career, Rappaport began to see some evidence of change he had so long desired. The New York Medical Society further expanded its legislative recommendations for the legalization of abortion to include women who are incapable of caring for their children and pregnant unmarried women 16 and under. In 1967, California expanded its reasons for legal abortion to include rape, incest, and the physical or mental health or the mother or child. New York State was considering something of the same, and ultimately succeeded in 1970, despite the Catholic Churchs objections. While abortion remained mostly illegal, arrests of providers and referrers in Rappaports neck of the woods went downnot that the threat of jail time had ever deterred him. I believe in civil disobedience of laws which cannot be respected, Rappaport told Newsday in 1969. Advertisement Ultimately, in 1973, in Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court of the United States decided in a 7-2 decision that a womans right to privacy guaranteed her a right to abortion under the 14th Amendment. Rappaport is not quoted on the decision, but he must have been overjoyed. The public record on Rappaport trailed off. Eventually, he retired to Dade County, Florida, where he died in 1978. Right up until the end, he thought of himself as a doctor, even though hed been operating without a license for almost half of his career. I felt then, as I do now, that the needs of my patients in their pursuit of happiness and love was of primary importance to me, their physician, and that the wonder of conception, its regulation, postponement, or interruption is wholly a medical problem, he had told the Village Voice. It is not the sphere of influence or interpretation of the moralists, religionists, faddists, legalists, or anybody else. Listen to the episode of Slow Burn that features Dr. Rappaport here: The Tri-County Lakes Administrative Commission approved some changes to navigation around the lake at its June 14 meeting in an effort to impr The authorities need to deal with segregation of Roma, use of minority languages in public, and online hate speech, the Council of Europe's committee advises. Roma settlement in Bystrany, eastern Slovakia, is an example of a segregated Roma community. (Source: TASR) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Slovak authorities should ramp up their efforts to eradicate discrimination of Roma children in education and to improve the mechanism for supporting national minorities, the Council of Europes advisory committee advises the country. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The Council of Europes Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minoritiespublished its Opinion on Slovakia on June 15, 2022. In it, the committee urges the Slovak authorities to eradicate discrimination of Roma children in education and to improve the mechanism for supporting national minority cultures. The committee expressed its concern especially regarding the Roma minority. While it praised the strategies, action plans, and the Atlas for Roma communities as properly identifying disadvantages Roma face, as well as strategic priorities (desegregation,deghettoisation and destigmatisation), it pointed to the fact that most of the programmes and projects rely extensively on EU funding. Increased state funding is necessary to ensure sustainability and long-term impact on the living conditions of Roma and their access to rights, especially in education, health, and housing areas, the opinion reads. Roma communities face spatial segregation from the majority, the committee noted and suggested implementing a sustainable housing policy in order to eliminate it. Particular concerns have been raised about thesegregation of Roma children at schools in Slovakia. Most of them are sent to special classes or to schools for pupils with mild mental disabilities and low-standard programs. According to the committee, cases of forced sterilization of Roma women should be investigated too. Definition of hate speech missing The committee expressed concern about hate speech on the internet and social networks, in particular against the Roma and the Hungarian minorities. While the legal framework on hate crimes and hate speech is rather comprehensive, the Criminal Code lacks language among special motives of discrimination and does not include a sufficiently clear definition of a hate crime, the committee opined. The committee appreciated the public apologies concerning past atrocities, as well as the condemnations and sanctions for hate speech in parliament and in the media. In November 2021, the government apologised for the coercive sterilisation of Roma women under the communist regime and in the years that followed. In a resolution that parliament adopted on March 25, 2022, marking the 80th anniversary of the first transport from Slovakia to Auschwitz, MPs asked for forgiveness from those who survived, and from the relatives and descendants of the victims. "Public condemnations of racism and hate speech should, however, be more systematic," the opinion reads. Minority languages in public While the committee recognised some improvement in Slovakias policy on national minorities, it maintains there is still a lot of work to be done, particularly regarding the practical implementation of the legislation that for now remains weak. In its opinion, the committee welcomed that in recent years funding of minority culture and media have considerably increased. Yet, the support wasnt strengthened for each of the 13 minority groups in Slovakia in the same way, the committee opined. The problem is with using minority language in public; the committee advised training staff in municipal offices to use minority languages in order to make official communication easier, at least for the issuance of birth, marriage and death certificates. Moreover, the offer of education in minority languages should be extended, in particular in areas where Ruthenian and Ukrainian are spoken. Slovakia does not have a public defender of rights at the moment The committee urged the Slovak authorities to provide sufficient human and financial resources to the Public Defender of Rights (ombudsman) and to increase this institutions independence and mandate so it can perform its role effectively, including the investigation of alleged police brutality. For now, however, Slovakia does not have an ombudsman after Maria Patakyova left the post when her term expired at the end of March 2022. Parliament has yet to vote on her successor. The original deadline to propose candidates for the post was February 25, but it was first postponed until May. In early June, the parliament postponed the vote again, until its September session. The deadline to submit candidates is August 27. Over the course of May alone, the Office of the Ombudsman received 108 complaints. In total, there were 179 complaints waiting for the new ombudsperson. Related article Systematic changes could improve prevention measures and the convalescence of sexual assault survivors. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Nine out of ten people in Slovakia believe that sex without explicit prior consent should be considered sexual assault; the same percentage considers it a crime. The opinion is shared by respondents regardless of whether they label themselves liberal and conservatives. So much stems from the survey that Amnesty International Slovensko conducted on a sample of 1,004 respondents ages 18 to 65. They were asked about their perception of a healthy intimate life. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Amnesty International Slovensko head Rado Sloboda sees the results as a good sign, but notes that it needs to be translated into positive changes in both laws and life. "We should not underestimte the fact that public opinion changes in time, but what does not change is the need to make the protection of human rights of sexual violence and rape survivors a societal, as well as political priority," Sloboda said. Acts tied to sexual assaults, harassment and rape are mostly swept under the carpet despite being a serious attack on bodily autonomy, ones boundaries, the mental and physical health of the survivor, their dignity and a right to life, the survey shows as reported by Amnesty International Slovensko. Most attacks are never investigated by the police, for the legislatures hefty definition and fear of embarrassment or further damage to the victims and survivors, the organisation noted. Strict definitions pose a disadvantage In Slovakia, the problem with sexual violence has been linked to the difficulty of classifying what constitutes rape, said Barbora Burajova, manager at the Coordinating Methodological Centre for Gender-Based and Domestic Violence. "By law, rape is an act in which the victim actively resists throughout the duration of the assault either through physical or vocal resistance (calls for help, screaming)," she noted. Otherwise, the victim must be able to prove that they were unable to resist, for instance that they were unconscious when the assault occurred. Burajova adds that these requirements do not reflect the reality of most attacks. Victims are often unable to resist or react appropriately due to the stressful nature of the situation. The Justice Ministry is in agreement with the NGOs on this. Sexual intercourse should be consensual under all circumstances, Justice Ministry argued in the reasoning of its amendment to the Penal Code, which proposed broadening the definition of sexual violence. The disadvantages and lengthy process complicates reporting acts of sexual violence. Amnesty Internationals survey showed that 85 percent of respondents believe that acts of sexual violence are reported less than they really happen. Sex education would help Broadening the definition could ease the strict boundaries. Different forms of violence in society are not considered an act of violence despite them being so. For comfort or fear, maybe unknowingly, we prefer to remain silent even when violence happens in our lives, says Zuzana Bendikova, executive director at Planned Parenthood Society. Violence is not always physical, aggression comes from manipulation, pressure and harmful stereotypical societal norms, she noted. Additionally, many victims are unaware of their rights within relationships and possibilities for reporting sexual harassments, rape or assaults. Laws helping victims are missing as well, Amnesty noted. Slovakia is one of the few European countries without proper centers specialising in helping victims of sexual abuse. Sex education could help the next generations in understanding their boundaries, bodies and rights to consent, Bendikova noted. Age-appropriate sex education is what 86 percent of the respondents in the survey approve of as a form or prevention of sexual violence. Sex education could also change the overall public perception of the topic. Adriana Havasova, CEO of Centre Hope, says that everybody knows in theory what goes on and what is unacceptable, therefore the survey needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. The survey mirrors public opinion only theoretically. I wonder how the respondents would respond if the questions posed examples of what is considered rape, Havasova noted. Teachers protest, hiking trails reopen in the Tatras. 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 15 edition of Today in Slovakia is ready with the main news of the day in less than five minutes. Council of Europe's concern over segregation of Roma children in Slovak schools Particular concerns have been raised about the segregation of Roma children at schools in Slovakia in the latest Council of Europe's opinion. (Source: Sme) Slovak authorities should ramp up their efforts to eradicate the discrimination of Roma children in education and to improve the mechanism for supporting national minorities, the Council of Europe's advisory committee advised the country. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement While the legal framework on hate crimes and hate speech is rather comprehensive, the Criminal Code lacks "language" among the special motives behind discrimination and does not include a sufficiently clear definition of a hate crime, the committee also opined. The Council of Europe's Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities published its Opinion on Slovakia on June 15, 2022. Minorities: Read more stories about the Roma community and minorities in Slovakia. More stories from The Slovak Spectator website: FEATURE STORY FOR WEDNESDAY Back to hiking in the Tatras Hikers on a trip to Juranova Dolina in the Western Tatras. (Source: TASR) The new summer tourist season has traditionally opened in the High Tatras by the symbolic unlocking of the surface of Strbske Pleso, a popular lake. People can row on this lake or set out on a hike since hiking trails in the High Tatras are no longer closed to people. If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you. IN OTHER NEWS: Marek Kanka is stepping down as director general and chair of the Board of Directors at Tipos , the state lottery company. He dismissed the accusations made against him as absurd. The National Crime Agency charged Kanka, 24 other people and six companies with property and economic crimes last week. , the state lottery company. He dismissed the accusations made against him as absurd. The National Crime Agency charged Kanka, 24 other people and six companies with property and economic crimes last week. Slovak police officers will be helping in Croatia this summer again. The first four left for Croatia on June 15. After six weeks, they will be replaced by four other colleagues. They will serve in Croatia until September 15. The first four left for Croatia on June 15. After six weeks, they will be replaced by four other colleagues. They will serve in Croatia until September 15. The Defence Ministry will build a new exhibition hall for the Military History Museum in Piestany. The hall is estimated at 4 million. Pavol Prokop from Comenius University Bratislava was named the Scientist of the Year on June 14, 2022. He received an award for elucidating new knowledge about reproductive strategies and evolutionary aspects of behavioural strategies involved in avoiding pathogen contamination. (Source: TASR - Pavel Neubauer) President Zuzana Caputova marked the third anniversary of her inauguration on June 15. More than 100 people, including representatives of local governments from the Podpolanie, Kremnicke Vrchy and Liptov regions, protested before the seat of the State Nature Protection in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia. They demanded the regulation of the number of brown bears and the resignation of Environment Minister Jan Budaj (OLaNO). Several bear attacks have already been reported this year. They demanded the regulation of the number of brown bears and the resignation of Environment Minister Jan Budaj (OLaNO). Several bear attacks have already been reported this year. Malicious websites, including disinformation websites, can be blocked until September 30 following the amendment to the Cyber Security Act approved by lawmakers. If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk. The first million-dollar race of the harness racing season has its field drawn as well as the numerous undercard stakes set to go on an electric night at Woodbine Mohawk Park this Saturday (June 18). Saturday's sequence of back-to-back stakes kicks off with the $251,000 Goodtimes Trot, itself a potential stepping stone to the million-dollar Hambletonian. The field includes last season's late-blooming Tony Alagna pupil Fast As The Wind, who scored easily in his elimination to post a 1:53.2 victory, as well as the Ontario Super Final champ from last season Twin B Archie, himself a 1:53.1 winner in the elimination. Fast As The Wind scores from Post 4 with Dexter Dunn in the sulky just to the inside of Twin B Archie, who is slated to have James MacDonald at the reins for trainer and co-owner Scott McEneny. A stacked field aligns alongside the elim winners in the Goodtimes. O'Brien Award winner Duly Resolved, runner-up in the 2021 Mohawk Million, competes from Post 2 just to the inside of Bluegrass Stake winner Gigondas. New Jersey Sire Stakes winner Pretender landed a spot at Post 7 and to the inside of International Stallion Stake winner World At War Deo (Post 9) and George Ducharme's upstart prospect Testing Testing (Post 10). Brett Pelling pupil Treacherous Dragon will square against the Nick Gallucci duo of Prohibition Legal and Silver Label in the $401,000 Fan Hanover Final. Treacherous Dragon selected Post 3 off a 1:50.2 victory in her elimination while Silver Label chose Post 4 off her 1:50.4 late-pace victory. Driver James MacDonald stuck with Prohibition Legal, who will start from Post 2 off her second-place finish to Treacherous Dragon in the elimination, allowing Yannick Gingras to pick up the live catch drive on Silver Label. Competition beyond the big three includes Ohio Sires Stakes star Sea Silk (Post 6) and Queen Of Success (Post 9), who was the only horse last season to beat U.S. Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year Niki Hill. Last year's star sophomore trotting filly Bella Bellini will try to etch herself as one of the continent's top trotting mares when she heads postward in the $211,000 Armbro Flight Final. Dexter Dunn pilots the Richard "Nifty" Norman trainee from Post 3 off a 1:51.2 win at The Meadowlands on June 4 against an all-star field consisting of millionaire When Dovescry (Post 1), 2020 Breeders Crown winner Next Level Stuff (Post 2), world champion and triple millionaire Atlanta (Post 7), world champion and Ohio star Herculisa (Post 9) and 2020 O'Brien Award winner Hey Livvy (Post 10). U.S. Horse of the Year Test Of Faith matches against reigning Older Pacing Mare of the Year Lyons Sentinel in the $315,000 Roses Are Red. David Miller will pilot Test Of Faith for trainer Brett Pelling from Post 2 off a 1:49.4 win in the elimination. Lyons Sentinel scores right alongside from Post 3 following a 1:50.1 come-from-behind win. Tim Tetrick will drive the now five-year-old mare for trainer Jim King Jr. The back-to-back stakes run ends with the $1-million Pepsi North America Cup. Elim winners Beach Glass and Pebble will start from Posts 4 and 5, respectively. A pair of previous winning trainers return to the Cup with Tony Alagna sending I Did It Myway from Post 2, and Brian Brown starting stablemates side-by-side with Ario Hanover from Post 6 and Night Hawk from Post 7. Local trainers James "Friday" Dean and Tim Gillespie landed spots on the gate with Ron (Post 3) and Kolby Two Step (Post 8) respectively. Renowned trotting trainer Luc Blais sends his first Cup starter with Frozen Hanover from Post 9 and Jake Leamon also makes his debut with Mad Max Hanover (Post 10). Completing the field is Fourever Boy, who drew Post 1 for Canadian native Tim Twaddle. Earlier in the card, some of the continent's top aged competitors will face off with the trotters going in a $45,500 Free For All event and the pacers in the $100,000 Mohawk Gold Cup. The Free For All trot features a pair of Ontario stars looking to continue towards their best strides in Ontario Super Final winner Pemberton (Post 3) and 2019 Hambletonian champ and Horse of the Year Forbidden Trade (Post 6). The field also features current Preferred Trot dynamo Oney Hall, who will race out of Post 4. Allywag Hanover comes to defend his crown in the Mohawk Gold Cup following a second-place tightener to Ontario star Bulldog Hanover. With no Bulldog Hanover to contend against, Allywag Hanover will instead have to assert himself against the likes of millionaire Jimmy Freight (Post 3), near-millionaire Workin Ona Mystery (Post 5), Indiana speed freak Little Rocket Man (Post 6), Juravinski Memorial Cup winner Linedrive Hanover (Post 7) and the current top-ranked horse in North American harness racing, Funatthebeach N (Post 8) among others. Mohawk's 13-race card for Saturday will get underway at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). The last race on the card also features a mandatory payout in the Jackpot Hi-5. Frozen last Saturday (June 11), the Jackpot Hi-5 features a must-go carryover of $548,692.73 as well as an overflow field of 12, which will go to the gate at approximately 11:50 p.m. (EDT). To view Saturday's entries, click one of the following links: 2022 Pepsi North America Cup card Entries || Program Pages (courtesy of TrackIT). Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots competitors stepped onto the track Tuesday (June 14) at Woodbine Mohawk Park for a pair of $18,000 events helping the sophomore colts prep for their next Grassroots showdown in July. Pacing sophomores opened the card Tuesday with Final Cheeserecipe pulling a 23-1 upset. The Betterthancheddar gelding sat in the pocket behind Silk Road Smash, who swept to the lead from post 10 and set a clip of :26.4, :56.3 and 1:24.3. He endured first-over pressure from Sip Of Bourbon into the final turn before that challenger folded and stalled the outer tier, leaving an opening for Final Cheeserecipe to fire. The Blake MacIntosh trainee accelerated off the covered trip and stormed home in :26.1 to stop the clock in 1:51.1. Silk Road Smash settled for second, beaten 2-1/2 lengths, with Camera Moment third and Stone Carver fourth. Kim and Dan Sergeant bred and own Final Cheeserecipe, who paid $49.20 to win in collecting his fourth victory from 19 starts and pushing his bankroll to $36,526. Sylvain Filion sat in the bike. Lexus Ranger landed a similar trip and likewise lighted the board but with a 10-1 upset in the Grassroots Starters event for trotting colts and geldings. Trainer-driver Paul MacDonell secured the lead with Lexus Ranger to a :27.2 first quarter before yielding control to HP Maestro, who then took the field to the half in :57.1 and by three-quarters in 1:26.2. However Lexus Ranger soon emerged with fresh legs and dug into the tempo-setter late to down that rival by a half length in 1:54.3 with Armstead Cole finishing third and Kipper Whipr Snipr closing for fourth. An Archangel gelding, Lexus Ranger competes for owner-breeder Norm Dunstan. He won his fourth race from 13 starts and has now earned $54,100 off the victory where he returned a $23.80 mutuel. These Grassroots competitors will look to return into the series when their divisions spar again in July. The sophomore pacing colts and geldings return to action at Woodbine Mohawk Park on July 9 while the trotting glamour boys will go at Rideau Carleton Raceway on July 10. To view Tuesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Tuesday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park. Just in time for Virginia Ag Week, June 12-18, a pair of local farm projects will grow with financial support from the state. Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday announced 11 Virginia cities and counties would receive $214,000 in state funds to support new investments in infrastructure supporting food and farming systems. Initiatives in Orange and Fauquier counties both received backing, along with a salty snack endeavor over the mountain. The competitively-awarded Governors Agriculture & Forestry Industry Development Fund Infrastructure matching grants invest in missing infrastructure impeding small-scale farmers and food producers from growing, according to a release from Youngkins office. Meat processing in Orange, grain milling, oyster production, food and beverage, and shepherding all got support through the latest round of AFID grants, as well as an expanded farmers market in Warrenton and a commercial kitchen in Bedford County. As we begin this weeklong celebration of agriculture, Virginias largest industry, I am pleased to partner with our local governments through the AFID program to make strategic investments into the infrastructure our farmers and food producers need to be successful, Youngkin said. It is through innovative partnerships like these, where the private and public sectors come together to identify and address critical needs, that we can keep the Commonwealth moving forward. Piedmont Processing on James Madison Highway in Gordonsville received $25,000 to purchase a new walk-in freezer, increasing cooler space 40 percent, according to the governors release. Some 75 to 100 local producers rely on the facility to process meat locally, but Piedmont Processings growth has been limited by insufficient cooler space for aging beef. In Fauquier, the county will invest the $7,500 grant in farmers market for signs, tables, tents, a sound system and two cold storage units. Warrenton Farmers Market on Main St. runs 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, April-October. In Mount Jackson, Route 11 Potato Chips will use its $25,000 AFID grant on four oil tanks. Shenandoah County reports an urgent need for oil storage at the business as global supply chain disruptions have threatened the reliability of sunflower oil delivery. Route 11 has been in operation for more than 25 years and purchases more than one million pounds of Virginia-grown potatoes each year for its tasty chips, according to the governors release. Installing the new oil tanks will enable Route 11 to purchase in bulk and guarantee a continuous, lower-cost supply of oil. Virginia Ag Week provides us an opportunity to not just appreciate the many positive impacts agriculture brings to our daily lives, from the delicious food on our plate to the beautiful farmland out our window, but to also think about how agriculture can be made even better, said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matt Lohr in a statement. AFID Infrastructure Grant Program makes awards of up to $25,000 in partnership with local governments. Applications for the next round will be accepted Oct. 1 through Nov. 1. Contact Jennifer.Perkins@vdacs.virginia.gov. INL, IOM and UNICEF co-operate to strengthen justice for Vietnamese children The US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) have just announced a three-year partnership to support Vietnam in strengthening systems to better protect children from violence, whilst effectively tackling human trafficking and migrant smuggling. According to 2021 statistics provided by Viet Nams Ministry of Public Security, 40 per cent of the total number of trafficked victims identified were children. Evidence suggests that with the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of children facing increased vulnerability has grown. This programme puts the safety, the protection of girls and boys from abuse, exploitation and trafficking at the top of the agenda. Our goal in coming together is to strengthen justice for children, to facilitate a strengthened protective net and support system around children and their families. Evidence confirms that children who have come into contact with the justice or welfare systems are too often left feeling lost and disempowered, and this in turn increases their vulnerability to traffickers, said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative. Despite progressive law reform over the past decade, there continues to be a need for comprehensive child justice reforms that bring consistency across the different laws relating to children and to strengthen key area related to the care and protection of children. With this in mind, the collaboration will bring an increased focus to comprehensive capacity building, to ensure a shifting of mindsets and approaches working directly with those who are in a position to support and better protect children, particularly those within the broad justice sector. It is crucial to equip police, border guards, judges, lawyers and court personnel with essential knowledge and skills on child-friendly and gender-sensitive criminal judicial techniques and procedures. Effective prevention and combat against human trafficking and migrants smuggling require institutionalization of staff capacity building with sufficient resource allocation to ensure all staff are trained to conduct their tasks in a victim-centered and trauma-informed manner, said Park Mihyung Chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration in Viet Nam. The three-year project aims to achieve its objective through a three-pronged approach. The first goal is improving the legal and policy framework for protection of minors in contact with the law in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties to which Viet Nam is a party. The second goal is strengthening capacity of law enforcement, including border guards, and justice officers for improved investigation, prosecution and adjudication of cases involving child victims, especially child survivors of sexual abuse and trafficking. And the last objective is enhancing access of children victims of abuse to timely and quality protection services. The project will be implemented in close coordination with Vietnamese government partners. Under a 2020 bipartisan Virginia law, about 4,500 state inmates are slated for release from corrections facilities across the state beginning next month. But some Republicans in Richmond who oppose the law are attempting to reduce the number of inmates released by about 1,000 through a budget amendment. Were trying to make the best out of a horrific situation, said Jason Miyares, Virginias attorney general. This is one of the most disturbing public policy issues Ive seen since taking office. The public policy Miyares is referring to is House Bill 5148, signed into law by former Gov. Ralph Northam in November 2020. The provisions of the law require the calculation of earned sentence credits to apply retroactively to the entire sentence of any inmate who is confined to a state correctional facility and participates in the earned sentence credit system. That law, which goes into effect July 1, allowed certain inmates opportunities to earn up to 15 days off their sentence for every 30 days confined if they participate in personal improvement classes or job skills training during their time behind bars. Prior to the law, Virginia inmates could only earn a maximum of 4.5 days off for every 30 days served. I would love to repeal the entire earned sentence credit bill that went into effect last year, Miyares said. If I had my way, I would absolutely get the whole entire thing repealed. Juanita Shanks is president and CEO of FailSafe-ERA in Spotsylvania. Her company helps former inmates find jobs and housing when theyre released from jail, and also supports families of incarcerated inmates. Shanks said the idea of repealing the law would deal a severe blow to inmates who have worked hard over the past 18 months to earn time off their sentences. Those inmates in there began to do things that would help contribute to their early release, Shanks said. The law was passed and repealing it for personal, political reasons is just wrong. Shanks also said a full repeal would adversely impact thousands of families across the state whose hopes and spirits were raised nearly two years ago when Northam signed the bill into law. Youre going to get peoples hopes up and then youre going to let them down?, Shanks said. Thats just wrong. Its not right, and you dont do that to people. Thats trauma on top of trauma. A bill that would have repealed HB-5148 was introduced by Del. Rob Bell of Albemarle County earlier this year. Bells bill passed through the House 5149, but later died in the Senate. Since the full repeal fell short, Miyares hopes he can exclude inmates from the summer release who have mixed sentences through a budget amendment thats now being considered by Gov. Glenn Younkin. Mixed sentences apply to inmates who were sentenced for a violent crime thats excluded from the bill, along with a sentence for a nonviolent offense that is included in the good-time-credits statue. A vote on the final version of the budget is scheduled for this week in the General Assembly. Republican Del. Tara Durant of Stafford County said she will support the budget amendment. That means its not going to be codified into law, but this can be done, Durant said. If there is a budget amendment that intends to do what we passed in the House, I would certainly support it. Bradley Haywood, executive director of Justice Forward Virginia, believes the budget amendment to expand mixed sentence inmates would also bring big implications to a good number of inmates in years to come. Its a pretty big number, its not like the majority. Haywood said. Itll probably end up being 25 or 30 percent of inmates who benefit (from the early release program). In a May 17 presentation to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, Virginia DOC Director Harold Clarke told lawmakers out of the 4,500 scheduled for early release this summer, 54% of them have a medium-to-high risk of violent recidivism. Shawn Weneta, a policy strategist with the Virginia American Civil Liberties Union said less than 2% of those inmates served time for murder or sex crimes and said they are less likely to recidivate. They have already served the entirety of their violent sentence and are earning a couple months off of the back end of a sentence for a nonviolent offense and are due to be released soon anyway, said Weneta. In anticipation of the early release inmates, Shanks formed a regional criminal justice reform task force two years ago. The group meets regularly and includes representatives from the Spotsylvania Sheriffs Office; the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Commonwealths Attorney offices; Fredericksburg, Stafford and Spotsylvania governments; the Rappahannock Regional Jail; Germanna Community College; the Thurman Brisben Center; and the Spotsylvania NAACP. My goal is to have a plan so (former inmates) can become successful when theyre out here, Shanks said. I want the community to understand, we have community buy-in thats looking into this. Shanks said she has the tools, manpower and resources necessary to help former inmates succeed when they return to society. She said her organization gives returning inmates a concrete plan to rebound and get their new lives outside prison walls back in order. Lets not miss this opportunity, Shanks said. Lets just help them be successful so they dont have to be locked up again. Durant said she believes what FailSafe and other organizations are doing to help those about to be released is important to ensure support and resources are in place to prevent recidivism, but shes concerned with the DOCs reported high recidivism rates for some offenders. At the end of the day, the public deserves to feel safe, Durant said. When you look at the most serious offenders coming out, we have a risk level of recidivism. You cant argue with the numbers that have been released. James Scott Baron: 540/374-5438 jbaron@freelancestar.com It was just a dry run for the real thing next week, but Culpeper-area Republicans cast ballots for the primary candidates of their choice when the 7th Congressional Districts entire GOP field came to town last weekend. The Culpeper County Republican Committee welcomed contenders Gina Ciarcia, Derrick Anderson, David Ross, Crystal Vanuch, Bryce Reeves and Yesli Vega (as they appear on the ballot) to a breakfast meet-and-greet Saturday at Peppers Grill at 791 Madison Road. The hopefuls mingled with the committees guests, talking with people one-on-one or a table at a time. When 85 Republicans voted toward the meetings end, three people topped the field: Vega with 38.5 percent, Anderson with 27 percent and Reeves with nearly 13 percent. Vanuch received 7 percent and Ciarcia and Ross both received 2.35 percent of the tally. The committee hosted Republicans from Culpeper, Orange and Madison counties, and invited everyone to vote. At Central Virginias polling places, early voting in the primary has already begun. On Saturday, June 18, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Culpeper County Voter Registrars Office on Main Street will be open for the last day of early voting. Tuesday, June 21, will see the bulk of Republican voters going to the polls in the 7th District, where the winner will face U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, in Novembers general election. Before Saturdays straw poll, the Culpeper GOP invited the six primary candidates to give three-minute stump speeches. Vega spoke last, but her energetic remarks were met with prolonged applause. The Prince William County sheriffs deputy spoke of her love for America, recalling how her parents Jose and Rene fled El Salvador in the middle of its civil war to make a home in Northern Virginia. Calling the United States the greatest country known to mankind, she said it gave her every opportunity. Vega noted that her baby brother, Eric, was shot and nearly killed by MS-13 gang members. When we talk about the border, when we talk about crime, when we talk about violence, I dont talk to you all about it because I heard about it or somebody elses story, she said. I talk to you about it because its personal for me. Were a nation of laws for a reason, she said. In 2013, unhappy with local government, she ran for her first elective office, receiving 81 percent of the primary vote for a seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and flipping a district that Republicans had previously lost by 8 points, to a 13-point victory, she said. Having a conservative record and being a proven winner will absolutely matter in this falls race, she said. Thats what its going to take to get rid of Abigail Spanberger and retire Nancy Pelosi, she said. I dont care if youre a Democrat, a moderate, an independent. Were going to talk about the issues, Vega said. ... When youre pumping gas, guess what, theres no such thing as a Democrat discount at the gas pump, is there? There is no such thing as a Democrat discount at the carryout at the grocery store. Were all hurting, were all feeling the pinch. And at the end of the day, it comes down to failed Democrat policies. If she wins the primary, she vowed, Were going to take back the House, were going to lay the groundwork and were going to set the stage for the great American comeback. Anderson, whose combat slogan is From combat to Congress, said hes the only candidate to have served in Iraq and Afghanistans war zones. Those experiences motivated him to seek the 7th District seat, a political outsider who had never run for or held elective office. Two days ago, on June 9th eight years ago, I lost five of my soldiers in Afghanistan, he said. I watched how the Biden administration failed to handle the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and it hit home. He recalled having Gold Star mothers calling him to ask what was going on in Afghanistan, and having to tell them, I dont think anyone truly has an answer. Anderson, who is from Spotsylvania, was an Army infantry officer during the Iraq surge. He later commanded two Special Forces teams in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Israel and Jordan, earned a law degree, clerked for two federal judges and worked on drug-control policy in the Trump administration. Noting that Spanberger touts her service as a former CIA case officer, he said, Im the only person who can go toe to toe with her on these national-security issues, because I lived it. The election results in Glenn Youngkins gubernatorial race and in Virginias 10th Congressional District show the midterms hold great promise, Anderson said. People are ready for change, theyre ready for fresh ideas, he said. And I hope to be that person in Congress, folks. Reeves, an insurance broker and former Army Ranger who represents part of the 7th District, said he has delivered results again and again in his nearly 11 years in the Virginia Senate. Voted into office three times, he represents what had been a Democrat-held district. The senator said he shepherded Senate Bill 908 through passage, ensuring parents have the fundamental right to make decisions about their childrens education, care and upbringing. Attorney General Jason Miyares has cited that law in pushing back on Critical Race Theory, he said. Reeves said he has also defended Virginians Second Amendment rights, expanding its reciprocity for concealed-carry gun permits to all 50 states. People are 30 days from (living on) the street, he said, citing high gasoline and diesel prices. We have lost our focus and our vision for America. ... We need leadership that can stand up to the leadership in Washington and set that vision. ... Give me the opportunity to run against Abigail Spanberger, and well deliver the goods. Vanuch, chair of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors, said she has succeeded in passing conservative measures. Under her leadership, Stafford provided the countys largest-ever pay raise for first responders and instituted a policy to defund Critical Race Theory programs, she said. In 2019, Vanuch organized Staffords largest gun-rights rally, which drew 2,800 people to establish it as a Second Amendment sanctuary. When I get to Congress, Im going to secure the border, she said. We are going to deal with the economy, were going to create energy independence, and put forward an America First policy. We will always stand with our law-enforcement officers. The only candidate with federal experience in health-care policy, Vanuch said she is also the only candidate tied to more than 56 percent of the new 7th Districts voters. That is the largest strategic advantage over Abigail Spanberger, she said. ... I can hold her accountable on her record. ... She is no moderate. She is an AOC voter. Ciarcia introduced herself as a career educator with five home-schooled children, and the wife of a retired Marine special operator who spent 24 years serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. With 10 days left in the race, she said there is no clear front-runner and that makes it fun. Ciarcia said she agrees with Republicans belief that a red wave is coming in the midterm elections. But the question that voters will ask is, what are the winners going to do with that victory? We have prices through the roof, we have political prisoners being held from Jan. 6th, we have corruption all throughout D.C. We have problem upon problem upon problem, she said. ... We need the right kind of Republican to go to D.C. and turn this country around. Not the go-along, get-along kind, not the status quo. We need people who will fight for you and this nation. Ciarcia urged people to watch the two-minute single-issue videos on her YouTube channel to learn about her stances. I am about getting things done and doing the right thing, not political platitudes, not rubbing you the right way, she said. ... Lets go to D.C. Lets solve problems. Lets stand up against the radical left, lets speak the truth boldly, with conviction. Thats what Im about. A born-again Christian with a large family from Spotsylvania and Stafford, David Ross served 20 years in the Marine Corps and has long been a member of the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors. Virginia voters need a representative who will go to Washington and keep their promises, he said, vowing to keep his word if elected. President Trump kept his policy promises, Ross said. Should he prevail, Ross promised to work to secure the nations southern border, stop sex trafficking, and halt the flow of fentanyl to schools. Our schools are in terrible shape. Theyre indoctrinating our kids, he said. My eyes have been opened to it. We need federal funds to follow the students and have school choice in America. Thats free-market competition and it brings everybodys level of education up. Ross also vowed to help abolish the U.S. Department of Education and deregulate other federal agencies. 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 is the first in a four-part series talking with former Rapid City Daily Journal employees and what they remember from their perspective covering the 1972 flood. Fresh out of college and less than two weeks since he was hired to be an obituary writer, Harold Higgins was about as green of a reporter as one could be. Higgins moved to Rapid City where he had rented an apartment on the bottom floor of a house in between Fifth and Sixth streets, just on the north side of Rapid Creek. Higgins was so new to Rapid City, he hardly knew the streets. He said he figured out how to get from his apartment to work. But that was about it. I was broke. It took me a couple of days, just kind of sponging off friends until I could get an apartment It was a basement apartment, very nice little basement apartment in the basement in a house right up against Rapid Creek, the back you walked out of the backyard, and there was a creek, Higgins said. While at home the night the rain began to come down, Higgins said he recalled the warnings scroll across the KOTA television station about heavy rains and possible flooding along Rapid Creek. I thought well, OK, two things. Number one, I'm a reporter, I need to grab my camera and get out there and see if I can get some pictures, he said. As well as I'll be able to get a handle on how high the creek is near my house. And just whatever the situation is. With his camera bag in hand, Higgins walked across his neighbors' yards to avoid the water which was already beginning to fill the streets. As he made his way over toward the Fifth Street bridge, he could see the water was rising faster than he thought. Not only was it pitch black in the rain, I couldn't see where I could get out of the water. So I thought I better get up that bridge, Higgins said. So I just got up to the bridge and that must have been when the dam broke or just before because that's when that big wave came down the road. Higgins said a split-second decision to grab onto a mailbox to pull himself out of the water to reach the bridge probably saved his life, as he was able to prevent himself from being swept away by the current and managed to cross the bridge before it went underwater. I thought, OK, well, what do I do now? And, of course, I was the young cub reporter, I thought, Well, I guess I better start reporting on this, he said. Being new to the Journal and the area, Higgins was unsure of the police departments location but knew the fire department was just around the corner from the Journal as he passed it on his way to work the few days he had been on the job. Not knowing if anyone was at the Journal, Higgins wanted to see if they had any assignments for him to cover only to find the newsroom empty at the time. So he decided to head back over to the fire department. Higgins said most of the fire trucks were already out except for one that was stuck because one of the doors in the front didnt fully open. Whether it was the power outage or the door had come off the track, Higgins wasnt sure. Eventually the truck got out. Then, Rapid City Fire Chief Ken Johnson asked for volunteers to help in rescue operations. Higgins immediately volunteered. I thought if there's going to be any news or photographs. Maybe this is where it's going to be for me, he said. As the truck got out, Higgins was joined by four other men from Ellsworth Air Force Base. The men in the fire truck headed out looking for people. There were people who needed help but sometimes there was no way we could get to them. There were a couple instances where we did kind of the human chain thing and helped pull some people out of the water who were kind of floundering out there, Higgins said. I don't even remember how long it went on. I'm sure it went on for hours but it seemed like in my memories like in minutes. All throughout the night, they pulled people from partially submerged vehicles. With power out, the fire department was using a portable radio from a pickup truck they had taken for communication. As they were investigating a report of children stranded on top of a house trailer, they all went down a safety line along railroad tracks shouting and using flashlights producing no results. So they headed back to the truck. Once back at the truck, faint shouts were heard from the location they had just been, so they all went back down the safety line again with a fireman shouting, "Everybody hold onto the damn rope, I don't want to see anybody let go of it." They found a middle-aged man who appeared to be in shock as the source of the shouts. They were able to carry him out of the water and back to the truck. Despite numerous buildings on fire throughout the night, Johnson had already established rescuing people was more important than any burning buildings. As it got to be daylight, Higgins headed back to the Journals building where he found some of his bosses and coworkers now hard at work gathering and writing news stories of the nights event. Friday nights power outage forced the Journal to miss printing of their Saturday edition entirely, leaving Sunday as the first edition since the flood. Soaking wet, covered in mud, the Journal's Wire Editor Jerry Mashek told Higgins to write up something brief to put across the AP wire as he was one of the first reporters to provide firsthand reports of what happened. They had already sent a couple of (para)graphs about the flood and that there was a flood in Rapid City, but of course at that point we didn't know the death toll or how much damage there was, Higgins said. For the remainder of the day, Higgins said he stayed in the office making calls, helping out the other reporters, doing cut lines for the Journals staff photographer Don Polovich and helping out where he could. I spent most of the time trying to get information and generally being stumped most of the time, Higgins said. Nearly a full 24 hours since he first left his apartment, Higgins finally headed back home. Where I crossed the bridge to see where my house was. It was completely obliterated. There was nothing, zero, nothing standing there, he said. Somebody else told me and I don't remember exactly when, but somebody in the area told me that the house had caught on fire and just burned down and just disintegrated. With nothing but the clothes on his back, and his mud-clogged camera, Higgins stayed with fellow Journal reporter Ron Bender for the next few nights. Literally my shoes started just kind of falling apart and the seams started coming apart on my blue jeans as well, he said. I went to the Red Cross. And they gave me a complete new outfit of clothes, jeans and shirts. And you know, one outfit such as one pair of jeans and a shirt and I forgot there's a voucher token or something that I could go to. I think I went into the Red Wing Shoe Store to get a new pair of boots. They had to replace my clothes so quite literally all I had zero, nothing. For the next few weeks, it was an all-hands-on-deck situation in the newsroom with everyone doing their part to cover the news. It was obviously a big event, everybody was pumped up about trying to get the paper out because we knew we had a public service, Higgins said. Not only the stories so that people could get the context to what had happened, but we also want to start to get the public service information out about where to get water, where to get help... We were starting to get the names of people who had died in the flood so we were starting to collect those names as well as the missing. Higgins said he spent a couple more weeks as a reporter before returning to his post as an obituary writer. One particular story that always stuck with him was reporting on the identification of victims and the grief that family and friends felt in receiving the bad news. People are anxious. When people are grieving or they're worried about a missing person they think surely there must be a mistake. Surely they've found my relative and they've made a mistake of some sort, but I don't believe that was the case, Higgins said. Searchers would collect the bodies, where they were transported to one central funeral home in hopes of being identified quickly. Bodies were laid out pending identification, before being stored in refrigerated trailers. But for many, it wasnt as easy as finding a drivers license or other easily accessible pieces of identification. Not only were the victims treated rough by the flood, but quite often bodies had sat out for several days. Higgins said the task of helping to identify the victims went to Bernie Christenson, with the Division of Criminal Investigation. It's hard for people to realize the conditions and the trauma of what went on in that water in that creek. I think those guys were being as careful as they could, Higgins said. Higgins went on to have a long career in newspapers including stints in Aberdeen, California, Colorado and eventually as the publisher of the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press before retiring. He currently resides in the Denver metropolitan area. I had a long career in the newspaper business and was in a lot of cities, Higgins said. I remember people from those other jobs, those other newspapers, those other cities, but not as vividly as I remember them the people I was in the newsroom with at the Journal. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form The newly incorporated town of Keystone was nearly destroyed by the June 1972 flooding that devastated Rapid City. Keystone will celebrate its 50th anniversary by remembering the flood and focusing on the strength and perseverance of its residents. Keystone was founded as a mining settlement in 1883, but it officially became a municipality on June 8, 1972 and flooded the next day. The towns official start and destruction is all linked together. People forget that because it was overshadowed by tragedy (in Rapid City), said Cassandra Ott, Keystone finance officer. Keystone will observe and celebrate its dual 50th anniversaries with three days of special events and the release of a new book, Keystone Remembers. The book includes stories that were collected for the 40th anniversary, and it adds new stories and before-and-after photos of downtown Keystone. Its a time of sorrow and of joy, Ott said. Were trying to focus on the resiliency of the community because they did rebuild. They didnt have much option. Keystone was flooded and (locals) needed to have a tourist season. Keystones 50th anniversary observances begin at 4 p.m. Thursday with a remembrance ceremony at Keystone Community Center gym. Special guests will include a representative from the Small Business Administration, which Ott said was influential in rebuilding Keystone after the flood by offering affordable loans so business owners could rebuild. Ott said the town hopes individuals from the National Guard, Custer County Sheriffs Office and the Red Cross, who offered emergency support services during and after the flooding, also will attend. Weve invited a lot of people who lived through the flood so we can remember the victims and their own trauma through that day, Ott said. The mood turns celebratory on Friday, when a parade to mark the towns 50th anniversary will travel through Keystone at 11 a.m. The town of 240 year-round residents will gather after the parade for a community barbecue in Watson Park. An awards ceremony will honor businesses that have been in Keystone for the past 50 years, and some of the families that have been influential in Keystone will be recognized, Ott said. Some lawmakers, including Gov. Kristi Noem, have been invited to attend. Additionally, a guest speaker will talk about the 1880 Trains role in Keystone through the years, and a master of the Lakota hoop dance, Dallas Chief Eagle, will give a presentation. The Keystone Historical Museum, 410 Third Street, will host a ceremony at 3 p.m. Friday to recognize a special flood exhibit at the museum and the release of the book Keystone Remembers. Keystone Remembers documents stories from more than 60 flood survivors, along with photos and logistical information about the flood, according to Casey Sullivan, Keystone Historical Museum director. The book can be purchased at Friday's ceremony and at the museum after that. We have several artifacts at the museum directly linked to the flood, Sullivan said of the flood exhibit. We focus a lot on the recovery and rebuilding of the town and the organizations that helped do that. Well have an assortment of things that try to honor and represent everything. Special events continue Saturday for kids and adults. The Black Hills Volkssport Association is sponsoring a Keystone Remembrance 50th Anniversary Flood Walk. Registration will be from 8 to 11 a.m. at the picnic shelter behind Keystone Community Center and Library on Highway 40 east of Keystone. The fee is $3 per walker. Walkers must finish by 2 p.m. There will be 5K and 10K routes to follow, where walkers can see signs showing the destruction of the 1972 flood. For more information about the flood walk, call 605-574-3278 or go to bhva.org. The town of Keystone will host a kids carnival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Watson Park. Kids can enjoy inflatable bouncy castles, food, face painting and more. Watson Park itself is something of a memorial to the flood. The park is named for the family who donated the land to Keystone. In 1972, March Watson lived in a house on creekside property thats now the park. When Keystone flooded, rescuers in a boat got March out of her house. Water had risen so high that March was on her kitchen table when her rescuers arrived, Ott said. A rare event Keystone officials have since learned the flooding that swept through the town on June 9, 1972 is considered a 500-year flood, Ott said. Nearly 15 inches of rain fell in six hours. The flood waters came down from Mount Rushmore on Grizzly Creek. It came through town and took out a campground, she said. There were cabins and most of the people that passed away were staying in the campground. The campground was located on Roy Street, where Dahls Chainsaw Art is now. Pennington County was overwhelmed with the Rapid Creek flooding. Custer County, the National Guard and the Red Cross aided Keystone, Ott said. The disaster in Rapid City was so overwhelming that many people there didnt even know Keystone had flooded too until a day or two later. We had the National Guard putting in bridges. We had the Red Cross giving people shots so they wouldnt get sick and giving people tents to stay in, Ott said. All of our bridges are the same age. They all got demolished at the same time and got rebuilt at the same time. Chaos at the time in the flooded communities caused confusion about the numbers of people who died in the flood, but Ott said no Keystone residents are believed to have perished. The flood victims in Keystone were about a dozen tourists including a mother and her children from Pennsylvania who were staying at a local campground. Although that campground is gone, much of Keystone looks similar to the way it was in the 1970s, Ott said, because townspeople rebuilt quickly. Rapid City was one of the first towns in the country to say No, were not letting people rebuild in the floodway, Ott said. That didnt happen in Keystone and Keystone relies on tourism. It did then and it does now. People were anxious to rebuild as fast as possible in order to take advantage of whatever summer they could. Keystone is in a canyon. There arent a lot of places to build that arent in the floodway, she said. The newly incorporated town didnt yet have much authority to stop people from rebuilding, Ott said, so owners of many buildings dug the mud out and fixed them up and they kept going. Over the past 50 years, the town has put some laws in place about building in the floodway. Engineering firm AE2S recently conducted a flood study for the town of Keystone. Although Keystone has experienced some other flooding since 1972, none have been as severe. We do abide by FEMAs rules. Thats why we got the flood study done, so we can know where those boundaries are and where we should be regulating (building), Ott said. The study had to be approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Ott said. The study concluded the 1972 flood was a very rare event. The odds of another 1972-type flood occurring are one in 500, according to the flood study research. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Surviving the 72 Flood tells of many tragic losses that occurred on June 9, 1972, but its stories and photos also document Rapid City residents survival, luck, cleanup, heroism and hope. Award-winning journalist Seth Tupper and award-winning photographer Johnny Sundby, both of Rapid City, produced a new book Surviving the 72 Flood: Eyewitness Accounts from One of the Nations Deadliest Disasters. Through personal interviews, photos and research from historical documents, the book recounts 27 survivors harrowing experiences. Text on the books back cover explains factors that contributed to the disaster: A line of thunderstorms hovered over the Black Hills of South Dakota and dumped up to 15 inches of rain in some locations over a span of only six hours. Thousands of people in Rapid City lived and worked along the banks of Rapid Creek, at the foot of the Black Hills. When a flood surge struck the city that night, many people in the floodplain were unprepared for the scale of the disaster. Tupper and Sundby initially planned about a dozen interviews and photos but kept finding more flood survivors willing to share their stories, Sundby said. Almost all the interviews and photo shoots took place at the locations where disaster struck on June 9, 1972. We have had some people say, Why would you want to make people relive this painful event? Tupper said. Some wont want to. It is still too painful to relive the flood, but really we did the book to preserve the history. By the 75th anniversary, a lot of survivors will be gone. Every story not recorded is one lost. Tupper and Sundby both said preserving the flood history is vital to help new generations and newcomers to Rapid City who dont know about the flood understand the importance of keeping the floodplain open and preventing development there. When you hear some of the firsthand accounts of what people went through, that gives you a whole new perspective, Tupper said. When survivors say, We dont ever want this to happen again, its very affecting, and that history should be preserved so that when those debates open in the future, people have things to reflect back on to see how terrible this really was. Many of the survivors in the book were young adults in their teens and early 20s at the time of the flood, and theyre now in their 60s or older. Ozzie Osheim, now 95, tells of working in a funeral home inundated with flood victims and encountering families who sometimes came back day after day searching for missing loved ones. History has to be preserved, Sundby said. All these stories have to be recorded in part so people respect Rapid Creek and respect the laws of the city to establish the greenway. I think thats one of the most important things. A lot of people are wanting to develop things in the greenway and the less they know about the flood, the more they will want to do that into the future. Sundby was born and raised in Rapid City. His fifth birthday was June 10, 1972. His family lived near Pinedale Elementary School, so their home wasnt flooded. He recalls that his aunt and uncles home was lost, so they brought their belongings and took refuge at Sundby's house. He said that he, like others in the city whose homes were farther from the path of destruction, didnt realize until days later how devastating the flood had been. Its important to realize how much power can be unleashed from Rapid Creek after a big rain storm, Sundby said. For those who lost homes and loved ones in the flood, Tupper said the pain is still evident. Two interviews that affected him most deeply were with Mike Faust and Kay Schriever. On the night of the flood, they were two teenagers who didnt know each other well but happened to be in the same car cruising through the city. It was a Friday night and they got caught in rising water near the Rushmore Building on West Main. The water was rising so fast. Kay got out and ran to the fire escape and all the others got stuck in the water, Tupper said. There were six teenagers in the car. Three lived and three died. One of those who died was Schrievers friend Gayle Nemeti, 17. She got out of the car and was near the Payless building when a back wall blew out. Her body was found among the debris. Schriever was asked to identify Nemetis body at an overwhelmed funeral home. Sundby photographed Schriever for the book on the fire escape where she took refuge from flood waters. Her emotions were very raw, Tupper said. To stand there and hear her tell that story, you start to (understand) the terrible toll it took, the way theyve had to carry that pain and suffering the rest of their lives. Hearing her talk about her friend, the pain was just as fresh as maybe it happened yesterday. It was a real eye-opener, he said. Conducting the interviews and photo shoots at the locations where tragedy struck was the right decision, Sundby said, because it seemed to aid survivors in remembering details as they talked about their experiences. People were so open about sharing their stories, Sundby said. The environmental portraits say a lot about how the city has changed. While Surviving the 72 Flood is a series of historical and cautionary tales, its also a testament to peoples resilience. Theres so many people that saw it happen, actually saw their loves ones swept away. Its terrible, but I was amazed at the way they were able to pick up and carry on and live productive lives, Tupper said. South Dakota Public Broadcasting has created a companion documentary and podcast, Surviving the 72 Flood. Those can be found at sdpb.org/flood along with other content about the 1972 flood. The documentary will premiere at 6:30 p.m. June 8 as part of special programming at The Journey Museum to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1972 flood. Tupper and Sundby will be signing copies of their book. Surviving the 72 Flood: Eyewitness Accounts from One of the Nations Deadliest Disasters can be purchased in Rapid City at Books A Million, Found by Weathered Vane, Prairie Edge, Mitzis Books, the Hotel Alex Johnson Mercantile, The Journey Museum, and at Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center in Lead, Jennys Floral in Custer, Stage Stop Leather & Gifts in Hill City, and at Mount Rushmore Societys three outlets 830 Main St. in Rapid City, a bookstore at Mount Rushmore, and at the Rapid City Airport. The book also can be ordered by contacting Sundby at johnnysundby.com or Tupper at sethtupper.com/. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Editor's note: This is the third in a four-part series talking with former Rapid City Daily Journal employees and what they remember from their perspective covering the 1972 flood. Some memories stay with you forever. Thats especially true for Marcia Mitchell, formerly Marcia Donnan, who worked as the Womens Editor for the Rapid City Journal and was one of only two women in the newsroom. Sally Farrar being the other. In the job, Mitchell was responsible for the Sunday womens section. Mitchell described it as a society section looking at fashion, bridal sections and some material especially interesting to women. While that was her responsibility, that didnt stop Mitchell from also regularly covering news reporting such as issues affecting the Pine Ridge Reservation or drug use in Rapid City. On that Thursday, one day before the June 9, 1972 Black Hills flood, Mitchell had met with Salvation Army Major George William Medley and his wife Captain Joy Medley to work on a large enterprise story of the various services the Medleys were hoping to implement in Rapid City. That Friday morning, Bill and his wife started to attempt to go up to the Salvation Army camp, which I believe was about a dozen miles west of the city on (Highway) 44. And the National Guard turned them around, and they went back to town, Mitchell said. Typical of them, they decided that they really needed to get back to town and help people. When the Medleys returned to town they opened up the Salvation Army Chapel along Rapid Creek and before long, the water started to fill inside the chapel to the point where Joy Medley took some older women who sought refuge inside and left for higher ground. Typical of Bill, he went and jumped into the truck and went into town, to try to see what he could do to help, Mitchell said. And that very night, he was in the process of rescuing some people. In fact, the story is that he was holding a baby in his arms, and had put people in a truck, I think was a truck or a van. And then the water hit them. And he had saved people, but he was lost. Mitchell said it left her with a disturbing feeling having just been with him making plans about how this story and all the plans he had to help the people of Rapid City. He was a wonderful man. But that's a memory that is very strong with me because we had spent so much time planning and to see his vision for helping people in that area and then have that vision just shattered, she said. While doing a series on foster care, Mitchell said there was one family she had come to know who had lived on State Highway 44 near the fish hatchery. The family, who lived in a two-story colonial-style home, were forced up to their attic as the water in Spring Creek began to rise. In the window in the attic, they looked at the house right next door and the people there had climbed out on the roof of their house, Mitchell said. They were watching the people on the roof when the House pulled away from its foundation and was swept away. This big house turned on its side on Spring Creek and was gone. Just to speak with people who had seen something like that was an incredible experience. It's an experience for those people to see it and then to tell it, and then to live with it. It's not easy. That was one of the things that remains with me is being with those people. 'So many obits' The Monday following Friday nights devastation, Mitchell said she took over as an obituary writer for a brief period, because we had so many obits to do on Monday after the flood. While working, a woman friend of Mitchells came into the Journals office, stood in front of her desk, and handed Mitchell a handwritten page. It was an obituary for the friends husband and daughter. She told me that she and her husband and their two children, a boy and a girl, were listening to the radio and waiting, they were thinking maybe we don't have to evacuate. We'll wait and see if there's an evacuation order. And suddenly, there was an evacuation order, Mitchell said They had their car packed and the car was in the driveway and ready to go. They went out to get in the car and a wall of water hits them. "She grabbed her daughter's hands and held tightly, but she couldn't hold the child against the weight of the water, the force of the water, and the child was washed away. As Mitchells friend talked about the loss of her husband and daughter, she also said they had not yet found her son. She said, Marcia, I will have to bring you his obituary because I can't do it yet. They haven't found my boy. And as it turned out, they found her boy in a tree. He was alive. But it was stories like that, Mitchell said. They were just one after the other. Like a war zone On June 26, 1972, the Journal put together its first comprehensive special edition featuring a cumulative report on its flood coverage the prior two weeks. For Mitchell, it was an honor for her to lead the front page of that edition with a column with the headline Its rather like war isnt it? As Mitchell described it in her column, It seems safe to say that no person in the city or in the surrounding communities of the Black Hills was untouched by the disaster. While later commending the acts of heroism of the community, From the first hours of the disaster, volunteer efforts have been of incredible magnitude, Mitchell detailed. As noted by the Journals City Editor Jack Weaver at the time, in a special story on how to put out a newspaper following a disaster, Were experts at the Rapid City Journal we did it once, none of us cares to become any more an expert. An Editors Note included throughout that edition noted that There were too many heart-touching stories in Rapid City during the flood and the Journal couldnt begin to round up or report all of them. Teamwork and sharing news As the Journal shared stories reported on from various news outlets who had traveled to Rapid City to cover the devastation, including the Associated Press, the Minneapolis Star and Minneapolis Tribune, and the Denver Post, among others. Mitchell said she had never seen the newsroom work so hard or as one big team to get the news out during that time. Everybody was so dedicated to getting the paper out. Working long extra hours, without any regard for the clock, she said. Reporters, photographers and editors were out in the streets standing in water talking to people to hear how they had been impacted by the storm. Reporters didnt have the traditional competitiveness that might happen fighting over a front page story or sticking to their specific reporting beats. Everybody did what they could to help. Nobody was criticizing, nobody was pushing, it was just everybody going full bore. And it was remarkable to see the effort put into getting a newspaper out, Mitchell said. But I thought it was so amusing that they were scooping water out of the toilets to use for (processing) film. That papers edition had reached up to 229 victims identified. While the final tally of victims would reach 238, Mitchell said that the daily reports the Journal kept made her realize how difficult it must have been for families to learn their loved ones had died from the news. The thing that was so unreal was it came out every day, there'd be more and more names on that list. It was not possible for the authorities to notify next of kin that this loved one had been found dead. It was not possible to get that information out personally, she said. So people were learning that their loved one was lost by hearing the name read over the radio or seeing it printed in the newspaper, Mitchell said. It reminded me so much of those desperate people in the Civil War waiting for news. In 1973, Mitchell was named the National Press Woman of the Year during a ceremony held in Michigan. Following her time with the Journal, Mitchell would join Gov. Richard Kneips staff as the Secretary of Labor. She was the first female member of the South Dakota Governors Cabinet and the only woman in the country in the role of Secretary of Labor. Now, after much success in the broadcasting and film arts, Mitchell is a successful non-fiction writer who likes to split her time in the Black Hills and the British West Indian island of Montserrat. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Authorities arrested a 31-year-old man on charges in a crash that claimed the lives of two people Tuesday afternoon near Angora. The crash occurred at approximately 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to information released by the Nebraska State Patrol. Preliminary investigation by troopers allege that the driver of a southbound dump truck had been attempting to enter a construction zone on Highway 385 and failed to yield the right of way to a northbound Ford F-350. The dump truck entered the northbound lane, colliding with the F-350. The dump truck was loaded with wet cement at the time of the crash. The driver and rear-seat passenger of the F-350 were pronounced deceased at the scene. Their names are being withheld at this time pending notification of family. A front-seat passenger in the F-350 was transported to Morrill County Hospital with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the dump truck, Aldo Hernandez-Meza, 31, of Mexico, was transported to Morrill County Hospital for minor injuries. Once released from the hospital, troopers arrested Hernandez-Meza on charges of motor vehicle homicide and failure to yield the right of way. He is being held at the Morrill County Jail. The crash remains under investigation. The Morrill County Sheriffs Office assisted at the scene. 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. They rallied to help. The resounding theme of a panel discussion titled Guard, Base and Volunteer Heroes at the Monument Thursday morning was selfless service in the aftermath of the horrific 1972 Black Hills Flood. The panel, part of a series of events commemorating the devastating flood 50 years ago, brought in speakers John Moyes, 28th Bomb Wing Historian at Ellsworth Air Force Base and Air Force veteran, and Duke Doering, former Command Chief Warrant Officer in the South Dakota National Guard and historian with the South Dakota National Guard Museum. For Ellsworth airmen, while the flood didnt hit Ellsworth Air Force Base in Box Elder the way it did Rapid City, service members will run to the fight, Moyes said. And thats exactly what they did in 1972. Moyes and Doering shared stories of airmen and National Guard soldiers that ran to the fight to rescue survivors and retrieve bodies after that horrible night 50 years ago. They even lost some of their own in the aftermath six from Ellsworth Air Force Base. Colonel Barnett got the word and ramped up the emergency command post, and Ellsworth swung into action, Moyes said. Airmen offered up their homes, with an estimated 200 people allowed to stay on base. They opened up community centers and the chow hall and offered help with moving vehicles. In addition to its airmen, the base provided 300 vehicles and 12 helicopters in the rescue effort. The base was a focal point for relief, Moyes said. By the numbers, the base hospital donated 100,000 typhoid vaccines. The hospital saw 242 outpatients and performed 4,600 inoculations. Sixteen physicians and dentists donated their time. Eighteen-thousand gallons of jet fuel were provided. Two hundred-eighty lunchboxes were prepared and sent to Box Elder and Rapid City. Almost 25,000 pieces of clothing were laundered for local hospitals, extended care facilities and nursing homes. The base prepared 4,400 pounds of chicken and 1,400 pounds of beef, donated by the local community, for those affected by the flood. The base dove into action and worked very hard to support the community with everything that went on, Moyes said. He described a memorialization on base of two airmen who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the rescue efforts, and a photo of their families standing by it. Thats when it hit me, Moyes said. We really did something. For the South Dakota National Guard, June 3, 1972 was the first day of a two-week annual training period for most units, about 70%, which amounted to about 2,000 troops within a 50-mile radius of Rapid City. It was an act of God that the Guard was on duty at that time, Doering said. The weekend of the flood, weekend leave had just begun for many stationed at Camp Rapid, with about 10% remaining behind. Then the rain started a staff meeting was called and all commanders were called back in, just in case we do have a problem. Halfway through the meeting, all chaos breaks loose, Doering said, as the rain kept coming. A time before cell phones, radio and television stations were used to call back all the guardsmen on weekend leave. Doering described soldiers with lengths of rope and flashlights, being sent out to different areas of Rapid City. They were sent in groups of three, retrieving people from trees, buildings and cars. It was dangerous, and it was exhausting, he said. The lives they saved were in the hundreds. Rescue teams brought people back to Camp Rapid or area churches. Guardsmen were continually being called in as many as they could get. Calls to Woonsocket, Chamberlain and Vermillion asked troops to report immediately, and to be prepared to stay for a week. The National Guard's primary duty was search and rescue and body recovery. They were finding bodies days after. Photos showed washed out bridges, a guardsman shoveling caked mud out of a car and black gloves for sifting through rubble to search for bodies. Two former National Guard members, Len Kemitz and Mike Sorenson, spoke of their experiences that night fighting tears remembering the ones they couldnt save. They remembered people dropping from trees into boats as they rescued them and water so powerful you could barely stand. So many stories of flood survivors have one thing in common: the help that came after. And so many of those stories include the National Guard and Ellsworth airmen. Contact Laura Heckmann at lheckmann@rapidcityjournal.com Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Each time someone walks through, many of the dogs jump on the front of their kennels asking for a moment of attention. They seem endlessly hop In the wake recent mass shootings at an elementary school in Texas and at a grocery store in New York, Marions police chief discussed his departments active shooter response with residents and council members at last Tuesday's council meeting. An active shooter situation, Chief John Clair explained, is treated much differently than any other situation the police department would handle. In any other situation, the goal is to deescalate and avoid violence. But, Active shooter response is incredibly fast, incredibly dynamic, incredibly violent, right? Its drive to the threat, shoot the person, thats what it is. According to reports, police handling the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas waited more than an hour before entering the school, despite pleas for help from students inside calling 911. All Marion officers, Clair said, are trained to swiftly confront the threat during an active shooting. Details about the Uvalde response are still surfacing, but while no after action report exists yet, Clair said he could surmise that leadership and communication issues contributed to what many view as a botched police response. Thats where additional training at the top of the police department comes in. Over the last few years, continued leadership training has been emphasized for Marion Police Departments command staff. Clair and the departments second-in-command, Lt. Rusty Hamm, just wrapped up a FEMA emergency management training program and will soon finish up additional leadership training through FBI LEEDA (Law Enforcement Executive Development Association.) Clair also recently traveled to Quantico to complete the National Command Course offered by the FBI and Hamm is scheduled to participate in an exercise program on complex coordinated attacks that will have a focus on active shooters. What Im saying is that were trying to become better leaders administratively and tactically, to make sure that were making the best set of decisions that we can, Clair said. According to a recent NPR report looking at mass shootings at schools over the last two decades, confusion among first responders when multiple agencies are involved is a common theme, including on which agency is leading the charge. Clair said his department is prepared to take on either a primary or secondary role in active shooter response. Hes discussed response plans with officials at Emory & Henrys School of Health Sciences, where the PD would serve as the primary agency, and officers are prepared to serve in a secondary capacity to the sheriffs office should an active shooter situation occur at one of the public schools in the town. Clair noted that the sheriffs office staffs all county schools with school resource officers. And so that SRO would be the first one there, whatever deputy thats probably nearby will be the second one there. Well be the third or fourth or fifth or tenth people there. So, we will either be able to do that active, initial response, or while all thats happening, well be able to pick up some of those secondary roles to free up the primary agency. He said things like family reunification areas and perimeter control are things that sometimes fall through the cracks in such intense and fast-past scenarios. Having secondary agencies to pick up those tasks can help the primary agency keep its focus on the threat. Clair noted that the sheriffs office, which has a 10-person tactical team, was likely doing much of the same planning and training as Marions police. The two agencies will together participate in high-intensity, full-combat training in the near future, he said. Were going to break doors, its going to cost money, Clair said. Were going to break things and were going to practice breaching and responding. Some patrol cars area already equipped with breaching equipment, with enough for each shift to have at least one breaching tool, Clair previously explained. Hes since requested the town equip every patrol vehicle with breaching tools. He said officers will get inside a building to confront a threat at any cost. If we have to hit the side of the school with a school bus to make a hole, thats what well do, he said Were going to get in. In response to a question about officer integrity and resolution from a citizen who recently moved to Marion, Clair explained that the Marion Police Department has the most extensive hiring process in the county, with another officer adding that its the most extensive in the region. That process, Clair said, includes a psychological examination, a polygraph test and an extensive background check. He also pointed to the departments final interview question which asks, Do you understand that the basic job of a police officer in its worst scenario is to respond to violent scenarios and apply superior violence, yes or no. And that answers got to be yes, he said, while also reiterating that that kind of aggressiveness would be career-ending in any other scenario. Ill tell you that weve got 21 people in our law enforcement agency who do an excellent job trying to police and be a part of the community and I cant imagine any of them are going to falter in those scenarios. Clair also pointed to the departments efforts at becoming an accredited law enforcement agency, which he said holds the department to a level of exterior accountability. Last year, the Marion Police Department cleared its first hurdle in becoming accredited after it passed a mock policy assessment conducted by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission. The PD was scheduled for its final assessment earlier this year, but put the assessment on hold after Accreditation Manager Amber Eades husband was diagnosed with leukemia in March. At the time, Eades needed to be out for a long period of time and Clair said he did not want to proceed with the assessment without her after all the work shed put in on the effort. On Tuesday, Eades said the department passed a second mock assessment and was looking at a final assessment date in mid-July. Clair said he hoped all the training and accreditation efforts PD staff had put in would help build confidence in the towns police department. I would hope that my track record over the last four years in the community would prove that Im dedicated to being here and giving high-quality law enforcement services, and again, some of the most professional, really, he said. And, I know me saying that doesnt really mean anything, but, I hope VLEPSC saying that means something, I hope FEMA saying that starts to mean something. I hope our track record of success starts to mean something. White is the beloved former band director at George Wythe High School (1954-1959) and the founder and conductor of the Wytheville Community College Concert Band (est. 1989). The Celebration of Life is open to the public beginning at 2 p.m. There will be a program with the opportunity for attendees to share memories, recollections, and stories surrounding the life of Dr. White. A reception with light refreshments will follow the ceremony. White and the WCC Concert Band performed their first concert in December 12, 1989 in Wytheville. Formerly, White was Director of Bands at Elon College from 1962 until his retirement in 1986. Before going to Elon, White had been a successful high school band director in Southwest Virginia including his service at George Wythe High School. He led the community band through its holiday concert of 1998, afterward joining the band's trumpet section. During his tenure as the band's director, White was the recipient of the WCC Distinguished Service Award. He was named Director Emeritus of the WCC Concert Band in 2012. Last week, Z Asian- Vietnamese Kitchen was awarded the coveted MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand in the first ever MICHELIN Guide for Florida, one of 7 restaurants in Orlando to be awarded this honor. Theres issues with the MICHELIN Guide, as with any system that judges restaurants based on criteria partially created over a century ago. But still, it is an honor, and hopefully with more nudging the guide will continue to reform. I read the Michelin Inspectors review of the restaurant and something bothered me. Dia nhothat is not a dish I have heard of beforea bok choy dish? Something must be wrong dia nho means literally small dish. Is this some joke by Z Asian or did the Michelin team incorrectly and carelessly call a bok choy dish by the wrong name? I had to know and it was a great excuse to catch up with the team so I drove over to Z Asian and met up with husband and wife owners Hien Pham (who is also a Lockheed Engineer, and a lead member for a local long time Vietnamese band) and Huong Nguyen (lead chef owner). On the night of the Michelin Guide awards, Hien was actually at home fixing his guitar in preparation for an upcoming charity benefit concert in Tampa the two had no idea about the awards until a friend called them and asked them if they had heard the news they had won a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide. I asked him so what is this dia nho thing? Huong responded, its a category of dishes small and large plate. Small plates is dia nho, which could also mean street food but definitely does not mean bok choy. Maybe a simple mistake, hopefully they rectify. It doesnt make sense to me to even use a Vietnamese name for a traditionally Chinese dish but sure yes. If you go, definitely try out their appetizer menu especially the grilled squid, served with a nice spicy green herb sauce, and the banh khot like little bite sized bits ofcrunchy banh xeo rice crepe. They have been quite slammed since the Michelin Award, with sometimes 2 hour long waits. With the difficulty in the labor market, supply shortages, etc. it has been a very exhausting time for the team so please have some grace and mercy if you visit soon. Tasty Chomps Interview with Hien Q Pham and Huong Nguyen of Z Asian Vietnamese Kitchen Tasty Chomps: How did you find out about winning the Michelin award for Bib Gourmand this week? How did you feel? We found out through friends and customers congratulating us Thursday night. We felt excited, honor, and blessed to be chosen by Michelin. Our dedications during the last 3 years since the grand openings got us where we are today. Tasty Chomps: What has the impact been so far with the announcement of Michelin Bib Gourmand at Z? The impact has been extremely positive, busier than ever since the announcement. Were working through the logistics and staffing, to ensure the delivery of quality food and service to our supporting customers. Tasty Chomps: What is your culinary background? How did you learn to cook and what experiences stick out to you? Huong Nguyen is the main chef at Z Asian her family has been in the Pho restaurant business for the last 30 years in Boston, MA. She had years of training as a chef from being around the familys business. Prior to the development of Z Asian, Huong also had the opportunities to be trained by other chefs (Chinese, Japanese sushi, and Thai cuisines). The experience that impacted her the most though was the family business. Huong also had experiences in Manhattan NYC in a previous career as a financial analyst. What do you love about food? The love for food is a must as owner and the main chef. The most rewarding experience of being in the business, is really providing quality food and exploring to come up with new food items. What are your most popular items right now at Z? Pho, Bun Bo Hue, and Mit Vit Tiem. We hope our customers will explore other amazing items such as Vietnamese street food and our plant-based vegan menu. What are some of your future plans? When we think of Vietnam, we think of fresh seafood and street food. Were looking to extend our current menu to bring fresh seafood and additional popular Vietnamese street food to local customers. Pho and much more will be our focus going into the next 2-3 months. Future dishes- including snail and clams What are your favorite street food items on the menu?? Why? Hien: my favorites are the street food grilled squid, banh khot, chim chut (roast quail), ngheu hap Xa (clams steamed with lemongrass). Another favorite is the Bap xao bo Butter corn, with added fried small shrimps and scallions. Huong will be bringing new street food dishes to the menu soon, which she loves to eat, which is lots of Vietnamese seafood snail and clam dishes. When we walk the streets of Vietnam like in the city of Saigon, there is so much seafood. We dont know why but in the US, most Vietnamese restaurants serve just Pho, bun bo hue, and carry the same items. We want to bring in street food and seafood to the area. Vietnamese cuisine is much more than the basic soups. Our mission is getting the Z generation to explore Vietnamese food beyond the basics. Z Asian Vietnamese Kitchen 1830 East Colonial Dr. Ste B Orlando, FL Tuesday- Sunday: 11am 9pm Monday: Closed A little over 7 Years ago, we partnered with local NPR affiliate 90.7 WMFE to do a story on the local Vietnamese owned businesses in Orlandos Mills 50 District. We met with Ha Nguyen, owner of King Cajun Crawfish of Orlando, who talked to us about leaving Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina destroyed her restaurant of 10 years to rebuild here in Orlando. A woman hurled racist, anti-Asian slurs at the employees at King Cajun Crawfish this week after being unhappy with her meal. It is so disturbing to watch and hear about the anti-Asian incident that they experienced its a lot of ignorance and I hope and pray our community can and will bridge that gulf with compassion, understanding, and love we are one human family. We spoke with Kristen Nguyen, manager at King Cajun Crawfish about how they are doing. Tasty Chomps: How are things going right now? Kristen, King Cajun Crawfish: Things are okay. We are getting a lot of support and love. We really appreciate everyone. What can people do to help? Everyone is already helping by sharing, bringing awareness and supporting us. What do you want to see happen? Wed like to see for people to speak up if they see incidents like this and help others. Some people may be afraid, non confrontation, not know how to respond. We also want to share that in no way should anyone accept this kind of behavior of hatred and racism. The manager called the non-emergency line to report, but the operator let them know there is there nothing they could do. Thankfully, through the Orange County Sheriffs Office AAPI Liason committee, a sheriff was sent out to pay a visit to the business to gain more information and speak with the restaurant workers. King Cajun Crawfish ORIGINAL location Mills Ave Orlando FL 924 N Mills Ave Orlando FL 11:30AM 9:30PM 407-704-8863 Students can get free meals this summer from the Longview School District starting Monday, following approval from the school board. For the first time in three summers, kids can eat the food on-site since COVID-19 restrictions have lifted. Rick Traynor, the districts nutrition services manager, told board members Monday night the program would offer children under 18 a lunch and afternoon snack from June 20 to Aug. 19 in three locations outside of the school district: the parks and recreation building at 2121 Kessler Blvd. in Longview, CORE Healths Ascent Teen Center on Commerce Avenue and Archie Anderson Park in the Highlands. Lunch will be served from noon to 12:15 p.m., and snack times are scheduled from 3 to 3:15 p.m. No meals will be served on July 1 or July 4 due to staff holidays. Breakfast and lunch will also be served at Kessler Elementary School and Monticello Middle School from July 6-29. The dates are different at these schools because it corresponds with summer school. Meals at Kessler and Monticello will be served from 8:25 to 8:45 a.m. for breakfast, and 11:30 a.m. to noon for lunch. Traynor said any youth can grab food at any of the meal locations. They are completely open to everybody, you dont have to be a member of the program ... To be honest, they dont even have to be a Longview student, Traynor said. This summer will mark a return to the original delivery system after two years of COVID-19 restrictions saw the district pivot to a grab-and-go style of delivering meals, Traynor said. The program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture. In March 2020 the Longview School District got waivers from the department to assist with pandemic-related emergency meals. Those waivers expire at the end of this school year, which is why they are returning to the traditional delivery model and thus needed board approval, Traynor said. 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. A mural of multicolored planks lines the fence around Mint Valley Elementary School, thanks to efforts by school officials, community business partners and the students who painted them. Mint Valley Principal Brian Mitchell said the work started in August when a colleague of his in Olympia gave him an idea of how to beautify newly installed wired fencing around the Longview school. The fence added what Mitchell said was much-needed security. Before, the back playground area had no enclosure and was open to anyone who wandered onto the campus. The chain-link fence that encircles the school served as a solution, but Mitchell said the structure also looked institutional. We wanted to ensure people could see this as a school, that its purpose is for children, and that when you walk by you see hope and joy, Mitchell said Monday afternoon before cutting the ribbon on the newly installed mural. Something so colorful Mitchell started working on the mural idea last fall shortly after he was hired as principal, enlisting the help of local artist Jaimie Barchus to develop a stylized version of Mint Valleys mascot, the mustang. As someone with two children who attended Mint Valley, Barchus said she was excited to take on the project, even if she had never done anything on this scale before. My reward is seeing the kids involvement, Barchus said. Ive been an artist since I was a little kid. Ive always liked to cultivate art in kids, and the fact that we were able to incorporate them into the program or into the fence is my favorite part about this. For the first time in her artist career she made digital drawings, as opposed to classic hand sketches, and came up with the idea to show a mustang in stages of life from colt to adult horse. Barchus said she wanted to capture the schools vibrant colors and represent the physical and mental growth elementary students go through from kindergarten to fifth grade. Each grade had its own theme or concept that teachers decided, and then students spent what Mitchell said was more than 1,000 hours painting the planks. The planks, about 1,200 of them, were donated by RSG Forest Products, which has sawmills in Kalama and Oregon. Sam Kell, a career and technical teacher at Mark Morris High School with specialization in construction, offered to bring the planks into his classroom so his students could cut and shape them. Quote "We wanted to ensure people could see this as a school, that its purpose is for children, and that when you walk by you see hope and joy." Brian Mitchell, Mint Valley principal. Paint was donated by Miller Paint, Sherman Williams and Rodda Paint. The Home Depot and Lowes supplied the school with painting materials, from brushes to rollers. Student volunteers from Mark Morris, R.A. Long and Discovery high schools helped prime the boards so paint will stay on even in turbulent weather, Mitchell said. In the spring, Mint Valley staff dried the planks in the elementary school gymnasium. Students soon went to work painting the boards, and two weeks ago, they started installing them. One of the best things is to see parents bringing their kids back to school to stand next to the one they painted and have pictures taken with it, and to watch people and cars slowly driving by on the weekend to see all the artwork, Mitchell said. (Weve had) tons and tons of comments just how uplifting it is and how nice it is to add something so colorful. Love 4 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Tailgate book sale in Woodland The Friends of the Woodland Community Library are holding a tailgate book sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 17 and 18 at 828 Goerig St., Woodland. Mystery, fiction, romance, childrens, young adult books and more can be purchased from the back of pickup trucks at the future site of the Woodland library. Buyers can fill one of the groups bags for $8. According to information submitted to The Daily News, using the groups bags and paying up front will make it easier for the group to manage the sale. Credit cards will be accepted. Money from book sales goes toward funding library activities and supports the future library. For details, call 360-225-2294. Monthly potluck set for June 17 The monthly Castle Rock Senior Center potluck takes place at noon June 17 at the center, 222 Second Ave., Castle Rock. People are invited to bring their favorite food dishes. The next potluck takes place July 15. People are invited to attend the Castle Rock Fair in the morning and join the potluck at noon. WHS class of 58 plans to visit Members of the Woodland High School class of 1958 are invited to get together after the Woodland Planters Day Parade on June 18 at Horseshoe Lake Park. Author, illustrator visits Clatskanie Author and illustrator Vera Brosgol will visit Clatskanie to kick off the Clatskanie Library Districts eight-week summer reading program. The kickoff takes place at 2 p.m. June 18 in the Clatskanie Cultural Center ballroom, 75 S. Nehalem St., Clatskanie. The free reading program will feature a variety of events for all ages of people. Brosgol, who was born in Moscow, moved to the United States in 1984 when she was five years old. She lives in Portland. Her first graphic novel, Anyas Ghost, was published in 2011. Her picture book Leave Me Alone! was a 2017 Caldecott Honor book. Other books she has authored include Be Prepared, The Little Guys and Memory Jars. She spent 10 years as a storyboard artist at Laika Inc., working on films including Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings. The first 100 people to the June 18 event will receive a copy of her graphic novel Be Prepared, which fits the librarys summer reading programs camping theme. She will discuss her work and background and will engage in some drawing activities with the audience. The library appreciates the financial support provided by The Clatskanie Friends of the Library and the Columbia County Cultural Coalition for the event, according to a press release submitted to The Daily News. For details, call Maryanne Hirning, the library director, at 503-728-3732. Dance group plans dances Members of the R Square D dance group dance the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month from June through August at the Kelso Senior Center, 106 N.W. Eighth Ave., Kelso. Dancing starts at 7 p.m. with an hour of Plus squares and intermediate rounds. Mainstream dancing with rounds begins at 8 p.m. The guest caller and cuer are George and Patty Harman. Dates and themes June 22: Strawberries and Ice Cream. July 13: Crazy T-Shirt. July 27: Hawaiian. Aug. 10: Back to School Dance. Attendees are asked to bring school supplies. Aug. 24: Summers Last Hurrah. For details, call Chris at 360-425-6260. Winlock library fundraiser set The Friends of the Winlock Timberland Regional Library are holding a book sale fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 17 at 300 N.E. First St., Winlock (next to the post office parking lot). According to organizers, there are many titles to choose from including adult and young adult fiction, childrens books, vintage hard bound books and novels, coffee table books; and a huge collection of paperback books in western, romance, mystery, science fiction and other genres. Sales are by donation. Exact change is necessary. Money raised benefits the Winlock Timberland Library, supporting capital improvements to the library and various library programs. The Daily News Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The fine china was set, the tables draped in linens and colorful hats were donned at Canterbury Park Independent Living on Tuesday in Longview. Residents of the retirement home were served an authentic English afternoon tea hosted by Darren McGrady, royal chef to Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana for 15 years. On the menu was Buckingham Palace favorites such as tea sandwiches, lavender shortbread, royal tea scones, and of course, tea. Proper tea is made by pouring boiling hot water onto the tea leaves, which needs to sit for five minutes to release the tannins, said McGrady with an English accent. You mustnt dunk the tea. Thats like fishing. Thats not tea. The English dont use half-and-half, just full-fat milk, he added. And just like at Buckingham Palace, tea cups Tuesday were set with the handle towards the guest, a nod to the queens settings when she didnt know if guests were left- or right-handed. Tuesdays event is part of a partnership between McGrady and Koelsch Senior Communities, which operates Canterbury Park, to offer residents fine tea, dining and insights into Englands royal family. Royal recipe swap McGrady wasnt sure when Koelsch Senior Communities asked him to teach royal recipes to their chefs. He didnt know if he wanted his brand associated with a retirement home, but after seeing the attention to detail that the retirement homes brought, he felt it was similar to the attention to detail that he had to bring to Buckingham Palace for the queen and her guests. The chefs in the kitchen were so passionate and wanted to learn and the residents were all so friendly and so happy, said McGrady. I love coming in and working with the chefs and sharing recipes. McGrady hopes to bring history and tradition to the residents of Koeslch Communities through special afternoon teas, like the one held at Canterbury Park. Telling residents about the food as they eat during tea time, he presents antidotes, such as the queens favorite tea, Twinings Earl Grey. The chef also plans to visit residents at two Kirkland retirement homes: Jefferson House and Madison House. He said his goal is to teach people how tea is served and its place in history. Tea time is taking a break from the hustle and bustle of the day, McGrady said. You take time to sit and visit with friends. Theres no schedule on afternoon tea. Memories of the princess McGradys cookbook, Eating Royally; Recipes and Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen, shares recipes of the royal familys most loved meals, including the royal tea scones which were made every day for the queen. She would take remaining scones from her afternoon tea, crumble them and toss them on the floor for her beloved corgis to eat, McGrady said. McGrady currently runs a catering business, Eating Royally Catering, and is featured in American Airlines first class in-flight meals. He started his career by attending culinary school in Nottingham, his hometown, and then training at the Savoy Hotel in London. From there, he started out as a junior chef at Buckingham Palace, where he spent 11 years working his way up the ranks in the kitchen. While cooking for the queen, he had the opportunity to make meals for U.S. presidents including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. During that time, he met Princess Diana, and was asked to be head chef at Kensington Palace after her divorce from Prince Charles. McGrady prepared meals for the woman who was known as the peoples princess and her sons, Prince William and Prince Henry, for four years until her death in 1997. McGradys favorite hot tea is rose pouchong, which is a black tea with rose petals, which the princess also favored, he added. She would have afternoon tea every day, but didnt eat pastries or sandwiches because she was watching her figure, he said. I dont know if I really like it, or if I like because it was Princess Dianas favorite, McGrady said. The smell and rose petals of the tea remind me of the princess. Love 4 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. KALAMA A breakfast and lunch spot inside a long-running RV camp isn't just for visitors, says manager Debbie Bushnell. Fireside Cafe inside the Camp Kalama RV Park off Meeker Drive is open daily and serves classic meals like omelets, burgers and club sandwiches to regulars inside and outside the campsite. Bushnell said visitors stop by the red building that sits about 35 people when they are entering or leaving the site and don't want to cook a relatable sentiment for the Carrolls resident. "If I was camping, it'd be nice to have a restaurant here," Bushnell said. Other customers, even those from Kalama or Kelso, drop by when they notice the eatery's sign off Interstate 5 for the first time, she added. Fireside Cafe Signature Fare: Virginia biscuits and gravy, with sausage, two eggs and biscuits, smothered in homemade gravy, and served with hash browns or small red potatoes with peppers. Cost: $16.99. Address: 5055 Meeker Dr., Kalama. Hours: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., daily. Info: 360-673-3473 or Fireside Cafe on Facebook. But the cafe has been a staple of the area for at least 26 years. A high-water mark from the area's 1996 flood stands next to the cafe's open sign, which is about as high as the front door. New owners Bushnell said Camp Kalama changed hands last winter after the previous longtime owners retired. The new owner RV Inn Style Resorts, operates nine other camping locations in Washington and three in Oregon, according to its website. Since taking over, Bushnell said the company repaved a road on the property and is remodeling the bar located next to Fireside Cafe. Camp Kalama includes a boat launch off the Kalama River, cabins, 30 and 50 amp RV plug ins, and water and sewage hook ups, according to its website. The facility offers daily and monthly stays. People can get discounts on daily rates by joining the company's discount club for $129 a year. Menu Bushnell said she works about every day, but would visit even when off because she likes the company. "I keep threatening to make my bed back here," she said as she pointed to a storage area. A cowbell above the wooden door frame rings with passing customers, who seat themselves while Bushnell or the eatery's only other employee Tammy Wilhelm brings menus and silverware. A radio played classic rock on a June 2 visit, as coffee brewed next to a candy dish of taffy and bacon fried in the oven. "It's just a little crispy," Bushnell said after pulling out the bacon. "I like it crispy." Classic dishes like eggs Benedict, chicken-fried steak and ham and cheese sandwiches fill out the menu. Special items include the Wild Bills Burger, Bushnell added, which is topped with ham and an egg, in addition to traditional burger fixings like cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle. For breakfast, hungry customers opt for the Virginia biscuits and gravy, Bushnell said, which includes two eggs and sausage on biscuits and smothered in homemade gravy. "I think a lot of guys like it because it's really filling," she said. People can opt for hash browns with breakfast dishes, or "baby reds," as the menu calls them, which are little red potatoes with red and green peppers and onions. Lunch guests can grab fries, tater tots, cottage cheese or potato salad. In a fortuitous event on June 2, a regular ordered a double decker club sandwich, and wanted the bacon to Bushnell's liking. "Would you like crispy bacon?" Bushnell asked the customer. "I made it just for you today." Signature Fare is a series featuring local restaurants' signature menu items and prints every other Wednesday. Contact Daily News reporter Hayley Day at 360-577-2541 or hday@tdn.com for possible inclusion in the series. Love 9 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Later this summer, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and United States Sen. Patty Murray will weigh in on a question that has vexed the Northwest for more than a quarter century. Should the four lower Snake River hydroelectric dams be breached to help restore endangered and threatened salmon runs? Heres hoping common sense prevails and the two leaders steer away from that radical and massively expensive idea. Much is at stake: The four dams generate enough power to supply about 900,000 homes. Their ship locks make it possible to ship grain, wood and other commodities between lower Columbia River ports and the Rocky Mountain region. They are pivotal to operation of the Northwest power electrical grid. On the other side is the preservation of rugged and once-abundant salmon species that swim 700 miles or more twice in their lifetimes, helped feed generations of native peoples and are an essential part of the river economy and ecosystem. Federal fisheries managers and hydro system operators repeatedly have rejected the dam breaching idea, and theyve been challenged by conservation groups who say hydropower operations jeopardize the fish in violation of the Endangered Species Act. Its not an easy decision. Few issues are as complex as salmon, especially when their needs collide with the operations of the Northwest hydropower system. Assertions are followed by counter assertions and counter-counter assertions that can leave one bewildered and frustrated. Ive followed this issue for decades, and while my appreciation of the dam-removal argument is more sympathetic, I still oppose the idea. Heres why: One: The price tag. Removing the dams would cost $1.3 billion to $2.6 billion, and then there are billions of more dollars needed to replace the power they generate. A report commissioned by the governor and Murray, released last week, estimated that replacing the power, irrigation and transportation capacity the dams now provide would cost $10.3 billion to $27.2 billion. The money would be better spent on habitat restoration projects, such as the recently completed $32 million project at Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge east of Washougal, Washington. That 1,000-acre project the largest wetland restoration effort completed on the lower Columbia planted a half million trees and shrubs and reconnected a creek to the Columbia River. It now provides critical rearing and shelter habitat for juvenile salmon and also benefits many other bird, fish and mammal species. Imagine how many more of these habitat projects could be funded instead of ripping down the dams. I doubt a significant number of Northwest electric ratepayers who paid for the dams and also would shoulder the cost removing them support breaching the structures. Two: Modifications to the dams to make juvenile salmonids passage downriver faster and safer through turbine screening, additional spills of water and other measures have been shown to sharply improve Chinook and salmon survival. Snake and Columbia rivers salmon runs improved steadily between 1980 and about 2015, boosted by these passage improvements, tribal hatchery programs and favorable ocean conditions. For example, the 10-year-average return of Chinook at Lower Granite Dam (the uppermost of the four Lower Snake River dams) in 2010 was 83,000, up from 35,000 in 1980). Chinook returns to the Columbia system in 2015 were 1.3 million, a record for a third year in a row. Runs have collapsed since then as ocean conditions declined. Nevertheless, history shows the salmon can rebound if other factors especially climate and ocean conditions cooperate. Three: No doubt, removing the dams would help the fish. Some advocacy groups estimate a doubling or tripling of runs is possible. Yet theres room for skepticism: Even if the dams are removed, the Snake River runs still need to pass through the four lower Columbia dams. The upper Snake River would continue to be blocked off to salmon by the Hells Canyon dams, and the two historically prodigious Snake Basin fish producers the Salmon and Clearwater rivers already are accessible through fish ladders on the lower dams even if some fish advocates rhetoric subtly implies they are not. Four: We need the dams renewable power as we try to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and combat climate change, which is perhaps the greatest threat to salmon. Climate change affects every stage of the salmon life cycle. Its true the four Snake dams account for only about 7% percent of the hydropower generated in the Columbia Basin, but every watt will be needed. Northwest energy demand flat for two decades will zoom as people adopt electric vehicles. The average electric vehicle requires 30 kilowatt hours to travel 100 miles the same amount an average American home uses daily to run appliances, computers, lights, and heating and air conditioning, according to the Pew Center. Solar and wind are not as reliable as hydropower, even though battery storage technology is advancing and the cost of those sources is declining. Five: Theres still a lot of work to do to reduce predation of salmon by sea lions, cormorants and other species. Six: The fate of Puget Sounds Southern Resident Orca population does not hinge on Snake River salmon abundance, despite attempts to link the two. Even if their numbers increased, Snake River chinook would not be a major part of the orcas food supply, according to federal biologists. Even if we dismantle a small part of the hydropower system, Columbia Basin salmon runs never will approach their historical highs of 10 million to 20 million returning adults. So what constitutes adequate recovery mere survival and perpetuity, or enough abundance to sustain abundant tribal and commercial fisheries? The choice is made even more difficult because some judgments cant be made with complete scientific certainty, and some factors are beyond human control. In truth, its a humbling issue to contemplate. To be sure, perhaps these dams shouldnt have been built half a century ago, but thats no reason to tear them down today. Andre Stepankowsky retired in August 2020 after a 41-year career as a reporter and city editor at The Daily News. He has won or shared in many prestigious journalism awards, including the staffs 1981 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of Mount St. Helens. His column will appear on the editorial page every other Wednesday. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 NASA reported an M-class solar flare eruption on the Sun. It appears that the resultant solar storm will be hitting the Earth today, June 15. It can cause GPS and radio blackouts in some regions. Check details below. A particularly long eruption of an M-class solar flare was observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory by NASA yesterday, June 14. Immediately after the flare went off, the electromagnetic energy was released into space and its impact was felt on Earth in parts of Russia and Japan. As the energy was traveling at the speed of light, it reached earlier and caused minor damage to Earths radio communications. However, it is expected that today, June 15, the coronal mass ejection (CME) will send a large solar storm towards the planet. The delay between yesterdays initial impact and todays solar storm is due to the fact that CME carries larger charged solar particles and takes almost 24-48 hours to reach us. Concerningly, as it carries more electromagnetic energy, it also can potentially disrupt GPS signals and certain radio frequencies. Find out what to expect from this solar storm. Also read: NASA mission suffers shock failure! Astra rocket crashes, 2 satellites lost The information regarding this solar storm comes from Dr. Tamitha Skov, a space weather physicist. Popularly known as the space weather woman, she took to Twitter to reveal the details around this upcoming solar storm. She said, The NASA prediction shows a slightly faster #solarstorm hitting early June 15. If the storm hits early, it increases the chances for #aurora. #GPS users stay vigilant at high-latitudes & near dawn & dusk. Amateur #radio operators switch to lower frequencies once the storm hits. Check the NASA prediction model below. The NASA prediction shows a slightly faster #solarstorm hitting early June 15. If the storm hits early, it increases the chances for #aurora. #GPS users stay vigilant at high-latitudes & near dawn & dusk. Amateur #radio operators switch to lower frequencies once the storm hits! https://t.co/IiOtaAhIIp pic.twitter.com/a2o8I0Bhyv Dr. Tamitha Skov (@TamithaSkov) June 13, 2022 Dangerous solar storm to approach the Earth on June 15 According to the prediction models by NASA, the solar storm is going to strike in the South-East direction from the north pole. As such, it can impact various regions of Europe and Asia are more likely to be affected by this compared to the American continent. Skov also warned users to be vigilant while using GPS at high-latitudes which means various navigation systems including airlines will be impacted. Ham radio will also be affected and users have been requested to use a lower band for the same. There is a possibility of an aurora display in the higher latitudes if the solar winds pick up the speed. Also read: ISRO - NASA Space Apps 2022 challenge is here; Check details, know how to participate Solar storms have become frequent ever since the beginning of this year. It is due to the Sun moving in towards its solar maximum phase, which is a part of its 11 years long solar cycle. During solar maximum, the solar activities including random combustions, solar flare eruptions and incidents of solar prominence increases and it also poses a threat of very intense solar storms towards the Earth. The Sun is expected to reach its solar maximum in 2023. Schematic of system and algorithms. a) Perspective view of the silica glass bilayers: silica atoms are colored in cyan and oxygen ones in red. b) Schematic representation of the fracture formation under increasing tensile strain from left to right: non-strained (left panel), first plastic event corresponding to a bond breaking (central panel) and crack path (right panel). c) Local learning approach that uses Support Vector Machine to predict the elastic/plastic nature of individual atoms. d) Global learning approach which uses a ResNet model to predict rupture strain, location and the full crack path. The approach also allows for the interpretation of the model decisions using attention maps (right side of panel). Credit: Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30530-1 The ability to predict when materials will fracture is of immense importance for industrial applicationscompanies can use this information to maintain devices and components more efficiently and cost effectively. A research team from FAU and the University of Milan has demonstrated that artificial intelligence can predict when quartz glass will fracture based on information learned from images of its atomic microstructure. The researchers have published their results in the journal Nature Communications. Glass is a non-crystalline solid and in contrast to solid crystalline materials, its atoms are not arranged consistently. This makes it more difficult to predict when glass will break: where there is no defined order, it is difficult to detect the first signs of disorderan important sign that the crystalline material will soon fracture. Thanks to the latest developments in deep learning with artificial intelligence, researchers can now reliably predict when glass is likely to break. Scientists are not yet able to explain how the AI system achieves its results and which parameters are being considered and focused on, which is a common problem in artificial intelligence research. "Neural networks are black boxes," explains Prof. Dr. Stefano Zapperi from the University of Milan who was a guest researcher at FAU for one year after receiving the Humboldt Prize. "This is an important limitation in scientific research which is tasked with explaining the causes of a specific phenomenon." To solve this problem, the researchers are using a method to identify the areas of the microstructure image most often used by the neural networks to predict the fracture. "Neural networks try to imitate the brain. We also don't always understand how the brain reaches a certain result. But in humans, at least we can observe behavior such as eye movement, which may explain how a certain decision is reached," explains Michael Zaiser, Professor of Material Simulations at FAU and co-author of the study. "We took a similar approach to our problem and investigated points that attracted the attention of the neural network, essentially following what it is looking at." This method allowed the researchers to investigate local parameters that influence fracturing behavior. "Thanks to this method, we were able to identify and better understand aspects that cause glass to break and not only predict when glass is likely to fracture but also gain fundamental insights into the mechanics of glass materials," says Stefano Zapperi. "The strategy that we have developed can be applied to further applications," adds Michael Zaiser "for example in designing related materials with better fracture resistance." Explore further Printing circuits on rare nanomagnets puts a new spin on computing More information: Francesc Font-Clos et al, Predicting the failure of two-dimensional silica glasses, Nature Communications (2022). Journal information: Nature Communications Francesc Font-Clos et al, Predicting the failure of two-dimensional silica glasses,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30530-1 Researchers reveal how to support association rules mining on published datasets while providing privacy protection for specific rules. Credit: Tsinghua University Press Researchers have given a boost to privacy and protection of proprietary or other sensitive information during data mining, while not compromising on the ability to discover useful patterns in huge datasets. The technique, developed by a pair of computer scientists at Chongqing University, is described in an article published in the journal Big Data Mining and Analytics. Data mining, the discovery of patterns in very large sets of dataoften involving machine learningand the sharing of that information for useful purposes frequently hits a roadblock when such data patterns are proprietary, undermine privacy, or compromise security. And yet such data sharing or publication enhances further discovery of useful patterns of benefit to the owners of those datasets and society at large. Consider a very common data mining algorithm for discovering potentially useful relations between variables in large datasets: association rule mining. The classic, possibly fictional, example of association rule mining concerns a large dataset of supermarket sales, where it is discovered that male customers who buy diapers also tend to buy beer. The "rule" here is the association of beer, diapers and male customers. Based on this rule, a supermarket manager can offer a discount package for those buying beer and diapers together. But were this "rule" to be discovered by competitors using a published dataset that the supermarket had shared to enhance further pattern discovery, they could steal customers from the original supermarket by providing the same discount strategy. The "diapers-means-beer" rule is thus commercially sensitive and would need to be protected before the supermarket would be comfortable in publishing its data for others to use. Put another way, if greater data sharing is to be encouraged, there needs to be a way to allow data mining for non-sensitive association rules (NARs) while protecting data mining from discovering sensitive association rules (SARS). To solve the sensitive association rule problem, researchers in the past have proposed protecting the sensitive information by simply hiding it after discovery before any sharing of the dataset. This is achieved by decreasing the frequency of the appearance of any data in the dataset that suggest the association rule. This is however not very practical as only one such SAR can be protected at any one time, and the technique does not provide strong data privacy anyway. Other researchers have tried to transform the SAR problem into a single objective optimization problemfinding the best solution for a specific criterion. This strengthens the data privacy but reduces the utility of the dataset. Another approach involves encrypting the data before performing any data mining on the dataset, but this can be very time-consuming, especially when implemented on particularly large datasetsthe very ones with the greater potential to discover patterns of interest. So the Chongqing researchers wanted to find a solution that decreases the potential for privacy leakage while also improving the data utility, and to do so while limiting the time such a technique would take. Their solution, which they call "optimized sanitization approach for minable data publication," or simply SA-MDP, recognizes that any solution to the SAR problem needs to find an acceptable trade-off between data utility and data privacy, rather than solving for one or the other independently. This is a multi-objective optimization problem, rather than a single-objective optimization problemwhere more than one objective must be optimized. While many fields, from logistics to engineering regularly face such problems, they are inherently thorny ones. A traveler wanting to find the cheapest plane ticket on a convenient day with the most comfortable seat while taking the shortest journey with the fewest layovers is confronting a multi-objective optimization problem. The challenge lies in the fact that no one single solution exists that simultaneously optimizes each of these objectives; instead, there may be many, perhaps even an infinite number of optimal 'candidate' solutions that are equally good. For SA-MDP, the researchers designed a customized "particle swarm optimization" (PSO) algorithm to efciently solve this multi-objective optimization problem. The PSO method, a biologically inspired algorithm, was originally discovered in the 1990s by researchers aiming to simulate the social behavior of animals that swarmed such as flocks of birds or schools of fish. But the researchers found that their algorithm was in fact performing optimization calculations to solve problems for the swarm. Under PSO, a large group of candidate solutions are treated as particles like birds in a flock in the "search space"the set through which the algorithm searches. Moving these particles within the search space according to some basic mathematical rules governing a particle's velocity and position is akin to imagining each individual bird helping the flock as a whole find the optimal solution. To improve the exploration ability of SA-MDP, the technique also introduces the concept of particle splitting, which enables a particle to produce several "child particles." And to speed up the process, the method involves a novel preprocessing mechanism that removes any irrelevant transactions so that the size of the search space can be decreased. Having designed the new approach, the researchers then tested it on several publicly available datasets commonly used in such testinga set of chess movements, a dataset of mushroom attributes used to classify them into edible or poisonous, and a series of clickstreams (the sequence of links clicked on) of visitors to websites. They found their technique easily beat the competition. "Our method provides the same privacy protection as the standard approach for hiding sensitive association rules, but with better data utility, all the while slashing running time," said Xiaofeng Liao, a computer scientist at Chongqing University and co-author of the paper with his doctoral student Fan Yang. They compared these results to those of the cuckoo search optimization algorithm for hiding sensitive association rules, or COA4ARH, a common algorithm used to hide sensitive association rules (association rule hiding) when data mining. They found that their approach delivered the same protective effect as COA4ARH's ability to hide sensitive rules, and beat it on ability to produce useful association rules, while cutting running time in half. Explore further Multi-spin flips and a pathway to efficient Ising machines More information: Fan Yang et al, An Optimized Sanitization Approach for Minable Data Publication, Big Data Mining and Analytics (2022). Fan Yang et al, An Optimized Sanitization Approach for Minable Data Publication,(2022). DOI: 10.26599/BDMA.2022.9020007 Provided by Tsinghua University Press Choice supplied this photo of a sign, which it said was taken at a Kmart in Marrickville, NSW. Credit: CHOICE Once the purview of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, facial recognition is now being used to identify consumers in Australian stores. If you've seen the movie Minority Report, you'll remember how Tom Cruise's character John Anderton is identified through iris recognition to perform his duties, and later tracked with it when he's a wanted man. When he replaces his eyes to evade identification, Anderton is bombarded with advertisements targeting his new assumed identity. This once-futuristic idea from a movie could soon be a reality in our lives. An investigative report published by consumer magazine Choice reveals three major retailers (out of 25 queried), Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys, have admitted using facial recognition technology on customers for "loss prevention." The companies say they advise consumers of the use of the technology as a condition of entry. But do consumers really know what this entails, and how or where their images could be used or stored? What is facial recognition and why do we care? We've grown accustomed to our phones and cameras using facial detection software to put our faces into focus. But facial recognition technology takes this a step further by matching our unique identifying information to a stored digital image. Facial recognition has come a long way. It was initially used in 2001 to identify relationships between gamblers and employees in Las Vegas casinos, where there was suspected collusion. The United States government would eventually use the same technology to identify the 9/11 hijackers. It's now widely adopted by law enforcement and intelligence communities. Currently, software such as Clearview AI and PimEyes are being used in highly sophisticated ways, including by Ukrainian and Russian forces to identify combatants in Ukraine. But what is this technology doing in Bunnings? As with its early use in casinos, Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys told Choice their facial recognition software is used for "loss prevention." Images captured on store surveillance devices and body cameras could be used to identify in-store individuals engaged in theft, or other criminal activities. Real-time identification could allow law enforcement to quickly identify shoppers with unpaid tickets, outstanding warrants, or existing criminal complaints. Bunnings chief operating officer Simon McDowell told SBS News the technology was used "solely to keep team and customers safe and prevent unlawful activity in our stores." Both The Good Guys and Kmart told news outlets they were using it for the same reasons, in a select number of storesand that customers were notified through signage. Choice confirmed there were some signs disclosing use of the technologybut reported these signs were small and would be missed by most shoppers. The news has stoked shoppers' fears of how their image data may be used. As in Minority Report, images captured in a store could theoretically be used for targeted advertising and to "enhance" the shopping experience. It's likely images and video collected through standard in-store surveillance are either matched immediately against a remote database using specialized facial recognition software, or analyzed against a database of tagged and cataloged images later on. Ideally, the images would be encoded and stored in a file that's readable only by the algorithm specific to the device or software processor. Potential for misuse We have already seen online retailers use this tactic through cookies and linking our purchase history on electronic devices. We have also seen companies correlate our social media profiles and our other online experiences across various websites. Australian stores employing facial recognition could use collected information internally to track: the number of visits by a person the times of those visits pattern or behavioral analysis (such as a consumer's reaction to pricing or signage) and associations with other shoppers (such as friends, family and anyone else with them). Retailers could also use this identity data to extract information from social media, where most people have images of themselves uploaded. They could then perform risk analysis based on the credit and financial reporting access of that specific shopper. Externally, the images and associated consumer information could be merged with financial, economic, social and political data already collected by commercial data aggregatorsadding to the already massive data aggregation market. Current Australian privacy laws require retailers to disclose what data are being collected, retained and protected, as well as how it might be used outside of a loss prevention model. A Bunnings spokesperson told The Guardian the technology was being used in line with the Australian Privacy Act. Choice has reached out to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to determine whether the use of the technology is indeed consistent with the Privacy Act. What to do? While the retailers highlighted in Choice's investigation state consumers must agree to the collection of their images as a condition of entry, the reality is the collection, retention, and use of their images are not usually disclosed in any explicit way. As far as data collection in retail settings goes, there should be a precondition for all stores to make sure consumers are made aware of: the specific information that is collected while they are visiting how it might be aggregated and combined with other relevant information from third parties how long the images or data will be retained, retrieved, or accessed and by whom, and what security precautions are being used to secure the data. Furthermore, as with their online shopping experience, consumers should be given the option to opt-out of such data collection. Until then, consumers may try to avoid collection by donning hats, sunglasses and face masks. But considering the rate at which facial recognition technology is advancingand how large the personal data market has already grownretail cameras may soon be able to see through these disguises, too. Explore further How facial recognition technology is being used in Ukraine and why it's still so controversial This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Credit: Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University While Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok has had a meteoric rise in popularity since it was released in 2016, the app's growth has posed privacy concerns when it comes to the collection of users' information, highlighting what a recent New York Times op-ed labeled a "data espionage problem." The fear surrounding so-called data espionage is that social media apps collect users' data in vast quantities, which can be used by adversarial governments for harmful purposes. TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, and some cybersecurity experts warn that the authoritarian country, which already monitors its own citizens through different emerging technologies, could use the platform to gather and exploit consumers' information. "TikTok has this unique position in that it's very popular and getting more popular, but it has this weird ownership structure," says Northeastern computer science professor Christo Wilson, a founding member of the university's Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute. "Anything you see on that platform or interact with or generate, they see that. Like many mobile apps, it has a lot of different, sensitive information that it's collecting, and that's getting shipped off to China." Last year, President Joe Biden ordered the federal government to review security concerns posed by TikTok and related apps, Reuters reported. And last month, the Senate passed a bill to ban federal employees from accessing the app on government mobile devices, while the U.S. Army and Navy have issued similar bans. A big question has arisen in light of these cybersecurity concerns, notes Dr. Meryl Alper, a professor of communication studies at Northeastern: How much of a relationship does ByteDance have with TikTok? The answer to this inquiry could determine how much influence the Chinese Communist Party has on the operations of the app in the U.S. "It's really unclear the role of the Chinese government in terms of who's reporting to who and how independent is TikTok from the rest of ByteDance," says Alper, who researches the social and cultural implications of communication technologies. "That's something that's very unclear." There is little evidence, she notes, that the Chinese government has been influencing content available on TikTok in the U.S. However, China hasthrough its version of the app, Douyincensored information on domestic issues sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party, like Tibetan independence and the internment of hundreds of thousands of Uighurs, the predominantly Muslim ethnic group in the country. Another pushback to concerns surrounding data collection by TikTok in the United States is the fact that other apps have been collecting and selling consumers' information for years, Wilson points out. "There are many other apps that are collecting more or similar information, and they're selling it relatively inexpensively," he says. "I don't think TikTok or China are unique in that respect. We have very weak data privacy laws in the U.S. There's just this data free-for-all going on." Part of what has driven data privacy concerns about TikTok in the United States is what Alper describes as "personal politics" carried over from former President Donald Trump's time in office. It is no secret, she notes, that Biden's order last year came on the heels of the Trump administration's adversarial relationship with TikTok, which was partially based on the perception that the app fomented youth activism critical of the former president. "There's a legacy here that is rooted in, yes, valid concerns about national security, but the entire thing is tinged with personal politics that has sort of landed in the Biden administration," Alper says. Alper points out that cybersecurity concerns have cropped up not just with TikTok, but also with domestic social media giants. Facebook, for example, was manipulated by Russian agents in the lead-up to the 2016 election to sow discord among Americans, she notes. "While the threat of TikTok to U.S. national security remains theoretical, the threat of Twitter and Facebook is well-documented, especially as it relates to domestic terror," she says. These dangers, both potential and realized, have led to a larger debate on how information should move globally, according to John P. Wihbey, Northeastern professor of media, innovation and technology, whose research focuses in part on policy issues related to social media platforms. "There's a very broad reconsideration of how data-flows go across borders, the idea of data sovereignty and the ability to control what's in one's national borders. It's a big policy conversation," Wihbey explains. According to Wihbey, another discussion is simultaneously underway in American government, academia, and industry: a strategic conversation focused on China. In the past two decades, the nation has become more of an adversary to the United States, and more recently, it has been developing the next generation of artificial intelligence software and surveillance. "We used to talk about promoting partnerships with Beijing. Now, we're talking about China as a competitor, particularly in the world of technology and AI," Wihbey says. "Some of these concerns can be overblown, but this is a new era of competition between these two countries." What specific dangers information exploitation can lead to is a "tricky question," as it is all a matter of what kind of data is available, Wihbey explains. What type of information is being collected can determine the resulting threat, he notes. "With corporations, there are issues of strategic competition implicated there," Wihbey says. "Would data collection allow you some sort of hacking or espionage advantage? Possibly. This could potentially lead to the loss of intellectual property or access to government officials." These potential dangers show a need for better user privacy safeguards, because regulations that protect people's personal data from technology companies are sorely lacking, Alper, Wilson and Wihbey all point out. "Our bigger platforms need greater fiduciary responsibilities that are written into law," Wihbey says. "We need more protections for user data and how it's monitored and collected." "We cannot rely on companies to self-regulate themselves," Alper adds. "That has literally not worked for any industry." Explore further US Senate votes to ban TikTok on government phones Former Bryan Police Department assistant chief Wayland Rawls was found not guilty by a Brazos County jury for a 2020 misdemeanor assault charge last week. A verdict was reached in under an hour after jury deliberations last Wednesday, according to attorneys Murray Newman and Cheryl Chapell, who represented Rawls. Over the course of the trial, the state called nine witnesses to testify four police officers and five civilians, including the plaintiff Newman said. While the defense had witnesses lined up to testify, such as Rawls and his wife, no witnesses were called to the stand, Newman said. He (Rawls) had been interviewed by the police and they played his interviews, Newman said. That was enough for the jury because he had always been forthcoming and cooperative with police. According to previous coverage in The Eagle, witnesses told authorities that Rawls hit a man, who did not attempt to fight back, multiple times with a closed fist during a fundraising event hosted by Allen Academy on Feb. 8, 2020. Rawls was off-duty at the time of the incident. Officials said at that time that Rawls alleged the victim touched his face, which then provoked him. The Texas Rangers conducted an internal investigation into Rawls, a 24-year employee at the department, following the incident. Within the same month, Rawls was charged with misdemeanor assault by the Brazos County District Attorneys Office following his retirement from the department. His retirement ended the internal investigation since he was no longer an employee, Bryan Police Department said in a statement. After Rawls was found not guilty, Bryan police released a statement saying it, respects the jurys verdict and has faith in the criminal justice system. Newman said he believes police and the Brazos County District Attorneys Office handled Rawls case more harshly than they should have in an effort to demonstrate that police officers would not be treated with more leniency than civilians. Newman said had the incident been between two civilians no charges would have been filed. He had to resign, end his career in law enforcement, had to lose his friends at the department and they made a lot of assumptions, Newman said. I dont think they really looked hard at the evidence or else they would have realized he was defending his wife and himself. While waiting for the trial, Rawls peace officers license lapsed due to his inability to work for another policing agency or have a sponsor, Newman said. According to Newman, Rawls is evaluating whether he wants to return to law enforcement but would have to go through another process to obtain a new peace officers license. A comment from the Brazos County District Attorneys Office was not provided at the time of publication. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. In a special board meeting Monday, the Bryan school districts board of trustees approved Clay Falls as the districts next executive director of communications and public affairs. The announcement came after a 2-hour closed session that included discussions about Superintendent Ginger Carrabines summative evaluation, which also was unanimously approved. A native of Granbury and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in broadcast journalism, Falls has been at KBTX for 12 years and most recently served as a senior reporter and fill-in anchor. He will replace Matthew LeBlanc, who moved to the North Texas area in May. "I am honored and excited to join Superintendent Carrabine's team and their incredible communications department, Falls said in a press release following the announcement. Amazing things are happening every day in Bryan ISD. I look forward to sharing the stories of the school district, our teachers, staff and students as well as this next chapter in my career. In addition to his media experience, which also includes two years at the CBS affiliate in Longview, Carrabine said during the meeting that Falls mother was a longtime teacher as well. He says he has that in his blood, actually even serving as a substitute teacher himself, she said following the closed session. What really stood out to us, in addition to all that, is he has roots here in Bryan; a 12-year member of our community, looking forward to sending his children to our school system, so we think hell be a very nice addition to our team. 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 College Station man was arrested Monday after he robbed two women and shot at them during a drug deal at an apartment complex, police said. Keynaedrick Wheaton, 24, was charged with aggravated robbery, which is a first-degree felony; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which is a second-degree felony; and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, which is a third-degree felony. As of Tuesday afternoon, Wheaton was still held in jail on a $150,000 bond. Police said the two women went to an apartment complex Monday afternoon to buy drugs from a man later identified as Wheaton. When the women arrived, Wheaton walked to their vehicle and pointed a gun at the woman on the passengers side and asked for their drugs and money, police said. The woman told police she gave Wheaton some marijuana and less than $20. Wheaton then told the driver she had 5 seconds to leave or [he] would shoot," according to the police report. The driver reversed the vehicle, but Wheaton shot at the car and caused her to sustain an eye injury due to broken glass from the gunshot, according to police. The driver then took her to St. Josephs Medical Center in College Station and crashed her vehicle at the entrance of the emergency room due to erratic driving, police said. A detective interviewed the women at the hospital while the driver was being treated for her eye injury and they gave police a description of Wheaton. Police said officers conducted a search warrant of Wheatons apartment and found the handgun used in the incident and an empty bullet outside of the apartment where Wheaton was standing when he shot at the womans vehicle. Wheaton was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon since he had not completed his parole for a robbery conviction in 2017, police said. Temple Freda in Downtown Bryan was originally built in 1912 as a synagogue, and Brazos Countys oldest religious structure. It is currently closer to a full recovery through the City of Bryan and structural renovations will continue this week after the city council approved a Phase 2 construction contract worth nearly a quarter of a million dollars. What makes Temple Freda kind of an interesting piece of architecture is that it is the oldest piece of religious architecture in Brazos County, said Lindsey Guindi, director of strategic projects for the city. We dont anticipate that it will remain a synagogue at this point moving forward, as it is really intended to be a community space. We would anticipate things like small concerts, reunions, weddings to take place in there. At this point going forward it wont retain the status of or the use of a synagogue, [after] the city took ownership of it several years ago. Ultimately, the city would like to turn it back over to a nonprofit to run and maintain it on behalf of the community, Guindi said, and it is one of three standing historic structures in Bryan still needing restoration of this magnitude. During Tuesday nights meeting, the council approved a $224,226 construction contract with Caffey & Sons of Bryan to complete Phase 2 of the project. Bryan Mayor Andrew Nelson said after the meeting that he was excited to start this next phase. We have renovated the Queen, Carnegie Library, there are only a few more dominoes left and we havent done them all, he said. For several years we have been putting money into Temple Freda and what we approved tonight is for structural improvements, and this is really to focus on continuing to make the building safe and get it structurally sound so it can complete the building. The restoration efforts have been a long time coming, Guindi said. Phase 1 of the restoration project was the initial securing of the building. Phase 1 included redoing the columns at the front of the building as well as repairing the brick and mortar and doing some structural repairs on the exterior of the building on the rear of the building, she said. Phase 2 is just a continuation where we are furthering the internal structural repairs. There is still the original metal ceiling inside the building. We are going to take that metal ceiling off and pack it away to be either replaced or restored at one point in the future. We are going to be rebuilding all of the windows in the rear of the building and we are going to take down the ceiling fans, the light fixtures and put it away for restoration. This phase is the last phase of securing the building. Once done with Phase 2, the temple should continue to be structurally sound, airtight and weatherproof for the next 100 years, Guindi said. In addition, the next phases will include updating the interior of the building and replacing light fixtures and HVAC systems, she said. If you were to walk in there once we are done, virtually everything will remain the same or be restored. We hope when we are done and people walk in there it is going to be like what it was in 1912, so pretty much everything is going to look the same, she said. The one thing that will be noticeably different potentially is the pews, because we would anticipate there being a little bit more flexible seating inside in case you didnt want to use it in its traditional setting, so the pews will be gone but we still have them. Other than that, we anticipate it looking virtually the same as it did 100 years ago. Architect Studio, a local architecture firm, has really been instrumental in making this happen, Guindi said. We are using their architects and their expertise to really do appropriate restoration work on this building, and without them we wouldnt be where we are today, she said. Nelson also noted that the story of Temple Freda is wonderful back when it was a religious building; and it was to our historical research, the only Jewish temple dedicated to a Jewish woman in North America, and maybe one of three in the world. Bryan is such a wonderfully diverse community and I love the story of the Temple Freda because you had the Episcopal Church that donated some land to the Jewish community so they could also celebrate their religion, Nelson said. And even though it was two very different religions, it was so Bryan. From the late 1800s, we already had this culture of helping each other out and if we didnt have worship in the same way, we were still a great community. It is a beautiful story of the City of Bryan and our community and working together. I think it makes sense to take this big historic and beautiful building and make it the next domino to fall to get it fully renovated. The council approved that because we have long supported renovating historic beautiful buildings in Aggieland. 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. Microsoft finally released fixes to address an actively exploited Windows zero-day vulnerability known as Follina as part of its Patch Tuesday updates. Also addressed by the tech giant are 55 other flaws, three of which are rated Critical, 51 are rated Important, and one is rated Moderate in severity. Separately, five more shortcomings were resolved in the Microsoft Edge browser. Tracked as CVE-2022-30190 (CVSS score: 7.8), the zero-day bug relates to a remote code execution vulnerability affecting the Windows Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) when it's invoked using the "ms-msdt:" URI protocol scheme from an application such as Word. The vulnerability can be trivially exploited by means of a specially crafted Word document that downloads and loads a malicious HTML file through Word's remote template feature. The HTML file ultimately permits the attacker to load and execute PowerShell code within Windows. "An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can run arbitrary code with the privileges of the calling application," Microsoft said in an advisory. "The attacker can then install programs, view, change, or delete data, or create new accounts in the context allowed by the user's rights." A crucial aspect of Follina is that exploiting the flaw does not require the use of macros, thereby obviating the need for an adversary to trick victims into enabling macros to trigger the attack. Since details of the issue surfaced late last month, it has been subjected to widespread exploitation by different threat actors to drop a variety of payloads such as AsyncRAT, QBot, and other information stealers. Evidence indicates that Follina has been abused in the wild since at least April 12, 2022. Besides CVE-2022-30190, the cumulative security update also resolves several remote code execution flaws in Windows Network File System (CVE-2022-30136), Windows Hyper-V (CVE-2022-30163), Windows Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, Microsoft Office, HEVC Video Extensions, and Azure RTOS GUIX Studio. Another security shortcoming of note is CVE-2022-30147 (CVSS score: 7.8), an elevation of privilege vulnerability affecting Windows Installer and which has been marked with an "Exploitation More Likely" assessment by Microsoft. "Once an attacker has gained initial access, they can elevate that initial level of access up to that of an administrator, where they can disable security tools," Kev Breen, director of cyber threat research at Immersive Labs, said in a statement. "In the case of ransomware attack, this leverages access to more sensitive data before encrypting the files." The latest round of patches is also notable for not featuring any updates to the Print Spooler component for the first time since January 2022. They also arrive as Microsoft said it's officially retiring support for Internet Explorer 11 starting June 15, 2022, on Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channels and Windows 10 IoT Semi-Annual Channels. Software Patches from Other Vendors In addition to Microsoft, security updates have also been released by other vendors since the start of the month to rectify several vulnerabilities, including CENTRAL CITY Watching Top Gun: Maverick takes Loren Lippincott back to the days when he roared through the air in a jet fighter. Lippincott, who lives between Central City and Fullerton, was in the Air Force for 10 years. He flew an F-16, while the Navy pilots in Top Gun fly F-18s, but the aircraft are similar, Lippincott said. Both airplanes are considered swing-role fighters, he said. That means theyre built to handle aerial dogfighting. Theyre also air-to-ground bombers, which means they can deliver rockets, missiles and bombs. At Ramstein Air Base in Germany Lippincott was a member of a strike squadron. That means the pilots were certified to drop nuclear bombs if called upon. Lippincott has seen Top Gun: Maverick twice. Viewing the film was a flight back in time for Lippincott. A graduate of Central City High School and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he was in the Air Force from 1980 to 1990. When the first Top Gun film came out, he was an Air Force pilot. He saw the first Tom Cruise flyboy film at Sembach Air Force Base in Germany. That picture was fun to watch, he said, but he prefers the new Top Gun film. The aerial shots were better in Top Gun: Maverick. The film differs from real life in some ways. For one thing, the filmmakers keep all the planes within view of the camera. Tactically you would not do that, he said. But its a Hollywood product, so it has to be understandable to the audiences. Lippincott, 67, is currently running for the District 34 legislative seat. In the May primary, Lippincott captured 69.7% of the vote, and his opponent, Michael Reimers, another veteran, totaled 30.3%. The two men will face each other again in November for the right to succeed Curt Friesen of Henderson, who was term-limited. In addition to flying, Lippincott was an instructor pilot in the Air Force. Among other aircraft, he also flew a T38 Hes glad he was in the Air Force. Absolutely. Positively, he said. It was a fabulous career, and I would really recommend that kids take a look at the military as a great career. There are a lot of very high quality, motivated individuals in the Air Force, particularly the pilots. The pilots are extremely motivated, bright young men and they were an absolute pleasure to instruct, he said. Top Gun: Maverick made Lippincott nostalgic. Also, it made me very proud of our country and very thankful that our country has put so much money into making our military the absolute best in the world, he said. In the Air Force, Lippincott went to officers training school. To fly in the military, one has to be commissioned and a college graduate. Lippincotts pilot training class began with 63 students and ended with 39. In a flight screening program, the washout rate was about 40%. The military wants people who have ability and who are wired to fly, he said. Just because you got an A-plus in college physics doesnt necessarily mean youre going to make a good pilot, Lippincott said. Youve got to be able to multi-task, he said. Almost all of the pilots he flew with were good athletes. Hand-to-eye coordination is important. Plus, you have to be able to think. After leaving the Air Force, Lippincott worked for Delta Air Lines for 30 years, serving as both a co-pilot and a captain. For 23 of those years, he lived just outside Atlanta. Delta employs 14,000 pilots, and more than 5,000 of them are based in Atlanta. The rest of his time with Delta, he lived near Dallas-Ft. Worth. In his career with Delta, he flew into 53 countries on five continents. Lippincott, who is divorced, has two sons, who are 39 and 37. He lives on a farm along Highway 14 north of Central City. The property used to belong to his family. He bought it back in 2018. Lippincott isnt the only member of his family to serve in the military. His brother Randy, who lives in Arizona, was in the Army special forces. Their late father, Dick, was in the Army during the latter stages of World War II. Dick and his late wife, Rosalie, were also pilots. 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 Brian L. Wilson, 50, of Geneva, has pleaded no contest to three felonies in a case where he was in possession of an illegal weapon. The case began when local law enforcement officers received information from a confidential informant that Wilson was in possession of a stolen firearm. The informant gave them a probable time and location that the firearm would be in Wilsons possession and noted he would be trying to sell it. In court documents, it is noted that the informant made self-incriminating statements to felony level crimes while providing the information. With the confidential informants statements corroborated, it was deemed more likely than not there was criminal activity afoot. The affidavit says further, Based on Wilsons history of convictions for violent felonies, felonies involving weapons, dangerous instruments, as well as the high probability he was actively in possession of a firearm, law enforcement on scene believed there to be a probable cause to conduct a high-risk contact with Wilson. Officers with the York Police Department and the York County Sheriffs Department made contact with Wilson, in York, in his vehicle, and a county drug dog alerted to the presence of narcotics. It was also noted in court documents that the arresting officer had been involved in two cases involving narcotics where Wilson was the primary suspect within the past three months. During a search of Wilsons vehicle, deputies and police officers found a Nighthawk Custom 45 ACP 1911 firearm bearing a serial number which was given to York County Communications who advised the firearm had been stolen in York County. It was also noted that Wilson is a convicted felon in Nebraska and California. Per his no contest pleas, he was found guilty of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, a Class 1D felony which carries a possible maximum sentence of 3-50 years in prison; possession of a firearm while committing a felony, a Class 2 felony, which carries a possible maximum sentence of 1-50 years in prison; and possession of a stolen firearm, a Class 2A felony, which carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The allegation of being a habitual criminal was dismissed. Sentencing has been set for Aug. 8. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy COLUMBIA ENGESER USA Corp., a world leading cable specialist, today announced plans to establish operations in Dorchester County. The companys $1.5 million investment will create 26 new jobs. Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Schramberg, Germany, ENGESER USA Corp. designs and manufactures high-quality products for cable and connection technology ranging from classic cable assembly to comprehensive system solutions. A family-owned company, ENGESER USA Corp. serves automotive applications, consumer and capital goods, solar engineering, rail technology and more. Located at 115 Fabricators Street in Summerville, ENGESER USA Corp.s Dorchester County facility is the companys first North American manufacturing operation and will allow the company to offer direct delivery domestically and to European customers. The new facility will utilize modern technologies to produce cost-optimized, high-quality cable harnesses, one of ENGESER USA Corp.s core areas of expertise. From the search for a location to the founding of the company, we were professionally accompanied by Dorchester County and the South Carolina Department of Commerce," said ENGESER USA Corp. Managing Director Dirk Kinzel. "As an experienced cable assembly products supplier, we are confident that we can add value to our customers in the United States. We intend to continue growing in Summerville and want to become an attractive employer. Operations are expected to be online by September 2022. Individuals interested in joining the ENGESER USA Corp. team should visit the companys careers page. The Coordinating Council for Economic Development has awarded a $75,000 Set-Aside grant to Dorchester County to assist with costs related to this project. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Orangeburg Department of Public Safety A 36-year-old Orangeburg woman is accused of trying to rob another woman. Melissa Ann Kearse, of 412 Glenfield Circle, is charged with one count of attempted armed robbery. A woman claims that Kearse followed her and her family members to their residence at Glenfield Apartments at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, according to an incident report. The woman claims Kearse told her it was her birthday. The woman reminded Kearse that shed told her happy birthday earlier that day. Thats when Kearse allegedly brandished a weapon, demanding the woman to give her money, the report said. The woman and her family went into their home and call law enforcement. She told officers that Kearse presented a gun, but officers werent able to find one at the scene. Officers located Kearse and frisked her before taking her into custody. A warrant claims officers found a black folding knife on Kearses person. Kearses birthday isnt until September. If Kearse is convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison. In an unrelated report, officers responded to an activated alarm at Quick Pantry, located at 3380 Broughton Street, at 5 a.m. Wednesday. They discovered part of the front glass door shattered. Officers thought a man walking nearby looked like the burglar seen in the surveillance footage from the business, according to an incident report. Officers alleged the man was carrying bags containing trash and a new box of Newport cigarettes. The man claimed a friend gave him the box of cigarettes, but the friend was no longer in the area. Another officer reported seeing the man walk from a dumpster, so the officer searched it. Officers found 53 packs of Newport 100s and a carton of Swisher Sweet Classics in the dumpster. The cigarettes and cigars were returned to the business. The value of the items is $484.97. Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office A woman claimed on Tuesday that a man sexually assaulted her over the course three years in Orangeburg County, according to an incident report. She accused the man of buying her clothes and jewelry after the alleged sexual assaults. She also claims he asked her not to tell his wife about any of it. The case remains under investigation In a separate incident, a 15-year-old male claimed two armed males robbed him of $29 and a cellphone around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The 15-year-old was driving a car on Sulton Court when the two males approached him. One of the males asked to use the teens phone, according to an incident report. The teen was hesitant, but he handed his phone to the male. The male then put the phone in his pocket, the report states. The teen asked the male why hed pocketed the phone. The males allegedly pulled out firearms and pointed them at the teens temple, demanding that he give them his wallet. The teen gave up his wallet. The armed males took the cash from the wallet and then tossed the wallet back in to the car the teen was driving. The teen managed speed away and flagged down an Orangeburg Department of Public Safety officer, who contacted the sheriffs office. The teen wasnt physically injured. Contact the writer: mbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5545. Follow on Twitter: @MRBrownTandD Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 2 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Election officials say voter turnout was lighter than usual for Tuesday's primaries, but they were pleased with the early voting option. About 13% of Orangeburg Countys voters cast ballots through 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. Of the 7,732 voters, about 2,690 participated in the early voting opportunity. There are about 53,393 registered voters in Orangeburg County, according to the S.C. Election Commission. It is still about the same, Orangeburg County Director of Voter Registration Aurora Smalls said. It is kind of slow and it is always slow during primaries. Smalls said early voting was a big hit. A lot of people voted during early voting not as much as 2020, but I think we had a pretty good crowd for early voting for the first time," Smalls said. She said early voting is a good thing. People can come in and vote without an excuse. It allows anyone who is a registered voter in that county to vote, she said. Calhoun County Voter Registration and Elections Director Shayla Jenkins said through 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, about 1,153 of registered voters had voted. Thats about 13%. It is a bit lower than typical, Jenkins said. Usually we run in primaries of about 20%. Calhoun County has 10,241 registered voters according to the SCEC website. About 354 voters cast their ballot during the early voting period, Jenkins said. Early voting is a good thing because it opens up to everyone, no matter or whatever the reason, Jenkins said. I am very appreciative of early voting. About 480 individuals took advantage of early voting in Bamberg County. I believe early voting was very helpful, Bamberg County Voter Registration Director Athena Moorer said. Not requiring a reason to vote made it very easy and convenient for voters, she said. Through 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, about 1,073 people had voted in Bamberg County for an 11 percent turnout. According to the South Carolina Election Commission website, Bamberg County has 8,462 registered voters. 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. NORTH David Kruger was sworn in as a new councilman for North Town Council by Mayor Julius Jones during the regular council meeting on Monday, June 13. A special election was recently held to fill the seat left by Councilwoman Paige Jeffcoat, who resigned earlier this year, and Kruger won the election for that seat. Police Chief Lin Shirer, earlier in the meeting, said in his report that they have had a lot of wrecks in the town -- particularly at the traffic light not far from the North Town Hall. We have had five accidents at the traffic light that were pretty serious, Shirer said. He urged that people in the town or passing through the town drive more carefully. Mayor Jones gave his report and stated that the water tower's interior has been sandblasted and painted. At the end of this week, the paint will be dried or cured as they call it, Jones added. He said they will be disinfecting the interior and refilling it and that the work should be done by July. Jones also mentioned that low income individuals will have reduced internet costs and that there will be a new, free internet hotspot in town, thanks to some newly installed fiber-optics. Jones also mentioned that the ceiling was bending in town hall, but there was no water damage. He said someone is coming to town hall to inspect it and give an estimate for repairs. Jones next said, I will also be working with the Chamber of Commerce to attract more business to the town. In other business: Councilwoman Wanda Whetstone has been, in previous meetings, discussing the issue with stray dogs in the town and trying to get the Orangeburg County Animal Shelter involved but also mentioning the overcrowding at the shelter. A potential solution to help the shelter has been determined. Whetstone said during this meeting, There will be a fundraising meeting Tuesday, June 21, at 5:30 p.m. at the Emergency Service Training Center in Orangeburg about the animal shelter. Whetstone also said the town is trying to get 29 women to sign up for a free mammogram so that they can get a mammogram van to come to the town. Councilman Jeff Washington said that the town plans to have a breast cancer walk and awareness event Saturday, Oct. 1, and that they could coordinate having the van in the town during the event. The town had a special called meeting on Thursday, May 19. Jones, according to minutes from the meeting, gave second reading of an ordinance amending the annual budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022. A motion was made by Whetstone to approve the ordinance. It was seconded and approved. The amendment reflected the receipt of the American Recovery Act Plan funds. According to a previous meeting, the ARA funds totaled $176,236.76. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The petrol price increases have turned the world upside down: petrol is cheaper in Germany than in Luxembourg, leading to reverse "fuel tourism". The last time this happened dates back 36 years: thanks to petrol subsidies from the German government, it can be cheaper to fill your car beyond our borders than in Luxembourg, or the price difference is so small it is no longer worth the extra miles. This is terrible news for the countless petrol stations dotting our borders. The reverse trend is confirmed by Michael Weber from Roth Energie, who manages a few petrol stations in Germany. He has seen a revenue increase of up to 25%. "I think people who are coming to Germany to shop do take the opportunity to fill up. But Luxembourgers don't come only for petrol. But now that Germans are getting their petrol here, we definitely notice it our revenue." On this side of the border in Wasserbillig, it is much quieter, even if people with company cars still stop here, mostly out of habit. "Yes, we always will up here on the way. It is easier for us to fill up in Luxembourg.", says one customer. An operator of 24 Esso stations confirms there's a 40 percent drop in revenue for the stations close to the German border. The constantly rising prices also affect the distributors. "Our purchase prices have exploded and it takes a few days until we can adjust the price at the pump. When this happens a few times, the impact is so huge, it was a multiple of our usual margins. The entire sector has made millions in losses in March," says Paul Kaiser from Petro-Center SA. Petrol subsidies vary per country: in France, it is 18 cent per litre, in Germany, 35 cent for petrol and 17 for Diesel. Both higher than the 7.5 cent in Luxembourg. The German measures last until the end of August, while the Luxembourgish ones are set to expire in July. Unless this changes, August will be another difficult month for operators, who argue that the Luxembourgish subsidy should be increased. The Ministry of Finance responds that the current 7.5 cent subsidy is a good compromise between helping customers maintain their purchasing power and not forgetting our goals for climate and energy transition. They confirm they are keeping an eye on the situation, but remind people that the fluctuations are mainly caused by evolution on the world market and not taxation. The Ministry for Education published detailed numbers on Tuesday. Over 800 Ukrainian students attend public international schools, most of them at Lycee Michel Lucius. They are taught in English language classes which were launched especially for Ukrainian children. 461 of them are attending primary school. Over the summer holidays, they will also be able to take part in the activities offered by municipalities and international schools. For high school students, the Secam will offer activities at the Lycee Michel Lucius, combining sports, arts and English. Most of them were from Syria, Eritrea an Afghanistan, the Ministry for Immigration reported on Tuesday. 40 people had their refugee status approved last month, out of a total of 93 decisions. 12 people have been sent to another EU country through the Dublin system, while 7 arrived in Luxembourg. Two people requesting international protection have returned to a country outside the EU, one voluntarily and one by force. 633 refugees from Ukraine requested temporary protection in May, while 157 withdrew their requests. 1,124 Ukrainians had temporary protection approved, 24 refused. PDF: Statistiques protection internationale PDF: Statistiques protection temporaire Over 13,700 people donated blood in Luxembourg last year. Tuesday was World Blood Donor Day. The Red Cross took the opportunity to thank its many donors, but is also hoping to interest new people in giving blood. The number of donors is currently stable, despite a growing population, and thus, demand. Andree Heinricy, the director of the Red Cross's Blood Centre, says there isn't a shortage, exactly, but stocks can run low at certain times. "This can be if there are diseases going around, where we've had many people who had to cancel because they had Covid or contact with an infected person. Or during holidays, when people are less available. And now, as the summer break is upon us, we would really like our stocks to be filled." Demands from hospitals are also going up, so there is an increased need for donations. First time donors can make an appointment, where their red blood cells are checked and they are asked to fill out a questionnaire. After this, they talk to a doctor to discuss whether they are eligible. A full donation consists of 475ml and takes between 5 and 10 minutes. It doesn't hurt any more than a normal blood test. From a donation, red blood cells, platelets and plasma can be extracted and variously used. This means that a single donation can help up to three different people. Helping others is also the main reason people are donating. Finding more donors means explaining what a donation entails and reducing fears around donation. To this end, young lawyers organised an information stall together with the Red Cross at the Cite Judiciaire on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, the President of the National Trade Union of Teachers (SNE), Patrick Remakel, was a guest on RTL Radio. While teachers had little choice but to "soldier through" the pandemic, the difficulties on the ground have remained the same, causing "a lot of discontent" among school personnel, according to Patrick Remakel. The SNE's President stressed that the trade union has previously put up "potential solutions." Despite this, "not much has changed" in the past two years in terms of the major issues, in part because the government is not listening to teachers, according to Remakel. A lot of input but very little output One particular issue, according to the teachers' union, affects children with special needs. Remakel criticised the Ministry for focusing on the procedure rather than the children. He noted that reporting a child is "very cumbersome" and that the process necessitates "a lot of input" for "very little output." This, according to Remakel, is a disgrace, and the purpose should be to help the children in a timely and transparent manner. Furthermore, the SNE President stated that the entire procedure "often leads to nothing," and that the Ministry of Education requires a "paradigm shift." The SNE also maintains that school personnel should be diverse in terms of occupations. Schools should have a "taskforce" that could take care of the children in a "direct and unbureaucratic" way. Remakel declined to comment on the workload disputes between the staff at competence centres and the Ministry of Education, merely stating that if the General Confederation of the Civil Service (CGFP), of which the SNE is a member, has come to an agreement with the Ministry, the SNE would endorse it. Ministry should focus on 'finding solutions within the existing school system' The SNE does not approve of the government's plans to open a sixth international school in Luxembourg. Remakel criticised the Ministry of Education for creating "a parallel educational system" instead of finding solutions within the existing public system. For the SNE, the goal should be to adapt the public school system in a way that "does the population justice". In this context, the teachers' union welcomes the introduction of alphabetisation in French, which is being launched as a pilot project in four primary schools in September. However, Remakel expressed his regret over the fact that, once again, the Ministry did not discuss the project with teachers beforehand. In general, the dialogue with the Ministry "leaves a lot to be desired," according to Remakel. The Ministry, he explained, contents itself with informing the trade unions, but there is no discussion anymore. As a result, people are left feeling "disgruntled". The SNE also made multiple proposals on how to attract new people to the profession but all of them were rejected by the Ministry, Remakel lamented. The government's strategy of recruiting more and more so-called Quereinsteiger ("lateral entrants", i.e., people with a bachelor's degree in a discipline that has at least some relation to the profession of a teacher) is "nothing but a hotchpotch". Recruitment of 'Quereinsteiger' Staff shortage remains another major problem. Remakel explained that many schools are no longer able to offer tutoring lessons because they simply do not have enough staff. "Almost no municipality" is able to offer "a good school organisation" that is in the interest of all children, Remakel bemoaned. The recruitment of Quereinsteiger was "a reaction to an emergency," Remakel stressed. At the time, a solution needed to be found quickly. For this reason, the SNE did not oppose the project. But the Ministry's decision to keep recruiting Quereinsteiger is misguided, according to the SNE President. Now that the programme is coming to an end after five years, the time has come for "sustainable solutions". The teachers' union has made numerous proposals, but the Ministry has once again rejected them all, Remakel explained. Some of the SNE's ideas included increased publicity for the teaching profession and recruiting new teachers once they obtain their masters degree. Law enforcement around Yellowstone National Park are focused on opening roads and helping people evacuate from the park as unprecedented flooding continues in the area Tuesday. Officers in Park County, Montana, were working Tuesday to open the section of Highway 89 between Gardiner and Livingston by mid-day. Sheriffs spokesperson Whitney Bermes said the stretch will mainly be used for emergency services and to get people away from the park. Besides opening the road, Bermes said the sheriffs office has been working to provide aid to locals and others displaced to Gardiner. Power in the town went out Monday afternoon and had not been restored as of Tuesday. Gardiner was also placed under a do not drink water order after a water main broke in the area, which was updated to a boil water advisory later Tuesday. Bermes said a roughly 25-person county assist team that includes state and local personnel has also been called in to help out first responders near the park. At a press conference Tuesday, Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler said his office had completed around a dozen rescues, including two air rescues, since the flooding began. Bichler also said local authorities turned their focus Tuesday to getting non-locals out of Gardiner and clearing roadways for essential services. On the Gallatin County side, theyre trying to get people to go to Idaho, Bermes said. In Bozeman, its already hard enough to get a hotel room. Since the northern part of the park has been most heavily affected by the flooding, officials urged people to evacuate through its west and south entrances if possible. Most visitors had departed by the time the parks top official led a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. Cody Beers with the Wyoming Department of Transportation said Tuesday that roads on the Wyoming side of the park havent been too backed up from evacuation traffic so far. A Wyoming Highway Patrol lieutenant in the area was helping follow up on reports of people stranded in the park Monday, though spokesperson Jeremy Beck said Tuesday he wasnt sure whether any of those reports warranted a rescue. Rich Ochs, emergency management coordinator for Wyomings Teton County, said that around half of visitors in the park had been evacuated as of Tuesday afternoon. The rest, concentrated in the southern end, were expected to be evacuated later Tuesday. Most evacuees went north, Ochs said, though some camped in tents or RVs at the Teton County fairgrounds on Monday night. Thankfully, Ochs said, Jackson and other Yellowstone gateway towns are set up to receive large influxes of people during the tourist season. And, he said, its lucky that the flood is taking place outside Yellowstones summer peak, which is closer to the Fourth of July. As of Tuesday morning, Ochs said hed heard that lodging in Jackson was at just 38% capacity. While visitors began evacuating on Monday, Ochs said its important to note that the park hasnt yet moved to evacuate its employees from worker housing inside. If they evacuate employees, that changes the situation to a little more of a sheltering operation, he said, as opposed to just finding parking for the night. In Wyoming, WYDOT crews spent several hours Monday night clearing debris from three bridges near the park two on Wyoming Highway 120 north of Cody and another on Wyoming 296 near Crandall Road. The bridges themselves dont appear to be damaged, Beers said, but high waters had washed dead trees and other felled foliage onto the bridge before the water level fell a couple feet on Tuesday. The Montana National Guard rescued 12 people stranded by the flood Monday, using a pair of helicopters. They were continuing to help with search and rescue procedures through Tuesday. Deputies from Wyomings Park County Sheriffs Office also assisted with search and rescue efforts near Cooke City in Montana on Monday, spokesperson Charla Baugher-Torczon said. An ongoing search for missing man Lance Daghy, which began Jun 9, was suspended two days later in response to high water levels in the area. Wyoming Army National Guards Major Jacque Morey said the states military is communicating with the governors office and the states office of homeland security to see if guardsmen are needed to bring supplies or manpower. 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. Gov. Mark Gordon is set to declare an emergency in response to historic flooding in Yellowstone National Park. Flooding began Monday, and has since destroyed several roads, bridges and structures in the park and to the north. Park officials say it will take months, if not years, to recover, and that some parts of the park may not reopen this summer. The emergency declaration will allow Wyoming ask for federal money to make necessary road repairs, a statement from Gordons office said Wednesday. It will also direct Wyoming Homeland Security to take steps to coordinate state and federal resources. The state has already been providing aid to responders in Montana as well as the National Park Service. Though there has only been minimal damage to bridges and roads on the Wyoming side of the park, the Wyoming Department of Transportation has been clearing away debris and keeping an eye on the situation. WYDOT is also temporarily maintaining part of Highway 212 between Cooke City and Wyoming Highway 296, after heavy spring snow. This will ensure residents, first responders and evacuees have access to supplies, lodging, healthcare and other essential services during the current state of emergency, Gordons statement said. Gordon has been in touch with Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly, state agency leaders and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, who has been out of the country on a personal trip during the flood, to coordinate response to the disaster. Gianforte has issued his own disaster declaration. Analysis of the floods impact is ongoing, Wednesdays statement said, but in the meantime Gordon suggested visitors to Wyoming continue their visits elsewhere in the state. We want to assure the public that we are doing all we can with our partners to open the southern and eastern entrances to the park as quickly as possible, Gordon said in the statement. Meanwhile there are plentiful opportunities for visitors to enjoy all the wonders of Wyoming, which remains open for business. Wyoming state parks have also expanded visitor capacities, the statement said, and the Department of Tourism is directing visitors to other recreational opportunities in Wyoming. Visit Casper, Natrona Countys tourism board, sent a newsletter Wednesday in support of people affected by the flood. It also urged tourists whose plans changed because of the parks closure to explore Casper instead, plugging the citys rich Western culture, accessible outdoor recreation and events, including this weeks College National Finals Rodeo. 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. It will take months, if not years, for Yellowstone National Park to recover from the cataclysmic flooding thats ravaged it over the past two days, the parks top official said Tuesday. The damage will keep the northern half of Yellowstone National Park closed to tourists for the rest of the summer, Superintendent Cam Sholly told reporters. The area includes the iconic Lamar Valley, Tower Falls and Mammoth Hot Springs. The southern loop of Yellowstone National Park may reopen to visitors in a week or less, he added, using some type of reservation system or timed entry to control entry. Travel from Jackson was already going to be hampered by road construction. Entrances that would be reopened for the southern loop include the East, South and West gates near Cody, Jackson and West Yellowstone, respectively. We will not know exactly what the timelines are, what the costs are or any of that information until we get teams on the ground that can actually assess what happened and what its going to take to repair it, Sholly said. The southern loop includes Yellowstone Lake, Old Faithful, Norris Geyser Basin and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Mammoth Hot Springs, the parks headquarters and location of a historic hotel, cannot be reopened until the water and sewer systems have been assessed. Trying to put normal visitation into one loop in Yellowstone is a disaster waiting to happen, Sholly said. All visitors have been removed from Yellowstone, Sholly said, except for a dozen backcountry campers who have been in contact with the Park Service and are making their way out. He estimated park staff urged about 15,000 people to leave Yellowstone on Monday. Before anything else happens, park crews have to wait for flood waters to recede enough to assess the damage and develop a plan for repairs. Assessment of the damage could be complicated because a foot of snow still remains in the Beartooth and Absaroka mountains that may send more snowmelt downstream this weekend. Weve kept our teams out of harms way, Sholly said, although six park workers did lose their housing when a building outside the park was washed away by the Yellowstone River. No deaths or injuries have been reported as a result of the record-setting flooding, although one park visitor did die from a cardiac arrest in an incident unrelated to the high water, Sholly said. The historic flooding is unfolding amidst the 150th anniversary of the parks founding. Meanwhile, park, state and county officials are scrambling to figure out what bridges and highways near the park may need repairs. The parks Montana border towns of Gardiner, Silver Gate and Cooke City were temporary islands, along with nearby residential areas in Cinnabar and Tom Miner basins due to roadway damage and lost bridges. Its kind of hurry up and wait to see what the national park does and what kind of federal assistance comes in, said Patrick Sipp, manager of Flying Pig Adventures and Whitewater in Gardiner, a rafting business. Hopefully, the Highway 89 repairs come in quickly. The Park Service closed all five entrances as a precautionary measure on Monday to assess the damage to its network of roads and bridges. Six washouts of the road between the community of Gardiner, at the parks North Entrance, and park headquarters in Mammoth Hot Springs only five miles south could be counted in a helicopter video the Park Service posted online. Whether that road will even be rebuilt is doubtful, Sholly said. Also badly damaged is the highway connecting Mammoth to Cooke City, cutting off the only route in the park that is open year-round. Roads Highway 89 is the main route to Gardiner from the north and the community of Livingston. The North Entrance is the second most popular in the park. Many bridges and roads are no longer operational, the Park County (Montana) Office of Emergency Management reported on its website. On Monday, the Yellowstone River was flowing atop the highway in a narrow stretch known as Yankee Jim Canyon. The river posted a record-high flow of 510,000 cubic feet per second on Monday at the U.S. Geological Surveys Corwin Springs gauge downstream from Gardiner before dropping to 27,800 cfs by Tuesday. Two years ago, Sipp said his company was running rafting trips down the Yellowstone River at that water level. Im an optimist, he added. If 89 opens up well have some semblance of a season. With little notice or fanfare, the Montana Department of Transportation and the Park County Sheriffs Office opened Highway 89 at Yankee Jim Canyon late Tuesday morning. The route was only open to delivery and service vehicles, residents and outbound visitors. Whether it will remain open to residents is uncertain, said Park County Commissioner Bill Berg. Rivers are also lapping at the bottoms of bridges in the southern part of the park, but so far, the damage has been much less severe. Its kind of weird being here and knowing that theres so much going on not far north of me, said Ryan Sedgeley, who lives in Madison Junction, inside the park. Aside from the high water, its the quiet and the lack of traffic jams that stand out to him most. Sedgeley who is married to a Park Service employee spoke very positively about the communications hed received and the actions the agency had taken to manage the crisis so far. Its comforting when you see government working, Sedgeley said. Hes currently running for office himself. Climate change is a big part of his platform. When you see these events on TV, and then they start hitting closer and closer to home Its real, and people are seeing it, he said. People here in Wyoming, I think weve just got to start talking about it. It may not be possible to rebuild the stretch of road carved away by the Yellowstone River between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner. It suffered more damage than any other road in the park. And even if it can be rebuilt, officials are unsure whether it should be. I dont think its going to be smart to invest potentially tens of millions of dollars, or however much it is, into repairing a road that may be subject to a similar flooding event in the future, Sholly said. People displaced Jason Tolman had never been to Yellowstone. Neither had his sons, ages 9 and 12. He and his wife reserved the hotels a year in advance and booked the flights in January. On Sunday, the family flew at last from Columbus, Ohio to Bozeman, Montana, ready to spend a busy week at some of the regions biggest attractions Old Faithful, the Tetons, the Cody Nite Rodeo. They made it as far as their first hotel, in Gardiner, Montana, where they squeezed in some day-one sightseeing along the north loop of the park. Driving through that, the water was up a little bit, and it was raining all day, Tolman said. It didnt seem that bad. By Monday morning, they were stranded. The flooded Yellowstone River had torn away chunks of the roads theyd followed into town and through the park. Unable to reach not only the 2-million-acre park but every town theyd hoped to visit, Tolman and his family checked out Gardiners downtown, watched local restaurant menus shrink as supplies dwindled and became very familiar with the inside of their hotel room. They tried to make the best of it, Tolman said, but they were all disappointed especially his sons, who wont get to see most of the places theyd planned to visit. Theyve already decided to come back, but scheduling everything all over again could take a few years. As for this trip, its going to be a straight shot to Bozeman no matter what day it is, Tolman said Tuesday morning. Within hours, northbound travel on Highway 89 reopened for stuck visitors, and the Tollmans made their escape. Farther to the south, Teton County Fairgrounds was a landing site for a few dozen displaced Yellowstone campers Monday. About 38 RVs parked there overnight, according to Trista Hiltbrunner, a staff member at the fairgrounds. Some of them had come from inside the park, she said. By noon Tuesday, just a couple remained. Cities and towns located just outside of Yellowstone were busy Tuesday connecting displaced visitors with lodging, and helping them figure out next steps. We really do operate as one, Rick Howe, vice president of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, said of Yellowstones gateway communities. At this point, the chambers mostly getting calls from people who were planning to visit the park this week, and suddenly had nowhere to go, he said. The chamber extended its phone services by three hours so it could accommodate the rush of calls. Its now live from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Howe said Jackson is preparing to accept more displaced travelers and evacuees, but is waiting to hear more from park officials. Earlier Tuesday, communication from park officials was limited. But Yellowstone-themed pages and groups on Facebook some of them aimed at tourists were exploding with activity. Seasoned Yellowstoners spent Monday and Tuesday diligently posting updates about the park and its surrounding cities, and fielding questions from confused tourists. One company, Yellowstone Tour Guides based in Big Sky, Montana is pooling resources for travelers on its Facebook page. A post Tuesday morning pointed displaced tourists to scenic destinations across Montana, Wyoming and Idaho that were open and safe for travel. Tourism The communities next to the park are heavily dependent on Yellowstone to drive the summer tourism season, which for two years was hampered by the pandemic and COVID-19 precautions. On Sunday, Kara Schlabach had the busiest day of the year so far at the Cooke City coffee shop she co-owns, near the parks Northeast Entrance. Then flooding hit on Monday and now the streets are bare of tourists needed to keep her small business alive. It brought tears to my eyes because its a ghost town, Schlabach said. Its really devastating. On Monday, Schlabach witnessed a Florida family of eight being plucked by a helicopter using a short haul line to lift them from a flooded rental after high waters stranded them. A different helicopter landed on the towns main street, since the landing pad was underwater, to evacuate a man suffering from hypothermia after he waded floodwaters to self-rescue. Meanwhile, Pahaska Tepee Resort located outside Cody, just two miles from Yellowstones East Entrance is shuttered through at least Thursday. The resort boasts cabins, a restaurant, gift shop and outdoor activities. Its oldest lodge was built by William Cody (a.k.a. Buffalo Bill). Pahaska was booked at about 90% capacity at the beginning of the week, said Angela Coe, who runs the resort. But rainfall over the weekend caused the North Fork Shoshone River to swell so much, it got into the lodges water system, Coe said. Staff shut off the system Monday to prevent it from getting into the resorts tap, and sent all guests home. The river has since receded. Coe said Pahaska Tepee is currently sending water samples to the Wyoming Department of Health in Cheyenne. The water needs to test safe two days in a row before the lodge can open up again, she said. If all goes well, the resort will reopen Friday. Coe said she doesnt expect Codys tourism business to recover until the parks southern region reopens, too. Its gonna be a ripple effect, Coe said. For now, the parks future remains a big question mark. And prospective vacationers arent waiting for answers, Coe said. The phones at Pahaska Tepee have been ringing nonstop with cancellations. People are wanting to cancel in July and August, she said. Deby Dixon has lived in the Yellowstone area for 10 years now. Shes captivated with its wildlife especially the wolves and its wide-open valleys, she said. Like thousands of others, Dixons livelihood depends on helping share that sense of wonder with visitors. She photographs, leads tours and writes stories about the park. She also sublets a vacation rental in Gardiner. But with Yellowstones northern region out of commission, she fears that livelihoods been dashed. As a tour guide, Im completely out of business, she said. As a vacation rental, Im completely out of business. On Monday, Dixon recorded a Gardiner house and garage for Yellowstone park staff teetering, and finally falling, into the raging waters of the Yellowstone River. She posted the footage to her Facebook page, which has since been shared thousands of times. Housing has long been scarce in Yellowstones communities. A lack of affordable, quality rentals in the region has led workers to commute from far-flung places, cram into tiny apartments or even live in cars and tents. That housing crunch could soon reverse in some places, Dixon pointed out. If infrastructure damage proves bad enough in Gardiner, for instance, people will stop coming. Shes worried about local businesses. Dixon was supposed to renew her lease for her vacation rental on Monday, but the flooding was so bad she couldnt meet with her landlord. She doesnt see a point in renting it anymore there may not be a market, she said. Dixon isnt sure what her future holds. Shes thinking of relocating to another part of the country, and doubling down on her writing career. Shes working on two books right now, she said. Im thinking about leaving completely for a while, she said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 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. Nicole Pollack Energy and natural resources reporter Follow Nicole Pollack 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 THREE private sector groups, and a local non-profit organisation that focuses on transparency, yesterday said they are extremely concerned that the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act has not been fully proclaimed and implemented. Expressing the extreme concern yesterday were AMCHAM T&T, the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, The Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association and the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute A 16-year-old is expected to appear before a master of the Fyzabad Childrens Court on Monda PHOENIX The U.S. Supreme Court will not allow Attorney General Mark Brnovich to defend a Trump-era rule designed to deny green cards to those at the bottom of the economic ladder. In a unanimous decision Wednesday, the justices said it was improvident for the court to have even entertained Brnovichs bid to restore the Public Charge Rule that would have imposed new hurdles on those seeking permanent legal status. The majority, in its eight-word order, did not explain its decision. But in a separate concurring opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said the decision does not mean that the court agrees with the decision by the Biden administration to quash the rule the action that Brnovich sought to challenge. In fact, the justices allowed him to make his case to them in person in February. But Roberts, joined by three other justices, said that there were too many thorny side issues what he called a mares nest that would get in the way of reaching a clear ruling. Roberts said that there may be another opportunity for the court to decide whether Biden acted legally in rescinding what Trump had instituted without going through a formal rule-making process. But, for the moment, Bidens action stands and Brnovich and the other state attorneys general who sued to overturn it have no legal right to challenge it. There was no immediate response from the attorney general. At the heart of the fight is what conditions the federal government can impose on those who, having entered the country legally, want permanent legal status. The ability of immigrants to support themselves has always been a part of the consideration. But the rules, going back to the Clinton administration, have been much more lax in determining whether someone can get what is formally known as a Permanent Resident Card. In 2019, the Trump administration adopted a rule that got more specific, using a variety of factors to determine if they would be likely to use government programs, considering factors ranging from income to the ability to speak English. Potentially more significant, the rule was designed to apply on the basis of the chance of someone needing benefits at some point in the future, not whether anyone actually is receiving them. And it did that by using income as a much stronger indicator of whether the applicant is likely to become a burden and, therefore, is ineligible. For example, it said that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will generally consider 250% of the federal poverty guidelines to be a heavily weighted positive factor in the totality of the circumstances. Put another way, that suggests anyone above that level $69,375 for a family of four using current data would have little problem qualifying. At the other end, it says the absolute minimum for even being considered will be in the neighborhood of half that much. More specifically, if the alien has an income below that level, it will generally be a heavily weighted negative factor in the totality of the circumstances, it reads. In a 2021 ruling, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals called the rule inconsistent with any reasonable interpretation of immigration law. At that point, the Biden administration, now in power, decided it no longer wanted to defend the rule, effectively killing the litigation. That led to Brnovich and other states to seek to defend the rule in Bidens absence. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused, leading to this new filing with the nations high court. He argued to the justice that Arizona and the other states have more than a passing interest in the issue. He pointed out that the Trump-era rule estimated that it would save all the states more than $1 billion annually. Abolishing it, Brnovich said, means those costs remain with the states. In an earlier interview with Capitol Media Services, the attorney general said this is not the right time to be putting money into more people getting things like Medicaid and public assistance benefits. I think that we need to take care of people that are here legally before we start giving benefits to people who just recently arrived here and dont have legal status, Brnovich said. Im trying to protect Arizona taxpayers. Wednesdays ruling by the high court forecloses his ability to defend the rule. Not all Republicans perceived the Trump-era rule as a good thing. Gov. Doug Ducey criticized the Trump administration in 2019 when it proposed the rule, saying the federal government should focus more on criminal activity, drug cartels and human traffickers. More to the point, in discussing the issue of who would be able to get permanent resident status under the new rules, the governor said this country needs more than those who already are financially sound. Its not only people at the graduate level and the Ph.D level who we need, Ducey said. We also need entry-level workers and people who can work in the service economy. The governor said its about opportunity. I want to see people who will climb the economic ladder, he said. I think many of us have a family story similar to that. And that, said Ducey at the time, goes back to his preference for a more balanced approach to immigration than what Trump proposed. We have the haves and the soon-to-haves, he said. And both of them a part of proper immigration reform. But the issue remains alive politically. Earlier this week, while speaking in Phoenix, former vice president Mike Pence called for restoration of the rule. You know, theres that verse in the Bible that says He who does not look after their own household is worse than a non-believer, said Pence, who may be a Republican contender for president in 2024. We need to make it clear that the people who are coming into this country can support themselves, support their family, he said. We need the public charge rule in effect so that people coming here are a benefit to America and not a burden to taxpayers. In its decision voiding the Trump-era rule, the 9th Circuit said federal law has always been interpreted to mean long-term dependence on government support and not to encompass the temporary need for non-cash benefits. They also said the change failed to consider the effect on public safety, health and nutrition as well as the burden placed on hospitals and the vaccination rates in the general public. Then theres the fact the Trump rule sought to introduce a lack of English proficiency into the decisions despite the common American experience of children learning English in the public schools and teaching their elders in our urban immigrant communities. 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 largest single batch of water-use cuts ever carried out on the Colorado River is needed in 2023 to keep Lakes Mead and Powell from falling to critically low levels, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation commissioner told a congressional hearing Tuesday. Between 2 million and 4 million acre-feet of water use must be cut for 2023 across the river basin to cope with continued declines in reservoir levels, said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton. This comes as the West continues to struggle with ongoing conditions of hotter temperatures, leading to early snowmelt and dry soils, all translated into low runoff and the lowest reservoir levels on record, Touton said. The normal drier, warmer West is what were seeing today, said Touton, testifying before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in Washington, D.C. A 2 million to 4 million acre-foot cut would slice anywhere from 14% to 28% of the entire river basins total annual average water consumption in recent years. Many water experts have said more conservation is needed soon because the river has an annual supply-demand gap of somewhere between 2 million and 3 million acre-feet a year. That compares to Tucsons annual use of about 100,000 acre-feet a year and of around 1 million to 1.2 million acre feet consumed statewide by the Central Arizona Project canal system that pumps river water 336 miles from Lake Havasu to users including Tucson. Feds can act unilaterally Touton warned the committee that the bureau has authority to act unilaterally to impose water use curbs to protect the river system and its reservoirs, and we will protect the system. But for now, the bureau is pursuing a path of partnership with the seven river basin states and with tribal leaders. The hope is to get some kind of agreement by mid-August. Thats when the bureau schedules its river water deliveries each year for the following year. While top federal officials have issued similar threats to impose solutions on at least three occasions since 2005, theyve always backed off after the states eventually agreed on lesser measures to address a growing supply-demand deficit in the basin. The measures included a 2007 set of federal guidelines to manage the reservoirs; separate 2019 drought contingency plans for the rivers Upper and Lower Basins; and the 500-plus plan that calls for Lower Basin states to reduce water use just this year by an extra 500,000 acre-feet to prop up Lake Mead. Arizona, Nevada and California are in the rivers Lower Basin. But those measures have continually fallen short as continued warm, dry weather has kept the reservoirs plunging. Currently, Lake Powell stands at 27% of its total storage capacity and Lake Mead is at 29% of capacity. While officials have expressed faith in the spirit of cooperation that has led to numerous interstate water agreements in the past century, faith alone is not enough, Touton testified. We need to see the work. We need to see the action, Touton said. I ask Congress today to keep pushing us back to the table and I ask our partners to stay at the table till the job is done. She noted that the bureau will celebrate its 120th birthday on Friday, commemorating federal passage of the 1902 Reclamation Act, pushed by President Theodore Roosevelt as a way of maximizing development of water resources, particularly in the West. The challenge weve seen today is unlike anything weve seen in our history one of immediate action, Touton said. Toutons comments, far more pessimistic about the rivers immediate situation than any bureau official has ever made, come a little less than two months after the Interior Department, the bureaus parent agency, agreed to prop up Lake Powell to the tune of nearly 1 million acre-feet this year. It did that by first releasing a half-million acre feet into Lake Powell from the upstream Flaming Gorge Reservoir at the Utah-Wyoming border, and second, by holding back 480,000 acre-feet in Powell that had been slated to be released this year to Lake Mead. Toutons comments should remove any doubt that the Colorado River states and our federal partner have a duty to take immediate action no matter how painful to protect the system from crashing, said Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke in a statement issued after the hearing. I have seen the data Commissioner Touton has seen and I agree with her conclusions, said Buschatzke, who was on vacation and unavailable for immediate questioning. CAP first in line for cuts Buschatzke noted that during Tuesdays hearing, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona warned that if federal legal priorities for managing Lower Basin supplies are needed, the Central Arizona Project would be first in line to absorb all the cuts before any other Lower Basin states lose any water. Arizona accepted that junior priority status back in 1968 as a condition to win federal approval of construction of the CAP, which delivers drinking water to the Tucson and Phoenix areas. If our state absorbed this two-to-four million acre-foot loss, it would wipe out water deliveries to cities, tribes and farms, to Phoenix and Tucson, said Kelly, a Tucson Democrat. August deadline Under questioning from Kelly, Touton said that if necessary, the bureau is prepared to impose restrictions on water use by other states without regard to legal priorities. But Touton added, But were not at that decision point yet. So lets get to the table and try to figure this out by August. Buschatzke said its vital for the basin states to propose a plan before federal officials are forced to act unilaterally. We have done much in recent years to protect this vital system. By her comments today, the commissioner has rendered it clear that the powerful impact of a decades-long drought and a changing climate requires us now to do much, much more and to do it quickly, Buschatzke said in his statement. He noted that since 2014, Arizona and other Lower Basin states have conserved enough water to raise Lake Mead 70 feet higher than it otherwise would have been. Providing even gloomier testimony on Tuesday before the Senate committee, top Las Vegas water official John Entsminger said, Im not a person prone to hyperbole, but the ominous tenor of recent media reports (about the Colorado) are warranted. What has been a slow-motion train wreck for years is accelerating, and the day of reckoning is near. The situation is effectively bleak but not in my view unsolvable. The solution to the problem is not refilling reservoirs but ... a degree of demand management previously considered unattainable, said Entsminger, the Southern Nevada Water Authoritys general manager. Official: Farms need to step up As for who will bear the burden of any cuts to Colorado River usage, Theres no way around this. The cities alone cannot address this critical level. Not because of indifference we simply dont use enough water to tip the scale, Entsminger said. The primary use of river water in the basin is grasses, he said. Eighty percent of Colorado River water is used for agriculture and 80% of that is used for forage crops like alfalfa. Im not saying farmers should stop farming, but that they carefully consider crop selections and make investments to improve efficiency. By reducing their use of Colorado River water, agricultural entities will be protecting their own interest, Entsminger said. Should Lake Mead fall to the dead pool level of 895 feet elevation, Las Vegas will be able to meet is critical water needs because it has installed equipment deep enough in the lake to be able to extract water at such a low level, he said. On Wednesday, Mead stood at about 1,045 feet, 150 feet above dead pool. But at the same elevation, Arizona, California and Mexico will be cut off entirely. Were 150 feet from losing access to the Colorado River, and the rate of decline is accelerating, he said. The burden of shortage cant be borne by any community or sector. Were 150 feet from 25 million Americans losing access to the river. Contact Tony Davis at 520-349-0350 or tdavis@tucson.com. Follow Davis on Twitter@tonydavis987. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Baxter Black probably would have found the humor in dying, too. The large-animal veterinarian turned cowboy poet attracted a worldwide following with his hilarious, homespun insights on everything from presidential politics to the prolapse of a cow (maybe dont Google that one). The Bard of Benson died June 10 at his home in Cochise County. He was 77. I dont think there will ever be another Baxter Black, said Marsha Short, long-time executive director of the International Western Music Association. That hole will never be filled. With his lanky frame and trademark boomerang-shaped mustache, Black seemed right at home in a saddle or on set next to Johnny Carson. His poems, songs and countrified commentary appealed to real ranchers and wannabe wranglers alike. And Short said he made you feel like part of the gang, whether you met him in a rodeo arena or only knew his voice from his years as a contributor to Morning Edition on National Public Radio. The thing about Baxter was everybody knew him personally, she said. It was always like getting a mini performance whenever you talked to Baxter Black. From vet to poet Black was born Jan. 10, 1945, at the Brooklyn Naval Hospital in New York City but grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where he headed up his high schools chapter of the Future Farmers of America and started riding bulls to meet girls. He attended college at New Mexico State University and earned his veterinary degree from Colorado State University in 1969. He spent the next 13 years doctoring livestock and building a reputation as a storyteller and public speaker. Folklorist Hal Cannon first met Black almost 40 years ago, while helping to organize the first of what would become the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering at the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada. At the time, he was the only professional cowboy poet out there, Cannon said. He was just out there doing it. The two became friends and stayed that way. When Black made the first of his seven appearances on The Tonight Show in 1986, Cannon was there with him, hiding behind a curtain on stage just in case his buddy forgot a line and needed a prompt. Though Black got famous, he never acted that way, Cannon said. He sold more than a million books, but he still liked to ride and rope. He still ran some cattle on the patch of desert where he and his wife, Cindy Lou, settled at the edge of Benson. There was no separation between Baxter on the stage and Baxter at the bar or at the restaurant over dinner, Cannon said. He was always just Baxter. And his gaze rarely strayed from the land or the people working it. In the bio on Blacks website, he cited his audience as his inspiration. Every cowboy, rancher, vet, farmer, feed salesman, ag teacher, cowman and rodeo hand has a story to tell, and they tell it to me. I Baxterize it and tell it back to em! he wrote. It doesnt seem fair, does it? Immense heart Cannon said most people will probably remember Black as a very fine humorist, with a sharp wit that drew comparisons to Will Rogers and Mark Twain. And who wouldnt want to be thought of alongside such legends? Thats pretty high cotton, as they say, he said. But what Cannon will remember is a man with an immense heart. One of his favorite examples of that is a story Black shared on NPR in 2009 for a regular segment Cannon and the Western Folklife Center produced called Whats in a Song? Black chose to talk about Little Joe, The Wrangler, a somber Western ballad his dad used to sing to him and his brother at bedtime. Somehow it was important enough that that was the song that he chose to sing to us, Black recalled. Its a story that has a sad ending, but it has a legitimate hero. And any kid can identify with it I could have done that! Renowned Southern Arizona ethnobotanist and author Gary Paul Nabhan crossed paths with Black several times at the National Cowboy Poetry Festival and folklore events in Flagstaff. In 2012, Nabhan was part of a panel discussion at the festival with borderlands anthropologist Tom Sheridan and folklorist Jim Griffith, and the three of them ended up on the same flight home from Nevada with Black. He said they laughed the whole way back to Tucson. He was a changeling, a charmer and a healer making many of us laugh so hard that we wet our dungarees, Nabhan said. There is a classic poem by Wallace McRae called Reincarnation, about a cowboy who dies, gets buried and comes back as a wildflower, only to be eaten by a horse and passed out the other end. Nabhan said he remembers hearing Black recite the poem once, and he couldnt help but think of it when he heard the news about his death. I realized that he is on his way to becoming one of Americas best loved road apples, put out to pasture near Benson, Arizona, Nabhan said. Short said she first met Black about a decade ago, when he accepted an invitation to perform at the International Western Music Associations convention in Albuquerque. The organization, once based in Tucson, supports the preservation of the traditional and contemporary music and poetry of the West, so landing a celebrity like Black was a big deal. His appearance was supposed to be a one-night thing, but he wound up spending the next two days at the convention. Short said excited members kept coming up to her and saying, I just had the most delightful conversation with Baxter Black. Black had a reputation for turning down awards and politely refusing membership in a whole host of organizations, but one day in 2017 Short said she received a note and check from him out of the blue. He said he wanted to become a patron of the association because he liked what they were doing to keep Western traditions alive. He especially loved to talk to other poets. He loved to give them help and encouragement, she said. He was so at home with everybody. Its really hard to think of a world without Baxter Black. Benson media empire Cannon said he knew his friend was having health problems, but they never really talked about it during their weekly phone conversations over the past few months. I think he liked that we never talked about that, he said. Cannon said Black was very spiritual a religious man of simple faith, who never tried to force anything on you. There are a lot of people everywhere who are going to miss him, especially his wife, their two kids, Jennifer and Guy, and many others in the small Arizona town where the Blacks made their home. I know he leaves behind a real community in Benson, Cannon said. Black quit performing a few years ago, but he continued to write and record radio segments from his home studio and office. He had a weekly radio show called Baxter Black on Monday that aired on more than 175 stations, mostly in rural parts of the U.S. and Canada. More than 60 far-flung stations in Texas and one in Scotland carried the show. His weekly syndicated column, On the Edge of Common Sense, appeared in more than 100 publications across North America, mostly small town papers and ag journals aimed at ranchers and farmers. Late last year, Cindy Lou Black announced on his website that her husbands failing health had finally put him in the retirement bracket. His final column, published in December, was exactly what youd expect: a celebration of a life where a horse matters. When you cant do the job alone; a cow in the bog, a race against time, a boulder to move, a detour to take, a mountain to cross, a crevice to leap, a war to win, a sweetheart to impress, or ... when youve gone too far to walk back, he wrote. I count myself very lucky that I get to be a part of the wonderful world of horse sweat, soft noses, close calls and twilight on the trail. Photos: Baxter Black, cowboy poet and humorist, dies at age 77 Baxter Black Baxter Black Baxter Black Baxter Black Baxter Black Baxter Black Baxter Black Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@tucson.com or 573-4283. On Twitter: @RefriedBrean You can stand in the canyons cathedral Where water and sky never rest And you know in your bones that the meek, on their own Will never inherit the West from "The West" *** And heaven for a cowboy is just what you might expect, Its horses that need tunin up and heifers that need checked. Its long rides with a purpose and a code that lights the way And a satisfying reason to get up every day. Its the ranch hes always dreamed of and never knew hed find And if you think about it, you can see it in your mind. Him, leanin in the saddle with his ol hat on his head, Contentment set upon his face like blankets on a bed. The leather creaks a little as he shifts there in the seat. The bit chains give a jingle when his pony switches feet. And you somehow get the feelin that hes sittin on a throne Agazin out on paradise just like it was his own. from "I Know Youll Miss This Man" Poetry by Baxter Black Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PHOENIX Republican state senators are crafting legislation to make it a crime for parents to let a minor attend drag shows, saying that promotes sexual perversion. This follows reports of a drag show last month at Tucson Magnet High School. A spokeswoman for Tucson Unified School District said the event, while on school property, was a club activity coordinated by students and not staff. But the senators, in proposing legislation, pointed out the effort was spearheaded by two school counselors who led the LGBTQ+ student club. Sen. Vince Leach, R-Tucson, who is leading the effort, also complained of a pride night at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, which was billed as a family friendly event in which children were present. Performers were seen dressed in scantily clad attire while carrying out provocative dance moves that left little to the imagination as youngsters watched, according to the statement by five Republican senators. Leach told Capitol Media Services the issue is not just local, and hes simply proposing what is being considered elsewhere. Florida Republican Gov. Ran DeSantis is supporting legislation there to make it a crime for a parent to take a minor to a drag show, complete with the risk of losing parental rights. And a Texas lawmaker is writing a measure to bar minors from attending drag shows. Leach said Arizona needs to follow suit. If you had been researching this, you would have seen videotape of mothers turning kids heads to watch something when they turned away, something thats vile, disgusting and outside of a civil society, he said. Do you believe that a young first grader or a kindergartner should be hauled into a show, stuffing dollars bills into G-strings of a drag queen? Leach said. Do you think thats good for our society? He said theres precedent for lawmakers to decide what is and is not appropriate for minors. We dont allow kids into strip joints, he said. We dont have kids going in bars by themselves. We have movie ratings. Nor, he said, does permission matter, any more than a parent could legally OK a child in a strip club or attending a movie with an NC-17 rating. Leach said details are still being worked out for his proposal. I dont know where that line is, he said. But Im sure as hell going to try to find it. He said the trick will be coming up with something that passes legal muster. There are First Amendment rights that people have to do whatever it is they want to do, Leach said. But he said this should not be an issue subject to debate. This is wrong for society to haul kids in and force them to look, he said. Its also age inappropriate, he said. A first grader, a kindergarten kid, doesnt even know what thats all about, Leach said. They still want to be Superman or Spider-Man. And now were going to teach them how to be drag queens? Bridget Sharpe, state director of the Human Rights Campaign, called the legislation harmful propaganda. There is no place in our country for the blatant lies and false accusations being pushed today by Arizona Senate leaders, she said. Their statement is not at all about keeping kids safe, Sharpe said. Its about riling up a small number of extremist base voters. She said Leach is off base in trying to compare taking children to a strip show with taking them to what she said was clearly designed as a family friendly event at the Heard Museum. Were talking about folks who want to show children who may be LGBTQ that they are affirmed and theyre not bad people, Sharpe said. There are other questions yet to be answered as Leach is crafting his legislation. One crucial one deals with what happens in public. Many cities have gay pride parades with some participants dressed in drag. It remains unclear whether a parent could be charged with a crime for taking a child to see such an event. Then theres the issue of at what age the line should be drawn. Leach said he does not yet have those details for the forthcoming legislation. Im in the process of pulling everything together, he said. But he said this isnt just about young children. Its going on at the University of Arizona, he said. One event earlier this year from the schools Institute for LGBT Studies advertised a virtual drag show. And theres the question of penalties. Leach mentioned the plan in Florida, where Republican state Rep. Anthony Sabatini would not only charge parents with a felony but also terminate the parental rights of any adult who brings a child to these perverted sex shows. Its not just Leach pushing for the change in Arizona. One of the reasons why we were elected as lawmakers by our constituents was to protect family values, said the joint statement attributed not only to Leach but also Senate President Karen Fann of Prescott, Majority Leader Rick Gray of Sun City, Majority Whip Sonny Borrelli of Lake Havasu City, and Sen. David Gowan of Sierra Vista. The news release announcing the plan said policies of nondiscrimination on gender expression and sexual orientation are sending a message to society that we should disregard morals and values just to normalize these unscientific, broad, ill-defined and subjective terms, which set a dangerous precedent for our children that are too young to be exposed to such concepts. The issue is not about adult behavior, the lawmakers said. If men want to dress as women, and if adults want to participate in watching these hyper-sexualized performances, they have the freedom to do so, they said. But they said it crosses the line when children are involved. This ignorance by public and private sectors promoting this behavior sends a message of complete and utter perversion that can have detrimental impacts on the social and emotional development of our children, the legislators said. They also put a political spin on it. We will be damned if we wont fight like hell to protect the most innocent from these horrifying and disturbing trends that are spreading across the nation now that extremists Democrats are currently in control of our federal government, they wrote. +1 Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. PHOENIX Four years after voters rejected a similar plan, Republican lawmakers are pushing ahead with a plan to let any of the 1.1 million students in Arizona public schools get vouchers to attend private and parochial schools. And they are holding a separate plan to boost aid to public schools hostage unless they get what they want. House Bill 2853, approved Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee on a 6-4 party-line vote, would remove all restrictions on who can get vouchers, called Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. Backers say this would ensure that parents get to decide the best option for their children. That assertion was disputed by Beth Lewis, executive director of Save Our Schools, a coalition of educators and community advocates for public schools. She said that unlike public schools, private schools can pick and choose who they want to accept. And Lewis said those schools, many of which are for-profit corporations, accept those who will cost them the least, meaning the highest achievers and students who do not have special needs. Republicans said they are not ignoring the needs of public schools, as they also voted Wednesday for House Bill 2854, which would increase state aid to schools by $400 million, above another $250 million additional already planned. But theres less there than meets the eye. First, only half of that additional money would be permanently allocated. The plan is weighted so the districts with more students in financial need would get more. Beyond that, schools would have to wait until the 2023-2024 school year for the one-time $200 million infusion. And theres something else. House Majority Leader Ben Toma, R-Peoria, who wrote both measures, included a poison pill of sorts: It says that if the vouchers do not become law, the public schools dont get any of that $400 million. Leverage That is designed to deter public educators and their allies from doing to HB 2853 what they did to a similar voucher expansion measure approved by GOP lawmakers in 2017. They collected enough signatures to put the expansion on the 2018 ballot. And voters overruled the legislation by a margin of close to 2 to 1. Toma made no secret of his desire to use the additional funds for K-12 education as leverage for vouchers. There should be incentive for everyone to be supportive of school choice, he said. It feels like were being held hostage to the voucher expansion, responded Rep. Kelli Butler, D-Paradise Valley. Lewis told Capitol Media Services that supporters of public education wont be deterred, vowing to go to the ballot once again if the Republican-controlled Legislature approves universal vouchers. While that would mean the loss of $400 million or, really, $200 million of ongoing funds that is nowhere near the amount that public schools need in Arizona, she said. She pointed out that voters in 2020 approved Proposition 208 to infuse another nearly $1 billion into public education. That was sidelined after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled the tax could not be levied because it bumped up against a constitutional limit on education spending. Senate holdout Lewis, public education advocates and their Democratic allies are not alone in saying schools need more than HB 2854 is offering. Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, said he is holding out for an amount close to that $1 billion figure. And with only 16 Republicans in the 30-member Senate, the plan cannot get final approval without his vote. Wednesdays votes come as school districts won a significant legal victory, with a judge saying they are entitled to pursue claims that the Legislature shorted them billions of dollars. The voucher legislation is the culmination of what started out as a small program in 2011 to help parents of children with disabilities. Arizona courts upheld the legality of the program, saying the fact that parents decided where to spend the money means it does not violate constitutional provisions against state aid to private or parochial schools. It provides the equivalent of 90% of what the state would pay to send the same child to a public school, though HB 2853 contains provisions that actually would boost that beyond public school aid. Since that time it has been expanded so it now covers foster children, reservation residents and students attending schools rated D or F. All those conditions would disappear under HB 2853. Student flight? How many students would move from public schools is unclear. The latest figures show 11,775 students getting these vouchers, with an average award of $15,225. That figure, however, includes students with special needs who get more money; the bulk of the vouchers are between $6,000 and $7,000 a year. Proponents say legislative budget staffers estimate that only between 25,000 and 30,000 more students would move to private or parochial schools. Foes say some of those schools charge far more in tuition than the size of the voucher, meaning only parents who can afford the difference can take advantage of the state funds. Jill Humphreys, who serves on the board of the Gilbert Unified School District, said one problem with vouchers is lack of accountability. Standardized testing added Toma did agree to put provisions in the bill to require students in private or parochial schools with more than 50 students to take some sort of standardized test to measure academic progress. Thats a first for Arizona voucher bills. But unlike tests administered to students in public schools, those results will be made available only to each childs parent. Rep. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, said there needs to be more transparency to determine if the public funds are being properly spent. Rep. Shawnna Bolick, R-Phoenix, said public knowledge of how voucher-funded students are performing is irrelevant. You mention accountability, she said. But parents are, at the end of the day, theyre holding schools accountable by either keeping their kids somewhere or removing them. 2018 public vote irrelevant? The voucher expansion plan drew support from Jeff Blake, superintendent of Phoenix Christian Preparatory School. He said vouchers are not simply being used by the rich, telling lawmakers that about 55% of the students at his school qualify for free or reduced-price lunches under federal programs. Epstein, however, said that still leaves the question of why state taxpayers should finance the religious education that is part of the curriculum there and at other parochial schools. Blake said he sees no problem with that. This program would significantly open up the opportunity for families to operate by their convictions of what is the best interests of their child, Blake said. And were committed to do that. Toma said the 2018 public vote rejecting voucher expansion is irrelevant to this new push, saying that was a flawed suggestion and imperfect solution that did not provide universal vouchers. And Drew Anderson, senior pastor of Legacy Christian Center, a supporter of vouchers, said it doesnt really matter what voters said in 2018. That was eons ago, he said, saying a lot can change in four years. In 2016 the state of Arizona voted in favor of Donald Trump, he said. Fast forward to 2020, Donald Trump didnt win the state of Arizona. The measure now goes to the full House where there may need to be further changes to pick up the support of all 31 Republicans. If it gets approved there, it faces an uncertain future in the Senate, especially with the concerns expressed by Boyer. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Two U.S. veterans from Alabama who were in Ukraine assisting in the war against Russia haven't been heard from in days and are missing, members of the state's congressional delegation said Wednesday. Relatives of Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, of Trinity and Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa have been in contact with both Senate and House offices seeking information about the men's whereabouts, press aides said. Rep. Robert Aderholt said Huynh had volunteered to go fight with the Ukrainian army against Russia, but relatives haven't heard from him since June 8, when he was in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, which is near the Russian border. Huynh and Drueke were together, an aide to Aderholt said. As you can imagine, his loved ones are very concerned about him, Aderholt said in a statement. My office has placed inquires with both the United States Department of State and the Federal Bureau of Investigation trying to get any information possible. Rep. Terri Sewell said Drueke's mother reached out to her office earlier this week after she lost contact with her son. The U.S. State Department said it was looking into reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine had captured at least two American citizens. If confirmed, they would be the first Americans fighting for Ukraine known to have been captured since the war began Feb. 24. We are closely monitoring the situation and are in contact with Ukrainian authorities, the department said in a statement emailed to reporters. It declined further comment, citing privacy considerations. John Kirby, a national security spokesman at the White House, said Wednesday that the administration wasnt able to confirm the reports about missing Americans. Well do the best we can to monitor this and see what we can learn about it, he said. However, he reiterated his warnings against Americans going to Ukraine. Ukraine is not the place for Americans to be traveling, he said. If you feel passionate about supporting Ukraine, theres any number of ways to do that that that are safer and just as effective. A court in Donetsk, under separatist control, sentenced two Britons and a Moroccan man to death last week. The Britons and Moroccan were accused of being mercenaries and seeking the violent overthrow of the separatist government in the Donetsk region. The Russian military has said it considers foreigners fighting with Ukraine to be mercenaries and claims they are not protected as combatants under the Geneva Convention. Huynh's fiancee, Joy Black, posted publicly on Facebook that his family was in contact with the Drueke family and government officials, and that nothing had been confirmed other than that the two were missing. Please keep Andy, and Alex, and all of their loved ones in prayer. We just want them to come home, she wrote. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger tweeted that the Americans have enlisted in the Ukrainian army, and thus are afforded legal combatant protections. As such, we expect members of the Legion to be treated in accordance with the Geneva convention. It was unclear whether Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, had any further information about the men. He was commenting on a tweet sent earlier Wednesday by Task Force Baguette, a group of former U.S. and French servicemen, saying that two Americans fighting with them were captured a week ago. The group said Ukrainian intelligence confirmed the information. Early in the war, Ukraine created the International Legion for foreign citizens who wanted to help defend against the Russian invasion. Huynh spoke to his local newspaper, the Decatur Daily, shortly before flying to Eastern Europe in April. He explained that he was studying robotics at Calhoun Community College but couldnt stop thinking about Russias invasion. I know it wasnt my problem, but there was that gut feeling that I felt I had to do something, Huynh told the Decatur Daily. Two weeks after the war began, it kept eating me up inside and it just felt wrong. I was losing sleep. ... All I could think about was the situation in Ukraine. He said he decided to fly out once he learned that young Ukrainians were being drafted into service. Right when they turned 18, they were forced to enlist in the military to defend their homeland, Huynh said. Honestly, that broke my heart. I would say that is probably the moment where I decided that I have to do something. According to the newspaper, Huynh enlisted in the Marines when he was 19 and served for four years, though he did not see active combat. He was born and raised in Orange County, California, to Vietnamese immigrants and moved to northern Alabama two years ago to be closer to his fiancee, the newspaper reported. Associated Press writers Lynn Berry in Washington and Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report. 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. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) A man acquitted at retrial after his conviction and death sentence for raping and murdering a woman was overturned was almost certainly the actual killer according to new DNA tests, a Florida prosecutor announced Wednesday. Retesting shows DNA found in Pamela Albertsons vagina came from Robert Earl Hayes, who was convicted but then acquitted of her 1990 strangulation and rape, Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor said in a statement. The attorney who won his acquittal disputed Pryor's conclusion, saying Wednesday the evidence is not that clear cut. Prosecutors used DNA evidence 30 years ago to originally convict Hayes of murdering Albertson at a horse track near Fort Lauderdale where they both worked as groomers and he was sentenced to die. She had also expressed fear of Hayes to others before the killing, he had a history of violence and was seen with her shortly before her slaying, prosecutors said. But DNA testing was then new technology and his conviction was overturned a few years later by the Florida Supreme Court, which said the method then used was scientifically unreliable. Hayes, now 58, was acquitted at a 1997 retrial in the death of Albertson, 32. The court ruling limited how prosecutors could link DNA evidence to Hayes and experts said tests showed that hairs Albertson was clutching came from an unidentified white person. Hayes is Black. His attorney, Barbara Heyer, pointed to a white track worker as the killer and told jurors that any DNA test linking Hayes to the slaying was flawed. They were getting ready to execute an innocent man, Hayes told reporters immediately after the not guilty verdict. His case was subsequently featured in a 2002 play, The Exonerated, which was made into a Court TV movie. The evidence lay dormant until late 2020, when the Innocence Project of New York requested its retesting to possibly help exonerate Hayes in another case. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in that state in 2004 for the 1987 death of Leslie Dickenson, a woman he worked with at Vernon Downs racetrack an investigation that was reopened after his Florida charges were brought. He is serving a 15- to 45-year sentence and is up again for parole in 2025, but supporters questioned his guilt in that case. Hayes claimed to have found Dickenson hanging from a rope in her burning dorm room. Her death was originally ruled a suicide despite her body having multiple stab wounds. The retest of the Broward evidence was conducted by a California lab picked by the Innocence Project. It concluded that not only did the DNA found on Albertsons body come from Hayes but at least some of that hair in her hands was her own. None of it came from the man that Heyer, his attorney, had accused. Heyer in an email Wednesday said there remains untested hair and that Hayes admitted to having sex with Albertson that night, so of course his DNA was found on her body. She said other DNA was inconclusive. Because of the U.S. Constitution bar on double jeopardy, Pryors office cannot retry Hayes for Albertsons murder. Pryor recently wrote to the New York parole board and prosecutors to advise them of the findings in hopes it will prevent his parole. We believe it is just as relevant to speak the truth about what happened in this case and try to hold Mr. Hayes accountable to the extent possible, Pryor said. The Innocence Project did not return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment. Heyer did not immediately respond to a phone message left at her office or to an email. David Weinstein, a Miami defense attorney and former prosecutor not involved in the case, called the new result unusual. More often than not current DNA testing exonerates individuals who had been convicted in the past, he said. Still, he said todays testing is more reliable than it was in the past. If (the jury) had the test results from today, the chance of an acquittal would have been less likely, he said. 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. DETROIT (AP) A Michigan police officer charged with murder after shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head has been fired, officials said Wednesday. Christopher Schurr, a Grand Rapids officer for seven years, waived his right to a hearing and was dismissed, effective last Friday, said City Manager Mark Washington. Schurr's dismissal was recommended by police Chief Eric Winstrom after a second-degree murder charge was filed Thursday. Washington declined further comment, noting the criminal case and a likely lawsuit over Lyoya's death. Schurr's attorney, Matt Borgula, said he wasn't representing the officer in the labor matter and had no comment. Lyoya, a Black man, was killed at the end of a traffic stop on April 4. He ran and physically resisted Schurr after failing to produce a driver's license. Schurr, who is white, claimed Lyoya had control of his Taser when he shot him. Defense lawyers said the officer feared for his safety. The confrontation and shooting were recorded on video. Schurr, 31, had been on leave while state police investigated the shooting and prosecutor Chris Becker decided whether to pursue charges. Lyoya's parents had long called for Schurr to be fired. Two words: about time. What took so long? the family's attorney, Ven Johnson, said. They knew this was excessive force and they put him on paid leave while the family buried their son in the middle of the rain. Schurr's personnel file shows no complaints of excessive force but much praise for traffic stops and foot chases that led to arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs. He spent a night in jail before being released on $100,000 bond Friday. Grand Rapids, population about 200,000, is 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Detroit. Find the APs full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. 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: As recent history has demonstrated, nursing homes can be easy targets for contagious diseases. Many are shoestring enterprises, short on revenue and staffing and with failing facilities. Nevertheless, theyre home to some 1.4 million of the frailest of the frail among us. Why? Medicaid-funded nursing homes are often the only choice for impoverished Baby Boomers who need high-level care. Poor oversight, underfunding and the lack of a truly professional caregiver workforce has created a perfect storm of preventable problems (think pressure sores) and early deaths. In Arizona, a 2019 auditors report on stalled investigations into claims of abuse and neglect at state-supervised nursing homes found some claims went 400 days without action. Some were simply signed off by the nursing homes themselves. The report highlighted five recommendations to ensure complaints are handled properly. As reported by Howard Fischer in a May 25 Arizona Daily Star front-page article, not one of the five proposals has been implemented. Most nursing-home staff do the best they can, but to provide compassionate care they need a functional workplace. The federal Build Back Better legislation might have helped, but the bill never made it to the Senate. Im not asking for publicly funded resorts for seniorsjust clean, modern, humane care facilities. Centers for Caring, not crumbling warehouses. The $1 trillion infrastructure bill is now law; why not use some of that funding to replace obsolete, decaying facilities with modern nursing homes, built with standardized blueprints and software? Among the benefits: simplified caregiver training and enhanced mobility (no need to re-orient after moving to a new employer), better data collection and monitoring, and economy of scale (reusable designs). Residents would be the big winners as caregivers focus on giving care, not on struggling with antiquated buildings and systems. Many nursing homes are monuments to obsolescence and deferred maintenance. We have smart houses; why not smart Centers for Caring? Automation and smart machines could facilitate medication reminders, help move residents into and out of bed and other activities. Monitors could alert if a memory-care resident approaches an exit. And every toilet should have a bidet. Caregivers would benefit from the reduced workload; residents would appreciate the dignity of tending to their own hygiene. Both would benefit from the reduced stressand chance of injuryof assisted toileting. Another need: more training. Federal rules require caregivers in Medicaid-reimbursed facilities to be licensed as certified nurses aides, with 75 training hours. (Some states require up to 150 training hours. Thats better, but not enough.) To create a mobile, professional workforce, nationwide training requirements should include a 300-hour minimum. In Arizona, nail technicians get 600 hours of training, but that does include both fingers and toes. Yet another need: increased staffing. Theres no mandatory staffing ratio, but most caregivers support about 10 residentsup to 15 at times. Imagine caring for 15 incontinent, confused, wandering, combative or lonely frail older adults. For that work, CNAs are paid about $13 to $18 an hour. They deserve at least $22 an hour, plus a realistic career ladder. A reasonable staffing ratio should be 5:1 at the most. That would allow caregivers time to give undivided attentionand safe, thorough careto each of the residents they care for, rather than rushing from one crisis to the next. Is that too much to ask? Replacing decaying buildings with modern facilities would also reduce maintenance and utilities expenses (think solar power). The savings could be redirected toward lowered staffing ratios, enhanced training and better pay and benefits for caregivers. After a lifetime of working, paying taxes and contributing to society, seniors living in poverty deserve skilled, compassionate care. Lets stop letting them down. Judith B. Clinco, RN, BS, is founder and president of Tucson-based Catalina In-Home Services Inc. and founder of the CareGiver Training Institute. Judith B. Clinco, RN, BS, is founder and president of Tucson-based Catalina In-Home Services Inc. and founder of the CareGiver Training Institute. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. WASHINGTON (AP) A man carrying a Confederate battle flag stormed the U.S. Capitol with his son because they intended to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Bidens 2020 electoral victory, prosecutors argued Tuesday at the close of the men's trial. A federal judge, not a jury, will decide if Delaware residents Kevin Seefried and his adult son, Hunter, are guilty of a felony obstruction charge and several misdemeanor offenses stemming from the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden didn't immediately issue a verdict from the bench after hearing attorneys' closing arguments. He told them to return to court on Wednesday afternoon. Defense attorneys argued that the Seefrieds had no intention of disrupting the joint session for Congress to certify the Electoral College vote when they entered the Capitol. Widely published photographs showed Kevin Seefried carrying a Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol after he and Hunter Seefried, then 22, entered the building through a broken window. Eugene Ohm, one of Kevin Seefried's lawyers, drew a distinction between rioters who merely trespassed and those who went inside the Capitol to interfere with Congress. Ohm said prosecutors have sometimes blurred that line, including in the Seefrieds' case. Edson Bostic, Hunter Seefried's attorney, said prosecutors are asking McFadden to take a lot of leaps without evidence that his client intended to stop the vote count on Jan. 6. No one said that he was angry, Bostic said. No one said that he was hostile or aggressive in his interaction with the Capitol police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benet Kearney said the Seefrieds' conduct and words, captured on video, made their intentions crystal clear. They thought the election was stolen and they were upset about it, Kearney said. McFadden, whom President Donald Trump nominated in 2017, presided over two previous bench trials for Capitol riot defendants. He acquitted one of all charges and partially acquitted another. The Seefrieds' trial included the first public testimony of Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, who has been lauded for his bravery during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of Trump supporters. Goodman led a group of rioters away from the Senate chamber as senators and then-Vice President Mike Pence were being evacuated. He also directed Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, to turn around and head away from the mob. Goodman encountered Kevin Seefried before the mob chased the officer up a set of stairs. The officer said the elder Seefried cursed at him and jabbed at him with the base end of his flagpole three or four times without making contact with him. Another Capitol police officer who confronted the mob near the Senate chamber recalled that Kevin Seefried asked, Why are you protecting them? I assumed he was talking about Congress, Officer Brian Morgan testified. The charges against both Kevin and Hunter Seefried include one felony count: obstruction of an official proceeding. They werent charged with assaulting any officers. Neither defendant testified at their trial. The father and son traveled to Washington from their home in Laurel, Delaware, to hear Trumps speech at the Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6. They were among the first rioters to approach the building near the Senate Wing Door, according to prosecutors. After watching other rioters use a police shield and a wooden plank to break a window, Hunter Seefried used a gloved fist to clear a shard of glass in one of the broken windowpanes, prosecutors said. FBI agents said they didnt find any evidence linking Kevin Seefried or his son to any far-right extremist groups. Kevin Seefried told an agent that he didnt view the Confederate flag as a symbol of racist hate. In April, McFadden acquitted New Mexico resident Matthew Martin of misdemeanor charges that he illegally entered the Capitol and engaged in disorderly conduct after he walked into the building. In March, McFadden acquitted a New Mexico elected official, Couy Griffin, of engaging in disorderly conduct but convicted him of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds. Separately on Tuesday, a former city councilman in West Virginia was sentenced to 45 days in prison for breaching the Capitol during the riot. Eric Barber was sentenced by a federal judge in Washington for his December guilty plea to a misdemeanor count of illegally entering the Capitol. Barber also was given a seven-day sentence, which the judge suspended, for stealing a portable battery charger from a media stand inside the Capitol. Barber was ordered to pay $500 restitution for damage done to the Capitol and for the cost of the charger. More than 800 cases have been brought so far in the largest prosecution in Justice Department history. So far, the criminal investigation has focused primarily on the hundreds of Trump supporters who broke through police barricades, shattered windows, attacked officers and stormed into the Capitol. More than 300 other defendants have pleaded guilty to riot offenses, mostly misdemeanors. Approximately 100 others have trial dates in 2022 or 2023. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) Devastating floodwaters that wiped out miles of roads and hundreds of bridges in Yellowstone National Park and swamped scores of homes in surrounding communities moved downstream Wednesday and threatened to cut off fresh drinking water to residents of Montanas largest city. Heavy weekend rains and melting mountain snow had the Yellowstone River flowing at a historically high level of 16 feet (4.9 meters) as it raced past Billings. The city gets its water from the river and was forced to shut down its treatment plant at about 9:30 a.m. because it can't operate effectively with water levels that high. Billings had a just a 24- to 36-hour supply of water and officials asked its 110,000 residents to conserve while expressing optimism that the river would drop quickly enough for the plant to resume operations before the supply ran out. None of us planned a 500-year flood event on the Yellowstone when we designed these facilities, said Debi Meling, the citys public works director. The unprecedented and sudden flooding that raged through Yellowstone earlier this week drove all of the more than 10,000 visitors out of the nation's oldest park, which remains closed. It damaged hundreds of homes in nearby communities, though remarkably no one was reported hurt or killed. It also pushed a popular fishing river off course possibly permanently and may force roadways torn away by torrents of water to be rebuilt a safer distance away. On Wednesday residents in Red Lodge, Montana, a gateway town to the park's northern end, used shovels, wheelbarrows and a pump to clear thick mud and debris from a flooded home along the banks of Rock Creek. We thought we had it, and then a bridge went out. And it diverted the creek, and the water started rolling in the back, broke out a basement window and started filling up my basement, Pat Ruzich said. And then I quit. It was like, the water won. Park officials say the northern half of the park is likely to remain closed all summer, a devastating blow to the local economies that rely on tourism. In Gardiner, Montana, businesses had just started really recovering from the tourism contraction wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, and were hoping for a good year as Yellowstone celebrates its 150th anniversary, said Bill Berg, a commissioner in Park County. Its a Yellowstone town, and it lives and dies by tourism, and this is going to be a pretty big hit, he said. Theyre looking to try to figure out how to hold things together. Meantime, as the waters recede, parks officials are turning their attention to the massive effort of rebuilding many miles of ruined roads and hundreds of washed-out bridges, many of them built for backcountry hikers. Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said assessment teams won't be able to tally the damage until next week. Kelly Goonan, an associate professor at Southern Utah University and an expert in national parks and recreation management, said rebuilding will be a long process. This is something were definitely going to feel the impacts of for the next several years, Goonan said. As the Yellowstone rebuild efforts get underway, rangers will have to consider the reality of the parks altered landscape as well as potential future natural disasters. We certainly know that climate change is causing more natural disasters, more fires, bigger fires and more floods and bigger floods. These things are going to happen, and theyre going to happen probably a lot more intensely, said Robert Manning, a retired University of Vermont professor of environment and natural resources. Officials may also be able to rebuild in a way thats more ecologically sound than the roads and bridges built a decade or century ago, he said. The rains hit just as area hotels filled up in recent weeks with summer tourists. More than 4 million visitors were tallied by the park last year. The wave of tourists doesnt abate until fall, and June is typically one of Yellowstones busiest months. Yellowstone officials are hopeful that next week they can reopen the southern half of the park, which includes Old Faithful geyser. Closure of the northern part of the park will keep visitors from features that include Tower Fall, Mammoth Hot Springs and the Lamar Valley, which is known for viewing wildlife such as bears and wolves Still unresolved is how it will handle all the tourists when only half the park is open. One thing that we definitely know is that half the park cannot support all of the visitation, Sholly said Tuesday. The park will likely implement some kind of reservation or timed-entry system to let people in without sending crowd sizes sky-high. Whitehurst reported from Salt Lake City. Associated Press writers Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, R.J. Rico in Atlanta, and Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Despite all the new construction of hotels in downtown Tulsa, the city is still behind while Oklahoma City and others are investing in hotels with enough capacity to meet the demand of big events. Three local philanthropic arms flexed their collective muscle Wednesday for Green Country Habitat for Humanity and its North Tulsa Initiative. Habitat announced that it recently has received $13.5 million from the George Kaiser Family Foundation, Ascension St. John, and the Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. The goal of the North Tulsa Initiative is to build 250 affordable homes in the area over the next five to seven years. Since the local Habitat for Humanity organization was founded in 1988, it has built nearly 500 homes in the Tulsa region. A total of 43 homes have been completed this year 35 in north Tulsa with an additional 25 homes currently under construction. Green Country Habitat for Humanity President and CEO Cameron Walker said of the benefactors: We are talking about people that are preparing and serving our food. We are talking about people who are delivering our packages. We are talking about people who are working in our manufacturing facilities, people that are educating and caring for our children and people that are responding to our emergency calls. These are the people that are being priced out of home ownership. Median household income was $59,900 in 2019 in Tulsa County as a whole but just $29,900 in north Tulsa, Walker said. After taxes, rent, car payments and utilities, many families in north Tulsa find themselves living on less than $300 a week, he said at a news conference at the 36th Street North Event Center. Add in rising fuel, groceries and health care costs, and all of a sudden its easy to see why so many families are struggling. The $13.5 million will focus on forgivable down-payment assistance, land acquisition and acquisition of depressed properties, and infrastructure improvement and development, Walker said. Mayor G.T. Bynum said Wednesday that part of his push to run for mayor came after realizing the life expectancy disparity between north Tulsa and other parts of the city was 11 years. We thought about our friends who are raising their kids in north Tulsa and how much our kids mean to us and how much our friends who are raising their kids deserve a city where everybody in the community is trying to make it where no matter where a kid is growing up in our community, you have an equal opportunity to a great life, Bynum said. In the past five years, the city has recruited more than a $1 billion in private investment into north Tulsa, he said. Its not just one entitys responsibility to do that, the mayor said. It requires a community-wide collective effort to make that happen. Green Country Habitat for Humanity is one of the largest nonprofit home builders in northeastern Oklahoma and is committed to supplier diversity, having spent $1.1 million with local, minority-owned contractors. Phenomenal things happen only when you have great leadership and the courage to implement it, state Sen. Kevin Matthews said. This is an example of what can happen when we sincerely stop talking about it and start being about it and work together. Featured video: Habitat for Humanity begins construction on home for Emeka Nnaka Subscribe to Daily Headlines Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. 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 recent tour of Owasso convinced fashion entrepreneur Nicole Campos to open a new business in the community. Campos, who owns Bling Glamour based out of Wichita, Kansas, ventured south of her hometown to seek out possible expansion options, and discovered an ideal spot in Tulsas northernmost neighboring community. We went to Owasso and we all just felt like it was exactly the kind of town that we needed to be in, Campos said. We loved the experience in the town and the people it was an obvious fit for us. Bling Glamour, located at 12317 E. 96th St. N., sells a variety of womens apparel and accessories, including shoes, clothing, jewelry, purses and more anything that a woman could want, Campos said. What started as a small venture out of her basement about 13 years has since turned into a large company with nearly two dozen locations, including four sites in Oklahoma. Campos held the grand opening of the Owasso store Bling Glamours 23rd location on Saturday, June 4. Just one more footprint in Oklahoma is very exciting, Campos said. Our biggest thing is that we want people to feel great when they leave our stores, and we want to give them an amazing experience. Owassos expansion also contributes to Bling Glamours efforts to help children in need through its partnership with the House of Hope orphanage in Guatemala. Being able to give back and really be involved is tremendously important to us, Campos said. Our faith and how we want people to feel and have Gods love from our stores is the No. 1 reason and the why that keeps me going. Bling Glamour has other stores in Claremore, Bartlesville and Ponca City, and plans to soon open another site in Stillwater in early July. More information about Bling Glamour can be found at blingglamour.com. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Zasas Pizza and Wings, which offers the creations of world champion pizza artist Tara Hattan, opened its second location Tuesday in the Mother Road Market, 1124 S. Lewis Ave. Zasas is located in the space that held Andolinis Sliced. Hattan developed her pizza-making skills under the tutelage of Andolinis Worldwide owners Mike and Jim Bausch, who are co-owners with Hattan of Zasas. The original Zasas opened in October at 10025 S. Memorial Drive and became known for its 24-inch pizzas from which foot-long slices were cut. More conventionally sized pies are available for takeaway. Hattan said her goal was to bring New York-style pizza to Tulsa, while also bringing her own twist to things. Among the unique creations is the Pickle Pizza, with dill pickle slices and a garlic aioli; a Pizza Bianco topped with ricotta cheese, olive oil and garlic; and the Tommy Mulligan, with black and green olives, red onions and salami. Having the opportunity to expand to a second location in such a short amount of time is exciting and something restaurateurs rarely have the opportunity to experience, Hattan said. Our original location serves South Tulsa well. I am eager to share the Zasas concept with Midtown in a much more accessible and convenient way. New, local food concepts are what fuel this space with such vibrant energy, said Brian Paschal, CEO of the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation. We are excited to support this female co-owned business and welcome a world-champion pizzaiola to Mother Road Market. Another Andolinis-owned space in Mother Road Market, Metropolis, which specialized in regional street food, will focus exclusively on serving Philadelphia-stye cheesesteaks, which has been the stalls best-selling item. Nacho Business closesNacho Business, 5964 S. Yale Ave., in Kings Pointe Village, has closed. The restaurant served up a host of variations on the basic snack of something crunchy topped with something cheesy, with toppings that ranged from shredded cheese to lobster over fried wontons, pork rinds and waffle fries as well as the traditional tortilla chips. Nacho Business opened in January. French Hen hosts wine dinnerThe French Hen will be saying Lets Get it Hahn as it hosts a wine dinner featuring vintages from the Hahn Winery, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The dinner will be at 6:22 p.m. Thursday, June 23, at the French Hen, 319 E. Archer St., in the Vast.Bank building. The evening will begin with blue crab beignets served with a garlic aioli, followed by pan-seared steelhead trout with fennel potato salad and cilantro pesto. A Pate de Campagne with ground mustard, cornichons and French bread will be served before the entree, a braised short rib with caramelized onion, marmalade and rosemary focaccia. Cost is $79 per person, and reservations are required. To reserve: 918-492-2596, frenchhentulsa.com. Guinigi Wine DinnerTi Amo South, 6024 S. Sheridan Road, will host a dinner at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 23, pairing its dishes with wines from the Guinigi winery in northern Italy. The menu will include a summer salad of papaya, jicama and arugula topped with blue cheese crumbles; flash-fried soft-shelled crab; beef Bourguignon; roast quail stuffed with corn bread, sausage and herbs; pan-seared lamb chops; and a blue cheese plate with assorted berries and candied walnuts. Cost is $125 per person, and reservations are required. To reserve: 918-499-1919. What the Ale, Beer of the Week: Elgin Parks Blueberry Kolsch and meet their new brewer Lucas Dewell 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. TUESDAY, June 14, 2022 (American Heart Association News) -- LGBTQ people may celebrate as one during Pride Month. But when the topic is health, experts say it's crucial to acknowledge differences. Too often, LGBTQ people are considered one entity, "as if they all have the same issues, all have the same needs," said Dr. Carl Streed Jr., assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. "But that is not at all the case." The latest Gallup poll combined with census data puts the number of LGBTQ adults living in the U.S. at around 18 million, Streed said. So it might be obvious that broad labels would not apply to all. But Streed, who also is the research lead for the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at Boston Medical Center, said that not only is each letter of the LGBTQ label its own community with its own health needs, "there are unique needs within each individual letter of that as well." "So it's not just that trans people have different needs than lesbians there are different needs even within the trans communities," he said. Some health issues do affect everyone under the LGBTQ umbrella, said Tonia Poteat, associate professor of social medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Many of those issues relate to chronic stress in the face of discrimination. "We see that in terms of both mental health, like higher prevalence of depression and anxiety, but also in terms of physical health," she said. According to the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, discrimination against LGBTQ people has been associated with high rates of psychiatric conditions, substance abuse and suicide. And a 2020 scientific statement from the American Heart Association, which Poteat and Streed helped write, said "there is growing evidence that LGBTQ adults experience worse cardiovascular health relative to their cisgender heterosexual peers." But as the focus narrows, differences emerge, Streed said. "There are differences in rates of hypertension, levels of cholesterol and diabetes across all these categories," he said, as well as differences in levels of physical activity. The example of hypertension, or high blood pressure, shows just how much a problem can vary among groups. Preliminary research presented last year at the AHA's Scientific Sessions conference found that while gay men and bisexual women both were at higher risk for high blood pressure than their heterosexual peers, the problem was more common in gay men. Lesbian women and bisexual men, meanwhile, faced no additional risks beyond what their heterosexual peers had. Writing in the Lancet in 2021, Poteat and her co-authors said statistics from Canada indicate that bisexual women experience poorer mental health than lesbians. The 2020 AHA scientific statement highlighted that lesbian women are more likely to use tobacco than heterosexual women, men and gay men, while transgender women and gay men bear a disproportionate burden of HIV, which is associated with increased risk for heart disease, when compared with non-LGBTQ people. But research that highlights such differences is sparse. And that can lead to lack of understanding among physicians and ill-informed care, Streed said. Health care professionals who aren't aware of LGBTQ needs can be insensitive about even basic medical needs. A lesbian woman might be asked about birth control, Streed said, or a transgender person might be told to get an exam on anatomy they don't have. To Poteat, solutions could begin with a simple acknowledgment. "Everybody needs to be addressed as an individual," she said. "And that requires being curious about that person's individual experience, and also not coming with assumptions about who they are." Streed agreed. Too often, he said, a visit to the doctor's office is filled with experiences that can alienate people who are not straight, healthy white men. Ill-informed care providers make "assumptions about what we think people should look like, what bodies they should have, and what families they should be part of." To address that, care providers and researchers need to "unlearn a lot of assumptions and recognize the complexity of the actual diversity of human life and build research tools to recognize that and measure that," he said. Poteat said people have the option to choose their care providers. She recommended GLMA.org, the website of a national association of LGBTQ health care professionals, which offers a free list of providers who testify to being LGBTQ friendly and knowledgeable. Trans people can look for providers who are certified by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. "Going through those organizations is one way to find people who are at least working on and trying to be LGBTQ aware and responsive," Poteat said. People should feel comfortable and empowered to demand appropriate care, Streed said. "This is their health, and they're seeking help from a profession that's job is to care. So if our profession falls short, it is our fault." American Heart Association News covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. If you have questions or comments about this story, please email editor@heart.org. By Michael Merschel, American Heart Association News Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) A $13.8 billion budget that sends hundreds of dollars of rebates to many South Carolina taxpayers and also cuts cuts their income tax rates is on its way to Gov Henry McMaster's desk. The House and Senate each passed a compromise spending plan Wednesday that also would raise the minimum salary for teachers from $36,000 to $40,000, put $1 billion extra into road repair and expansion and give state employees a 3% raise and $1,500 bonus. The 2022-23 fiscal year budget also calls for raising a number of state law enforcement salaries, giving colleges money if they freeze tuition and setting aside about $1 billion in case this is the year the economy craters. The approved budget is $3 billion more than last year's spending plan. The extra money comes from a booming economy, federal pandemic money and savings from the past two budgets just in case COVID-19 wrecked the financial system. People can complain the budget is bursting, but Republican House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Gary Simrill said lawmakers are in a way sending back as much money to taxpayers as they can. Look at what is going back to the citizens of South Carolina either in infrastructure, non-spent revenue or tax cuts and rebates., the Republican from Rock Hill said. The Senate passed the budget unanimously, while just a handful of House members voted against it. The governor has until early next week and has a line-item veto to take out any part of the budget he does not like. The General Assembly will return by the end of June to consider those vetoes. Items McMaster has guaranteed he will not veto are the income tax cut and rebate. The rebate will give every South Carolinian who pays income tax the amount they pay back for this tax year, up to about $800. About 44% of the states 2.5 million people who file returns end up paying nothing in income tax and wont get a check when the rebates are given out in November or December. The rebates will cost about $1 billion. Delivery is expected in late November or early December just in time for Christmas, Republican Senate Finance Committee Chairman Harvey Peeler said. The compromise also immediately cuts the states top income tax rate from 7% to 6.5%. for the 1.1 million taxpayers who pay the most. The plan then knocks 0.1% off the top rate each year the state continues to substantially increase revenues until the top rate is at 6%. It is the House plan backed by McMaster. The other tax bracket will be at 3%, cutting taxes for the more than 300,000 taxpayers now between the 6% and 3% brackets. Anyone lower than that will not pay taxes at all. The budget compromise also revamps the way the state funds education, simplifying a complex formula into money mostly based on student-teacher ratio and minimum teacher salaries. Lawmakers are putting $275 million more into the formula. Districts can use the money however they like, and a number of lawmakers have suggested a $4,000 salary increase for all their teachers is a good start. On roads, most of the money is going to accelerate major interstate plans, such as widening Interstate 26 from Charleston to Columbia to three lanes each direction or untangling where Interstates 20, 26 and 126 all meet west of Columbia. But the budget also sends money directly to every county to spend as they see fit. This budget helps fill in potholes," Peeler said. Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A Collinsville man who the FBI said possessed an unfathomable amount of pornography and had close ties to another man who was recently convicted of enticing a minor to have sex, pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal firearms and drug charges. Kevin Lynn Greer, 51, admitted to two counts of a five-count superseding indictment filed Feb. 23 in Tulsa federal court. The charges were illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, as part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop counts charging him with possession of child pornography in Indian Country, receipt and distribution of child pornography and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The agreement, which still requires judicial approval, also stipulates that Greer serve five years and six months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Greer admitted to the charges just weeks after a judge denied his request to ban prosecutors from mentioning at trial his relationship with Alexander Sweet, 28. A federal jury convicted Sweet in April of enticing a minor to have sex and related child porn crimes. The FBI began investigating Sweet after receiving a tip that he was in an intimate relationship with a then-16-year-old girl. The FBI said evidence gathered in that case led them to suspect that Sweet and Greer had exchanged child pornography with one another. The FBI served search warrants Nov. 10 on two buildings associated with Greer in the 500 block of West Broadway in Collinsville. Agents recovered what they described as an unfathomable amount of pornography during the search, some of which investigators believed to be child pornography. Agents also seized seven guns, nearly 600 rounds of ammunition and about four kilograms of marijuana packaged in 41 plastic bags. Greer argued in a court filing that his friendship with Sweet was not relevant because it does not make any fact at issue any more or less likely. Prosecutors contended that the friendship is admissible because it goes to Greers knowledge and intent to possess and distribute marijuana. The Court agrees that evidence of defendants association with Sweet is relevant to whether defendant possessed marijuana with the requisite knowledge and intent, Chief U.S. District Judge John Heil III wrote in a May 9 order and opinion. Greer has multiple prior felony convictions, according to court records, his most recent of which was a 2001 conviction for misappropriation of personal identification out of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Greer was also convicted of second-degree burglary in 1991 in Tulsa County and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and use of an offensive weapon in a felony in 1995. A then-16-year-old girl who dated and later married Sweet in Arkansas, only to break off the relationship after his arrest, told investigators that Sweet and Greer communicated daily using social media and text messaging applications. The girl told investigators that Sweet took her to Greers residence to trim marijuana plants and that Sweet moved guns and drugs for Greer on multiple occasions. In support of the plea agreement, both sides agreed that the amount of digital evidence seized in this case and the difficulties with presenting that evidence and its foundation, are reasons that factored in reaching the agreement. Greer, who has been in custody since his November arrest, will be sentenced at a later date. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. An Owasso man will serve 12 to 20 years in prison if his plea agreement is accepted by a judge in connection with the 2019 vehicular death of a Coweta man. Bradley Wade Wofford, 35, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree felony murder in Indian Country in connection with the death of Scotty Richard Dilbeck, 48. Dilbeck died at the scene on June 10, 2019, after the 2015 Volkswagen GTI he was driving was rear-ended by a 2001 Ford F-150 driven by Wofford on U.S. 412 near Rogers County Road 4180. A plea agreement with prosecutors calls for Wofford to serve a prison sentence between 12 and 20 years in prison. A judge will decide later whether to accept the agreement and Woffords specific time in prison. Wofford initially was booked into the Rogers County jail on complaints of driving under the influence, second-degree murder, inattentive driving, driving with a suspended license and possession of methamphetamine. Wofford also had an outstanding arrest warrant on charges of aggravated DUI and driving with a suspended license. A federal grand jury indicted Wofford on Sept. 8 on a charge of second-degree murder while under the influence of methamphetamine. The federal charge followed a ruling in Rogers County District Court that the state of Oklahoma did not have jurisdiction to prosecute Wofford under the U.S. Supreme Courts McGirt ruling because he is a member of the Cherokee Nation and Dilbecks death occurred within the Cherokee Nation reservation. 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 team of Tulsa doctors has returned from Ukraine after spending a week assisting refugees displaced within the country, treating mental health disorders and providing counsel. The five-member medical assistance team from In His Image International, an organization dedicated to assisting those in need via medicine, was led by Dr. Brandon Ganzer, a faculty physician of In His Image Family Residency program. Ganzer said the team left Tulsa on June 5 and was stationed in Uzhhorod, Ukraine a city occupied by Ukrainians seeking safety from the Russian invasion in eastern Ukraine. He said the city has converted multiple facilities, such as university dormitories and hotels, to host the influx of fellow Ukrainians. According to a survey by the International Organization for Migration, 7.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes and relocate to other areas of Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion in February. Ganzer said the medical assistance team typically didnt witness severe physical trauma but treated a lot of chronic diseases because those forced to flee their homes but still within the countrys borders werent able to see their own doctors. The Russian blockade in the Black Sea limits the number of medical supplies available within Ukraine, exacerbating the medical needs in the country, Ganzer said. Last week, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said millions of people may starve if the blockade continues. The biggest issue the internally displaced people faced was mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and suicidality, Ganzer said. The refugees told their stories and experiences from the conflict, Ganzer said. He remembers one story told by a young Ukrainian man whose mother was captured, tortured then extorted for ransom money. While his mother was eventually freed, she died shortly thereafter. Ganzer said the young man suffered PTSD and had vivid flashbacks from the event, struggling to differentiate between reality and hallucinations. He said other refugees shared stories of seeing elderly women and children targeted and shot by Russians, finding it hard to let go of those memories. Sometimes, I felt like I would just sit there and feel the weight of that hurt or suffering, Ganzer said. Youre not feeling what they feel. Youre empathizing with them (feeling) just a small degree of what theyre actually experiencing. Despite the trauma and hardships the refugees faced, Ganzer said there was a generalized sense of patriotism among the Ukrainians. He compared the unity Ukrainians displayed during the conflict to the efforts of American factories that were retooled to produce military resources during World War II. He said the people also demonstrated gratitude toward the medical assistance team, often asking them why theyd travel across the world to help them. Through our translators, we did a lot of listening and counseling and would pray for them, Ganzer said. But the part of the work that seemed to be the most impactful was just the human touch and compassion that our team brought. Featured video: Volunteer ambulance teams risk their lives on Ukraines front lines 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. Smoke from thousands of burned U.S. flags filled the air in downtown Tulsa on Tuesday morning as dozens of veterans and Boy Scouts honored Flag Day with a flag retirement ceremony. The Tulsa Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 577 hosted the annual ceremony in partnership with the Marine Corps League and Boy Scout Troop 2222. This year, the VFW post collected more than 3,000 worn and unserviceable flags from across Oklahoma. VFW Post 577 is one of a few permanent flag retirement facilities in the state. The U.S. Flag Code, Title 4, Section 8k states that when a flag is no longer fit for display, it should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. During the ceremony, VFW Post 577 Past Commander Josh Starks guided Boy Scout Aidan Lakey toward the funeral pyre. Each of them held a flag in his arms, then carefully tossed it into the fire before saluting it. Lakey and a handful of other Boy Scouts received a patch for their uniforms symbolizing community service at the ceremony. Occasionally, a veteran approached the fire with a flag in hand and rang the large bell adjacent to the fire pit to dedicate the retired flag to someone. The flags ranged in size, and some required a dozen people to carry them to the fire, holding up each section of them to ensure that they didnt touch the ground. The large flags were visibly tattered on the ends, signifying that their lives had concluded. We treat each flag as though its a service member, Stark said. When it reaches the end of its life, we go ahead and pay its honors of the service its given on the pole. It represents our great nation that we love and that we served overseas to protect. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BURLINGTON, Vt.. (AP) Ranked choice voting will be used again in Vermont's largest city but this time only for city council elections. The Burlington city council on Monday passed an ordinance that officially lays out the details of the instant runoff retabulation system, the Burlington Free Press reported. Voters in March will rank their candidate choices and then the first-choice votes will be tallied. If no candidate wins the majority more than 50% of votes the candidate with the fewest number of first-choice votes is removed. The votes of the people who ranked that candidate first will then be moved to their second choice and another tally will be taken. If still no candidate wins, the process is repeated until someone secures a majority. The Legislature approved the city charter change and Gov. Phil Scott allowed it take effect without his signature. In a letter to lawmakers, he said he was allowing it because ranked choice voting will be limited to Burlington City Council elections. The Republican governor noted that when all city elections employed ranked choice voting, from 2005 to 2010, the system yielded flawed results," the newspaper reported. Supporters of ranked choice voting say the system eliminates vote-splitting when more than two candidates run, gives voters more selection and backs the notion that officials should earn a majority to be elected. More than two-thirds of Burlington voters approved the charter change. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) U.S. Sen. John Hoeven easily won North Dakotas Republican primary Tuesday, coasting past an unknown and poorly funded political neophyte ahead of a November matchup when hes again likely to be a heavy favorite. Hoeven defeated Riley Kuntz, an oil field worker who said Hoeven had been in Washington far too long but who raised less than $5,000 for his long-shot bid. Hoeven, seeking his third term, raised more than $3.2 million in the run-up to the primary. He's set to face Democrat Katrina Christiansen, a political newcomer and University of Jamestown engineering professor who carried her party's endorsement as she defeated Michael Steele, a Fargo art and antiques dealer. Both Christiansen and Steele were largely unknown outside their hometowns, and raised little money about $21,000 by Christiansen and $2,100 by Steele. Hoeven won both of his previous Senate terms with more than 76% of the vote. He was first elected to the Senate in 2010, succeeding longtime Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan, who retired. In other races, state Rep. Michael Howe won the Republican primary for secretary of state, beating political newcomer Marvin Lepp, and will face Democrat Jeffrey Powell in November. The winner will replace Republican Al Jaeger, who chose not to run again after holding the post for 30 years. GOP U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, seeking a second term, will face Democrat Mark Haugen of Bismarck, a University of Mary graduate adviser who has long worked as a paramedic. Both were unopposed in their primaries. Hoeven was first elected governor in 2000 after seven years as president of the state-owned Bank of North Dakota. In 2008, he became the first person ever elected to a third four-year term as North Dakotas chief executive. A former Democrat, Hoeven switched parties four years before his first successful gubernatorial run. Hoeven got a scare at the GOP convention in April when he narrowly won the GOP endorsement of delegates over the leader of the ultraconservative wing of the party. Bismarck state Rep. Rick Becker painted Hoeven as a big-spending, big-government politician who had lost touch with his conservative base. Hoeven, 65, countered by touting his involvement in North Dakotas economic development and highlighted his opposition to most of President Joe Bidens policies. Hoeven got a video message of support from former President Donald Trump. The story has been updated to correct the spelling of Katrina Christiansen's last name. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Citing feedback from tribal citizens, the Cherokee Nation announced on Flag Day that it is reversing course on a recent executive order regarding the use of the Oklahoma flag on tribal property. In a statement released Tuesday evening, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said that while he personally does not believe the Oklahoma flag should be flown over the tribes properties, he would reinstate its full-time use at all Cherokee Nation sites effective immediately. Reasonable people can disagree on this subject and they plainly do, the statement says. During the past week I have heard from many Cherokee citizens and members of our council who I respect deeply. While some have expressed approval, the vast majority were opposed. Opposition to my decision included a concern that the move further divided the state and tribe at a time when good relations between both governments are more important than ever. Hoskins original executive order, issued on June 3, called for the Oklahoma flag to be displayed at sites owned or leased by the tribe or one of its entities only if state dignitaries or officials with the Oklahoma National Guard were visiting in their professional capacities or with the approval of the tribes administration. Prior to the executive order, the state flag was among those regularly displayed at Cherokee Nation facilities that had enough space to accommodate more than one flag. The order specifically referenced the tribes nation-to-nation relationship with the United States as justification for the move and was slated to be in full effect by Sept. 1. In Tuesdays statement, Hoskin pointed to the tribes pre-statehood existence as his personal objection to flying the Oklahoma flag on a regular basis, claiming that it is inconsistent with tribal sovereignty. The tribe has about 400,000 citizens, including more than 141,000 who live within the Cherokee Nation reservation boundaries. 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. Sales and income tax reductions totaling around $500 million passed out of the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Wednesday, but the citizenry might hold off on spending the roughly $125 per capita projected benefit. Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, accused the House of grandstanding and something just short of fraud. House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said Treat spends too much time contemplating his navel. We saw complete political theater today, Treat said a few hours after the House sent the tax measures to the Senate. What the House delivered on today cannot become law. This is really about having political mailers to send out and say, We cut your taxes. Im sure theyre already at the mailhouse. McCall responded that the Senate has spent all its time this week finding reasons not to help Oklahomans. Thus, a situation already confusing to most Oklahomans became more so. The Legislature formally adjourned this years regular session on May 27. Prior to that, it had called itself into an intermittent special session officially, the Second Extraordinary Session of the 58th Legislature to allocate the states $1.7 billion in American Rescue Plan Act money. In doing so, it said Gov. Kevin Stitt had reneged on an agreement concerning how the money would be distributed. Stitt responded by vetoing several tax cut bills called inflation relief in current political parlance as insufficient, and he ordered a Third Extraordinary Session to begin June 13. With primaries on June 28, legislators grumbled to order on Monday. The Senate said it expected to be there only one day, just long enough to approve some of the ARPA projects. The House, though, decided that it would also promote some tax cut legislation. It did that on Wednesday and then gaveled sine die final adjournment of the Stitt special session. Treat said that, for procedural reasons, made it impossible for any of the bills it passed Wednesday to become law. McCall said thats not true. Stitt said he was optimistic that the Senate will go along with the proposed tax cuts. Treat, though, made it clear that the Senate wont be pushed into anything hasty. He appointed a tax reform working group chaired by Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, and declared the Senate the adults in the room. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, has staunchly opposed all permanent tax cuts on the grounds that the surpluses of the past few years are almost certain to turn to deficits sooner or later. I believe with all my heart that within the next 12 to 18 months, were going to need every dime we can get our hands on, Thompson said Wednesday. The bills passed by the House are essentially variations on two themes eliminating the state sales tax on groceries and reducing the states income tax rates. In some iterations, the reductions are temporary two-year moratoriums that would have to be renewed to remain in place after 2024. In others, the reductions would be permanent. There are also variations concerning restrictions, if any, on local governments raising their sales taxes should the state grocery sales tax be suspended or eliminated. Also passed was an expansion of the states low-income sales tax rebate. To pay for the cuts and meet the states balanced budget requirement, the House proposes using reserves and taking $240 million from the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the agency that oversees the states Medicaid programs. House Budget Committee Chairman Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, said the agency currently has fund balances of about $850 million and can absorb the reduction without an impact on services during the fiscal year beginning July 1. Wallace said the surplus is related to Medicaid expansion and increased federal funding related to COVID-19. It was unclear to what extent the agencys surplus is the result of nonrecurring revenue. Separately Wednesday, the House convened in what is officially the Second Extraordinary Session the one called by the Legislature itself to pass a series of bills, most of them shell bills, related to disburing the states American Rescue Plan Act money. Projects agreed upon include $25 million for a nonprofit assistance fund overseen by the Department of Commerce and $15 million toward construction of a new optometry school at Northeastern State University. Tulsa World Opinion: The cavalcade of tax cut proposals, May 2022 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. Visitors to Ho Chi Minh City will be able to take a high-speed boat tour between the southern economic hub and Tien Giang and Ben Tre Provinces in the Mekong Delta region from the third quarter of this year. The Ho Chi Minh Department of Transport has written to the transport departments of Tien Giang and Ben Tre announcing a plan to launch the high-speed boat service connecting the city with the two Mekong Delta provinces. High-speed boats are set to ply between the Bach Dang Wharf in District 1 or the Saigon Port in District 4 in Ho Chi Minh City, and the two provinces inland ports or wharves, across the Saigon, Nha Be, Soai Rap Rivers, the Cho Gao Canal, and the Tien River. The waterway route between Ho Chi Minh City and Tien Giang Province is 110 kilometers long, while the other linking the city and Ben Tre Province stretches 120 kilometers. Based on the upcoming on-site survey, the relevant departments and agencies will plan the waterway routes to meet the needs of tourists. The planned operators of the high-speed boat service are Saigontourist Company, Greenlines DP Technology Company, and Daily Company, with each of them to operate two boats which can carry 75-151 passengers each. These operators will reach a consensus on fares to ensure the service is affordable and attractive to everyone. After being put into service, the high-speed boats will run from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm every day. The operating time will be tailored to the travel demand of tourists. In addition to the two new waterway routes, the Ho Chi Minh Department of Transport also urged the government of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province to collaborate with the city on debuting a high-speed boat service between Ho Chi Minh City and Con Dao Island. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A second booster shot, or a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine, is now recommended because immunity from a vaccine starts to wane after several months, Tang Chi Thuong, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, said during the launch of a campaign to speed up the inoculation drive on Tuesday. The municipal health authorities aim to increase the number of people in high-risk groups receiving the fourth shot, which will continue to protect individuals from serious illness, hospitalization, and death from the coronavirus. By the end of 2021, Ho Chi Minh City had basically achieved herd immunity after rolling out massive vaccination drives since March 8 the same year, according to Thuong. However, the achievement made people become heedless of booster doses. We launch this campaign to make people understand that former doses protection would wane over time and an additional booster shot can optimize the bodys immune system to fight against severe disease from COVID-19, Thuong said. An elderly receives a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, June 14, 2022. Photo: Xuan Mai / Tuoi Tre Elderly people, especially those having mobility difficulties, have been targeted for the second round of boosters, with health workers ready to give them the shots at home. Many people living in Ward 25 of Binh Thanh District visited their local cultural house on Tuesday to receive the fourth jabs. Ho Chi Minh City started giving out fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines last month. Vietnam has administered at least 224,137,582 doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far. Given two doses for every person, the amount is more than enough to vaccinate all of the countrys 98-million population. With over 10.7 million cases overall and more than 43,000 deaths, the country has suffered one of the worst COVID-19 crises in Southeast Asia, although new daily infections have fallen significantly, at an average of 897 per day compared to more than 100,000 cases in previous months, according to news site VnExpress statistics. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! China's industrial economy grows leaps and bounds in past decade Xinhua) 08:01, June 15, 2022 A visitor is massaged by a service robot at the 2021 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in east China's Shanghai, July 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe) BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhua) -- China's resolute efforts over the past decade to make its industrial economy grow huge and robust have resulted in this sector being more competitive and resilient in a world fraught with uncertainties and risks. China's industrial output logged an average annual growth of 6.3 percent in the 2012-2021 period as the country's manufacturing sector gained strength, Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology, told a press conference on Tuesday. The growth, well above the global average of about 2 percent for the period, drove industrial output to 37.3 trillion yuan (about 5.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2021, a significant rise from 20.9 trillion yuan in 2012. Despite the COVID-19 epidemic, the average growth rate for 2020 and 2021 reached 6.1 percent, playing an important role in stabilizing the global industrial chain and promoting the recovery of the world economy, Xin noted. Specifically, the manufacturing value-added output had expanded from 16.98 trillion yuan (about 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2012 to 31.4 trillion yuan in 2021, accounting for 30 percent of the global manufacturing output. Beneath the growing scale is the improving structure of the industrial economy, with traditional industries quickening the pace for upgrading and emerging sectors such as service robots and intelligent wearable equipment showing robust momentum. The most telling evidence is that China's production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) have topped globally for seven consecutive years since 2015. Accumulated sales of NEVs amounted to 11.08 million units as of the end of May, compared with 20,000 at the end of 2012. Chinese brands occupied six of the global top 10 best-selling NEV models in 2021, and among the top 10 companies in terms of power battery shipments, six are Chinese enterprises. The share of high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing in the country's total industrial output had risen to 15.1 percent and 32.4 percent, respectively, in 2021. In the field of innovation, numerous major landmark projects including the country's indigenously developed C919 large passenger aircraft and space exploration are propelling the manufacturing industry to new heights. Although the geopolitical conflicts and COVID-19 resurgence have added downward pressure on the industrial economy, the impacts would be temporary, Xin noted. From a long-term perspective, the fundamentals of China's complete and resilient manufacturing system have not changed. With continuous support policies, the industrial economy is expected to return to the normal track as soon as possible, the vice minister said. Going forward, efforts will be made to consolidate China's industrial chain and complete industrial system, improve weak areas and forge strong areas, and promote the high-end development, intelligent upgrade and green transformation of the manufacturing industry, according to the ministry. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its partner PATH, a global health nonprofit, launched their new project STEPS in a fresh effort to end AIDS in Vietnam after celebrating the completion of their separate eight-year project. Concluding the past Healthy Markets project and kick-starting the new one were included in a session held in Hanoi on Tuesday, with the attendance of representatives from agencies concerned, including Bradley Bessire, deputy mission director of USAID Vietnam. STEPS, or Support for Technical Excellence and Private Sector Sustainability, is a new five-year US$15 million project conducted by USAID in partnership with the U.S.-based PATH, or Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, and its core partner Glink Vietnam, the USAID said in a release on its website. The project aims to maintain the momentum of the Healthy Markets project and catalyze greater HIV- and primary healthcare-related market growth in Vietnam. Given more than 95 percent of the current oral PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) market is subsidized by international donors, a major focus of the project will be on increasing sustainable PrEP financing through a blend of commercial, public-financed, and free PrEP services, according to the USAID. STEPS will amplify access to integrated person-centered HIV and Primary Healthcare (PHC) services through innovative models of care; boost demand for and use of game-changing health tools and technologies; and identify promising new public-private collaborative approaches that could significantly enhance the sustainable supply, delivery, and demand for HIV and PHC goods and services. Bessire emphasized that the new project will be centered on ensuring sustainability of its collective progress and addressing key remaining gaps to ultimately help Vietnam achieve its commitment to end AIDS by 2030. AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). Addressing the session, Assoc. Prof. Phan Thi Thu Huong, director of the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control, said that USAID/PATH Healthy Markets continued to accelerate innovative health solutions that significantly contribute to the HIV/AIDS response in Vietnam. I trust that you will continue to maintain your momentum and the inspiring energy moving into the new USAID/PATH STEPS project, Huong said. Before the launch of the new project, the session focused on the significant outcomes of the Healthy Markets project that was conducted from 2014 until last year, with a $20.7 million grant from the U.S. Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The project assisted the Vietnamese Ministry of Health in the introduction and scale-up of new and innovative approaches like HIV community-based testing, self-testing, and pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP three key services that contributed to a 57 percent reduction in new HIV infections over the past decade. As a result, HIV self-test kits are now widely available through pharmacies and e-commerce, community-based testing services are being offered in 33 of Vietnams 63 provinces and cities, and PrEP has been scaled to 29 provinces, according to the USAID. Through Healthy Markets-supported models alone, nearly 218,000 people were tested for HIV in the community and 8,986 people newly diagnosed with HIV were enrolled on lifesaving treatment. In addition, more than 46,000 HIV self-test kits were distributed and 16,700 people enrolled on PrEP, an oral pill that effectively prevents HIV infection when taken as prescribed. Over the past eight years, USAID support addressed critical gaps in accessible, affordable, community-based HIV care while strengthening the domestic market for HIV-related goods and services, USAID cited Bessire as saying. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! UK drama Help, starring Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham, has won the Grand Jury Prize at the Banff Rockie Awards. The British pandemic drama is set in a Liverpool care home and stars Comer as a carer who bonds with a patient, played by Graham, and is put to the test as the COVID-19 pandemic hits. It screened in Australia on ABC. Dramedy series Sort Of, from Canadas CBC and HBO Max and starring and co-created by Bilal Baig, won the program of the year prize. The Creative Voice Award went to Starstruck creator and star, NZs Rose Matafeo. I have to say that when I first heard the name of the award, the phrase makes me think of something that a teacher would write a school report when they have nothing positive to say about the child, Matafeo said jokingly when accepting her trophy. In other wins, Netflix head of global TV Bela Bajaria win the Impact Award, Ana Gasteyer (American Auto) received the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, Vivica A. Fox (Empire, Kill Bill) was handed the Inclusion Award. The late Jean-Marc Vallee (Big Little Lies) was posthumously awarded the Canadian Award of Distinction. Eagle Vision (Night Raiders) picked up the Innovative Producer Award and Showrunner of the Year went to Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson and Jonathan Lisco for their work on Yellowjackets. Source: Hollywood Reporter This week Virginia Trioli hosts Q+A live from Melbourne as the panel looks at Australias energy crisis. The east coast supply shortage is worsening with Queensland the latest state facing a critical shortfall. While the nations energy ministers agree there is no quick fix, theyre backing a longer term plan to address the supply gap, which includes establishing a new gas storage reserve. The federal government has also given the green light for retailers to pay power providers to maintain extra capacity in case it is needed. Domestic electricity and gas prices have surged to unprecedented levels in recent months with several of the countrys ageing coal-fired power stations out of action and overseas gas prices skyrocketing due the war in Ukraine. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the immediate solution is to impose export volume and price controls but Energy Minister Chris Bowen says theres no silver bullet solution to lower energy prices. Where does this leave Labors election promise for cheaper energy prices? And can state and federal governments work together to strengthen energy policy in Australia? The current crisis has highlighted the challenges associated with the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy. Labors Rewiring the Nation policy aims to connect renewables to the grid through a new $20 billion public corporation, part of its broader pledge to cut Australias emissions by 43% by 2030. Is this the best path forward? How will the new government work with the new parliament, which includes three new Greens MPs and seven independents, who were voted in on more ambitious climate targets? The current rising energy costs add another layer of economic burden for Australians already struggling. How will the new government navigate its way through the current crisis? Chris Bowen, Minister for Energy and Climate Change Zoe Daniel, Independent member for Goldstein Saul Griffith, Inventor, author, and scientist Sarah McNamara, Chief Executive of the Australian Energy Council Tony Wood, Energy and Climate Change Program Director Thursday, June 16 at 8.30pm on ABC. Starring Omari Douglas, the BAFTA-nominated actor from hit HBO/C4 TV series "Its A Sin", and Chris Jenks, who plays Steve in the Netflix smash "Sex Education", "Swim" celebrates the LGBTQAI+ community. The team behind it hope it will help increase on-screen visibility and representation. Story The story is told from the perspective of two young men who form a relationship via a common interest, swimming. Their shared passion is the spark of a seemingly special friendship, which is tested when their true identities are finally revealed. Sid and Luke are instantly drawn to each other when they meet during their weekly swimming sessions, and a great bond is formed. Over the weeks, the friendship blossoms, with Luke's competitiveness and Sid's humour proving to be a brilliant match. Eventually, Luke invites Sid for a drink with his friends. When Sid's true identity is revealed and Luke's false assumptions of who his friend is are shattered, it leads to the destruction of a wonderful relationship, leaving Luke shocked and Sid hurt. Director Michael Gamarano Singleton Michael Gamarano Singleton is a half-Brazilian, half-English writer, director and producer. His work often revolves around social issues designed to make audiences think. One of his short films, "Two Sides", won six industry awards, including the best director prize at the Fort McMurray Film Festival. His latest short, "Denzel", also won multiple awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the 35th Edmonton Film Festival, officially qualifying it for consideration for an Academy Award. Singleton believes "Swim" is important as it explores issues in the LGBTQAI+ community such as identity, diversity and acceptance. He hopes that "Swim" will challenge the audience to really question themselves when tested against social stigma and peer pressure; it aims to battle the stereotyping of gender and sexuality and highlight the importance of acceptance. Writer Ronan McCabe Writer Ronan McCabe was inspired to write the film based on his own personal experiences. He said: "With this story, I want to highlight the fact that sexuality is sexuality and not personality, and to encourage people to look beyond our labels. Its a part of who we are, not our entirety." "Secondly, Id love people to feel part of the growing friendship, to put themselves in the position of the characters and question things! Questions are brilliant, questions are wonderful and questions spark conversations that will lead to more visibility and normalising the LGBTQAI+ community. I'm passionate about telling new stories that give a voice to more people from my great community." Meaningful stories Singleton added: "I like to tell stories that revolve around social issues and that make audiences think about their day-to-day lives and the impact they have on others. My previous films have touched on subjects ranging from homelessness and self-worth to disability and self-acceptance." "Swim" has been submitted to all the major Academy and BAFTA-qualifying film festivals, as well as those that focus on the LGBTQAI+ community. The aim is for the film to qualify for a BAFTA or/and Academy Award nomination, and with such a strong production team and star leads, hopes are high. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner speaks during a session of Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin ATHENS (Reuters) -German Finance Minister Christian Lindner praised Greece's progress in implementing reforms, saying during a trip to Athens on Tuesday that the latest economic data and budget figures were strong. The government must, however, continue its efforts, said Lindner, adding that Greek debt levels must be reduced. Speaking at a news conference with Lindner, Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said he expects euro zone finance ministers to confirm the country's exit from the bloc's enhanced surveillance framework later this week. "A difficult chapter for the country that began in 2010 will close and Greece will return to European normality," Staikouras said. Since 2018 and the end of its financial assistance programme, Greek economic developments and policy have been monitored under the euro zone's so-called enhanced surveillance framework. Lindner welcomed the expected announcement as a positive signal and said the move shows that very difficult political decisions made more than a decade ago proved to be correct. The move is just the beginning of a normalisation of Greece's finances, he said, adding that there were still major challenges. "There is, of course, a very high debt total for the Greek state which, due to its structure, is at least not a cause for concern in the short term," Lindner said, also pointing to wider concerns about rising inflation in the European Union. (Reporting by Christian Kraemer and George GeorgiopoulosWriting by Madeline Chambers and Miranda Murray, Editing by William Maclean) Dom Phillips went missing in the Amazon earlier this month (via REUTERS) Boris Johnson has said the Government is deeply concerned about the disappearance of British journalist Dom Phillips, after Theresa May urged ministers to do everything they can to uncover the truth about the case. The former prime minister made the plea in the House of Commons as police arrested a second suspect in connection with the case. Mr Phillips, 57, and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, 41, vanished from a remote part of the Amazon last week and are believed to have last been seen early on June 5 in the Sao Rafael community. Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, 41, was on Wednesday arrested in connection with his disappearance. His brother Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, also known as Pelado, has also been named as a suspect and was arrested last week for allegedly carrying a firearm without a permit. Pelado, 41, is thought to have been among a group of men who threatened the missing pair near an indigenous territory on June 4. Speaking at Prime Ministers Questions, Maidenhead MP Mrs May said: My constituent Dominique Davis is the niece of Dom Phillips, the British journalist missing in Brazil, alongside the indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. Will my right honourable friend ensure that the Government makes this case a diplomatic priority, and that it works to do everything it can to ensure that the Brazilian authorities put the resources necessary to uncover the truth and find out what has happened to Dom and Bruno? Mr Johnson replied: We are deeply concerned about what may have happened to him. FCDO officials are working closely now with the Brazilian authorities, the minister responsible has raised the issue repeatedly on the search and rescue effort with Brazils justice and public security minister. We have told the Brazilians that we stand ready to provide all the support that they may need. Earlier, the Brazilian ambassador to the UK apologised to Mr Phillips family after they were incorrectly told his body had been found. Story continues According to The Guardian, the family received a call from an aide to the ambassador early on Monday saying their bodies had been discovered tied to trees in the rainforest. However, Mr Phillips brother-in-law, Paul Sherwood, confirmed on Tuesday that ambassador Fred Arruda had written to the family to say the statement was incorrect. Mr Arruda said: We are deeply sorry the embassy passed on to the family yesterday information that did not prove correct. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (R) shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, on June 14, 2022. The presidents of the State of Palestine and Cyprus held talks here on Tuesday and signed bilateral cooperation agreements, an official statement said. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua) NICOSIA, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The presidents of the State of Palestine and Cyprus held talks here on Tuesday and signed bilateral cooperation agreements, an official statement said. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades told the press that he and visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed on the need to convene a summit meeting that would bring together Cyprus, Greece and Palestine in the context of their tripartite cooperation agreements. He also said that they discussed developments on the problems of Palestine and Cyprus, the two longest outstanding international issues on the United Nations (UN) agenda dating back to the late 1940s and the 1950s. Anastasiades said that there is a need to respect international law and to solve any disputes on the basis of the United Nations Charter provisions and relevant international agreements. He also said he thanked the Palestinian president for his support for a solution to the Cyprus problem in line with the UN resolutions and existing agreements providing for the creation of a federal Cypriot state. Anastasiades said he assured Abbas that the two countries' close ties are not and will never be to the detriment of the legitimate rights of the Palestinians. Abbas said there has been a stalemate in efforts to reach a peaceful settlement to the Palestinian problem "because the current government of Israel has suspended all agreements." Cyprus and the State of Palestine established relations in 1988. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (1st L, Front) welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (2nd L, Front) at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, on June 14, 2022. The presidents of the State of Palestine and Cyprus held talks here on Tuesday and signed bilateral cooperation agreements, an official statement said. (PIO/Handout via Xinhua) Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (L, Front) talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R, Front) at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, on June 14, 2022. The presidents of the State of Palestine and Cyprus held talks here on Tuesday and signed bilateral cooperation agreements, an official statement said. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua) The European Commission won't rule out suspending the EU-UK trade deal if the UK approves a draft bill that unilaterally overrides parts of the Brexit agreement. "We will be very firm and calm but at the same time proportionate in our response," Maros Sefcovic, the Commission's vice-president and leading Brexit negotiator, told Euronews. "Our next steps will be gradual because we still want to keep the doors for negotiation open." Earlier on Wednesday, Sefcovic announced the Commission would relaunch legal action against the UK. Asked if Brussels would go as far as to suspend the EU-UK trade deal, which has been in place since January 2021, the vice-president told Euronews that "if this bill is approved as it is, I cannot exclude anything and all the options have to be on the table." "Our relation [with the UK] is very much based on trust," he added. "I have to say that with this draft bill, introduced after 18 months of discussions, trust is severely damaged." Sefcovic's stark warning comes two days after Downing Street unveiled a draft bill to revoke certain elements of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the tailored-made regime that currently enables the trade of goods between Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state. The protocol ensures the land border between the two sides continues to be invisible and respects the peace deal that put an end to decades of sectarian violence. Northern Ireland follows EU customs rules, remains part of the Single Market for goods and applies EU law on VAT (Value Added Tax) in order to avoid border checks between the two sides. Boris Johnson and his foreign secretary, Liz Truss, argue the arrangement is unworkable and threatens the UK's territorial integrity because it creates a new border in the Irish Sea. The new bill presented by Truss proposes a green channel to waive customs checks for goods coming from Great Britain and intended for the Northern Irish market only. A red channel would process goods that come from Great Britain, pass through Northern Ireland and enter the EU through the Republic of Ireland. Story continues The government also wants Northern Ireland to benefit from the same tax breaks as the rest of the UK, including VAT, and to replace the authority of the European Court of Justice with an "independent arbitration." Sefcovic says the bill would exacerbate legal uncertainty in the region, "bury" small and medium companies under a "new pile of bureaucracy", and increase the risk of smuggled goods entering the EU. "The bill is illegal. It's against international law," he noted. "We don't see this as a serious offer." "Since March of the last year," he continued, "we haven't seen any constructive proposal from the UK side. We just saw that a new difficult issue has been brought to the table." In the vice-president's view, the latest proposal from Downing Street is "very much politically driven," a veiled reference to the political struggles and plunging popularity that Johnson faces inside the UK. Earlier this month, Johnson survived a vote of no-confidence but with a slimmer-than-expected victory margin. "We are not seeking political victory in Northern Ireland," Sefcovic said. "We just want these issues to be solved in a way that we can cement what I hope will be again a good, prosperous relationship with the UK." Sam Williams Canberra Raiders PA Credit: PA Images Former Wakefield half-back Sam Williams has revealed he has received interest from Super League after leaving NRL side Canberra Raiders. The 31-year-old has his boyhood club Canberra with immediate effect in good terms. He says he has departed to give younger players every opportunity in both first-grade and reserve-grade. Williams, who has made more than 100 appearances for the Raiders across three spells, says he has attracted interest from Super League. The Australian previously spent two seasons in Super League with Catalans Dragons (2014) and Wakefield (2017). Williams said: There are opportunities over here in Australia and overseas in the Super League, but it is a decision that me and the family have to make, whether or not it is something we want to pursue. Im lucky in the sense that my body has held up pretty well over the years and that Im not moving on because I cant get out of bed and go to training anymore. I dont want to say it is the end but if there are opportunities we want to do as a family then we will look to do that too. Sam Williams waves goodbye to Canberra Williams played 103 NRL games for the Raiders as well as four for St George Illawarra Dragons in 2014. He said: It is my time to leave the club. Im at that point where the club is in a really good position moving forward, especially in the halves. I didnt want to stay around and stop a younger player coming through the system being able to get game time, whether that is in reserve grade or first grade. I think it is important they are given every opportunity to try and secure a deal going forward and I know that I am leaving the club in a really good place. As a squad we are in a really good position and weve got a lot of depth. It is never easy but I think it would have been selfish for me to keep playing the rest of the year and prevent someone else from having that opportunity. LOVE RUGBY LEAGUE: All the latest news, Podcast, App & Fantasy RL The article Super League offers for Sam Williams after departing Canberra Raiders appeared first on Loverugbyleague.com. Day 1 of Event #30: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed, part of the exciting 2022 World Series of Poker at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas, saw an incredible turnout. Some 1,891 players bought in, over 800 more than the 2021 edition of this event, yet only 108 had chips in front of them after the completion of the 17th level. Stephen Song, who won a bracelet in a $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event in 2019, bagged up a tournament-leading stack of 1,404,000 chips when time was called on the day's action. Song rode his luck during the opening day's action, including cracking aces twice with a heart flush. Event #30: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Top Ten Chip Counts Place Player Country Chips Big Blinds 1 Stephen Song United States 1,404,000 140 2 Pedro Arroyos United States 1,365,000 136 3 William Kopp United States 1,163,000 116 4 Chino Rheem United States 1,100,000 110 5 Jerold Saeman United States 950,000 95 6 Thomas Taylor Canada 820,000 82 7 Joseph Bernthold United States 798,000 79 8 Jeffrey Trudeau Jr United States 794,000 79 9 Manuel Stojanovic Austria 787,000 78 10 Johann Ibanez Colombia 712,000 71 Pedro Arroyos returns on Day 2 with 1,365,000 chips, enough for second place at the restart. Arroyos was involved in a monster hand late into proceedings, one that sent three players to the rail at once. William Kopp (1,163,000) and Chino Rheem (1,100,000) were the other two players who had the welcomed problem of having to fit seven figures worth of chips into their overnight chip bag. Plenty of stellar names find themselves in the mix going into Day 2. Dylan Weisman (623,000), Anthony Denove (460,000), Maurice Hawkins (422,000), Ryan Laplante (378,000), James Dempsey (292,000), Barny Boatman (263,000), Kevin MacPhee (234,000), and Bruno Fitoussi (216,000), are still in with a shot at becoming this tournament's champion. Each of the returning 108 players are guaranteed to take home at least $2,419 for the efforts after the bubble burst on Day 1. Such luminaries as John Kabbaj, Ryan Riess, Calvin Anderson, Tony Cousineau, Martin Finger, Joshua Field, and Daniel Zack all reached the money places but could not make it through to the conclusion of Day 1. Play resumes at noon local time on Wednesday, June 15, at Bally's. The players come back to blinds of 5,000/10,000 and the plan is to play down to the final five players. Make sure you tune into PokerNews on June 15 as we bring you all the action, as it happens, from the $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed event, in addition to coverage of every bracelet-awarding tournament at the 2022 World Series of Poker. Welcome to Event #32: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. of the 2022 World Series of Poker, the first H.O.R.S.E event of the Series. The same event in the 2021 WSOP was won by Anthony Zinno for $160,636. No doubt you'll see him and many other mixed games specialists as well as casuals take to the tables for this one. H.O.R.S.E. features an even rotation between Limit Holdem, Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or-Better, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8-or-Better. The rules for each of these games can be found here. The event will start at 11:00 a.m. local time and players will start with 25,000 chips. Day 1 will consist of 15 levels, each 40 minutes long. There will be a 15-minute break every 3 levels. Following Level 9, there will be a 75-minute dinner break, at the conclusion of which registration will close (approximately 6:55 p.m.). Follow all the action here on PokerNews for live updates on this event and others from the new home of the 2022 WSOP at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas. Instagram is introducing new parental supervision tools for the accounts of teenagers in the UK, which will allow parents to oversee their profile, set daily use limits and see who they follow and who follows them. First launched in the US in March, the tools are now being expanded to the UK and Ireland for the first time. With the new features, parents will be able to send an invitation to their teenager to initiate the supervision of their account, and once this has been accepted the parent will be able to set daily limits for how long their child can spend on the app and schedule breaks for specific times. The tools also enable parents to see who their child follows and is followed by, and get information when the teenager reports an account or post on the platform. Youngsters can also invite a parent to supervise their account. The new supervision tools enable parents to oversee a teenagers Instagram account (Instagram/PA) In addition, parents will be able to view a dashboard showing their childs daily habits on the platform. The parental supervision features automatically end when the child turns 18, Instagram confirmed. The rollout will coincide with a new nudges feature being tested in the UK and Ireland, which will see a notification that encourages them to switch to a different topic on the platform if they are repeatedly looking at the same type of content on the apps Explore tab. Instagram said it designed this feature because research has suggested nudges can be effective for helping people especially teens be more mindful of how theyre using social media in the moment. Queen's Park, Southampton POLICE have raided a brothel in Southampton as part of an investigation into a human trafficking gang. The action comes as a number of warrants have been carried out across the country. Below is everything we know so far about the action that has seen four people arrested so far: Why have these raids happened? Police carried out the warrants across the country yesterday as part of an operation to combat a human trafficking gang. The organisation is linked to Romania and operates across Europe to traffic people from the country into the UK. The operation was carried out by several police forces as well as the National Crime Agency, South West Regional Organised Crime Unit and local authorities in each area. Wiltshire Police led the raids that saw seven addresses searched in total. How many were arrested? In total four people were arrested as part of the operation with two men and two women taken into custody. They were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and money laundering. A 26-year-old woman was arrested in Southampton, a 27-year-old man was arrested in Birmingham and a 25-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man were arrested in Reading. They were taken to either Gablecross Police Station in Swindon or Melksham Police Station to be interviewed. They have since been released under investigation. Their paperwork is due to be passed on to police in Romania so they can deal with them. Were there any victims? Five victims were rescued in total across England including at least one in Southampton. They were also rescued in Reading and Oldham. Police partners and specialist officers are now supporting those people. It is not yet known how many victims were rescued in Southampton. Where were the brothels that were discovered? As part of the raids two illegal brothels were found by police. One of these sites was in Southampton, whilst the other is based in Reading. The force has not revealed what part of the city the brothel was located in. Story continues What else was found in the searches? More than five thousand pounds worth of cash was seized during the operation. Several mobile phones were also found. Police officers from Leeds, Birmingham, Reading, Oldham and Southampton took part in the action. What have the police said on the operation? Detective Inspector Angela Shipp from Wiltshire Police described the raids as a "major international operation". She added: "These illegal organised gangs operate all over the world - they know no boundaries - and cause misery to countless victims who are often enslaved, have to live in often horrendous conditions with no quality of life, and are forced into sexual exploitation to survive." Wiltshire PCC Philip Wilkinson said: Ensuring our county is hostile to anyone involved in modern slavery or human trafficking is a priority. Protecting the weak and vulnerable victims is of paramount importance. Slavery didnt die out with its abolishment in earlier centuries, it has just found different ways to exist and exploit vulnerable victims. "A persons freedom and right-to-life are the most basic human rights and ones which must be robustly defended and this proactive policing operation has shown gangmasters and their enforcers there is nowhere to hide. If you suspect modern slavery or human trafficking taking place in your street, town or area, you can report any suspicious incidents via 101 or your local police force's website. Dial 999 if it's an emergency. You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. A message from the Editor Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo. Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website. You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more. Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself. Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News Business chiefs in London warned on Tuesday that Britain is now teetering on the brink of a trade war with the EU which will damage firms in the capital and beyond. They raised the alarm of further economic pain and falls in investment after the Government unveiled its deeply controversial Northern Ireland Bill. It threatens to unilaterally tear up the protocol signed by Boris Johnson with Brussels in January 2020 to ram through Brexit. Richard Burge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: We are hugely concerned that the introduction of the Governments Northern Ireland Bill risks significant harm to businesses in London and right across the whole of the UK. Getting Brexit done was at least meant to deliver certainty to businesses after years of waiting for clarity on the future of the UKs trade relations with the European Union. The introduction of this bill means we are now teetering on the brink of a trade war with the EU and that will mean further economic pain and falls in investment. His warning came after the Centre for European Reform think tank estimated that Brexit has already dealt a 31 billion blow to Britains economy. The Treasury is refusing or unable to publicly put any figures on the harm being caused by quitting the European bloc. Mr Burge also highlighted a forecast by the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation that the UKs economy will grind to a halt next year and be the worse performing of G7 nations (the US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Italy and Canada). He added: While the protection of the UK internal market is important, it is equally as important to have macroeconomic stability, especially during this cost of living and cost of doing business crises. We urge the Government to carefully consider the impact that playing politics with the Protocol could have on the British economy. The new legislation creates a framework to allow ministers at Westminster to introduce changes in four areas covering customs and agri-food safety checks, regulation, subsidy controls and the role of the European Court of Justice. Story continues The UK Government insists the Bill is compatible with international law under the doctrine of necessity which allows obligations in treaties to be set aside under certain, very exceptional, limited conditions. But Irelands premier Micheal Martin said its very regrettable for a country like the UK to renege on an international treaty, adding: It represents a new low point because the natural expectation of democratic countries like ourselves, the UK and all across Europe is that we honour international agreements that we enter into. European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said the EU viewed the UKs actions with significant concern and that it would consider what steps to take next. As well as re-starting infringement proceedings against the UK, he said the EU would also look at launching further legal action to protect the integrity of the EU single market. He said the access of Northern Ireland businesses to that single market was now at risk while the UKs action had undermined the trust necessary for the operation of its post-Brexit trade deal with Brussels. Unilateral action is damaging to mutual trust, he said. Our aim will always be to secure the implementation of the protocol. Our reaction to unilateral action by the UK will reflect that aim and will be proportionate. However, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss insisted on Tuesday morning that there is absolutely no reason why the EU should be angered by the controversial plans to override the Northern Ireland Protocol. She told Times Radio: Our solution doesnt make the EU any worse off. We continue to protect the single market, were supplying the EU with data, weve got strong enforcement to make sure companies arent violating the rules. So there is absolutely no reason why the EU should react in a negative way to what were doing. Boris Johnson signed the Northern Ireland Protocol with the European Union in January 2020 as part of the Brexit divorce settlement, with the measures aimed at preventing a hard border on the island of Ireland. But by imposing checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain, the protocol has fuelled unionist anger in Northern Ireland and is also opposed by Eurosceptics in Mr Johnsons Conservative Party. The new bill will give ministers powers to unilaterally override elements of the protocol, which some legal experts say would be a breach of international law. It will enable ministers to establish a green lane so trusted traders are allowed to move goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland without checks, as long as the products remain within the UK. Goods supplied by firms outside the trusted trader scheme, or products destined for Ireland and the EU, would go through a red lane and face checks. Products being placed on the market in Northern Ireland would be allowed to follow either UK or EU regulations, rather than having to comply with Brussels rules. Changes would also allow Northern Ireland to be included in UK Government state aid schemes and tax changes - for example the UK has complained that VAT relief on energy-saving materials could not be extended across the Irish Sea while changes to the alcohol duty regime are also prevented from applying in Northern Ireland. The fourth area where changes are envisaged is the governance of the arrangements and the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The plan would mean that UK courts are responsible for the operation of the new regime, but matters of EU law could still be referred to the ECJ. The UK also proposes removing the ECJ as a final arbiter in trade disputes over the protocol, with the function instead handed to independent adjudicators. The UK Governments position has been opposed by 52 of the 90 MLAs in the Stormont assembly, with politicians representing Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the Alliance Party condemning the reckless plan. Emily Ragon, a senior pursuing a degree in biology, left in late May to experience Taiwan. Freeman-ASIA will help her fulfill a fifth-year capstone requirement in UNG's Chinese Language Flagship program. "I am excited to receive such a scholarship because it will allow me to participate in an intensive and immersive language program, which I have never done before, and I think this will help me reach a high proficiency level in the language," Ragon said. The Flagship program has already given Ragon many opportunities and resources to help her become a physician assistant working in a bilingual medical clinic or hospital, she said. Ragon said she will finish her biology major requirements in spring 2023, adding that she is working on a degree in modern languages with a Chinese for global professionals concentration which she hopes to graduate with in fall 2023. Junior Susana Olivo Sandoval is headed to Japan to further her modern languages and east Asian studies. Her intended majors are modern languages with a Spanish language and literature concentration and east Asian studies with a Japanese concentration. "One of my dreams since high school was to study abroad, but money was always an issue for me. Finally, thanks to my fantastic scholarship advisors. I got the Freeman-ASIA award to study abroad in Japan in the spring semester of 2023," Sandoval said. "I am excited because this will be my first time traveling abroad, and this is the first time I have applied for this scholarship. I hope to improve my language skills and learn more about culture with this opportunity. " Kimberly Burns, a senior pursuing a degree in East Asian studies, is headed to Taiwan, something shes wanted to do since beginning her Mandarin Chinese language study four years ago. Now that dream is finally going to be a reality, Burns said. Ella Reid and Alexander Howell received alternate status. Reid aims to study in Taiwan, and Howell seeks to study in Japan. BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China has mapped out a strategic plan to enhance its climate resilience, putting emphasis on both adaptation and mitigation in the face of global climate change. The country will seek to build a climate-resilient society by 2035, with significant improvements in its ability to adapt to climate change, according to the national climate change adaptation strategy 2035 jointly released by 17 departments including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE). "Adaptation and mitigation are two major strategies for tackling climate change," wrote an article co-authored by head of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation Xu Huaqing and the center's researcher Zhou Zeyu on the MEE website. "Mitigation highlights cutting down emission of greenhouse gas and increasing carbon sink, while adaptation underscores prevention and reduction of the impact and risks of climate change," the article noted, adding that the two are complementary and indispensable. ENHANCE ADAPTATION As the global climate further warms, the long-term adverse effects and extreme weather events brought about by climate change will pose an increasingly serious threat to China's economic development, per the article. Data showed that average annual direct economic losses incurred by extreme weather events reaches about 300 bilion yuan (about 44.5 billion U.S. dollars) in China. China first issued a national climate change adaptation strategy in 2013, and for the first time, made climate change adaptation a national strategy. The newly-released plan has set up a new chapter on improving climate change monitoring and early warning and risk management. It also divided the key areas into natural ecology and economy and society, and specified finance, energy, tourism, transport and other sectors as susceptible industries to climate change to improve their adaptation, the article said. BALANCE MITIGATION, ADAPTATION "Balancing mitigation and adaptation is one of significant subjects in current global climate governance," the article said. Developing countries have called for more attention and support for adaptation as they are more vulnerable to the fallout of climate change. On the other hand, developed countries focus more on mitigation as they demand their developing counterparts undertake a larger responsibility in emission reduction. Meanwhile, they also shy away from responsibility of providing adequate funds and technology to the cause, according to the article. "China has always put equal priorities on mitigation and adaptation," the article wrote. The country has announced the goals of striving to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, and aligned its strength with pro-ecology and low-carbon efforts to fast-track the pursuit of its carbon goals. In terms of adaptation endeavors, China initiated the Global Commission on Adaptation along with other countries, and offered free supplies helping developing countries to adapt to climate change through the framework of South-South cooperation. Natalie Marroquin will never forget the impact Megan Middleton, her history teacher during her junior year at Johnson High School, made in her life. In fact, Middleton served as a model for who Marroquin aims to become. "She helped me with issues I was having in school," Marroquin said. "Every time I needed someone to talk to, she was there. I wanted to be that person for someone." The Gainesville, Georgia, resident and University of North Georgia (UNG) student is well on her way to making a similar impact. Scheduled to graduate in May 2023, she is part of the Realizing and Inspiring Successful Educators Undergraduate Program (RISE UP) in the College of Education. RISE UP is a partnership through which the Hall County School District pays tuition for Hispanic students at UNG who want to be teachers and offers them jobs upon graduation. Marroquin, who is pursuing a degree in English with teacher certification, seeks to expose her students to a more diverse set of literature than what they would usually see. "I want to show them people of color have a space in academic circles," she said. "We are no less valuable than other people because we have a different story or we come from a different country. We can contribute in any way we want." In addition to her academic and internship work, she has also honed her teaching skills as a Supplemental Instruction facilitator at UNG. "I lead with basic empathy and compassion for others. My main focus is that I am not the expert or someone with more authority," Marroquin said. "I want to guide them and help them along the learning journey. I want to help my students become the best versions of themselves." One of the highlights thus far in her teaching internship journey was receiving a thank you note from a student who had struggled. With her help, his writing improved and she made him laugh. The student "told me how much I made a difference in his life." Those types of moments are what drive Marroquin. "You will deal with hard things," she said. "But seeing students make progress and learn to love themselves by the end of the school year is amazing." A new five-year USAID/PATH STEPS project was launched on Tuesday. Photo Courtesy of USAID HA NOI The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and its partner PATH celebrated the completion of the eight-year USAID/PATH Healthy Markets project on Tuesday. It launched the new five-year USAID/PATH STEPS project. The US$20.7 million USAID/PATH Healthy Markets project ran from 2014 to 2021 and was funded by the US Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Through the project, USAID and PATH worked with the Ministry of Healths Viet Nam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) to generate sustainable approaches for increasing investment in, demand for, and supply of transformational HIV-related goods and services. USAID/PATH Healthy Markets was a key partner to the Ministry of Health in its introduction and scale-up of new and innovative approaches like HIV community-based testing, self-testing, and pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEPthree key services that contributed to a 57 per cent reduction in new HIV infections over the past decade. HIV self-test kits are now widely available through pharmacies and e-commerce, community-based testing services are being offered in 33 of Viet Nams 63 provinces, and PrEP has been scaled to 29 provinces. Through Healthy Marketssupported models alone, nearly 218,000 people were tested for HIV in the community and 8,986 people newly diagnosed with HIV were enrolled on lifesaving treatment. In addition, more than 46,000 HIV self-test kits were distributed, and 16,700 people enrolled on PrEP, an oral pill that effectively prevents HIV infection when prescribed. Healthy Markets redefined the role of communities in the response, which is critical because key populations at risk for HIVincluding men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, and people who inject drugsoften prefer to receive HIV and other health services from their peers in community settings. Through Healthy Markets, Viet Nams first-ever key populationled social enterprises and clinics were established and grown. Key population health providers were equipped with tools and skills to deliver integrated, person-centred HIV and primary health care services. Today, hundreds of key people-led organisations are at the forefront of cutting-edge HIV service delivery and demand creation in the country. The project mobilised more than $12.6 million in investment into the national HIV response by facilitating deep shared-value partnerships with more than 150 private-sector partners, including HIV goods manufacturers and suppliers, distributors and retailers, community service providers, and multimedia companies. Over the past eight years, USAID support addressed critical gaps in accessible, affordable, community-based HIV care while strengthening the domestic market for HIV-related goods and services. As we step up the fight against HIV in Viet Nam, our next project will focus on ensuring the sustainability of our collective progress and addressing key remaining gaps to ultimately help Viet Nam achieve its commitment to end AIDS by 2030," said Bradley Bessire, Deputy Mission Director, USAID/Viet Nam. At todays event, USAID also announced STEPS, a new five-year, $15 million project in partnership with PATH and its core partner Glink Vietnam, to maintain the momentum of Healthy Markets and catalyse greater HIV- and primary healthcare-related market growth. Given more than 95 per cent of the current oral PrEP market is subsidised by international donors, a major focus of the project will be on increasing sustainable PrEP financing through a blend of commercial, public-financed, and free PrEP services. The USAID/PATH Support for Technical Excellence and Private Sector Sustainability in Vietnam (STEPS) project will amplify access to integrated person-centred HIV and Primary Healthcare (PHC) services through innovative models of care; boost demand for and use of game-changing health tools and technologies; and identify promising new public-private collaborative approaches that could significantly enhance the sustainable supply, delivery, and demand for HIV and PHC goods and services. Combined, these efforts will support Viet Nam in attaining its epidemic control goals outlined in the National Strategy to End AIDS by 2030. STEPS will catalyse community co-creation, VAAC governance and key population leadership, and targeted market and service delivery innovations to achieve these goals. At the launch, Associate Professor Phan Thi Thu Huong, Director of Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control, said: USAID/PATH Healthy Markets has continued to accelerate innovative health solutions significantly contribute to the HIV/AIDS response in Viet Nam. I trust you will maintain your momentum and the inspiring energy moving into the new USAID/PATH STEPS project.- VNS Costco Wholesale is putting the finishing touches on its southern College Station location along State Highway 6 and is now hiring employees before the stores opening on Aug. 4. Its really exciting to see how excited the community is to have us and were just as excited to be part of it, said Kiley Fitzpatrick, general manager of the College Station Costco. Its just a really nice little town and I know we have a lot of managers that are excited to move here. Construction of the stores building began in March, Fitzpatrick said. She added Costco hopes to start receiving merchandise at the beginning of July. The store goes up really fast, Fitzpatrick said. They have a really fast construction schedule. Costco has started hiring for the College Station store, Fitzpatrick said, and a sign near the Texas 6 feeder road says starting pay is $17.50 per hour. Fitzpatrick said the College Station Costco will have approximately 210 employees, including over 100 new hires. Interested applicants can apply online on Costcos website. We try to offer a wide-variety of products, different name brands, Fitzpatrick said. We have all the different fresh departments, whether it be a gas station, bakery, produce, deli. All of our stores kind of follow the same model. The College Station location is about 95 miles from Waco. The current existing Costco locations to Waco are on in Duncanville, south of Dallas, and Pflugerville, north of Austin. Both are also about 90 miles away. This will be Costcos 36th store in Texas, the state with the second-most Costco locations behind California (132), but just the fourth store location not in the metro area of Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston or San Antonio. Natalie Ruiz, the city of College Stations chief development officer, said the city started working on a retail recruitment program in 2016 to form a strategic plan to fill retail gaps in the College Station market. She said city officials looked at which retailers and restaurants residents went out of town and bought from online to recruit them to College Station. Ruiz said Costco was always at the top of the list based on its impact on a community. Costco is one of those major international retailers that is a regional draw, Ruiz said. They dont just draw from College Station or Bryan or even Hearne or Navasota. They really pull from a much larger range, so being able to have that draw here in College Station, to service folks within really an hours drive of here. When we were first visiting with Costco, the new store that they opened up in the Cypress area off of [Highway] 290, they were pulling a lot of folks from this area that went down there and shopped on a regular basis. So having them here locally and being able to service that large of a region, it brings folks in that may not be shopping here on a regular basis to not only shop at Costco, but eat at our restaurants, shop at some of our other locations. Its a regional draw unlike some of the other retailers that we have. Costco wanted to build a location on Texas 6 when city officials first met with them, Ruiz said. She added that providing demographics that showed new developments south of town pulled Costco a little further south than where the store originally looked. Costco filed a site plan with the City of College Station in April 2021 to build a 160,534-square-foot facility. Just over two weeks later, the College Station City Council approved Costcos economic development and property purchase agreements for about 19 acres. When we first met with them, they had their own proprietary software where they look at, OK, where is the population density? Where are the businesses located in your community because they do a lot of business-to-business work? What makes sense in terms of where are the folks that have the most disposable income and the highest-valued homes? Where is their customer really coming from? Ruiz said. College Station being a smaller community, we really had to help tell that story in terms of, look, we not only have a university of more than 60,000 students, but we also have large families, we have a lot of development going on south of town, so part of it was they knew where College Station was. Some retailers and restaurants that weve talked to, they dont know where College Station is, so thats the first conversation is have you considered College Station? And if you havent, heres why you should be here. Heres the amount of disposable income we have. Heres the amount of buying power that we as a community, including our students, have. The store is slated to open in less than eight weeks and Fitzpatrick said shes heard excitement from community members about Costcos upcoming opening. Every single manager has said every time theyve talked to somebody that everybodys really excited about us being here, Fitzpatrick said. Its pretty fun that everybody is welcoming us so good. Tribune-Herald staff contributed to this story. The father of a 22-month-old who was wanted and accused of delaying care to his daughter that could have saved her life after she was shot last month has turned himself in, Waco police announced Tuesday. Jaylon Caylon-Wayne Thornton, 24, turned himself in to McLennan County Jail early Tuesday morning and was charged with injury to a child by omission, a first-degree felony. His daughter, Zillyana Thornton, was killed in May after a family members firearm was left loaded and unsecured in a room where she was playing, according to police. The family member, Elias Espinosa, 25, was arrested on a third-degree felony charge of evidence tampering shortly after the shooting and was arrested again Friday on a first-degree felony charge of murder. The shooting occurred just before 3 p.m. May 11 in the 3500 block of Alta Vista Drive, a Waco police press release says. An arrest affidavit says Espinosas firearm, a loaded Glock 23 with no external safety, was sitting unholstered on a couch in the room where Zillyana was playing. The affidavit says Espinosa stood up from the couch and heard a gunshot, turning around to find Zillyana had been shot. The press release states the exact details of how the shooting occurred are still under investigation, but that Espinosas actions regarding the firearm resulted in the shooting which caused Zillyanas death. The press release states Thornton delayed medical care to his daughter by six minutes after the shooting. The arrest affidavit says Thornton initially entered Espinosas car to take his daughter to the hospital, but returned to the house to retrieve a backpack containing marijuana. The affidavit states Thornton told Espinosa to leave and hide the bag, which Espinosa did, taking his car and removing any means of transporting Zillyana to the hospital. After Espinosa left with the marijuana, Thornton waited for the childs mother to arrive to take Zillyana to the hospital, the affidavit says. Thornton further delayed care by going back into the house to get his keys after the mother arrived to take Zillyana to the hospital, the press release says. The press release says medical records and doctors analysis showed Zillyanas heart was beating for 33 minutes after being shot and did not have immediately fatal wounds. The press release says if she had received medical attention earlier, she would have had a better chance of survival. Espinosa was released on bond last month before being arrested on the murder charge Friday. Officials from Judge Fernando Villareals office said Espinosa was arraigned for the murder charge and posted bail. Thornton was released Tuesday from McLennan County Jail on $150,000 bond. The press release says the gun involved in the shooting was registered as stolen out of Corpus Christi and that additional charges in the case are pending. 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 small church in a town near Waco survived its former secretary embezzling some $200,000. It was the pandemic that rocked attendance at First Baptist Church of Elm Mott more than the embezzlement scandal did, Pastor Jeb Barr said Tuesday. We were increasing in unity and strength, right up until COVID hit, Barr said. I recall very clearly that it was Oct. 30, 2019, that Angela Jean Rubios, 52, theft of funds came to light, he said. Barr said his congregation raised $26,000 in less than 24 hours to pay off a check to an air conditioning vendor that had bounced because of what Rubio had done. Rubio also has been identified as Angela Jean Wagner in some court documents. He said the churchs average attendance was 60 at the main Sunday service around the time Rubios theft was exposed. The congregation lost one member over the scandal, Barr said. It seemed like they had weathered the experience of the secretary stealing money, but the pandemic took the churchs average attendance down to 25, he said. Rubios guilty plea Rubio pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony theft charge Friday in 19th State District Court, court records show. In her judicial confession, Rubio said she began spending the churchs money without permission Feb. 13, 2017. Barr said Rubio took about $173,000 from the churchs accounts and took out three credit cards in the churchs name without the knowledge of church leaders, charging a combined balance of about $30,000 additional. The level of charge remains the same for theft of between $150,000 and $300,000. The church brought in former IRS financial investigator Laurel Vant to review the bookkeeping records back several years, Barr said. He said Vant determined the amount Rubio had taken from the accounts and charged on the unauthorized credit cards. The court documents of Rubios plea stipulate no amount of restitution. Rubio and her attorney, Rod Goble filed an open plea of guilty to the court without any recommendation, the document says. McLennan County prosecutor Staci Johnson agreed on behalf of the state to cap the sentence at 20 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Goble did not return a Tribune-Herald phone call Tuesday. Barr said Goble told him a few weeks ago, that Rubio knows she needs to make restitution. Rubios attorney also filed a document with the court as a part of her guilty plea, requesting that her sentence should be a term of probation, accompanying either deferred adjudication or a suspended prison term. Rubios sentencing hearing will be Aug. 19, according to the court docket. How Rubios theft came to light Barr said it was the day of his churchs fall festival in 2019 that Rubio took me aside and told him what she had done. We had gone back and forth over the check for the air conditioner replacement, Barr said. The clergyman said Rubio claimed she had written the check and sent it. But the vendor said they did not receive it, Barr said. Finally, two hours before our fall festival was scheduled to start (on Oct. 30, 2019), Angela took me aside and confessed to stealing, Barr said. She said the check had bounced because there wasnt money to cover it in the churchs account. Barr said he will speak at Rubios sentencing hearing. She remains free until then. There was no bail agreement associated with her guilty plea. 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. Investigators in Texas and California used DNA evidence to link a retired McLennan County truck driver to two killings in the 1990s in East Texas and California, a search warrant affidavit says. Douglas Thomas, 67, was charged with murder Friday in the 1993 death of Sherri Herrera, whose body was found on the side of the highway in Riverside County, California, according to a press release from the Riverside County District Attorneys Office. Thomas had been arrested by the Texas Rangers last month on a murder charge in the 1992 death of Shenda Hayes, whose body was found near a highway rest stop in Titus County, in northeast Texas. The affidavit says investigators from the Rangers cold case unit obtained a DNA sample from Thomas matching DNA found at the scene of both slayings. The press release states Thomas traveled extensively through the country in his 40-plus-year career as a truck driver. The affidavit says the body of Herrera, a 30-year-old mother of four, was discovered in the desert next to Interstate 10 in March 1993 in California. Her body was found with evidence of sexual assault and it is believed she was strangled with a belt, the affidavit says. The affidavit states Herrera was a known prostitute and was known to work highway rest stops in Tulare County, California. The affidavit says Hayes body was found at a rest area along I-30 in April 1992 in Titus County with evidence of sexual assault. It is believed Hayes was strangled with a device made of wire and cord, the affidavit says. The affidavit says Hayes was also a known prostitute. DNA samples from scenes were uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System, a national forensic DNA database, the affidavit says. In 2007, a match was made connecting the deaths of Herrera and Hayes, meaning that DNA from a single person was found at both scenes, the affidavit says. In 2020, investigators in California began conducting forensic genealogy to look for genetic matches to the DNA sample, the affidavit says. Investigators created a family tree and found six descendants living in the Waco area who were in the right genetic range for comparison to the DNA samples investigators had collected, the affidavit says. According to the affidavit, investigators from California contacted the Texas Rangers in April and asked the Rangers to contact the descendants and ask for a consensual DNA sample. The affidavit says Thomas consented and gave a DNA sample to the Rangers in April, which was processed and completed last month and indicated Thomas was a match for the DNA samples found at the scenes. McLennan County Jail records show Thomas was charged with first-degree felony murder in May and remained in the jail Tuesday on bond totaling $2 million. The press release says Thomas will be prosecuted in Texas first in Hayes killing, then the DAs office in Riverside County will request he be extradited to California to stand trial in Herreras death. 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. RAMALLAH, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The two-state solution is the only way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye stressed here on Tuesday. He reiterated this position during a meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf, and her deputy, Hady Amr, ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's planned visit to the Middle East next month. Ishtaye briefed the U.S. diplomats on the unilateral Israeli actions and escalation against the Palestinians, urging the United States to pressure Israel to stop all unilateral measures against the Palestinians, mainly against Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. "All efforts must be exerted to remove the obstacles against this (two-state) solution, foremost of which are the (Jewish) settlements," Ishtaye stressed, according to an official statement. He also called for reopening the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem, removing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from the U.S. list of terrorism, and reopening the closed PLO office in Washington. On Tuesday, the White House announced that U.S. President Joe Biden would visit Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank during his upcoming trip to the Middle East on July 13-16. The Palestinians hope that Biden's visit will help rein in Israeli settlement construction and other unilateral actions on the Palestinian territories, which they say have hindered the revival of the peace process. The last U.S.-sponsored direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians stopped in March 2014 due to deep differences over establishing a Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967. Sthefanie Welch said she did not judge any of the confused drivers fighting their muscle memory on Washington Avenue on Tuesday, because she felt the same way driving along the stretch newly converted to a two-way street. Welch owns The Black Daisy Boutique, a clothing store near 12th Street and Washington Avenue, on the stretch from Fifth Street to 18th Street that had long carried only westbound traffic. After a delay of several weeks waiting on the necessary striping and final touches, crews cleared out barriers blocking the new eastbound lane and the road made its two-way debut Tuesday. I slowly drove down and Im like Oh, the cones are gone. OK, guess we can drive the opposite way now, Welch said. Welch was in support of the conversion and hopes it will mean more shoppers reach her store. She said most customers who come to Washington Avenue are locals, with some tourists venturing farther than Austin Avenue. Before, lets say you made a wrong turn, you would have to find a way all the way around to go back if you went too far, she said. Now you can just turn. Over the course of a few hours workers removed one way signs and cones while Austin Traffic Signal workers calibrated traffic lights. Welch said it will take some time for locals to adjust to the roads new striping. I dont really see too many cars driving on the new side of the street, she said. I think people are kind of fearful, because theyre not sure whats going on. The Black Daisy is at 1124 Washington Ave. along with Wicked Hair Studio and other businesses. Robert Denton, part owner of the building, said he is also pleased by the change. Downtown used to be a four-block area from Fourth Street to Seventh Street, he said. Now, most people and investors see it from 18th to 24th, and having Washington really helps that out. He said the new bike lanes will provide a path for cyclists in downtown Waco, especially because Austin Avenue lacks them. The Washington Avenue conversion project started with a $3.9 million contract with Big Creek Construction in December 2020. The project was originally slated for completion in spring, but hit delays in April when Big Creeks subcontractor struggled to hire adequate staff to finish restriping, according to Waco Capital Improvement Program Manager Jim Reed. While we have opened the corridor to two-way traffic, drivers need to proceed with caution as this remains an active work site until the contractor addresses any and all work items deemed incomplete by city of Waco staff, Reed said. He said the city is in the middle of planning site reviews to make sure the finished project mirrors construction plans, a process he expects to finish next month. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Juneteenth voter registration The Waco NAACP and the Project VIER Coalition will hold a Juneteenth voter registration drive Sunday. Volunteers will blanket churches around Waco to register voters. To have your church participate, email waconaacp@gmail.com or text 254-733-5261. The group encourages all voters to re-register with their drivers licenses and last four digits of their Social Security numbers to avoid having their mail-ballot applications and mail ballots rejected. Fathers Day brunch The Bledsoe-Miller Community Center, 300 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., will host a free Fathers Day brunch from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday. Space is limited, and advance registration is required. To reserve a spot, call 254-750-8684. Medicare enrollment class An educational meeting for new Medicare enrollees will start at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Area Agency on Aging, 1514 S. New Road. Attendees will learn about Social Security, supplemental insurance, Medicare Advantage plans and how to gauge the difference, as well as Medicare Part D. For more information, call 254-292-1843. Richfield 50th reunion The 1972 graduating class of Richfield High School will celebrate its 50th class reunion with several events from Aug. 5-7. The theme is Year of the Golden Ram. For more information, email Richfieldclassof72@gmail.com. Waco NARFE meeting The Waco Chapter of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association will meet at noon Thursday at the West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd. All active and retired federal employees are welcome. Submit printed or typed items to Briefly, P.O. Box 2588, Waco, 76702-2588; or email goingson@wacotrib.com. YMCA fitness class Enhance Fitness, a 16-week program created to help people with arthritis and other health needs improve cardiovascular health, strength, flexibility and balance, will start Wednesday at the Greater Waco YMCA, 6800 Harvey Drive. The class will meet from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. All participants are able to do exercises either seated or standing. Cost is free to YMCA members and $75 for non-members. To register, call 254-776-6612. Waco NARFE meeting The Waco Chapter of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association will meet at noon Thursday at the West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd. All active and retired federal employees are welcome. MPO policy board The Policy Board of the Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization will meet at 2 p.m. Thursday in the South Waco Community Center, 2815 Speight Ave. The meeting will be open to the public and the meeting room will be arranged for physical distancing of attendees. Policy Board members will consider action regarding amendments to the MPOs public participation, travel time reliability performance targets and pursuit of a federal grant opportunity. The Policy Board will receive updates from the MPOs Strategic Planning Work Group and Technical Advisory Committee, and from the Texas Department of Transportation regarding significant highway construction in the area. West Side Turn Row Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service of McLennan County will host a West Side Turn Row Meeting starting at 8 a.m. Friday off Farmview Parkway in Crawford. Officials will give updates on the growing season, insect and disease reports, and commodity markets. Participants should RSVP by Wednesday by calling 254-757-5180 or emailing candace.chapman@ag.tamu.edu. Submit printed or typed items to Briefly, P.O. Box 2588, Waco, 76702-2588; or email goingson@wacotrib.com. ASHLAND On June 14, otherwise known as Flag Day, the winner of the Ashland city flag contest was announced. Frank Budz of Ashland submitted the winning flag design as voted on by the public and local students in recent months. The top vote-getter was a flag with a sunrise peaking over a blue horizon and a ribbon of white and light blue indicating water. Budz actually submitted more than two dozen flag designs for the contest, which was sponsored by the Ashland Creative District Committee as a way to demonstrate community engagement in the citys quest to be the states first city to receive the Creative District designation. The competition opened in December. Contestants had just over two months to submit designs. A total of 12 people submitted 120 designs. The submissions were presented one by one to the Ashland City Council on March 8. The names of the designers were not disclosed to the council members. The council was joined via Zoom by Michael Green, a flag design expert from Flags for Good in Indianapolis, Indiana, which assists cities and organizations in designing flags. Green discussed general flag design principles. Flags should be simple, incorporate meaningful symbolism, use two or three basic colors, be distinctive and avoid lettering and seals. As a graphic designer for the past 40 years, Budz adhered to these principles as he was designing flags the he felt would convey the importance of Ashlands history in a visually fresh way. While each flag has its own specific symbolism, they all contain some very common themes, he wrote in a description he included with in entries. Budz felt it was necessary to incorporate water as an element of the flag design to note the significance of Salt Creek in Ashlands history. The discovery of a limestone ford crossing on the creek brought settlers to the area. Named Saline Ford, the crossing was a part of the Mormon Trail. As more pioneers crossed the creek, trading posts were established and eventually a town was founded. It was such an important part of the development of the area, Budz said. The blue not only symbolizes water, but also the big skies of Nebraskas open spaces, Budz explained. Blue also brings about feelings of loyalty, sincerity and freedom, he added. The sun was included in the design to denote optimism. I felt it needed a splash of color, but at the same time the sun made sense because Ashland has such a bright future, he said. The yellow color also honors the state flower, the goldenrod, and the state bird, the Western meadlowlark, he added. One of Budzs other design was also chosen for the top three by the city council. It had a blue background with a compass in a lighter shade of blue off to the side. The third choice was submitted anonymously, according to Caleb Fjone, a member of the Creative District Committee who was in charge of the contest. The white background had a blue and green compass symbol in the middle, flanked by blue stripes. Many of the designs submitted by Budz and others included the compass, which has become an icon of Ashland since it was incorporated into the intersection of 15th and Silver streets during the Downtown Improvement Project in the mid-1990s. Budz got interested in art as a high school student in Detroit. I always liked art, I always like drawing, he said. He thought about majoring in art in college, but knew it would be difficult to make a living as an artist. While taking a printing design class in high school, Budz learned about graphic design. The school worked with a Detroit television station, printing recipe cards for a local cooking show. As Budz worked on these cards, he began to see the importance of graphic arts. I saw the connection between what I was doing (graphic arts) and the outside world, he said. He earned a fine arts degree with a concentration in graphic design from Eastern Michigan University. After moving to Nebraska, he got a job with CHI Health in Omaha. When Budz isnt working as a graphic designer, hes running a bed and breakfast in Ashland called The Roost with his wife, Mary Beth. The couple was drawn to Ashland by its small town charm. They were looking for a place to live and also a spot to open a tea room similar to one they had operated in Bennington called Sugar Cubes. Bids and offers on two downtown buildings fell through, and things were looking doubtful as Ashland had few commercial properties available. Then a former bed and breakfast came on the market. The Folk Victorian house, built in 1908, had been the Front Porch Bed and Breakfast for a few years, but had reverted back to a family home. Frank and Mary Beth Budz opted to switch gears and take on the challenge. We decided, Lets just do it, he said. They spent about a year getting the place ready. During that time, they researched the bed and breakfast business. We studied up on it for a year and then it was baptism by fire, Budz said. Mary Beth Budz became the chef, specializing in what her husband calls phenomenal breakfasts. Her skills were honed as she ran the tea room and through her full-time business, Life Launch, where she teaches life and character building skills through Omaha Public Schools. After a year of operating mostly on weekends and a few weekdays, the couple has hosted 600 guests from at least half of the 50 states and even as far away as the Caribbean. Theyve had 42 five-star reviews so far. Its been incredible, Frank Budz said. Starting a business during the COVID-19 pandemic was daunting, but things went smoothly for The Roost. COVID did not hurt us one bit, Frank said. After moving to Ashland, Frank and Mary Beth Budz knew they wanted to become an active part of the community. They joined the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce even before The Roost was in operation. My wife and I are very much involved in wanting to see Ashland succeed, Frank Budz said. It has a really bright future. It seems to be just vibrant. By creating the winning flag design and by becoming small business owners, Frank and Mary Beth Budz are doing their part to make sure the future of Ashland stays sunny. Suzi Nelson is the managing editor of The Ashland Gazette. Reach her via email at suzi.nelson@ashland-gazette.com. WAHOO Approximately 150 kids enjoyed interacting with local law enforcement during the Wahoo Police Club event on June 8 at Hackberry Park in Wahoo. The children saw a demonstration of a Nebraska State Patrol helicopter and got an up close look at a Wahoo police cruiser and a Saunders County deputys car. They also got to meet Remington, the K9 drug dog handled by Wahoo Police Chief Joe Baudler. Jane and her handler, Wahoo Police Officer Stacia Nelson, were also on hand. The Wahoo Kiwanis Club served free pizza to the participants. They also got a taste of some of the physical tests law enforcement officers must pass to become certified, and learned about body cameras and radar guns. Those who wanted to could have their fingerprints taken as well by Deputy Shannon Sydik or Saunders County Youth Services Truancy Officer Cody Lambert. Chilton Leedom, an investigator with the Saunders County Sheriffs Department and a member of the Ceresco Police Department, said the event was organized as a way to improve relations between law enforcement and children of the community. Kids usually meet police officers on the worst day of their life, Leedom said. We want them to meet us on a good day. This is the fourth year for the Police Club. The program began in 2018 as a collaboration between Saunders County Youth Services and the sheriff and police departments. A similar program is done in Ceresco. Leedom said attendance has greatly improved since the first Wahoo Police Club, when 19 kids showed up. The next year, nearly 40 were there. In Ceresco, attendance has been good from the first year, when 61 kids took part. This year, the rain dampened things at Cerescos Police Club day on May 25, but the attendance was still good with 85 children present. Suzi Nelson is the managing editor of the Wahoo Newspaper. Reach her via email at suzi.nelson@wahoonewspaper.com. WAHOO Gov. Pete Ricketts held a town hall meeting in Wahoo last week to discuss the historic 2022 Legislative Session. Ricketts spoke in a meeting room at Union Bank and Trust to a small but enthusiastic crowd on the afternoon of June 10 with State Sen. Bruce Bostelman and County Supervisor Tom Hrdlicka in attendance. The second session of the 107th Legislature concluded April 20. Ricketts praised the Legislature for accomplishing a lot in the short 60-day session. The session will go down in history as the finest, if not the finest in the Unicamerals history, because of the amount of things that got accomplished, he said. The governor highlighted four key accomplishments during the session tax relief, investing in public safety for law enforcement, preserving the states water resources and allotting American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. In his eight years in office, Ricketts said he has worked with the Legislature to reduce government spending, which is now at an average annual growth rate of 2.8%. This helped allow for record-setting tax relief this session, including rebates on property taxes paid to schools and community colleges, phasing down individual and business income tax rates and phasing out taxes on Social Security income by 2025. Public safety and law enforcement will benefit because the Legislature allocated money for a new state penitentiary and expansion of the law enforcement training center at Grand Island during the 2022 session. I cannot think of another time the Legislature has invested more in public safety and law enforcement, said Ricketts. Ricketts commended the state senators for passing LB 1015 authorizing the Perkins County Canal, which will protect the states legal rights to water in the South Platte River. This will ensure Colorado lives up to the compact it signed with Nebraska nearly 100 years ago that requires Colorado to provide a set amount of water throughout the year, not just during the irrigation season, as it does now. Locally, the Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability (STARWARS) project provided $22 million for the Wahoo Creek Watershed plan to reduce flooding damage, improve water quality and improve wildlife and aquatic habitats with the construction of 10 earthen dams. The STARWARS project will also build a reservoir between Omaha and Lincoln. Ricketts said he was not sure where the project will be located, but assured Ashland would not be flooded, as was the case in several previous versions of a similar plan. The Legislature also came through for Nebraskans with a plan to use the $1.04 billion of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds (ARPA). The stimulus money will be used for a wide variety of projects in health and human services and economic development. After Ricketts was done speaking, he took questions from the audience. Suzi Nelson is the managing editor of the Wahoo Newspaper. Reach her via email at suzi.nelson@wahoonewspaper.com. On June 9, 1972, Gary and Donna Kluthe were in Colorado Springs, Colorado celebrating their honeymoon when they received a phone call that a flood destroyed their home in Rapid City. Gary and Donna were married on June 3, 1972, in Napoleon, North Dakota, but their new home together was situated right on the banks of Rapid Creek theyd been there mere days after their wedding to drop off wedding gifts before leaving for Colorado Springs. Gary was from Rapid City, Donna from North Dakota they were ready to start their lives together in Rapid City. They just hadnt planned on it starting the way it did. They didnt expect to return to Garys hometown to find 238 dead, 3,000 injured or their newlywed home among the 1,335 homes destroyed. We didnt even open them, Gary said of their wedding gifts. The couple received a phone call from Garys dad. He said there was a terrible flood, but not to hurry home. Well, we just got in the car and took off, Gary said. Newlyweds with just one bag between them, the Kluthes had no idea what awaited them in their new life back home. Obstacles, literal and figurative, kept them out of Rapid City on their first attempt back in. Washed out bridges and roads rerouted them to Garys dads ranch in Nemo for night one. Gary was able to catch a ride into town the next day to Jackson Boulevard. He walked the few blocks from Jackson Boulevard to where his and Donnas house should have been. What he found was a vacant lot with skid marks in the mud. Their entire house had slid into the creek. The water wall that broke Canyon Lake Dam came straight through it. Gary found Donnas car smashed under a house a few blocks downstream a yellow Ford Mustang she had just paid off. A small price to pay compared to what so many had lost, they said. The car and a serving tray the couple received for their wedding were all they ever found of their worldly possessions. The Kluthes learned their neighbors on both sides had died in the flood. They saw people walking through rubble, looking for lost family members. They remembered one man looking for his mother, and the National Guard presence. The National Guard in Rapid City during the aftermath was something near and dear to Gary, having just been discharged from serving in the National Guard himself. They were fortuitously at camp that weekend in the Black Hills. Thank God for them, Gary said. They did an amazing job of saving lives. So many helped, he said. If there was anyone nearby that hadnt been in the flood, they were helping. Garys dad saved some lives that night. Hed grown up on a ranch watching the weather. Not only did he have the ranch in Nemo, but also a home in Rapid City. Gary's dad had been watching the storms that night, from his house across from Arrowhead Country Club. He was able to warn a number of people to get out in time. We were blessed that we were gone, Gary said. I'm certain I would have felt a need to stay and protect our home, and likely would have perished, too. Their life together was now starting with that small bag theyd packed for their honeymoon and a small, one-bedroom apartment. It was years before I stopped looking for things, Gary said, expecting to find basic household items thatd been washed away. Both Donna and Gary reflected on the sheer power of the water, Gary remembering a time he helped move a refrigerator during a move, and its leaden weight. Not only did the water move the refrigerator, he marveled, but the entire house, too. Donna remembered trying to cross a creek the day they tried to return to Rapid City. Not even up to her knees, it almost swept her off her feet. She remembered feeling there was no way she could go forward. She could barely stay upright. The power of that water had forever changed the city Gary grew up in. He remembered blocks of World War II era houses, and the house his great grandfather lived in. All of it gone. Today, when someone wants to encroach upon the floodplain, my thought is you werent here, Gary said. While Gary and Donna werent in town to witness the flood, images of the aftermath are firmly ingrained. Mobile homes blocking bridges, cars jammed underneath bridges, and homes obliterated. Donna remembered the pumpkin from Storybook Island floating through the windows of a store and landing in a parking lot. I realized for myself that, you know what, its all just stuff, Donna said. And the older we get, I think the less important it is to have our stuff. It puts a perspective on being materialistic. Fifty years later, as Gary and Donna remember the devastation they came home to, theyre also celebrating 50 years of marriage. A bittersweet anniversary, the overwhelming sentiment is gratitude. They saw the life they had planned literally slide away. But they still had each other, when so many didnt. Contact Laura Heckmann at lheckmann@rapidcityjournal.com Arica Bagley never expected to be chosen for the Maxim Cover Girl competition. Im a mom with two kids from Lincoln, Nebraska, she said. And shes 31. Thats another reason I was so surprised, she said. But the hair stylist, who also is studying film at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was plucked from thousands of submissions and now needs votes to keep her in the competition. The winner among the chosen contestants earns $25,000 plus a cover spot with the international mens magazine, which has a monthly circulation worldwide of around 9 million. Voting started Monday. Bagley applied on a whim two months ago after seeing something about the photo contest on Instagram. She said Maxim personnel liked how funny and personable she is, traits she said she has learned from living in Lincoln for the past five years. Thats just how Nebraskans are, she said. Another thing that set her apart, she thinks, was her answer to the question, What would be your dream photo shoot? Bagley said a lot of women answered that they wanted their pictures on yachts, the stage or a fancy island. Should she win, Bagley has arranged to have her cover photo taken with Kaelynn Partlow, who has appeared on the television show Love on the Spectrum. The photo session will be in France. Partlow is an advocate for kids with autism. Bagley is an advocate for abused children. Just imagine two powerhouse women on the cover of Maxim, one advocates for child abuse and the other advocates for autistic children, she said. Itd be an amazing article and a powerful cover. The prize money also would be donated, she said, instead of buying an expensive purse or car. The Child Advocacy Center and Make-a-Wish Nebraska would be her target organizations. Bagley said she was abused as a child and felt that she had no voice or power. She was suicidal for years but started trauma therapy after moving from Utah to Lincoln. Now, shes happy. She loves school and the freedom she has found here. She hadnt planned to tell anyone she was chosen for the contest but then realized what a stage the cover could be for someone wanting to help abused kids like herself and for autistic children. I dont desire to be famous or have a lot of money, she said. Its more important to give back. Our Mission: To be a vital historical aviation resource honoring the men, women, and machines that have impacted the rich history of aviation through displays and events that educate, inspire and entertain people of all ages. The Dakota Territory Air Museum was incorporated in 1986 (the same year as the Minot-Ward County Centennial) by Don Larson, Al Pietsch, and Warren Pietsch. With assistance from the State Centennial Committee, the newly incorporated Dakota Territory Air Museum helped put on the Centennial Air Show in Minot. Construction began on the first building in 1988, an 80ft. x 100ft. hangar now known as the Restoration Hangar on the east side of the property. In 1990-1991 an addition was made to the original hangar which now includes the main entrance of the museum and is known as the Wright Flyer Hangar. A generous donation in the mid-1990s made by Oswin H. Elker made possible the construction of the third building, the Oswin H. Elker Memorial Wing, which was completed in 2001. Oswin H. Elker was a World War II veteran who flew with the Flying Tigers in the China-Burma-India Theater and was a Surrey, North Dakota native (Surrey is about eight miles east of Minot). Oswin and his family had visited the museum and really liked what was going on here at the museum. Oswin donated some of his items from World War II which are currently a featured exhibit at the museum. In 2007, the Wings of Freedom expansion was completed which almost doubled the gallery space in the Oswin H. Elker Memorial Wing. The fifth building was completed in 2013, the Flying Legends Hangar. The Dakota Territory Air Museum is now home to over 60 aircraft and thousands of artifacts that have been generously loaned or donated to the museum over the years. The Wright Flyer Hangar is home to the museums full-scale Wright Flyer replica that was built by museum volunteers in 2003 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight in 1903. This hangar is also host to a room full of artifacts and exhibits dating from World War I up through today. The Restoration Hangar is home to many displays including a DC-3 nose cone that is accessible by museum guests, an aircraft engine display that includes engines dating from the late 1910s to the 1960s, and an antique fire truck display that features three immaculately restored fire trucks once in use with the Minot Fire Department that date back to 1919. Several restoration projects call this hangar home. Restoration projects are worked on by museum volunteers. Several of the aircraft on display at the museum today would not have been possible without the dedicated volunteers to help restore and maintain them. The Oswin H. Elker Memorial Wing currently houses the majority of the museums general aviation aircraft collection. The Elker Wing features aircraft from just about every decade from the 1910s onward; such as a 1910 Curtiss Pusher (replica), a 1929 Arrow Sport, a Cessna 195, a Beechcraft Staggerwing, and a Lear Jet. The Elker Wing is also the home to our extensive aviation library in our library loft. The library loft contains 3,000+ books on various aviation-related topics which include military aviation history, instruction manuals, commercial aviation history, and much more! The Flying Legends Hangar is the current home of the Bruce Eames Collection of warbirds. This incredible flying collection has only grown to include rare World War II-era planes like the P-47 Thunderbolt, the Hawker Hurricane, and the FM-2P Wildcat. The Bruce Eames Collection was once based in Houston, Texas at the Texas Flying Legends Museum for part of the year. Every summer, the aircraft would travel to the Dakota Territory Air Museum as a way to keep them safe during the summer hurricane season. Several would also spend some of the summer months in Maine before all migrating back down to Texas for the long North Dakota winters. Today, they are based at the museum year-round. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, since April 2021 nearly 33 million people have left their jobs, more than a fifth of the total U.S. workforce. While the situation has been good for workers, driving up wages and creating new opportunities, the competition to attract and retain employees has been a challenge for one group in particular human resource professionals. Hiring is a struggle for companies of all sizes right now, said Lauren Mork, HR consultant with PDCM Insurance and president of the Cedar Valley Society for Human Resource Management. More than 40% of U.S. workers were actively searching for a new job or planning to do so when the Society for Human Resource Management conducted a survey released in September. The most common reasons employees gave for leaving include: Better compensation (53% of respondents). Better work/life balance (42%). Better benefits (36%). Career advancement opportunities (33%). Desire to make a career change (33%). But a recent article by Ben Casselman at The New York Times reported low-wage workers in the leisure and hospitality sectors are quitting at the highest rate. In November alone, a record-breaking 1 million such workers left their jobs. And that was before omicron started surging. The story is much the same in the Cedar Valley. Lots of companies are having trouble finding employees right now, especially in customer service jobs retail, restaurants, call centers, said Mork. The pandemic definitely has played a role. People who who were maybe on the front lines, in those essential positions, dont want to be in those positions anymore, and theyre looking for work elsewhere, Mork said. Those jobs are lower paying $15 and hour or less which makes them harder to fill. Tight job marketOne reason for that struggle is Iowas low unemployment rate. Iowas jobless rate fell to 3.5% in December, according to Iowa Workforce Development. That was down from Novembers 3.7% rate, meaning 5,200 more people found jobs. The percentage of Iowans in the labor force also increased slightly. With employers competing for workers, workers are able to negotiate more favorable terms when looking for a job. There are a lot of workers looking to capitalize on higher wages, Mork said. That means working harder to find employees. Local companies are paying sign-on and retention bonuses, many as high as $7,000 for skilled labor positions. Dalton Plumbing and Heating in Cedar Falls has a sign outside its Nordic Drive facility touting a $15,000 sign-on bonus for journeymen plumbers and electricians. At this point anything goes. You have to try anything you can to get people in the door, Mork said. Parents and pandemicThe virus has affected parents greatly, and often its mothers bearing the brunt. With children home from school due to COVID precautions, many families struggle to find child care. Many moms have had to leave the workforce entirely, Mork said. Some people are staying home to take care of parents too. Workers are seeking more flexibility, whether that means working from home or arranging more adaptable work schedules. If it has to be done in person, they have to figure out what benefits and what salary work to get people to come there and work in person the whole time, Mork said. What does the Great Resignation bode for the future? For the time being, workers find themselves with the upper hand. Were going to see it until companies figure out how to be competitive, Mork said. All the anglesFor Steve Sesterhenn, vice president of human resources at UnityPoint-Health Allen Hospital, its a challenge that must be tackled from several angles and in all departments. I think were more worried about overall retention. We have a real good philosophy here about well-being for our employees, so were worried about burnout and things like that. The big deal here is were hearing from employees that theyve been working lots of hours. We know that. We need to figure out our overall game plan for the well-being for our employees. So its more than just money. Its knowing how many patients were gonna have and how we can give people some time away. We want to make sure we have a good work-life balance as best we can in this situation. Compensation is definitely a key component. UnityPoint conducts a study every year of market values of all jobs in the company, from housekeeping to the emergency room. We make adjustments based on market values of those jobs. UnityPoint has increased referral bonuses, especially for nurses. It used to be $1,000 and now its $3,000 if they can find us a nurse that stays here for a year. And thats for any employee in any department who makes a referral. Sign-on bonuses are not just for nurses, but for radiology, cooks. There are retention payments, so they get so much in the beginning, so much after a certain amount of time, and they get another part if they stay, say, a year or two years, the larger portion is the retention at the end. So were trying to work on both getting them here and keeping them here, Sesterhenn said. The company also perused the list of recent retirees. Weve kind of went into the bowels of some of our old numbers. Weve pulled up a list of people who left the company over the last couple of years and go back and recall those people to see if they have any interest to come back, even part-time. A number of those former employees were happy to help. There are other bonuses as well. Theres a regular bonus paid out in March if the company is doing well. COVID bonuses for employees who worked directly with patients to compensate for the extra hours worked. A delta retention for nurses, patient care techs and therapists who work directly bedside based on hours worked. We have a number of programs out there that also give people the chance to make a little more cash, Sesterhenn said. A program called Point for Health awards points for completing various challenges. One challenge might be participating in Journey to Wellness, which encourages workers to voluntarily get counseling for themselves and their spouses. Those sessions are worth 250 points, and after 1,500 points we give them $150 in their paycheck for those things and other things that they do to stay healthy and help the community. There are several initiatives to encourage employees to stay healthy mentally, physically, even financially. Well Beats is an online app featuring 20 exercise programs. Its just like any exercise class but you can do it at home. There are online relaxation videos for use at home or at work. There are gym discounts, and in March a company gym will open across the street from the hospital in the North Crossing area for employees. UnityPoint also worked with Fidelity Investments to create a portal that offers financial planning and counseling. The Soft Side of Hard Stuff is a program primarily aimed at managers. Every two weeks or so, any manager who wants can join a Zoom-type meeting to talk about issues in their department and get advice from peers. RecognitionAnd there are several recognition programs at UnityPoint to let employees know their work is appreciated. Honoring You is an app that allows any employee to thank another employee, and that individuals manager gets a copy. Managers can actually give money as thank yous to employees, anywhere from $10 to $100. Focus Star Award is for employees who go above and beyond. Pre-pandemic they would be honored at a luncheon, but now the praise is virtual, and honorees receive a certificate and a special badge. One winner helped out with a young teen who wouldnt go to sleep without his mother in the hospital room. She hadnt slept in days. It was late at night, we had an employee who heard about the situation. They were ready to go home but offered to stay the night. With the mothers permission, the employee sat the night with the boy, allowing the grateful mom to go home and get some much-needed sleep. The mother felt confident to go home and get some rest. That employee, instead of going home stayed the night, and ended up allowing that young teenager to get some sleep too. The Daisy Award honors one nurse per quarter who has done a most outstanding job for patients. The Luminary Award is a four-year-old companywide honor dispensed annually. UnityPoint has 34,000 employees in three states, and the award honors the top three. Each affiliate nominates two employees. Out of 34,000 people, in the last four years, Allen Hospital is the only affiliate that has had an award winner every year. No other affiliate has had more than one. From a culture standpoint, were doing some things right here, Sesterhenn said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 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. TAIPEI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The total number of locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases recorded in China's Taiwan region has exceeded 3 million, the island's disease monitoring agency said on Wednesday. The figure surpassed the threshold of 2 million on May 31, as shown in previous data. The island's number of new local cases is still on the rise, with another 68,939 local cases and 143 new deaths recorded on Tuesday, according to the agency. To date, Taiwan has reported 3,072,432 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 3,058,818 were local infections. LA PORTE CITY The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has levied a $7,000 fine against La Porte City for discharging wastewater that exceeds the legal limit of the fecal bacteria known as E. coli. The two sides also agreed in late May to deadlines related to making necessary wastewater treatment plant improvements that were required to have been completed a few years ago. CFU warns of possible, but unlikely, 'rolling' summer outages due to 'shrinking energy capacity' We hope we dont have to go down this path, but we think that its better for us to be prepared and to make our customers aware of the situation. The citys Eighth Street wastewater treatment plant discharges into Wolf Creek, a tributary of the Cedar River, according to the administrative consent order issued for the purpose of resolving the violations. DNR staff work with individuals, businesses and communities to help them protect our natural resources by complying with state and federal laws. This approach is very effective. In the few cases where compliance cannot be achieved, the DNR issues enforcement actions, said a press release issued by the agency. Amber Sauser, a DNR environmental specialist whos overseeing the order, said the agency in April found E. Coli concentrations nearly 500 times the legal limit. She said thats what ultimately triggered the order from the DNR. Sauser said a majority of systems across Iowa have made or are in the process of making wastewater plant improvements to address E. Coli due to stricter standards and other factors, she said. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends E. coli as the best indicator of health risk from water contact in recreational waters. According to the DNRs website, the bacteria does not themselves make you sick. They are very common in the environment, including lakes and rivers, the agency states. High levels of these bacteria indicate that the water has come into contact with fecal material and that pathogens or disease-causing microorganisms may be present. Levels of indicator bacteria above the water quality standard indicate a greater risk of becoming sick for people recreating in the water. Per the administrative consent order: the full plans and specifications for upgrades to the facility must be submitted to the DNR for approval by Dec. 31 and the construction contract must be awarded by June 1, 2023. Construction must be completed and E. coli compliance must be reached two years later. The city has no comment on the DNRs administrative consent order and associated penalty, other than to say that the city intends to comply with the construction schedule detailed in the order, said City Clerk Jane Whittlesey in an email. In her statement, she detailed the specifics of the improvements and how they are estimated to cost approximately $7 million. The issue dates back to February 2017, according to the order. In order to comply with a national pollutant discharge permit, the city had to make related improvements by Jan. 1, 2020, and achieve E. coli compliance a month later. A construction permit was taken out in 2019 for the installation of UV disinfection technology one of the improvements listed by Whittlesey. To date, the construction allowed under this construction permit has not been started, stated the order. 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. DES MOINES School districts in Iowa will have access to more resources designed to help prevent school violence thanks to $100 million in federal pandemic relief funding Gov. Kim Reynolds is putting into the states school safety bureau. Reynolds announced the move Tuesday during a news conference at the state public safety offices near the Iowa Capitol complex. The resources will include state personnel, training, and emergency communication systems, all designed to help schools prevent violence or react to emergency events like school shootings. The dedication of federal funding to the state school safety bureau comes in the wake of multiple new mass shootings across the U.S. in elementary schools, churches and other public spaces. Every family should be able to confidently send their children to school knowing that they will be safe, Reynolds said during the news conference. And as the governor of Iowa and a grandmother of school-aged children, I want to assure parents that your childrens safety at school is just as important to me. Reynolds said more than $80 million will go toward conducting vulnerability assessments at school buildings and creating grants for districts to make any recommended physical changes or upgrades. Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens said the goal of the school safety bureau is prevention. One of the new bureau positions made possible by the federal funding will monitor threats being made through digital sources. The goal is to identify concerning behaviors early so parents, school officials, mental health professionals and others can begin providing assistance with and without the need for having formal law enforcement intervention, Bayens said at the news conference. The bureau also will make emergency radio systems available to any school that wants one, and will create a program through which individuals can anonymously report to the bureau via phone, website or mobile app concerning behavior. Bayens said the bureaus resources will supplement any efforts already underway at Iowa school districts and not duplicate or supplant those efforts. I wish we could say this is all unnecessary. But we cannot simply rely on the optimistic thought that it will never happen here in Iowa, Bayens said. Rather, reality mandates that we roll up our sleeves and we tackle this issue head on. We owe it to our kids. We owe to our teachers. We owe it to our communities. And we will do everything in our power to put action behind the prayer that itll never happen here. Reynolds created the school safety bureau in January 2020, but the Republican-majority Iowa Legislature has not funded the bureau in the three legislative sessions since. Reynolds on Tuesday announced she will use funding from two federal pandemic relief packages: one each passed under former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden. Reynolds said the school safety bureau was established despite the lack of state funding, and that state government officials from various state agencies have been working to make the bureau as useful as possible. (The lack of state funding) hasnt stopped us from doing some stuff, Reynolds said. We didnt get the funding, so we havent stood it up in a manner that it needed to be stood up. But now we will be able to, which I think is a wonderful use of some of the funds that are coming into the state. Reynolds said the $100 million infusion of federal funding will sustain the school safety bureau through 2026, and it could be funded even longer pending new gun control, school safety and mental health care legislation being considered in Congress. In the meantime she will work with state legislators to ensure the bureau is funded long-term. She said once the federal funding is exhausted, her office estimates it will cost $1.5 million annually to operate the bureau. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A Cuban man charged in a $4.2 million Medicare fraud scheme is being held as a flight risk after officials said he tried to flee the U.S. on a Jet Ski. A federal judge in Miami ordered Ernesto Cruz Graveran, 54, of Hialeah, to be detained pending trial Monday, according to court records. He has been charged with health care fraud. According to a criminal complaint, Cruz Graveran's company, Xiko Enterprises Inc., submitted approximately $4.2 million in fraudulent health care claims to Medicare from February to April this year for medical equipment that Xiko never provided and that Medicare beneficiaries never requested. Medicare paid Xiko over $2.1 million. Investigators learned last month that Cruz Graveran was planning to travel to Havana and approached him several days before his flight, the complaint said. Cruz Graveran agreed to cooperate with a criminal investigation during an interview, and officials said they took his passport. But last Wednesday, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers reported finding Cruz Graveran aboard a broken-down Jet Ski in the waters south of Key West, headed in the direction of Cuba. The island nation is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of the Florida Keys. Cruz Graveran was aboard the personal watercraft with a person known to law enforcement as a migrant smuggler. Investigators say the Jet Ski was outfitted with a special fuel cell for long trips and was carrying extra food and water bottles. Online court records didn't list an attorney for Cruz Graveran. 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 Iowa attorney generals office says a state Supreme Court decision that requires a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion wont take effect until next month, but the state's main abortion provider says it will immediately require the waiting period. A spokesman for the Iowa attorney generals office on Wednesday said last weeks ruling would not take effect until the case has been returned to the lower court judge for further action, likely around July 8. After the ruling, Planned Parenthood North Central States officials had said the organization would immediately implement the waiting period. Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Emily Bisek says despite the attorney generals belief that the waiting period wasnt required yet, it would stick by its decision. Briefing by Russian Defence Ministry The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine. High-precision long-range Kalibr missiles near Zolochev, Lvov region, have destroyed a warehouse of ammunition for foreign weapons transferred to Ukraine by NATO countries, including 155-mm M777 howitzers. High-precision air-based missiles in Nikolaev region have destroyed aircraft of the Ukrainian air force at Voznesensk military airfield. A large number of weapons and military equipment from the USA and European countries delivered to the Ukrainian grouping in Donbass have been destroyed near Dobropolye, Pokrovsk railway stations in Donetsk Peoples Republic and Orlovschina in Dnepropetrovsk region. The attacks have resulted in the destruction of 1 airspace radar station near Lisichansk in Lugansk Peoples Republic, 1 Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system near Soledar in Donetsk Peoples Republic, ammunition depots near Gorskoe and Verkhnekamensk in Lugansk Peoples Republic, and 2 AFU command posts and 1 communications centre near Pereezdnoe and Ivano-Darevka in Donetsk Peoples Republic. Operational-tactical, army and unmanned aviation have hit 24 areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration. The attacks have resulted in the elimination of more than 300 nationalists, 1electronic warfare station near Malinovka in Kharkov Region, 10 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 3 Grad multiple rocket launchers, 18 special vehicles, 3 mortars and 11 field artillery mounts, including 4 M777 155-mm howitzers. Russian air defence means have shot down 1 Su-25 aircraft of the Ukrainian air force near Krasnopole in Donetsk Peoples Republic. Also, 6 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been shot down near Donetsk city and Pavlovka in the Donetsk Peoples Republic, Balakleya, Malaya Kamyshevakha, Chervonyi Shakhter in Kharkov region, and Lisichansk in Lugansk Peoples Republic. In addition, 12 shells of Uragan multiple-launch rocket system have been intercepted near Donetsk city and Gorskoe and Vasilevka in Lugansk Peoples Republic. Missile troops and artillery have hit 313 areas of manpower and military equipment concentration, 43 command posts and 62 firing positions of AFU artillery units. In total, 203 Ukrainian airplanes and 131 helicopters, 1,211 unmanned aerial vehicles, 339 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,558 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 524 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,958 field artillery and mortars, as well as 3,623 units of special military vehicles were destroyed during the operation. #MoD #Russia #Ukraine #Briefing @mod_russia_enjoy WtR A few words about the Arctic The Arctic zone of our country has colossal hydrocarbon reserves about 25% of the total Russian oil and gas condensate reserves, more than 70% of natural gas reserves. Over the past few years, the region has also entered the list of world centers for the production of liquefied natural gas. Of course, our opponents will continue to do everything to inflict maximum damage on the domestic fuel and energy complex and undermine Russias position in the Arctic. However, the mere intention of Western countries to abandon our energy resources is already having an extremely negative effect on millions of Europeans. Today they are experiencing an energy crisis, the scale of which will only increase. Even the main instigator of anti-Russian aggression, the United States of America, suffered. Everyone understands that in their zeal to destroy the domestic economy, our enemies will go to the end. Impose more and more new sanctions against us, expel Russia from various organizations under far-fetched pretexts. Just recently, seven Arctic states decided to resume the work of the Arctic Council, but without the participation of our country. Apparently, they all forgot that Russia controls the longest Arctic zone, where more than half of the indigenous population of the Arctic lives and most of the economic activity is carried out in high latitudes. You can arrange as many cabal fights as you like and try to solve something without Russia. But if such decisions are made without taking into account the interests of the largest Arctic power, they make no sense. And our country is absolutely not obliged to follow these decisions. Joint effective work to ensure the protection of the environment and the development of the polar regions will actually be frozen. Although the Arctic Council was created precisely for these purposes. Nevertheless, these are their problems, not Russias. We will consistently expand cooperation with our friendly countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. We have something to offer each other. Now it is necessary to accurately determine the possible volumes of supplies of our energy resources, including from the Arctic, in these areas. And also to analyze in detail the prices for their products, which would meet national interests. And, of course, we will increase the consumption of Russian oil, gas, and coal in the domestic market and stimulate the deep processing of energy resources. Taking into account these tasks, all projects and plans related to the development of the Russian Arctic zone require special attention. First of all, transport infrastructure and the Northern Sea Route, including its icebreaking, navigation, port and communications support. It is important to continue linking this key Arctic route with railroads while building a storage and transportation system for liquefied natural gas at high latitudes. Decrease in demand for fossil fuels can lead to an increase in electricity consumption in the world. It will also be necessary to diversify the products that we export from the Arctic zone of Russia. We are talking about the production of such promising energy sources as ammonia, methanol and hydrogen. Of course, this will require quite large costs, so a comprehensive economic assessment of such opportunities is necessary. The development of this important region for our country was considered today at a meeting of the commission for the development of the Arctic. Medvedev (Then he added) Then it turned out that the especially gifted characters that I wrote about began to realize that Russia is our beloved Motherland. And it also dawned on them that without our country they could not survive. After all, otherwise they will not receive: food for their citizens; fertilizers to produce food for their citizens; sources of energy for the production of food and heating of their citizens; metals and other products for the production of machines and mechanisms for their citizens; fuel for European and American nuclear power plants, which provide 20-40% of electricity to their citizens. The list goes on. Now we are looking forward to the next package of European sanctions and Grandfather Joes great sanctions decisions, about which the authors of these same sanctions immediately begin to come up with circumvention schemes. I will not remind you about inflation, prices for all types of fuel and forecasts for the fall of economies. All data is publicly available. And this is only the first month of summer. We are waiting for autumn when we will have to collect the main sanctions harvest. In the meantime, the locomotive of their economy of services and digital currencies is flying into the wall at full steam. Smile, gentlemen, smile! Medvedev Then he added I saw a message that Ukraine, under Lend-Lease, wants to receive LNG from its overseas owners with payment for delivery in 2 years. Otherwise, next winter it will simply freeze. Just a question. And who said that in two years Ukraine will even exist on the world map? Although the Americans dont care anymore they have invested so much in the anti-Russia project that everything else is a trifle for them Medvedev WtR Top News Today The Ukrainian side has requested a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians (women, children and the elderly) at Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk to Kiev-controlled territory in Lisichansk. Taking into account that on June 13, 2022, the last bridge over the Seversky Donets River towards Lisichansk was blown up by the Ukrainian armed forces on the orders of the Kiev authorities in order to prevent the retreat of the territorial defence units, it is not possible to safely evacuate in this direction. Nationalist battalion fighters, retreating from residential areas of Severodonetsk, deliberately drove hundreds of civilians out of the city into the industrial zone of Azot chemical plant in order to use them as human shield. Understanding the hopelessness of the situation of their armed formations, we consider the appeal by the Ukrainian side for the alleged rescue of civilians to be an attempt to withdraw the surrounded surviving units. Thus, there are all signs of a repeat of Mariupol scenario. The Russian Armed Forces and formations of the Lugansk Peoples Republic are ready to conduct a humanitarian operation to evacuate civilians, following humane principles. For this purpose, a humanitarian corridor is opening on June 15, 2022 in the northern direction (to Svatovo, Lugansk Peoples Republic). Safe evacuation of all civilians, without exception, and their transport in humanitarian convoys to temporary accommodation centres are guaranteed. In recent weeks, incidents involving the shooting of Ukrainian servicemen in the back by nationalist units have become more frequent in areas of military operations. Ukrainian servicemen occupying a stronghold near Zvioroferma asked the Russian unit command via radio to cease fire and provide a corridor for exit. Around 10 p.m., AFU servicemen with white flags began moving towards Russian positions. At that moment, Ukrainian nationalist barrier unit arrived at the stronghold in armored vehicles and opened crossfire in the back on the servicemen of the 54th Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. As a result of this shooting, 32 Ukrainian servicemen were fatally wounded and killed. Russian air defense means have shot down 1 MiG-29 aircraft of Ukrainian Air Force near Slavyansk in Donetsk Peoples Republic and 1 Mi-24 helicopter near Snegirevka in Nikolaev region. In addition, 1 Ukrainian Tochka-U ballistic missile near Vernopole, Kharkov region, and 14 Smerch rockets near Donetsk, Aleksandrovka, Donetsk Peoples Republic, Popasnaya, Lugansk Peoples Republic, and Sukhaya Kamenka, Kharkov region, have been intercepted. Footage of military topographers of the Western Military District and Iskander compex crews, as well as combat operation of Su-25 assault aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces has been published. Residents of liberated settlements in Kharkov region receive medical supplies from medical centres of the Russian Defence Ministry. #MoD #Russia #Ukraine @mod_russia_enjoy WtR Two American mercenaries who fought on the side of Kiev were captured. A week ago, our team found itself isolated in the middle of a Russian offensive. Bama and Haight, two of our American brothers, were captured. We havent heard from them since. The information was confirmed by Ukrainian intelligence, their unit said on Twitter. Earlier, the DPR court sentenced two British and one Moroccan mercenaries to capital punishment. And you wont hear about them again. They wanted a great safari adventure to hunt Russians. But the Russians are predators themselves. Update: Two American mercenaries were captured by Russian troops near Kharkov. According to The Telegraph, 39-year-old Alexander Druke and former Marine Andy Huhne, 27, served as volunteers in the Armed Forces. These are the first Americans captured during the special operation. WtR We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form VALLETTA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- When David Michael Schembri worked with a group of Chinese construction divers during the building of a breakwater in Malta in the 1980s, little did he know that he would fall in love with China, its people and culture. Now Mayor of Qrendi, Schembri wants to share this passion with the residents of the southern Maltese town. Schembri never misses an event organized by the China Cultural Centre in Malta, and works hard to spread the word among his residents and beyond. In a recent interview with Xinhua, the 70-year-old recalled the construction of the breakwater in Marsaxlokk, on the southern tip of the island. Schembri was a commercial diver at the time and had been asked to speed up the project. A Chinese company was entrusted with the building of the breakwater, and Schembri was in charge of overseeing the underwater construction works. "The Chinese are very hard workers. They are very obedient, very serious and they will try extremely hard to meet targets," he said, adding that they had managed to cut the delivery date of the project by several years. "They built a reputation for being good engineers, good workers, good technical supervisors, and good coordinators," Schembri said. "They worked as a remarkable team." The breakwater led to the creation of the Malta Freeport, a strategically-located hub at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, which welcomed over 1,550 container ships in 2020. Schembri added: "To make friends with the Chinese was very easy, as they are very peace-loving, fun-loving people and they love to share whatever little they have." His love for China, its people and culture has further deepened since his first trip to the country to attend the first summit of the World Agritourism Cities (Districts) Union. The event was held in October 2013 in Changsha, the capital of central China's Hunan Province. Schembri said he was deeply impressed by the remarkable progress and hard work he saw during his stay in China. Since he became mayor of Qrendi in 2013, Schembri has taken every opportunity to invite Chinese artists to perform there. He was proud that in January 2017 a troupe of acrobats from China was invited to perform in Qrendi through the cooperation with the China Cultural Centre. Schembri also introduces Chinese culture to other Maltese municipalities on the island. Although the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted visits from Chinese artists to Malta, Schembri has used the internet to present performances by Chinese artists to residents via his social media accounts. He makes sure he does not miss a Chinese cultural event, saying: "Every time there is an opportunity, I will go open-heartedly as there is always something nice to discover whether it is culture, song, dance or acrobatic performances." On the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Malta and China, Schembri spoke highly of the very strong ties that have been built between the two nations, adding he hoped these would grow even stronger. "We are helping each other. We are helping you understand us and you are helping us understand you," he said. FILE - The logo for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. The Biden administration is proposing to require that future airplanes produce lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions before they can be certified. The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday, June 15, 2022, that its proposal would cover planes under development, including two Boeing models and one from Airbus. Fire crews in northern Arizona are getting help from the weather as they work to get a handle on wildfires on the outskirts of Flagstaff A Wisconsin judge has ordered the investigator hired by Republicans to look into the 2020 election in Wisconsin be fined $2,000 a day until he complies with court orders related to open records requests Washoe County's 57 vote centers are open for in-person and paper ballot voters. In the latest voter turnout count, it showed 12,821 Washoe County residents that had voted on Election Day, June 14. That breaks down to 2,933 Democrats, 8,832 Republicans, and 1,056 non-partisan voters. "A lot of supplies were dropped off over the weekend," Jamie Rodriguez, Government Affairs Manager for Washoe County said. "We've got the last batch that are being dropped off there today. We are in constant communication with our election center managers to make sure when they're going out, that everything is being set up. Everything will be set up and ready to go before anybody goes home tonight, so that in the morning, we're able to turn on the machines, open up the poll books and allow people to vote." When voters do go to the polls, they will not have a designated vote center. They can choose which one is the most convenient. "I do believe allows much greater access to voters to choose and better be able to exercise their right to be able to vote," Rodriguez said. Election integrity has been a heated discussion since the 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump's claims of voter fraud are being discussed in the January 6 congressional committee hearings but Rodriguez says Washoe County and Nevada have a secure election system in place. "We have a multitude of safeguards in place for people who are voting in-person, people who are voting by mail, there's an extensive chain of custody to ensure the ballots that we're receiving are the appropriate ballets and they are real ballots," Trump said. This is the second election cycle that Nevada has had a universal mail ballot system in place. Rodriguez says the Washoe County Registrar of Voters Office found better and more efficient ways to conduct the election with such a large number of mail ballots. There is a very extensive process in place to count the paper ballots and to prevent double voting. "To make sure that it is that individual's ballot, that it is their signature and that it is processed properly, so we are very confident in security of our election here in Washoe County," Rodriguez said. The polls are open from 7:00 A.M. until 7:00 P.M. People will be allowed to vote as long as they are in line by the deadline. Washoe County will not release preliminary results until all of Nevada's polls are closed. Those results could come in into Monday morning. Mail ballots will be accepted as long as they are postmarked on or before June 14. They have to arrive by June 18. Official results will not happen until the canvass of the vote on June 24. If you decide to vote by mail, you should make sure it will be postmarked by the end of the day June 14. "Either be very confident of your mail pick-up times or we recommend taking it to a mail dropbox where those times are posted on the box to make sure that you are dropping it off and that it can be postmarked for Tuesday," Rodriguez said. People can also drop off their mail ballots at any of the vote centers. If they choose to vote in-person, they have to surrender their mail ballots at the polling place. Votes are encouraged to check the "Wait Times" map to see which locations have the longest wait by clicking this link: Prepare to be mesmerized by the wonderful world of arthropods with Bugs, a larger-than-life exhibit created by Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand and Weta Workshop, now open at California Academy of Sciences. With ultra-detailed, larger-than-life models, video, hands-on activities, scientific specimens and immersive experiences, visitors will delight in the bizarre beauty of bugs, glimpse the world from their perspective, and learn just how theyve evolved some of their amazing adaptations and behaviors. A large-scale model of a beautiful orchid mantis demonstrates her dazzling camouflage in the Display chamber. (Mike ONeill Te Papa 2016) Brightly colored and intricately designed models will transport you into the world of bugs, where you'll explore the evolutionary genius of each species adaptations. Learn how the beautiful but deadly orchid mantis uses its deceptive display to lure prey, then tap into the power of the swarm by using teamwork to defend a Japanese honey bee hive from invading hornets. A huge, hypnotic zoetrope with 3-D printed models shows the precision flight of dragonflies as they hunt and pursue their prey. See dozens of scientific specimens and dive deeper into groundbreaking bug science through hands-on activities. Discover the wonders of silk and explore how this incredible material is used in cutting-edge medicine and technology, and investigate bug-inspired technologiesfrom nanostructures to robotics to swarm intelligence. Explore the insect world through the eyes of the Maori indigenous people of New Zealand, and hear their stories of inspiration and learning from these tiny but impactful creatures. After seeing the fascinating creatures at Bugs, be sure to check out the free-flying butterflies and live leaf-cutter ants in the Academys four story rainforest or say hi to the stinging species in the Venom exhibit. Plus, adults can visit Bugs after hours every Thursday night at NightLife. Plan your trip today and meet nearly 40,000 creatures under one living roof. Every visit supports the Academys mission to regenerate the natural world. // California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr. (Golden Gate Park); buy tickets at calacademy.org. TEHRAN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Eight people died in a blast at a birthday party in a city near the Iranian capital of Tehran on Tuesday, the official news agency IRNA reported. The incident took place at a traditional cafe in Maryam Town of Shahriar city, IRNA quoted Shahin Fathi, managing director of the non-profit organization Red Crescent Society of Tehran Province, as saying. Preliminary investigations showed that a balloon containing helium gas exploded and ignited, eventually leading to a fire spreading across the cafe, and the victims, including four children, three women and a man, died due to suffocation, said the report. That trend has profound implications for emergency management, especially as natural disasters and extreme weather events become more common and severe. A growing body of evidence reveals that older adults are disproportionately impacted during disasters. State and local leaders and emergency officials must be better equipped and prepared to ensure that older adults are kept safe and their needs are met when a disaster strikes," says Nancy LeaMond, Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer at AARP. A key to ensuring that older adults are properly served by disaster preparedness and emergency planning is to acknowledge and address the gaps that exist between local emergency management teams and the organizations and municipal offices that work with and on behalf of older community members. Better integrated disaster planning will help local governments better protect all older residents, whether they are living independently in the community or residing in an assisted living or health care facility. The AARP Disaster Resilience Tool Kit has been created for local leaders, government staff, aging services professionals and community volunteers. It is a companion title to the Guide to Expanding Mitigation: Making the Connection to Older Adults, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a resource for emergency management professionals. When emergency managers, state and local officials, and other community leaders understand the diverse needs of older adults by working with them and one another the plans, projects and procedures they design and deploy will be more effective at protecting residents from harm and saving lives. What does it say when the New Mexico agency charged with enforcing the states open records law is found to have withheld public documents for nearly a year? Such is the sad state of affairs for government transparency in New Mexico. Usually, its the Attorney Generals Office telling local governments to comply with the act. But a judge recently imposed the maximum statutory damages possible after finding the AGs Office had failed to comply with the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) in connection to a request for documents made by former chief of the Albuquerque Police Department, Michael Geier. IPRA is a state law that requires open access to almost all public records in state and local government, with few exceptions. Under IPRA, the public has the right to take legal action if denied access to public records. The Attorney General has the statutory authority to enforce IPRA, as do district attorneys. In May 2021, Geier requested all correspondence between APD and the AGs Office related to him. When nearly a year passed without anything being handed over, he sued. In her order, Judge Lisa Chavez Ortega characterized the AGs failure to comply with IPRA as inexplicable, and awarded more than $40,000 in fines and attorney fees. The public is harmed twice with this outcome. If the AGs Office cant abide by IPRA, it loses its legitimacy to command others to do so. In addition, the public has to foot the bill for the agencys incompetence. Chavez Ortega ordered the AGs Office to pay Geier damages of $100 a day for 354 days a total of $35,400 as well as $5,889 in attorney fees and out-of-pocket costs of $190. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Hector Balderas is term-limited and cannot seek reelection. Whoever succeeds him Democrat Raul Torrez or Republican Jeremy Gay should make repairing this breach of trust a priority. New Mexicans deserve an attorney general who consistently walks the talk about transparency. Enforce disclosure laws While were on the subject of transparency, its time for lawmakers to take up the recommendations of the states ethics commission to strengthen New Mexicos disclosure laws for its citizen Legislature. Since lawmakers dont draw legislative salaries, most have day jobs. Filing annual disclosures about their income sources and property is a measure of transparency intended to shine a light on lawmakers potential conflicts of interest. And its not just legislators. Candidates, appointees, agency heads and Senate-confirmed members of boards and commissions are all supposed to file financial disclosures as a condition of holding their offices. Financial disclosures are essential to public confidence in government, says Jeremy Farris, executive director of the State Ethics Commission. The ethics agency has been pushing for some time to strengthen New Mexicos disclosure law. It has proposed an updated version, which may be taken up by legislators next year. Current compliance rates enforce the idea the law could use teeth. The Journal reported June 11 that more than 20% of the individuals required to file annual disclosures have not done so, prompting the Ethics Commission to authorize all necessary action to ensure that those government officials who are required to disclose, in fact, do, Farris said. At one point this year, he said, hundreds of the 650 people required to file disclosures had not. Thats down to about 155 now, a rate Farris described as unacceptable, especially since the individuals have been notified. Those 155 will be issued demand letters and, if necessary, be taken to court. But meeting the requirements of the current law is still a bar too low. Many lawmakers, for example, report without the specificity that could reveal relationships and/or conflicts of interest, saying they draw income from a law firm, consulting, farming or similarly broad categories. We need better information from government officials and real consequences for not providing it. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal A note Jeremiah Lopez wrote after he choked his fiancee to death shows that he deliberately killed the woman out of jealousy, prosecutors told jurors Tuesday in closing arguments. Jurors began deliberations Tuesday in the first-degree murder trial of Lopez, 40, who is accused of strangling Krishauna Perez, 27, on Jan. 15, 2019. Lopez also is charged with two counts of criminal sexual penetration for allegedly having sex with Perezs lifeless body twice after she was strangled. Defense attorneys countered that Lopez did not act deliberately when he killed Perez, but instead snapped after finding evidence of his fiancees infidelity. The question is if the circumstances caused a temporary loss of self control, defense attorney Maxwell Pines told jurors in closing arguments. Jeremiah Lopez learned that he was living a lie. Prosecutors called jurors attention to a suicide note that Lopez wrote shortly after he killed Perez. Deputy District Attorney John Duran read portions of the note that police found at the couples home on Bataan SW after Perezs death. When I found out she was planning on cheating on me, I lost my mind, Duran read from the note. I could not take losing her heart or body to another, so I had to take her with me. Duran said the note shows that Lopez deliberately killed Perez a key element in the charge of first-degree murder, willful and deliberate. He cant stand to see her with somebody else, Duran told jurors. Lopez testified in his own defense Tuesday that he became suspicious of Perez after he found selfies on her tablet that he described as flirty and risque, and believed she may have sent them to a boyfriend. Prosecutors contend Perez did not send the photos to anyone. Lopez has no proof of cheating, Duran told jurors. This is pure paranoia. Lopez testified Tuesday about his on-again, off-again relationship with Perez in the year prior to her death. He said that, in May 2018, he tossed Perezs belongings out of the home they shared after he learned she was having an affair. The couple later patched up their relationship and announced wedding plans in the fall of 2018. The night of the killing, Lopez said, he confronted Perez after he found selfies on her iPad that pictured her in a bra, which led to an increasingly angry exchange between them. Lopez told jurors he straddled Perez on a bed as she struggled to free herself. The couple then fell to the floor, with Perez face down beneath him, he testified. He put his arm around her neck and squeezed, he said. I lost it, Lopez told jurors. I snapped. I was so lost in the heat of the moment. Lopez acknowledged that he then had sex with Perez. Im ashamed to say that I had sex with her, he told jurors. My brain was just not thinking. She had passed away and I just wanted to be close to her. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal In their first weeks, the citys new speed cameras clocked one driver rocketing down Montgomery at 130 mph. Another was traveling 119 mph on Gibson. They were among thousands caught breaking the law on Albuquerques streets. In all, Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman Rebecca Atkins said the three speed cameras on Gibson and Montgomery have racked up more than 2,500 approved speeding violations since May 25 fining the drivers $100 or requiring community service. Thats compared to the 3,400 drivers cited for speeding by APD officers from March through May. From the start, this program has been about listening to folks across our city who are calling out for change on our streets, Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement. Were continuing to expand this program into places where we know speeding has taken a huge toll on quality of life, and made people feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods. Keller said the three locations were a direct reflection of what these communities need and have been asking for. Atkins said the city has already added two cameras to the Lead-Coal corridor and one along Unser. She said four more cameras are in the works, but did not give the locations. When a violation is captured by the speed cameras, the company that supplied them reviews the video within 48 hours and approves it before APD does its own review and approval. Atkins said that between May 25 and June 13, more than 95,000 drivers on Gibson were going more than 11 mph over the speed limit and 20 were going more than 60 mph over. On Montgomery, she said 14,500 were going more than 11 mph over and four going more than 60 mph over. During that time, the highest speeds observed on Gibson were 107 and 119 mph, and 130 mph on Montgomery. Since going live June 10, speed cameras have caught 557 drivers out of 31,000 going at least 11 mph over the speed limit on Lead and 73 drivers out of 35,000 going at least 11 mph over on Coal. The highest speeds measured on Lead, Coal and Unser were 70, 77 and 90, respectively. With so many speeders, Atkins said the most egregious drivers are cited. APD Lt. Nick Wheeler of the Motors Unit said the blatant disregard for speed limits across Albuquerque shows the importance of speed cameras. Atkins said the department has also created an Aggressive Driving Unit of two detectives who will follow up on aggressive driving, road rage incidents, and hit-and-run crashes. She said the unit will go live next week and will be contacting registered vehicle owners, issuing criminal summons and making arrests. The detectives will also review data from automated speed systems to assist with live enforcement targeting the most egregious speeds, Atkins said. She said a link will be available by Monday for the public to submit photos, video and any other evidence that can assist with traffic-related investigations. UNITED NATIONS, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The Yemen truce has so far contributed to a reduction in fighting and other positive developments, but more must be done to address rising humanitarian needs and insecurity, the UN Security Council heard on Tuesday. Members of council heard from two top UN officials who gave an update on the impact of the recent agreement between the government and the Houthi rebels, which was recently renewed for another two months, while also outlining the challenges that remain. "The truce has now been holding in Yemen for two-and-a-half months, something unprecedented during this war, and something that seemed unimaginable at the beginning of this year," said Hans Grundberg, UN special envoy for the war-torn country. Since the truce was announced in April, there have been no confirmed airstrikes in Yemen or cross-border attacks emanating from the country, said Grundberg. However, as people venture into previously inaccessible frontline areas contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance, casualties are increasing. Meanwhile, the United Nations continues to receive reports of alleged violations from both sides, including shelling, drone attacks, reconnaissance overflights, and the redeployment of forces, despite the overall reduction in fighting. Armed clashes have also been reported, mainly in Marib, Taiz, and Hodeidah. Following six years of closure, commercial flights have resumed from the airport in Sana'a to Amman, Jordan, and Cairo, Egypt. Hodeidah's important port has also continued to receive fuel steadily. More than 480,000 metric tonnes of fuel cleared the port during April and May, greater than the amount which entered during the whole of 2021. "The steady delivery of fuel has taken the pressure off vital services, significantly decreased queues at petrol stations that dominated Sana'a's streets, and has allowed Yemenis to travel more easily throughout the country," said Grundberg. One critical outstanding issue is the opening of roads to Taiz, and other governorates. Roads currently open are "long and arduous," he said. According to Grundberg, recent weeks have also revealed the truce's frailty, and delaying its full implementation could cause it to unravel. It is ultimately up to the parties to safeguard the truce and to deliver on its promise for the benefit of Yemenis, he said. There have also been "more contentious issues with political implications" as a result of implementation, such as revenue management, civil sector salary payments, travel documents and a more durable ceasefire, he added. Ghada Mudawi, a senior official with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, also urged the council to address the dire needs in a country where 19 million people are going hungry, with more than 160,000 on the brink of famine. "Yemen's humanitarian crisis remains as severe today as it was before the truce. In fact, the crisis could soon deteriorate. Such an outcome would undermine the momentum the truce has generated and could undermine prospects for further progress," she said. In addition to spiraling food prices, a depreciating currency has made matters worse, while significant gaps persist in services such as water, health and education. There are more than 4 million Yeminis uprooted, 7,000 of whom have fled in the last two months. Aid agencies are also facing access difficulties in Yemen. As a result of local regulations issued in several areas, their movements have been more restricted in recent months. Humanitarians are also concerned about insecurity since carjackings, abductions and other attacks are on the rise, sometimes forcing them to suspend operations. Humanitarians continue to deliver aid to 11 million people across Yemen every month, but a UN response plan is currently underfunded, another major threat that has resulted in a reduction in food assistance and a scaleback in many essential programs. Sweden and the European Commission will host a meeting to discuss Yemen's humanitarian challenges later this month, a move Mudawi welcomes. Under the UN auspices, Yemen's warring parties entered a two-month cease-fire on April 2. The related parties agreed to extend this UN-brokered truce for another two months on June 2. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sana'a. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation. SANTA FE Votes in a New Mexico community are at risk of not being counted after a Republican-led commission refused to approve primary election results over distrust of Dominion vote-tallying machines. Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver on Tuesday asked the state Supreme Court to order the three-member Otero County commission to certify June 7 primary election results to ensure voters are not disenfranchised and that political candidates have access to the general election ballot in November. On Monday, the commission, in its role as a county canvassing board, voted unanimously against certifying the results of the primary without raising specific concerns about discrepancies, over the objection of the county clerk. I have huge concerns with these voting machines, said Otero County Commissioner Vickie Marquardt on Monday. When I certify stuff that I dont know is right, I feel like Im being dishonest because, in my heart, I dont know if it is right. Dominions systems have been unjustifiably attacked since the 2020 election by people who embraced the false belief that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. The company has filed defamation lawsuits in response to incorrect and outrageous claims made by high-profile Trump allies. New Mexicos Dominion machines have been disparaged repeatedly by David and Erin Clements of Las Cruces in their review of the 2020 election in Otero County and voter registration rolls at the request of the commission. The Clements are traveling advocates for forensic reviews of the 2020 election, and offer their services as election experts and auditors to local governments. Election officials, including County Clerk Robyn Holmes, say the Clementses are not certified auditors nor experts in election protocols. The couple has highlighted problems during sporadic, hourslong presentations to the commission this year. Local election officials dispute many of the findings as mistaken or unfounded. Members of the Otero County commission include Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin, who ascribes to unsubstantiated claims that Trump won the 2020 election. Griffin was convicted of illegally entering restricted U.S. Capitol grounds though not the building amid the riots on Jan. 6, 2021, and is scheduled for sentencing later this month. He acknowledged that the standoff over this primary could delay the outcome of local election races. County canvassing boards have until June 17 to certify election results, prior to state certification and preparation of general election ballots. Under state law, county canvass boards can call on a voting precinct board to address specific discrepancies, but no discrepancies were identified on Monday by the Otero commission. The post-election canvassing process is a key component of how we maintain our high levels of election integrity in New Mexico and the Otero County Commission is (flouting) that process by appeasing unfounded conspiracy theories and potentially nullifying the votes of every Otero County voter who participated in the primary, Toulouse Oliver said in a statement. She accused the commission of willful violations of the state election code. New Mexico uses paper ballots that can be double-checked later in all elections, and also relies on tabulation machines to rapidly tally votes while minimizing human error. Election results also are audited by random samplings to verify levels of accuracy in the vote count. The Otero County commission voted last week to recount ballots from the statewide primary election by hand, remove state-mandated ballot drop boxes that facilitate absentee voting and discontinue the use of Dominion vote-tabulation machines in the general election. On Monday, Holmes said those instructions from the county commission conflict with state and federal election law, and that she would recount the election by hand only under a court order. The election law does not allow me to hand tally these ballots, or to even form a board to do it. I just cant, said Holmes, a Republican. And Im going to follow the law. Holmes noted that the state-owned vote-tabulation machines from Dominion are tested by Otero County officials in public view and that the machines also are independently certified in advance. Griffin said he and fellow commissioners dont see the process as trustworthy. Thats a source that we dont have any control or influence over, he said. Mario Jimenez of the progressive watchdog group Common Cause New Mexico said the public can view testing of vote-tallying machines prior to elections in every county, and that certification notices are posted on every machine where voters can see them. They have no basis other than we just dont trust the machine for not certifying the election, Jimenez said of the Otero County commissioners. Though Trump won nearly 62% of the vote in Otero County in 2020, county commissioners have said they are not satisfied with results of the states audit of the vote count, nor assurances by their Republican county clerk that elections this year will be accurate. County commissioners could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. Marquardt, the commissioner, laughed Monday at the suggestion a court might intervene in the dispute. And so then what? Theyre going to send us to the pokey? she said. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE As New Mexico continues to deal with raging wildfires that have charred more than 900 square miles of land, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has asked a Cabinet official in President Joe Bidens administration to delay a plan to transport migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border region to Albuquerque and other interior cities. In a Tuesday letter to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the Democratic governor said New Mexico and other states would bear the brunt of adverse economic and social impacts if a planned relocation effort is carried through. While I understand the difficulty the department faces in managing the flow of migrants at the southern border in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform, I have serious concerns regarding the departments readiness to address the influx of individuals who are poised to enter New Mexico if further preparation is not undertaken, Lujan Grisham said in her letter. Amid a recent surge of asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently crafted a plan to address overcrowding at the border by transporting migrants to cities such as Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas and Albuquerque, according to NBC News. However, details about when such a relocation effort might begin and how many individuals could be transported to different interior cities to await immigration court hearings have not been publicly announced. Lujan Grisham, who last year said New Mexico stood ready to accommodate refugees seeking asylum after fleeing from Afghanistan, said the wildfires burning this year amid severe drought conditions have taxed state agencies that provide support services. Already, the governor has declared emergencies in seven New Mexico counties due to wildfires and has authorized up to $45 million in emergency spending for firefighting efforts, supplies and more, though that spending could eventually be reimbursed by the federal government. For that reason, Lujan Grisham said she would not allow state resources to be used on immigration-related expenses. I cannot allow communities in the state of New Mexico to shoulder additional burdens falling squarely within the federal governments purview, Lujan Grisham said. Meanwhile, the letter comes less than a month after Lujan Grisham met with Mayorkas and other top federal officials in Washington, D.C., about wildfire relief funding and other issues. It also comes as the governor is seeking reelection to a second four-year term. Mark Ronchetti, her Republican opponent in the general election, described Lujan Grishams letter on Tuesday as an election year stunt. Its no surprise she now wants to delay the relocation until after the election, while doing nothing to change the policies that encourage illegal immigrants to cross the border and come to New Mexico, said Ronchetti, who has in recent months criticized Lujan Grisham for removing National Guard troops from the states southern border after taking office in 2019. In response, a Lujan Grisham spokeswoman said the governors request to Mayorkas was not a political one, saying the millions of dollars spent by the state on border-related humanitarian aid efforts in 2019 are now being targeted at wildfire relief and recovery programs. In addition, the governors campaign spokeswoman Kendall Witmer accused Ronchetti of minimizing the hardships of wildfire victims. She also said his attempts to score partisan political points show the type of governor he would be if elected in November. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE A lawsuit targeting New Mexicos COVID-19 vaccination requirements for hospital workers has encountered another legal setback as a panel of federal appeals court judges on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling rejecting a request to halt enforcement of the mandate. While the ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could still be appealed to the Supreme Court and the case itself is still pending, it marks the latest in a series of rulings upholding the vaccine mandate that was enacted last summer by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams administration. A Lujan Grisham spokeswoman lauded the ruling Tuesday. Vaccination policies save lives and protect New Mexicans, said the governors spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett. Were gratified that their function as a public health tool has been upheld. However, the federal judges did include a caveat of sorts in their Tuesday ruling, saying a vaccine mandate that was reasonable at the apex of the pandemic could become less rational if more research and data emerges about the vaccines effectiveness. While top state health officials have insisted the COVID-19 vaccine is still effective at reducing risk of serious illness, New Mexico and other states have seen a recent increase in virus cases including among those fully vaccinated. New Mexicos vaccine-related public health order was issued in August 2021 and remains in place nearly one year later. It requires a COVID-19 vaccination for people working in high-risk settings, including hospitals, nursing homes and prisons. The requirement applies to doctors, nurses and others, but allows for exemptions on medical and religious grounds. Employees who refuse to be vaccinated face the possibility of losing their jobs. After it was announced, the vaccine mandate prompted protests in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Roswell, but it also drew support from several health care organizations. Meanwhile, the vaccine requirement also prompted the filing of the lawsuit by two plaintiffs who argued their constitutional rights to bodily integrity and to pursue their chosen profession were being violated. One of the plaintiffs is Jennifer Blackford, who was placed on leave without pay from her job as a nurse at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque. Presbyterian Healthcare Services, which runs the hospital and eight others around the state, announced shortly after the states vaccine mandate was unveiled that it would require COVID-19 vaccinations for its entire workforce of more than 13,000 people. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited that company policy in its Tuesday ruling, saying that halting the enforcement of the state vaccine mandate would not necessarily mean Blackford could return to work. The initial ruling in the lawsuit came in September, when a federal judge rejected a request to halt the vaccine requirement, saying New Mexicos public health order that mandates vaccine shots for certain occupations did not lack a rational relationship to a legitimate government purpose. BEERSHEBA, Israel An Israeli court on Wednesday found a Gaza aid worker guilty of several terrorism charges in a high-profile case in which his employer, independent auditors and the Australian government say they have found no evidence of wrongdoing. Mohammed el-Halabi, the Gaza director for the international Christian charity World Vision, was arrested in 2016 and accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars to the Islamic militant group Hamas that rules the territory. The trial, and his prolonged detention, have further strained relations between Israel and humanitarian organizations that provide aid to Palestinians. Both he and World Vision have denied the allegations and an independent audit in 2017 also found no evidence of support for Hamas. His lawyer, Maher Hanna, has said el-Halabi turned down several plea bargain offers on principle that would have allowed him to walk free. El-Halabi has not yet been sentenced. World Vision said he would appeal the ruling, which was largely based on classified information that has not been made public but was shared with the defense. The district court in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba said el-Halabi was guilty of several charges, including membership in a terror organization, providing information to a terror group, taking part in militant exercises and carrying a weapon. It said he diverted millions of dollars every year, as well as equipment, from World Vision and its donors to Hamas. It said Hamas used the funds for militant activities, as well as childrens counseling, food aid and Quran memorization contests for its supporters. Pipes and nylon diverted to Hamas were used for military purposes, it said. The court said it was not convinced by World Visions testimony that it had firm controls in place that would have prevented the diversion of such aid. The court said the full 254-page decision is confidential and cannot be made public. It appeared to rely heavily on a confession by el-Halabi that has not been made public. His lawyer has said the confession was given under duress to an informant and should not have been admitted as evidence. The court said the confession was given in various ways, and is detailed, coherent, truthful and has many unique details, including the names and ranks of Hamas operatives, and descriptions of strategic locations in Gaza. Speaking to reporters immediately after the verdict, Hanna said he had not yet read the full decision. But he accused the judge of siding with Israeli security forces and relying on evidence that has not been made public and which he has previously described as unreliable. All the judge said, if I want to summarize it in one sentence: The security forces cannot be wrong, they are probably right,' he told reporters. Sharon Marshall, a spokeswoman for World Vision who has closely followed the case, said there had been irregularities in the trial process and a lack of substantive and publicly available evidence. She said the charity supports el-Halabis intent to appeal and called for a fair and transparent process. We strongly condemn any act of terrorism or support of such activities, and reject any attempts to divert humanitarian resources or exploit the work of humanitarian organizations operating anywhere, she said. The Christian charity operates in nearly 100 countries and annually distributes some $2.5 billion in aid. Israeli authorities have repeatedly said they have proof that Hamas had infiltrated the aid group and was diverting funds from needy Gazans. Then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trumpeted the charges in an online video shortly after el-Halabis arrest. Critics say Israel often relies on questionable informants. They allege that Israel smears groups that provide aid or other support to Palestinians in order to shore up its nearly 55-year military occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state. Israel says it supports the work of aid organizations but must prevent donor funds from falling into the hands of armed groups like Hamas that do not recognize it and attack its citizens. In a statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry acknowledged the verdict while saying it continues to support international efforts to provide assistance to the Gazan population. Israel remains committed to cooperating with, and facilitating, the continued operations of humanitarian organizations, including World Vision, in a manner consistent with security considerations and applicable standards, it said. After el-Halabis arrest, World Vision suspended its activities in Gaza, where over 2 million Palestinians live under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed when Hamas seized power nearly 15 years ago. Israel says the restrictions are needed to contain Hamas, while critics view them as a form of collective punishment. World Vision worked with several Western donor countries to construct an independent audit of its activities in Gaza. It declined to name the auditors because of a non-disclosure agreement, but last year the Guardian newspaper identified them as the international accounting firm Deloitte and DLA Piper, a global law firm. A team of around a dozen lawyers, including several former assistant U.S. attorneys, reviewed nearly 300,000 emails and conducted over 180 interviews. Forensic auditors scoured nearly every financial transaction at World Vision from 2010 until 2016. In July 2017, they submitted an over 400-page report of their findings to World Vision, which shared it with donor governments. World Vision said it offered the report to Israel, but Israeli authorities refused to sign the non-disclosure agreement. Brett Ingerman, a lawyer with DLA Piper who headed the investigation, confirmed its involvement and told The Associated Press earlier this year that the report found no evidence that el-Halabi was affiliated with Hamas or had diverted any funds. Instead, he said it found that el-Halabi had enforced internal controls and ordered employees to avoid anyone suspected of Hamas ties. The Australian government conducted its own review, reaching similar conclusions. Australia was the biggest single donor to World Visions humanitarian work in Gaza, providing some $4.4 million in the previous three fiscal years before el-Halabis arrest. There was no immediate comment on the verdict from Australian officials. ___ Krauss reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press reporter Isaac Scharf in Jerusalem contributed to this report. BUFFALO, N.Y. The white gunman who killed 10 Black people in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket was charged Wednesday with federal hate crimes that could potentially carry a death penalty. The criminal complaint filed Wednesday against Payton Gendron coincided with a visit to Buffalo by Attorney General Merrick Garland. He met with the families of the people who were killed and placed a bouquet of white flowers at a memorial outside the Tops Friendly Market, which has been closed since the May 14 attack. No one in this country should have to live in fear that they will go to work or shop at a grocery store and will be attacked by someone who hates them because of the color of their skin, Garland said at a news conference. Garland, who halted federal executions last year, did not rule out seeking the death penalty against Gendron, 18. He said families and the survivors will be consulted as the Justice Department weighs whether to seek capital punishment. The federal hate crimes case is based partly on documents in which Gendron laid out his radical, racist worldview and extensive preparation for the attack, some of which he posted online and shared with a small group of people shortly before he started shooting. FBI agents executing a search warrant at Gendrons home found a note in which he apologized to his family and wrote he had to commit this attack because he cares for the future of the White race, according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint. Three children of 86-year-old victim Ruth Whitfield said they told Garland at their private meeting that they wanted to make sure he didnt view the Buffalo shooting as a singular case. This is a problem throughout America, said one son, former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield Jr. It doesnt stop with justice for our mother and the other nine victims. Its how do we prevent these horrific crimes from happening, from breaking the hearts of other families, said another son, Raymond Whitfield. Gendrons attorney, Brian Parker, declined to comment. So far, the evidence made public against Gendron suggests he acted alone, but Garland and Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate said investigators were examining the gunmans communications with others prior to the shooting. About 30 minutes before he opened fire, Gendron invited a small group of people to see his plans for the attack, which he then broadcast live on social media. It wasnt clear if any of the people who accessed Gendrons diary or saw his livestream did anything to alert authorities. In his writings, Gendron embraced a baseless conspiracy theory about a plot to diminish white Americans power and replace them with people of color, through immigration and other means. The posts detail months of reconnaissance, demographic research and shooting practice for an attack aimed at scaring everyone who isnt white and Christian into leaving the country. Gendron drove more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from his home in a nearly all-white town near the New York-Pennsylvania border to a predominantly Black part of Buffalo. There, authorities say, he fired approximately 60 shots at shoppers and workers with a semiautomatic rifle. Three wounded people one Black, two white survived. Video of the assault showed Gendron momentarily holding his fire to apologize to a white store employee after shooting him in the leg. Gendron surrendered to police as he exited the supermarket. Gendron wrote racial slurs and statements including, Heres your reparations! on his rifle, the affidavit said. Gendron was already facing a mandatory life sentence without parole if convicted on previously filed state charges. He pleaded not guilty to a domestic terrorism charge, including hate-motivated domestic terrorism and murder. The federal case is likely to present a quandary for Garland, who has vowed to aggressively prosecute civil rights cases but also instituted a moratorium on federal executions last year after an unprecedented run of capital punishment at the end of the Trump administration. The moratorium halts the Bureau of Prisons from carrying out any executions as the Justice Department conducts a policy review. But the memo does not prohibit federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, a decision that ultimately will fall to Garland. President Joe Biden has said he opposes the death penalty and his team vowed he would take action to stop its use while in office. In the aftermath of the Buffalo attack, and another deadly mass shooting committed by an 18-year-old at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, New York lawmakers banned the sale of semiautomatic rifles to anyone under age 21. The U.S. Senate followed on June 12 with a bipartisan agreement on more modest federal gun curbs and stepped-up efforts to improve school safety and mental health programs. Garland on Wednesday endorsed changing federal law to raise the age for purchasing some types of rifles. The Justice Department agrees with the president that 18-year-olds should not be able to purchase a gun like this, Garland said. Gendron was scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning on the federal charges. This process may not be as fast as some would hope, but it will be thorough, it will be fair, it will be comprehensive and it will reflect what is best about our community and about democracy, said U.S. Attorney Trini Ross, a Buffalo native. ___ AP reporter Michael Balsamo contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Like many others, Mike White often watched TV while growing up. In the early 1990s, Food Network was in its infancy and was ushering in a new type of chef. The days of Julia Child will always remain, but there was a changing of the guard. At that time, White became entranced by Emeril Lagasse. The first time I saw him throw in a spice and say BAM! I was hooked, White says with a smile. That was the first hook. Then I became obsessed with Bobby Flay and Anthony Bourdain. They were my rock stars. I wanted to be that chef. White continued to watch Food Network and YouTube to feed his curiosities regarding the world of cuisine. Flash forward to today and the 37-year-old is not only a chef but a philanthropist and business owner. Hes the mastermind behind High Point Grill & Taproom, 9780 Coors Blvd. NW, Suite A, and The Point at the Promenade, 5200 Eubank NE. White has been a chef for eight years, though hes been cooking for about 20 years. Im self-taught, he says of his journey to being a chef. I started cooking as a teenager. Ive worked for various restaurants doing everything in the kitchen. I decided to make the leap and take the reins over and create. Theres not one day that is the same for White. He wakes up after only a few hours of sleep daily and begins to tend to problems with the business. These days, his worries are more than just how many people will come to the restaurant. One of his biggest issues is whether he will have enough employees to staff the day. I also try to help in the kitchen as much as possible, he says. Ill work on the line. Then its off to meet with vendors and testing products because I always am trying to make ourselves better. As of June, hes still waiting to reopen The Point at the Promenade due to a shortage in staff. Despite the issues, he pushes through. Anytime I stop, I feel like people are passing me, he says of his determination. I had the opportunity to have two days off recently, and I began painting and hanging new decorations in the restaurant. I put up shelves so we had more storage space. I saw it as a time to improve the restaurant. White describes his days as triage management, as he is always dealing with new issues. Its a chaos that I thrive in, he says. I dont know how to work any other way. Sleep doesnt come easy for me. If being the chef and owning two restaurants wasnt enough, White finds time to give back to the community. Hes been the driving force behind the 505 Food Fights for a few years. Like the TV series, Chopped, 505 Food Fights pits New Mexico chefs in a head-to-head competition. Chefs have an hour to create two dishes featuring three of the mystery ingredients. Spectators are charged an entry fee, which then goes to a designated New Mexico charity. In the last few years, more than 20 New Mexico charities have received more than $20,000 from 505 Food Fights. Some of the organizations include The Kitchen Kids, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, New Mexico Autism Society, New Mexico Chapter of the American Heart Association, Rebels with a Cause and Pediatric Congenital Heart Association, just to name a few. Im in the process of figuring out the next event and who the competitors will be, he says. If that wasnt enough, White is also at the helm of the nonprofit The Kitchen Kids, which gives free education and cooking courses where children of all ages and abilities get to work side-by-side with industry professionals. Were going to have a block party in July, he says. Some of my Kitchen Kids students will compete in a 505 Food Fight-style event. They will be under the guidance of a local chef as they compete. The chefs will be there to make sure all of the health codes are being followed and to ensure that each dish is properly created. White took culinary arts classes in high school and knows the importance of giving that avenue to children. Its the impetus behind The Kitchen Kids. If I had the opportunity when I was a kid to be involved in this, I would have been first in line, he says. Its really cool because many of the chefs that I work with on this program have been on Food Network shows. Ive been on a few shows and its great to be able to be that positive example for the next generation of chefs. Though born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, White considers himself a New Mexican. He grew up in the Albuquerque/Rio Rancho area after his dad retired from the military and got a job at Intel. White enjoys the friendly competition in the local culinary scene because it only helps the quality of cuisine. Im a big supporter of local chefs, he says. We need to have locally-owned restaurants around here because these are the places putting their unique spin on food. Ill often go and support the local restaurants, not only to try their food, but see what they do best. Then I can step back and take a look at what Im doing and how I can improve. Supporting local restaurants is important because each place adds value and culture to the scene. Otherwise, it would be a sanitized food scene with cookie cutter chain restaurants. Green Chile Chicken Philly 6 ounces chopped chicken breast (marinate the day before in your favorite fajita seasoning) 2 ounces New Mexico green chile, your desired heat level cup sliced white onions cup sliced mixed bell peppers 1 tablespoon Chimayo red chile powder Salt and pepper to taste 1 ounces shredded cheddar 1 ounces shredded provolone 2 ounces guacamole Green Chile Aioli 2 tablespoons olive oil mayo Pinch of parsley, fresh minced A splash of lemon juice 1 teaspoon of pureed green chile 1 teaspoon of pureed roasted garlic Over high heat, saute the marinated chicken, bell peppers, onions and red chile powder (in a saute pan or flat grill), approximately 6 minutes, until the chicken is cooked. To make the aioli, combine ingredients and whisk all items together. Dress your favorite hoagie roll with green chile aioli. Pile high with chicken/veggie mixture, and top with cheeses. Place sandwich under broiler until cheese begins to brown, approximately 90 seconds and serve with guacamole. Recipe by Mike W. White, chef and founder of the High Point Grill Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal A Comcast grant program that helps minority- and women-owned businesses with tech and creative costs is accepting applications from New Mexico businesses until Friday, according to a news release. Comcast RISE helps grant awardees pay for technology upgrades and with media, consulting and creative production services. Carmen Prince-Morris, co-owner of 50/50 Coffee House & Pub in Albuquerque, received a RISE grant last year to pay for two computers, two iPads, and a years worth of business internet and phone bills. Prince-Morris, who owns the business with her husband Chad Morris and one other partner, said she didnt initially think she would need the grant. But then, Prince-Morris work computer broke and a nearby business owner also had a computer on its last legs prompting Prince-Morris to give that person one of the Comcast machines shed received. She also said that 50/50 Coffee House & Pub switched to a point-of-sale system that required iPads. And the cost savings on her business internet and phone usage helped, too. (It) was super helpful because we didnt have the income coming in to even support that, Prince-Morris told the Journal. The coffee shop has since expanded into a brick-and-mortar Downtown location earlier this year, with a food truck that also operates in areas throughout the city. Comcast RISE has granted funds to nearly 8,000 businesses in 34 states, according to the companys website. Businesses interested in signing up can find more information at comcastrise.com. WASHINGTON The U.S. announced it will send an additional $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, as America and its allies provide longer-range weapons they say can make a difference in a fight where Ukrainian forces are outnumbered and outgunned by their Russian invaders. President Joe Biden and his top national security leaders said Wednesday the U.S. is moving as fast as possible to get critical weapons to the fight, even as Ukrainian officials protest that they need more, faster, in order to survive. The latest package, the U.S. said, includes anti-ship missile launchers, howitzers and more rounds for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that U.S. forces are training Ukrainian troops on now. All are key weapons systems that Ukrainian leaders have urgently requested as they battle to stall Russias slow but steady march to conquer the eastern Donbas region. Gen. Milley and I have been in a number of fights. And when youre in a fight, you can never get enough, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a press conference in Brussels, referring to Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I certainly understand where the Ukrainians are coming from, and were gonna fight hard to give them everything they need. The HIMARS and anti-ship systems are the kinds of longer range capabilities that over time can make a difference in the fight, Milley said. He said Ukraine will have trained HIMARS crews in the fight in a few weeks. If they use the weapon properly and its employed properly, they ought to be able to take out a significant amount of targets and that will make a difference, he said. But he also noted that the numbers clearly favor the Russians. In terms of artillery, they do outnumber, they out-gun and out-range the Ukrainian forces. The aid is the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since the war began. Biden, who spoke by phone with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for about 40 minutes Wednesday, also said the U.S. will send $225 million more in humanitarian assistance to provide safe drinking water, medical supplies, food, health care, shelter and money for families to buy essential items. The U.S. remains committed, Biden said in a statement, to supporting the Ukrainian people whose lives have been ripped apart by this war. The aid comes as Austin convened a meeting in Brussels of more than 45 nations to discuss support for Ukraine. At the start of the meeting, he warned that the West must step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and prove its commitment to helping the countrys military fight along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line in a grinding war of attrition with Russia. He told the participating nations, We cant afford to let up and we cant lose steam. The stakes are too high. Overall, since the war began in late February, the U.S. has committed about $5.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including this latest package. Officials said that about one-third of the latest $1 billion will be from presidential drawdown authority, which means the Pentagon will take weapons and equipment from its own stock and ship them to Ukraine. The remaining two-thirds would be equipment and weapons purchased from industry by the U.S. and then transferred to Ukraine. Austins meeting, also attended by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, came on the opening day of a two-day gathering of NATO defense ministers at the alliance headquarters. Increased arms supplies cant come too soon for the Ukrainian forces battling to keep Russia from taking control of their countrys industrial east after more than 3 months of war. In his nightly address to the nation, President Zelenskyy pleaded Tuesday for more and faster deliveries of Western arms, specifically asking for anti-missile defense systems. Allies are committed to continue providing the military equipment that Ukraine needs to prevail, including heavy weapons and long-range systems, said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary-general. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Tuesday that without help from the West, we will not be able to win this war. She said Ukraine uses 5,000 to 6,000 artillery rounds a day, while Russia uses 10 times that many. The defense ministers also planned to discuss moves to beef up forces along NATOs own eastern flank and elsewhere, which have gathered strength since Russia invaded Ukraine. This will mean more presence, more capabilities and higher readiness, with more NATO forward deployed combat formations to strengthen our battlegroups in the East, more air, sea and cyber defenses, pre-positioned equipment and weapon stockpiles, Stoltenberg said. On a separate but related subject, he wouldnt commit to a timeframe for Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is blocking the membership bids, accusing the Nordic nations of supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Turkey to be terrorists. My aim is to solve this issue as soon as possible, but since we are several nations involved in this process, there is no way to tell you exactly when we will solve it, Stoltenberg said. Because of Turkeys concerns, this will take some more time than we originally expected, he said. Erdogan signaled Wednesday he wont back down. We will most definitely not change our stance until Sweden and Finland take clear, concrete and determined steps in the fight against terrorism, Erdogan said in an address to his ruling partys legislators. All 30 NATO members must agree to admit new members. ___ Corder reported from The Hague, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine NORFOLK, Va. John Hinckley Jr., who shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was freed from court oversight Wednesday, officially concluding decades of supervision by legal and mental health professionals. After 41 years 2 months and 15 days, FREEDOM AT LAST!!!, he wrote on Twitter shortly after 12 p.m. The lifting of all restrictions had been expected since late September. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington had said he would free Hinckley on June 15 if he continued to remain mentally stable in the community in Virginia where he has lived since 2016. Hinckley, who was acquitted by reason of insanity, spent the decades before that in a Washington mental hospital. Freedom for Hinckley will include giving a concert he plays guitar and sings in Brooklyn, New York, thats scheduled for July. Hes already gained nearly 30,000 followers on Twitter and YouTube in recent months as the judge loosened Hinckleys restrictions before fully lifting all of them. But the graying 67-year-old is far from being the household name that he became after shooting and wounding the 40th U.S. president and several others outside a Washington hotel. Today, historians say Hinckley is at best a question on a quiz show and someone who unintentionally helped build the Reagan legend and inspire a push for stricter gun control. If Hinckley had succeeded in killing Reagan, then he would have been a pivotal historical figure, H.W. Brands, a historian and Reagan biographer, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. As it is, he is a misguided soul whom history has already forgotten. Barbara A. Perry, a professor and director of presidential studies at the University of Virginias Miller Center, said that Hinckley would be maybe a Jeopardy question. But his impact remains tangible in Reagans legacy. For the president himself to have been so seriously wounded, and to come back from that that actually made Ronald Reagan the legend that he became like the movie hero that he was, Perry said. Reagan showed grace and humor in the face of death, Perry said. After being shot, the president told emergency room doctors that he hoped they were all Republicans. He later joked to his wife Nancy that he was sorry he forgot to duck. When the president first spoke to Congress after the shooting, he looked just a little bit thinner, but hes still the robust cowboy that is Ronald Reagan, Perry said. The assassination attempt paralyzed Reagan press secretary James Brady, who died in 2014. In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Brady Bill, which required a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence are named after Brady and his wife Sarah. The shooting also injured Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty. McCarthy told the AP last year that he didnt have a lot of good Christian thoughts about Hinckley. But in any case, I hope theyre right, McCarthy, then 72, said of Hinckleys impending release from supervision. Because the actions of this man could have changed the course of history. Hinckley was 25 and suffering from acute psychosis when he shot Reagan and the others. When jurors found him not guilty by reason of insanity, they said he needed treatment and not a lifetime in confinement. He was ordered to live at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington. In the 2000s, Hinckley began making visits to his parents home in a gated Williamsburg community. A 2016 court order granted him permission to live with his mom full time, albeit under various restrictions, after experts said his mental illness had been in remission for decades. Hinckleys mother died in July. He signed a lease on a one-bedroom apartment in the area last year and began living there with his cat, Theo, according to court filings. Over the years, the court restricted Hinckley from owning a gun or using drugs or alcohol. He also couldnt contact the actor Jodie Foster, with whom he was obsessed at the time of the shooting, or any of his victims or their families. One of Reagans daughters, Patti Davis, considered the possibility of contact in a Washington Post opinion piece last year. There is no manual for how to deal with something like this. You just have to live with the fear, and the anger, and the darkness that one person keeps bringing into your life, she wrote. Stephen J. Morse, a University of Pennsylvania professor of law and psychiatry, told the AP last year that Hinckleys acquittal by reason of insanity means he is not to blame for what happened and he cannot be punished. If he hadnt attempted to kill President Reagan, this guy would have been released ages ago, Morse said. Barry Levine, Hinckleys attorney, said in court last year that Hinckley wanted to express his heartfelt apologies and profound regret to the people he shot and their families as well as to Foster and the American people. Friedman, the federal judge overseeing Hinckleys case, said on June 1 that Hinckley has shown no signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s and has exhibited no violent behavior or interest in weapons. This is the time to let John Hinckley move on with his life, so we will, the judge said. WASHINGTON A federal judge on Wednesday convicted a Confederate flag-toting man and his son of charges that they stormed the U.S. Capitol together during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, to obstruct Congress from certifying Joe Bidens presidential victory. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden delivered the verdict from the bench after hearing two days of testimony without a jury for the trial of Kevin Seefried and his adult son, Hunter. McFadden convicted both Delaware men of a felony count: obstruction of an official proceeding, the joint session of Congress for certifying the Electoral College that day. The judge also convicted the Seefrieds of misdemeanor charges that they engaged in disorderly conduct and illegally demonstrated inside the building. But he acquitted Hunter Seefried of other misdemeanor charges for clearing a shard of glass from a broken window at the Capitol. They will remain free pending separate sentencing hearings in September. McFadden, whom President Donald Trump nominated for the court in 2017, presided over two previous bench trials for Capitol riot defendants. He acquitted one of all charges and partially acquitted another. Widely published photographs showed Kevin Seefried carrying a Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol after he and Hunter Seefried, then 22, entered the building through a broken window. McFadden rejected the defense argument that Kevin Seefried never intended to interfere with the congressional proceedings. I find that he knew what he was doing, McFadden said. The judge described Kevin Seefreid as the prime mover in their decision to go to Washington on Jan. 6. McFadden said Hunter Seefrieds guilt on the obstruction charge was a closer question, but the judge ultimately concluded that the son engaged in aggravated conduct that supported a conviction. Hunter Seefried showed a pattern of deception and minimization of his actions when an FBI agent interviewed him after the riot, McFadden said. FBI agents said they did not find any evidence linking Kevin Seefried or his son to any far-right extremist groups. Kevin Seefried told an agent that he did not view the Confederate flag as a symbol of racist hate. The trial included the first public testimony of Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, who has been lauded for his bravery during the Jan. 6 attack by a mob of Trump supporters. Goodman led a group of rioters away from the Senate chamber as senators and then-Vice President Mike Pence were being evacuated. He also directed Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, to turn around and head away from the mob. Goodman encountered Kevin Seefried before the mob chased the officer up a set of stairs, a harrowing episode captured on video. The officer said the elder Seefried cursed at him and jabbed at him with the base end of his flagpole three or four times without making contact with him. Another Capitol police officer who confronted the mob near the Senate chamber recalled that Kevin Seefried asked, Why are you protecting them? I assumed he was talking about Congress, Officer Brian Morgan testified. The Seefrieds were not charged with assaulting any officers. Neither defendant testified at their trial. The father and son traveled to Washington from their home in Laurel, Delaware, to hear Trumps speech at the Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6. They were among the first rioters to approach the building near the Senate Wing Door, according to prosecutors. After watching other rioters use a police shield and a wooden plank to break a window, Hunter Seefried used a gloved fist to clear a shard of glass in one of the broken windowpanes, prosecutors said. But the judge found that two other rioters had destroyed the window before Seefried cleared the shard. McFadden convicted the Seefrieds of four misdemeanor charges: entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a Capitol building or grounds, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The judge acquitted Hunter Seefried of three other misdemeanor counts: destruction of government property, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with physical violence against property, and acts of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or building. The Seefrieds, who waived their right to jury trial, were the first Capitol riot defendants to get a bench trial on a felony charge. In April, McFadden acquitted New Mexico resident Matthew Martin of misdemeanor charges that he illegally entered the Capitol and engaged in disorderly conduct after he walked into the building. In March, McFadden acquitted a New Mexico elected official, Couy Griffin, of engaging in disorderly conduct but convicted him of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds. McFadden is scheduled to sentence Griffin on Friday. Also on Wednesday, a bench trial concluded for Jesus Rivera, a Pensacola, Florida, man charged with four riot-related misdemeanors. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she intends to issue a written verdict later this week, according to Guy Womack, an attorney for Rivera. McFadden has criticized prosecutors handling of Capitol riot cases. He suggested that the Justice Department has been unjustly tougher on Capitol riot defendants compared with people arrested at protests against police brutality and racial injustice after George Floyds 2020 murder by a Minneapolis police officer. More than 800 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack. Juries have unanimously convicted five Capitol riot defendants of all charges. More than 300 other defendants have pleaded guilty to riot offenses, mostly misdemeanors. Approximately 100 others have trial dates in 2022 or 2023. HAVANA, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Cuba held its first trade fair and expo of Chinese businesses Tuesday to promote cooperation and enhance trade relations between the two countries. The fair is part of a series of activities to mark the 175th anniversary of the first Chinese immigrants' arrival in Cuba. Products showcased at the fair included typical Chinese condiments and food such as soy sauce, soups, dried fruits and tomato sauce, as well as hygiene products manufactured in China. During a visit to the event, Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Ma Hui said the two countries are united by ties of blood, history and culture and the Chinese side is interested in promoting bilateral cooperation. Teresa Maria Li, director of the Budget Unit of Havana's Chinatown, told Xinhua that the fair is aimed at boosting Chinatown's economic and cultural life, and helping establish partnerships between Cuban entrepreneurs and Chinese business owners based in the island country. Chinese businessman Guo Xinjiang, who is also an organizer of the event, said more trade fairs like this are expected to be held in the future to make high-quality products readily available to Cuban consumers. It was great to have better access to the wide variety of products made in China, said Doris Guin, a local entrepreneur of Chinese origin, noting that it is a positive and significant step between the two countries. DETROIT A Michigan police officer charged with murder after shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head has been fired, officials said Wednesday. Christopher Schurr, a Grand Rapids officer for seven years, waived his right to a hearing and was dismissed, effective last Friday, said City Manager Mark Washington. Schurrs dismissal was recommended by police Chief Eric Winstrom after a second-degree murder charge was filed Thursday. Washington declined further comment, noting the criminal case and a likely lawsuit over Lyoyas death. Schurrs attorney, Matt Borgula, said he wasnt representing the officer in the labor matter and had no comment. Lyoya, a Black man, was killed at the end of a traffic stop on April 4. He ran and physically resisted Schurr after failing to produce a drivers license. Schurr, who is white, claimed Lyoya had control of his Taser when he shot him. Defense lawyers said the officer feared for his safety. The confrontation and shooting were recorded on video. Schurr, 31, had been on leave while state police investigated the shooting and prosecutor Chris Becker decided whether to pursue charges. Lyoyas parents had long called for Schurr to be fired. Two words: about time. What took so long? the familys attorney, Ven Johnson, said. They knew this was excessive force and they put him on paid leave while the family buried their son in the middle of the rain. Schurrs personnel file shows no complaints of excessive force but much praise for traffic stops and foot chases that led to arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs. He spent a night in jail before being released on $100,000 bond Friday. Grand Rapids, population about 200,000, is 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Detroit. ___ Find the APs full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya Jerry Montoya is always looking for a way to foster community among artists. For years, Montoya was at the helm of La Fiesta de Colores in Grants, which featured New Mexico artists. When that ran its course, Montoya was asked to curate another arts festival this time in Gallup. In 2015, the Sacred Heart Spanish Market was born. This year the event is back to full capacity and will take place beginning Friday, June 17, through Sunday, June 19, at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Gallup. Montoya says when he curates the show, he wants it not only to have quality work, but feel like a family. We have approximately 40 artists and most of them are from Traditional Spanish Market and Contemporary Spanish Market in Santa Fe, he says. While its mainly all santero-type art, there are contemporary pieces. Though its through invite-only, he wanted to make it worth it for the artists. There is no booth fee, he says. We get each artist a room for a night in a hotel. We feed them. These are all things that used to exist for shows like this. It was really nice to be able to give these accommodations to the artists. Montoya works in tin. Ive been doing shows for over 25 years now, he says. This show was designed to not be like selling in Santa Fe. Its more family-oriented. All the artists are good friends and we actually have the time to chat with people that are buying or looking at the art work. Its a more mellow pace. Montoya is also grateful to Gallup and the surrounding communities for supporting the market. He says when it started, there was no blueprint for what would happen. The community came out not only to the market, but to the fiesta that is held with it, he says. Its been amazing to see the support from all the communities. There are people who drive in from Arizona and California specifically for this show. Some of the artists to be included will be Charlie Carillo, Arlene Cisneros Sena, Isaiah Lopez, Jon Sanchez, Adrian Montoya, Juan Lopez, Federico Prudencio, Carlos Marez, Jeremy Montoya and more. Montoya says hes always looking for younger artists to be part of the market. We do have budding artists getting involved because we have to pass on the tradition, he says. We have my son, Jeremy, and Jon Sanchez who are part of contemporary market and they are bringing some new voices to the mix. During the event, there will also be a car raffle which will benefit the V8s for Vocations, which was started in 2014 by the Rev. Matthew Keller. The organization helps those called to the priesthood, a long and expensive process requiring a four-year bachelor degree followed by several years of graduate-level study at out-of-state seminaries. New Mexico has no Catholic seminary. Jessica Roybal captures images of daily life. Shes often traveling through New Mexico chronicling these moments. Its lowrider culture that has her heart. Its also why Roybal teamed up with fellow photographer Kevin Beltran for Rollin Forever, which is on display at Lapis Room in Old Town through June 27. The Lapis Room will also have a Fathers Day reception from 2-5 p.m. Sunday, June 19. Roybal and Beltran have complimentary styles and the gallery asked the pair to put on their own show. Roybal grew up in Llano Quemado, a small community south of Taos. Meanwhile, Beltran was raised in Zuni Pueblo. We thought, Why dont we make some new content? she says. For the last eight years, Ive been chasing the lowrider scene. If Im not on a cruise, I will be photographing the events. People have started to recognize who I am and they will let me get the shot. Roybal has earned a lot of trust in helping tell the peoples story within lowrider culture. They are so passionate about what they do with their investments, she says. Its a cultural rich scene that we have. It spans across generations and it does become a family affair. This is something that we wanted to highlight in the show. Its an art form that is passed through generations. Roybal says her father used to have a yard full of Volkswagens and often used them for parts. Now that Im older, I have a better appreciation for that work, she says. Its also what has led me to chasing these cars. For the project, Roybal and Beltran interviewed 16 families. The series was documented and assembled over a three-month timeframe as the pair traveled to Taos, Chimayo, Santa Fe, Bernalillo and Albuquerque. The approach to this project evolved with the meeting of new faces and a range of vehicle collections. Families invited us to their homes, shared their stories, and gave this series an unprecedented inside look rather than the common outside looking in perspective of a photographer, Roybal says. This body of work contains thousands of images. We both had to narrow it down to produce the show. There are seven images a piece from both of us. Roybal is hoping to have the show be a traveling exhibit in the future. Theres a sense of pride in each lowrider, she says. These are snapshots of the bigger picture that represents the culture. Editors note: Venue Plus continues In Case You Didnt Know, a weekly feature with fun tidbits about New Mexicans and their projects. Isaiah Lopez is a fan of art. Growing up in northern New Mexico, he was surrounded by all mediums. Yet it was Spanish Colonial art that has captured his attention. Today, Lopez created retablos and bultos and finds inspiration in his daily life. He will be one of 40 artists participating in the Sacred Heart Spanish Market in Gallup. The event runs Friday, June 17 through Sunday, June 19. He will take nearly 30 retablos and four bultos to the event. Its always interesting to see what everyone comes up with, Lopez says. Im a fan of the process and continue to learn from the masters. Lopez got into Traditional Spanish Market in Santa Fe last year for the first time. He felt like he was in the right place. I like to be part of something that holds so much history, he says. I have family who are in the market and theyve helped me spread my wings and become the artist I am today. Im hoping one day to pass down what Ive learned to my children or a younger artist that I will mentor. While Lopez was surrounded by artists as a child, it wasnt until 2013 when he became interested in creating art. I was cleaning out my grandmothers magazine rack and I found Charlie Carillos first book, he says. I was flipping through it. It was so beautiful to learn about his process and see the art. It inspired me to try and do it on my own. Soon after, Lopez and his mother began to paint with acrylics. We would paint on anything, he says smiling. Rocks, metal, wood, you name it. I had a few boards here and my neighbor had given me some old barn wood. I didnt know anything about gesso. I found myself going back and painting each day during the evening. I asked my mom if we could visit Spanish Market to experience as a visitor. Lopezs profile in the art scene continues to rise and hes excited to see what the future holds: Here are a few things you didnt know about him: 1 I love the overall history about how the colonialists came from such a beautiful diverse place to New Mexico and developed more diverse artwork in such a rural area. 2 I enjoy the thinking process of the masters before us who developed and crafted their skill in such limited resources to make something so beautiful. 3 I enjoy the process of going into the woods and finding different pieces of wood. Then I can feel myself bring a piece come to life. 4 I enjoy the process of taking plants and minerals to make such beautiful vibrant color to use on my pieces to give them life. 5 I enjoy keeping this tradition going no matter what bumps in the road I go through in life. I will always try to uphold tradition my culture so itll never die and itll live forever. Online To keep up with Isaiah Lopez and his creations, visit Facebook and search for Isaiah Lopez. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Last summer, Mayor Tim Keller convened leaders from throughout the criminal justice system for six meetings where they came up with ways to address crime across the Albuquerque metro area and the state. Out of 40 action items under the categories of fighting crime, reducing gun violence, closing the revolving door and more, 10 have been addressed. Eleven additional action items are in progress. Now the crew is getting back together. This time there will be three sessions addressing gun violence, the fentanyl crisis and domestic violence. At a news conference next to Washington Middle School, Keller introduced the second Metro Crime Initiative and various participants, including state lawmakers, the 2nd Judicial District attorney, the police chief, advocates and more. He said there is no one part of the system or one policy that is going to move the needle on crime, and it is everyones shared responsibility. What we learned and what we understand about our criminal justice system is that if we each pull our own weight thats the individual accountability, Keller said. Ive got to do my job as mayor, APD has to do their job as a police department. But every other piece in that chain, from the courts, to the criminal justice system, to the detention centers, to the attorneys involved, all of the above have to do their part as well. In August, 13-year-old Bennie Hargrove was shot and killed at Washington Middle School. Police say a classmate, 13-year-old Juan Saucedo Jr., had taken his fathers handgun and shot Hargrove after he confronted him about being a bully. Surrounded by family members wearing shirts printed with a picture of her son, Hargroves mother, Collette Wise, spoke at the news conference about the need for common sense solutions to gun violence. The Bennie Hargrove Gun Safety Act would have made it a crime in some circumstances if a person doesnt secure a firearm and a minor gets a hold of it and uses it to threaten or harm someone else. It did not pass during the legislative session. We never want to see another family go through the sadness that my family went through with losing Bennie, Wise said. We must stop the senseless gun violence and protect the young children. Responding to questions after the news conference, Keller said he hopes to have better luck implementing this years action items since the legislative session will be 60 days long instead of 30 days and lawmakers wont be facing elections. Participation is stronger and the situation with a long session after elections is a much better setup for change, Keller said. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal The rise in COVID cases in New Mexico tapered off this week, according to weekly epidemiology reports. New Mexico reported 6,357 new COVID-19 cases in the weekly case report dated Monday, which was about a 4% increase from the week before. There was an increase in hospital admissions during the same time period. There were 122 patients with COVID-19 admitted to hospitals during the week, up from 102 new admissions the week before. On Wednesday, the state reported 1,132 new cases and four more deaths, pushing the total to 7,869 deaths since the onset of the pandemic. There were 165 people hospitalized with COVID-19 throughout the state on Wednesday. Amid a high number of cases in the community and among city employees including Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, who tested positive last week City Council President Isaac Benton moved the June 22 council meeting to a virtual format on Zoom. The need for virtual meetings will be reassessed when the council returns from its July break in August. Dr. David Scrase, the acting health secretary, cautioned last week that cases could be more prevalent than what is being reported, because many people are testing at home and their positive cases arent included in the state data. New Mexico had seen a more dramatic rise in new cases in recent weeks, but health officials pointed out that hospitalizations and deaths were not rising as sharply. Scrase said during a media briefing last week that there are multiple factors keeping deaths and hospitalizations comparatively low. People have built up immunity to the virus through vaccinations and prior infections; therapeutics are proving to be successful at staving off death and serious illness; and it appears the virus is evolving to be less lethal, he said. Health officials have stressed that COVID-19 vaccines are extremely effective. On Wednesday, a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommended children as young as 6 months old receive the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. Children under 5 had been the only group without access to a COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA hasnt yet granted emergency use authorizations for the youngest people to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Despite the successes of the vaccines, breakthrough cases do happen. During a recent four-week period, vaccinated individuals accounted for about 48% of the hospitalizations and 54.6% of the deaths. About 80% of New Mexico adults are fully vaccinated. During that same four-week period, 12 vaccinated people died of COVID-19 and 10 unvaccinated people died. There were 250 unvaccinated people who were hospitalized and 231 fully-vaccinated people who were hospitalized during the same four-week period. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal The two largest wildfires in New Mexico history remained active on Wednesday as crews battled hot and windy conditions. The Black Fire, burning about 30 miles northwest of Truth or Consequences, had grown to 317,676 acres by Wednesday morning. It is the second biggest fire in state history. Burning mostly on Gila National Forest land, the fire was 48% contained Wednesday. There are currently about 1,100 personnel assigned to the blaze. While fire officials dealt with hot and windy conditions on Wednesday, the weather is expected to shift by the end of the week. Fire officials said they are expecting dry thunderstorms to move into the area by Thursday and increasing chances for rain into the weekend. State Sen. Crystal Diamond, an Elephant Butte Republican, wrote a letter to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, calling on her to ask President Joe Biden to issue a disaster declaration for the fire. She said the inferno will have generational impacts on families in southwest New Mexico. Our communities desperately need disaster relief now to prepare for the coming summer monsoons, and to rebuild from this historic fire, she said in a prepared statement. I urge the governor and the president to provide us with the resources we need so the residents, farmers, ranchers, and producers in my district are not left out to dry. Evacuations have been issued for some homes in Sierra, Catron and Grant counties. The Black Fire is the second largest in state history behind the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire, which is burning west of Las Vegas. That fire has grown to 335,069 acres and is 70% contained. There are nearly 2,200 personnel assigned to that blaze. The fire is increasing in activity based on the predicted Red Flag conditions, officials with the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire wrote in an update Wednesday morning. The southern part of that fire was particularly active, with near-record temperatures and strong winds. A spokeswoman for the Governors Office estimated that 1,200 homes have some level of damage as a result of the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire. Thousands of people have been evacuated in San Miguel, Mora, Taos and Colfax counties. U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., announced Wednesday that the federal government will provide full coverage for the Emergency Watershed Protection Program. The program pays private landowners to prevent flooding and erosion on their properties. Biden had previously announced that the federal government would be covering 100% of the costs of certain types of relief effort needed after the fire, which was started as prescribed burns by federal employees who work for the Forest Service. Work done through the watershed program will take place in Colfax, Mora, San Miguel and Lincoln counties. Meanwhile, firefighters battling the Cerro Pelado Fire, which is about 45,000 acres about 7 miles east of Jemez Springs, reached 100% containment this week. Fire officials said crews will continue to patrol the fire perimeter. One of the states newest fires, the Midnight Fire, which is burning north of El Rito in Rio Arriba County, was 4,905 acres on Wednesday after starting June 9 from a lightning strike. That fire was 12% contained and firefighters were reporting a decrease in fire activity on the east and northeast sides of the blaze. BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson said on Wednesday that the 1992 Consensus is not a word game and it remains the greatest common ground for improving and developing ties across the Taiwan Strait. The 1992 Consensus reached by entrusted bodies from both sides of the Strait embodies the historical fact and nomological foundation of the two sides both belonging to one China, said Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, at a regular press conference. It refers to the consensus reached by the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation that each of them will orally recognize that "the two sides of the Taiwan Strait both belong to one China," Ma said. Ma noted that both sides in their expressions have clarified their adherence to the one-China principle and pursuit of the reunification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. "Our attitude is clear and consistent: on the common political basis of adhering to the one-China principle and opposing 'Taiwan independence,' there will be no obstacles in exchanges between political parties and groups in Taiwan and us," Ma said. Ma expressed his hope that all of the political parties, groups, and people on the island that are committed to developing cross-Strait ties and safeguarding peace and stability across the Strait will always stand on the right side of history. He urged them to "join us in firmly opposing 'Taiwan independence' and interference by external forces, promoting peaceful development of cross-Strait ties, safeguarding peace and stability across the Strait, improving the wellbeing of compatriots on both sides of the Strait, and safeguarding national interests." ABP Network on Monday entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore to strengthen both parties professionalism and contribution towards the development of an informed and open society through a mutual academic-practice collaboration framework. The agreement aims at both parties collectively investigating social-psychological underpinnings of fake news and designing preventive mechanisms to address this issue. The collaboration will also focus on analysing and recommending policy level interventions combating fake news eco-systems. Through this partnership both ABP Network and IIM Indore will cooperate and collaborate with each other to carry out joint research for developing tools and processes needed for creating an informed and open society. They will further develop awareness modules on digital literacy for the citizens of India. There will also be a provision for short-term training/research opportunities for personnel of ABP Network with IIM Indore. Further, both the parties will also hold joint seminars of mutual interest. Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Avinash Pandey, CEO of ABP Network, said: With this collaboration we look forward to a constructive professional relationship with IIM Indore in the years to come. ABP Network has always stayed true to its commitment of increasing the scope of an informed and open society. By entering into this agreement, we aim to develop preventive strategies to address the challenges of fake news, its genesis & impact, and develop awareness modules for the general public. We are confident that this partnership will play a pivotal role in the research and development of the dynamic media space and will allow an exchange of plethora of ideas and strategies. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Himanshu Rai, Director of IIM Indore said, We are delighted that IIM Indore and ABP Network are signing a Memorandum of Understanding. Social consciousness is at the fore in the mission statement of IIM Indore. Through this agreement, we can lay the foundation for building a conscious nation by combining the ground reach of the ABP Network and the intellectual excellence of IIM Indore. This will be done primarily by trying to solve the problem of fake news. According to us, the effect of fake news is not only on individual sensitivity but can also affect the social unity and national security. Our journey starts here. With the changing world dynamics around digital media, it has been observed that Public Relations has expanded its strategies and workings in line with expanding digital media presence for organisations and groups. In conversation with Adgully, Archana Jain, Managing Director & CEO, PR Pundit, speaks about the growing respect for PR Consultants from brands and organisations, the importance of authentic storytelling, and more. Stage is set for IMAGEXX Summit & Awards 2022 to be held in Gurugram on June 16. Click here to attend. How do you view the current dynamics of the client-agency relationships in the PR industry? Click here to attend IMAGEXX 2022 There is growing respect for PR Consultants from brands and organisations as our profession has matured into a more integrated communications model. Today, there is a level playing field for PR Consultants to score across PR, digital, media, influencer, social and creative. We welcome that clients require us to think beyond mere PR and advise brands on positioning, marketing, engagements, etc. Our value proposition has transformed from traditional press communicators to a more evolved integrated communications consulting role. How challenging has it become to manage client/ brand reputation in todays scenario? What are your 5 mantras for a successful reputation management strategy? Authentic storytelling remains at the heart of brand reputation. This will continue to champion reputation management strategies in the future too. But we need to sensitise our clients and brands on being more culturally creative and insight driven to connect with target cohorts and to impact change in communities. While creativity will always be the effective currency in PR, some principles to navigate the ecosystem that will ensure a more effective programme are: Mount a programme to address a challenge faced by the client based on clear insights Consider a creatively brave idea to stand out, one which is fresh and exciting Pursue a channel agnostic approach deploy multiple channels and tools beyond earned that have the ability to make an impact Do not falter on execution Build measurement of outcomes into the planning itself to track and measure much more than output What does the road ahead look like for the PR industry in India? What are the top 3 trends that will dominate in the next 3-4 years? PR is witnessing a promising future in terms of growth. Digital PR has become the chief discipline in our practice of communications, but that only makes sense when we use it to build relationships with audiences and communities who will, in turn, contribute to a conversation that unfolds across the brands content ecosystem. Actively nurture a community of advocates. We must not leave community advocacy to chance, but step in to help craft and manage a meaningful brand advocacy strategy. Loyal and vocal brand advocates help humanise brands, boost brand appeal & trust, promote its products & services, provide invaluable user-generated content (UGC) and word-of-mouth recommendations in an increasing digital universe via social media chatter. While reputation of an organisation is not limited to its environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) score; a companys stakeholders are increasing influenced by how the institution engages with its employees or demonstrates dedication to sustainability and broader social issues. Therefore, PR needs to get organisations to invest in ESG to enhance the perceived value of businesses and companies. Criteo S.A., the commerce media company, has announced plans to launch its first regional Technology Operations and Analytics Center in Hyderabad City in Telangana, India. With the goal of strengthening its support for its clients and partners, the development of this center is part of Criteos strategic plans to expand and scale its operational capabilities across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region and beyond. To achieve this, Criteo plans to hire around 150 engineers, data analysts, and solution architects over the next two years. Hyderabad was selected as the headquarters of Criteos regional technology center given the locations strategic connection to the information technology (IT) industry and its concentration of talent, robust IT infrastructure, and long-term growth potential. This center will support Criteos operations in India, Southeast Asia, Australia-Pacific, Greater China, South Korea, and Japan. Its digital advertising services (AdOps) function will also support Criteo globally, including EMEA and Americas. By expanding its talent pool to scale operations and accelerate co-innovation of AdOps solutions with regional customers and partners, Criteo progresses on its commitment to power the worlds marketers and media owners with trusted and impactful advertising. We are thrilled to announce our plans to launch Criteos first Technology Operations and Analytics Center in Hyderabad. Over the past few years, Hyderabad has transformed into a global tech hub, with its immense growth potential and vast talent pool. With the development of this center in a strategic location, Criteo remains committed to supporting our regional customers and partners by scaling our operational capabilities and ensuring that they can innovate with leading AdTech solutions created for the fair and open internet, said Kenneth Pao, Executive Managing Director, APAC at Criteo. Apart from the development of this center, Criteo has also been ramping up its investments and product expansion in the APAC region including the expansion of its Retail Media offerings and efforts to help marketers and media owners activate first-party, privacy-safe data through its Commerce Media Platform strategy. Looking ahead to the rest of 2022, Criteo will continue to prioritize integration, scale, and with our APAC infrastructure investments, product innovation, and partnerships. Ultimately, strengthening our leading position in commerce media, said Pao. # Global digital agency DEPT announced Pooja Dindigal has joined as its first Global Impact Manager to support sustainability, impact and DE&I initiatives. As part of DEPTs mission as a Certified B Corporation, the agency is focused on having a positive impact on clients, employees and society as a whole. Dindigal will work with DEPTs B Corp team, made up of volunteers from across the organisation, to continually refine the agencys impact strategy. She brings deep expertise in business development, impact, sustainability strategy and partnership activities. She joins from B Lab U.S. & Canada, where she helped to grow the B Corp Movement in North America. Additionally, she was a member of B Labs Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Pooja Dindigal, Global Impact Manager, DEPT: I was drawn to DEPT by the deep and genuine passion the people have, to be a force for good, creating value for their fellow employees, clients, communities and the planet. Now more than ever, society is turning to businesses to lead the way in manifesting purpose and impact for all stakeholders, and I am eager to help DEPT answer that call. I am thrilled to jump in and empower more Depsters to join the B Corp team, support more impact projects for clients and push to reach our ambitious DE&I goals. DEPT became a Certified B Corporation in October 2021, as well as Climate Neutral certified in 2020 and recertified in April 2022. In 2021, the agency set impact and sustainability targets across the organisation in its first impact report with commitments to achieve these targets by 2023. This includes becoming carbon negative, 15% of revenue coming from impactful projects, and 40% of managers identifying as women or non-binary (which has already been achieved). The agency will publish a new impact report in the coming months to share progress against and refine these commitments. DEPT has also pledged to use 1% of its profits each year to support purpose-driven organisations via donations and pro bono work. DEPT is also committed to doing impactful work for clients. It partnered with ProjectTogether on a pro-bono basis to develop the visual identity and website for its Farm-Food-Climate Challenge, an initiative aimed at encouraging sustainable agriculture and food sector production. It also teamed up with Philips to launch a body positivity campaign for men, and supported its Movember campaign. For leading eco-friendly brand Patagonia, DEPT developed a branded commerce experience that brings the brands sustainability values to the fore. Wellbeing Nutrition, a 100% plant based nutraceutical brand providing innovative solutions to address an ever increasing need in the lifestyles of todays customers, has announced Dulquer Salmaan as an investor in the company. Founded in 2019, Wellbeing Nutrition was the first company in the country to build on the idea of organic greens and superfoods to deliver potent natural multivitamins in a format that is new and consumed as a lifestyle beverage (aka green juice) versus taking a medicine to get your daily dose of multivitamins. They've introduced natural multivitamins in convenient, delicious and easy to consume formats through innovative products. The brand has partnered with over 20+ doctors, researchers and scientists from UK, Germany and USA to bring the best innovation, technology and delivery formats to India. The brand aims to make people perceive nutrition not as medicinal products but as lifestyle products that help their overall wellbeing. The products are created such that they seamlessly fit into consumers lifestyles and daily routines, while also tasting delicious. Wellbeing Nutrition targets lifestyle problems that GenZ and millennials are facing, and solves them through varying technology backed formats while also being 100 percent plant-based. Says Avnish Chhabria, Its very heartening for us that Dulquer first discovered Wellbeing as a happy consumer of our melts. When we first spoke about his investment in Wellbeing, he said he genuinely believes the products are designed to fulfil an important nutritional need especially for people who lead hectic lifestyles and dont tend to prioritise nutrition. We at Wellbeing are delighted to have him on board. On the investment, Dulquer Salmaan said in a statement, Ive always believed that health and wellness is one of the most important investments one makes. When I came across Wellbeing Nutritions products, they stood out to me not just for their innovative packaging that made the idea of multivitamins so much more approachable, but also their focus on technology innovations. Given my busy schedule, the melts and the Slow range from Wellbeing Nutrition were so easy to adapt into my lifestyle. I believe it will be a game changer in the wellness industry, and Im happy to be associated with the brand and support its vision. Previously, Wellbeing Nutrition has raised $2.2 million in a Series A round led by Fireside Ventures. The company recently announced Mira Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh as investors in the company. Media Mantra, a leading integrated communications firm, takes a pivotal step in strengthening its leadership team with the appointment of Rahul Mehta as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its operations in India. Tasked with the responsibility of driving strategic business growth, Mehta will focus on consolidating and expanding the business across existing and new practice areas, launching new services and providing strategic senior counsel to clients. He will work directly with Udit Pathak, Founder Director, Media Mantra. Click here to attend IMAGEXX 2022 With over 22 years of agency and corporate experience, Mehta has served in senior leadership roles for over 15 years including as COO with Kaizzen, Sr. VP & General Manager with FleishmanHillard and Branch Head with Weber Shandwick. During his tenure, he contributed to strong business growth, winning mandates from reputed Indian and international firms. He is also a past winner of the Weber Shandwick Asia Pacific Leadership Award. "Media Mantra is currently undergoing a very exciting phase of growth. This year, one of the key focus areas for us was to strengthen our leadership team by adding well-respected professionals like Rahul, who is a proven communications expert with strong expertise in executing innovative and integrated client campaigns. His vast experience and immense knowledge makes him a perfect fit for overseeing our India operations as part of the growing leadership team. He will provide strategic insights and drive impact and outcomes for our growing list of clients. While working closely with me, he will play a vital role in accelerating collective growth of the organization. As we inch closer to our 10th anniversary this August, Rahul's appointment is just the beginning of bigger and better things to come in future for the MM family," Udit Pathak, Founding Director of Media Mantra said. "I am excited to join Media Mantra at this exciting juncture, where the agency has laid a strong foundation to enter the next phase of its strong growth journey. Media Mantra has a proven track record of executing award-winning campaigns for clients and I look forward to working alongside Udit to drive a culture of excellence for clients across existing and new service offerings, with a clear focus on delivering communication outcomes that have a measurable impact on business outcomes," Rahul Mehta, CEO, Media Mantra said. A post-graduate in Advertising and Communications management from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mehta brings strong expertise in corporate reputation management, brand reputation management, crisis management, social media influencer campaigns, internal communications, public affairs, senior executive training and brand marketing. His area of expertise transcends across diverse sectors such as consumer durables, FMCG, auto, B2B, BFSI, healthcare, aviation, travel & tourism, telecom, healthcare, and fashion and lifestyle. China's deep space exploration laboratory starts operation Xinhua) 08:25, June 15, 2022 Photo released on June 11, 2021 by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) shows a selfie of China's first Mars rover Zhurong with the landing platform. (CNSA/Handout via Xinhua) BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhua) -- China's deep space exploration laboratory has started operations, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said Tuesday. Co-established by the CNSA, Anhui Province and the University of Science and Technology of China, the laboratory is headquartered in Hefei, capital city of Anhui. It has completed various preparatory work and entered a new stage of substantial operation and comprehensive construction, according to the CNSA. The establishment of the laboratory is an important step toward implementing the innovation-driven development strategy and strengthening the country's strategic strength in science and technology, said Zhang Kejian, head of the CNSA, during a video conference of the laboratory council. He stressed building the laboratory into a large-scale, national-level comprehensive research base, as well as an innovation hub with global influence. Zhang demanded the transformation and industrial application of advanced technological achievements be pushed forward during the construction and operation of the laboratory. He also emphasized strengthening international cooperation in aerospace development. Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was selected as the director of the laboratory at the conference. The laboratory is expected to carry out science and technology research focusing on major national projects in the field of deep space exploration, according to the CNSA. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) BEIRUT, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanon Humanitarian Fund (LHF) has allocated 16 million U.S. dollars to expand the humanitarian response in Lebanon, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), operator of the fund, said on Wednesday. About 65 percent of the funds are for Lebanese nationals, 31 percent for Syrian refugees, and the remaining amount for migrants and Palestine refugees, the OCHA said in a statement "The needs continue growing day by day and it is essential for the humanitarian community to adjust the response and assist all of those most in need," Najat Rochdi, UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, was quoted as saying. Based on recent assessments, 2.5 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance in Lebanon who are vulnerable Lebanese, migrants, and Palestine refugees in Lebanon, in addition to 1.5 million Syrian refugees. The LHF is a country-based pooled fund led by the Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon and managed by OCHA. China's lunar lander Chang'e-5, which had earlier confirmed the presence of water on the Moon, has now determined its source on the lunar surface. In 2020, Chang'e-5 delivered the first real-time, on-site definitive confirmation of water signal in the 11 basalt rocks and soil samples via on-board spectral analysis. Again in 2021, the finding was validated through laboratory analysis of eight samples the lander returned in 2021. Now, the Chang'E-5 team has determined where the water came from and published their results in the journal Nature Communications. "For the first time in the world, the results of laboratory analysis of lunar return samples and spectral data from in-situ lunar surface surveys were used jointly to examine the presence, form and amount of 'water' in lunar samples," said LI Chunlai from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC).A "The results accurately answer the question of the distribution characteristics and source of water in the Chang'e-5 landing zone and provide a ground truth for the interpretation and estimation of water signals in remote sensing survey data," Chunlai added. Chang'e-5 did not observe lunar rivers or springs; rather the lander identified, on average, 30 hydroxyl parts per million in rocks and soil on the Moon's surface. The samples were collected during the hottest part of the Moon's day, at temperatures nearing 200 degrees Fahrenheit, when the surface would be at its driest. The timing also coincides with low solar winds, which can contribute to hydration at high enough power. The team found hydroxyl to originate from two different sources. A small portion appeared in glassy material made by solar winds interfering with the lunar surface, just as it did in an Apollo 11 sample collected in 1971 and tested in the early 2000s. But the Chang'e-5 sample only contained about a third the amount of solar wind-generated, hydroxyl-containing glass as the Apollo sample. This suggests that the solar wind still contributed, although weakly, to the hydroxyl contents observed in the Chang'e-5 landing site. The bulk of the hydroxyl in the Chang'E-5 samples was contained in apatite, a crystalline, phosphate-rich mineral naturally found to be on the Moon, as well as Earth. Launched on November 23, 2020, Chang'e 5 is China's first lunar sample-return mission and the fifth lunar exploration mission of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Programme. It landed on the Moon on December 1, 2020, in the Northern Oceanus Procellarum near a huge volcanic complex, Mons Rumker. LANZHOU, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Sipping coffee in an ancient courtyard and basking under the shade of age-old trees -- residents of Tianshui City in northwest China's Gansu Province are enjoying more tranquility and comfort as their ancient dwellings undergo renovation. With a history of more than 2,700 years, Tianshui is home to a range of residential houses built in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). Zhao Changrong, 74, is among the many locals who have fond memories of these ancient dwellings. "The residences here feature a combination of north and south Chinese architecture, known for their intricately carved flowers," said Zhao, former deputy head of Tianshui Yuquanguan cultural relic protection institute, who has devoted himself to the protection of ancient buildings for more than 30 years. "The wooden buildings and the floral-pendant gates, which separate the first and second courtyards in traditional Chinese residences, are my favorites among all the unique architecture," Zhao said. However, due to the erosion of wind and rain for hundreds of years, the ancient dwellings, which are mainly civil engineering structures, have gradually become dilapidated with collapsed walls and rotten columns, failing to meet the needs of modern life. To carry out systematic protection and restoration work, Zhao and six other experts formed an investigation team in 2003 with help from local authorities. They launched three censuses of citywide ancient dwellings and identified 143 residences of Ming and Qing dynasties within the city proper, explained Fu Jianhong, head of the municipal historical and cultural city protection center. In 2018, Tianshui City launched a comprehensive renovation project of ancient residences in Qinzhou, a district with one of the highest numbers of ancient dwellings in the city. The project was aimed at building the Tianshui ancient town, a block with historical buildings, to better preserve history and the city's cultural heritage. Zhao was re-employed as an advisor of the project after retirement. The project has adopted a principle of minimal intervention, striving to restore the original states of the houses with the least changes. "Only by maintaining the original features can the ancient residence retain its lasting charm," Zhao said. "The first phase of the project has been completed now, and a total of 29 courtyards have been renovated. Leisure activities such as performances have also been introduced into the town," said Chen Miao, deputy head of the tourist service department of Tianshui ancient town. Chen noted that the ancient town has received two million visitors since its inauguration last June. Zhao Li, who works at Zhao's Old House in the town, has been quite busy lately, serving customers pizza, pasta and other Western delicacies. "Opening a western restaurant in this ancient courtyard was a successful attempt. This fusion of Chinese and Western elements has become extremely popular, especially among the young people," Luo said. NANNING/BANGKOK, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Chen Mo, a researcher focused on Bryde's whales, spends nearly 100 days on Weizhou Island every year, and has amassed more than 6 terabytes of whale-related data on his laptop, including pictures and videos of the animals. Weizhou Island, located in the Beibu Gulf in southern China, is the youngest volcanic island in China and one of the country's most famous scenic areas. Chen, a 39-year-old associate researcher with Guangxi Academy of Sciences, led the institution's marine mammal research team in establishing a base on Weizhou Island in 2016, after noticing Bryde's whales in the waters surrounding the island. "We identified about 10 members of the herd from 2016 to 2018. There are nearly 50 whales now and the herd size is still increasing," Chen said. "The island and its surrounding waters are believed to be one of the major hunting and breeding zones of Bryde's whales in China," he said, adding that, for years now, his team has been observing the mating behaviors of adult whales as well as mother whales hunting with their babies. Another habitat of the Bryde's whales is the Gulf of Thailand, located over 1,000 km away from the Beibu Gulf, boasting a well-preserved marine ecosystem and rich food resources. For the past few years, scientists in the two nations have been working together to jointly protect the Bryde's whales. Chinese scientific research institutions, including the Guangxi Academy of Sciences, established a partnership with the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) of Thailand, aiming to share information and resources. "In 2019, we jointly conducted field surveys with our Thai counterparts in both sea areas near Weizhou Island and the Gulf of Thailand, heralding the start of our cooperation in the field of studies on Bryde's whales and other marine mammals," Chen said. According to Patcharaporn Yaowasud, a fishery expert with the DMCR, the partnership between the two countries is significant, as the shared information can play a greater role in the protection of Bryde's whales, such as how to safeguard their habitats and establish a more sustainable protection mode. Bryde's whales enjoy top-level state protection in China. Protecting their feeding grounds environment is crucial to the survival of the species. In order to protect the environment of Weizhou Island and the surrounding waters, local government in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has banned the use of disposable foam dishware, non-biodegradable plastic bags and plastic films since 2018. Fishing is permanently prohibited in sea areas stretching 6 km off the islet's coastline. In Thailand, scientists have made greater efforts to research marine debris disposal, aiming to improve the marine environment of the Gulf of Thailand. Although the joint field investigations are currently suspended due to COVID-19, online exchanges have never been stopped. "Protecting Bryde's whales is not simply about protecting this species, but also protecting other marine resources," Patcharaporn noted. "Bryde's whales are valuable assets of the whole world. We need to take more care of them." It's a run-down former saloon. Working guys come here for cheap grub. The evening special is roast pork with apple sauce and mashed potatoes. At about 5:20, two tough, contemptuous men show up to wait for something. They don't care what anybody might guess about their plans or who else might walk in. The two men are professional killers, one of them armed with a sawed-off shotgun. They are casual about insulting regular people and bossing them around. One killer goes into the back, the kitchen, and ties up the cook and another fellow who happens to be there. The mood is somber. The guy they're waiting for, a big Swede, is a heavyweight boxer who could seem invincible to most people. The killers don't care. It's just a matter of time before the boxer appears and is cut down. This is a story by Ernest Hemingway known as The Killers. It is regarded as one of his best stories, spare and emotional at the same time. Toward the end, the narrator sums up the story. What's he going to do?" "Nothing." "They'll kill him." "I guess they will. This story also happens to be a perfect description of K12. The killers are the school officials and self-appointed experts who cow everybody into silence and surrender. And the big boxer, the helpless giant he's like the millions of kids and millions of parents who should be powerful but are nothing. Told to sit in a corner, ordered to jam a napkin in their mouths, people do what they're told. And if you think the locals should worry about the tragedy unfolding in a cheap restaurant, why should they? Locals nowadays don't seem to care about the children in nearby schools being dumbed down. Education professors at Harvard and Columbia, if candid, will tell you that you need killers if you want a Dumb New World. They can't be pussyfooting around. They have to be trained to obliterate whole shelves in the library, whole chunks of human civilization. You need Knowledge Killers. Someone who died in the 1920s and came back today would be stunned at the knowledge that has disappeared from the schools. Even the simple stuff is gone. How many stars on the American flag? Where is Alaska on a globe? What are diamonds made of? In fairness, AP kids might know; the baccalaureate and gifted kids might. But that's only 5%. The great majority of kids don't know and never will know. How did it become likely that ordinary children would never learn even the simplest stuff? What's the Spring equinox? What is water made of? How is that possible that shysters could kill not just the simple stuff, but the fascinating stuff as well? All of it gone the fun of geography, the drama of history, the achievements of ancient architecture and engineering, the lurid surprises contained in the word biology, the intellectual explosions that occurred in the Renaissance, the tsunami of creativity that has enriched human civilization, and the onslaught of technology that has improved almost everyone's life. Our students are taught not to be aware of how lucky they are. The Knowledge Killers take the killer attitude that children don't need to learn anything from the past. Nobody knows any of it anymore, so why bother? That's what the Education Establishment is good at. Smugly stripping away everything that used to constitute an education. Gone. They are all Knowledge Killers, from top to bottom of the education system, from K to 12 and beyond. They've got that endless contempt, so they can say with a shrug that anything indeed, everything is irrelevant, and nobody needs to learn it anymore. Children don't need to know anything about the early settlers or the Revolutionary War or any other war or even the most tumultuous and consequential events. Why would children need to know any of that? Besides, they can look it up on Google, this being the idiotic sophistry that has paralyzed all of education. And if you object, the killers will give you a killer look, and you will waffle and surrender. The killers have a drop-dead confidence. They do not have to apologize or explain. They don't worry about stepping on your toes, because you, after all, are a peasant. The killers are part of a much larger gang, with the power of a crime boss or a tyrannical government. How can they fill up all the empty days? Our professors may be stolid, but they can make up whole new realities in ten minutes. CRT(Critical Race Theory), SEL (social emotive learning), projects without point, aimless desultory explorations of little nothings, endless constructivism of things not worth constructing. Everything has fancy names and jargon. That's the new pornography. Every new gimmick has mysterious designations like Common Core Standards. What, are you kidding? Do you think somebody actually knows what it means? No, nothing means nothing to these people. They invent stuff, and they say the real goal in Common Core Math is to learn the meaning. But if you get the right answer, that's not good enough. The meaning is to keep you busy learning nothing, and you never realize that you've learned nothing. That's the meaning of math now, the meaning of everything. The Killers has one curious feature. Hemingway depicts the two thugs as somewhat absurd, with a touch of Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Hemingway, a tough guy in his own world, is telling us something about bullies and goons with guns. These are silly people, rigging the situation so they have all the power and can confidently control everyone else. They're like the Knowledge Killers, looking out across the population, sure they can steal half of what kids used to learn. And that's pretty good for starters. Bruce Deitrick Price's new novel is Frankie, inspired by advances in AI and robots. A unique crime mystery. For more info, visit Frankie.zone. Image via Public Domain Pictures. Recently, Joy Behar beclowned herself on The View in typical fashion, this time by suggesting that Americans would begin clamoring for more gun regulations once Black people get guns in this country. Black Americans certainly do have guns in this country. It boggles the mind how someone could be so incredibly ignorant of a fact so simple, but we gun rights advocates are not only aware of it, we are seeking to preserve their right to keep and bear arms. video screengrab All Americans, including those housewives who are looking to Joy Behar for civics lessons, should know that the relationship between government and the right to gun ownership has a unique history for Black Americans, and only a White liberal living in a gated community could be so obtuse as to think that this history suggests that giving the government more power to regulate gun ownership among citizens is a good idea. This history, in fact, shapes modern jurisprudence regarding not only the Second Amendment but also regarding our entire understanding of the Bill of Rights. You see, after the Founding, it was widely believed that the Second Amendments very clear declaration that the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed was primarily a limitation for the federal government, and that states were not bound to uphold this federal protection among the individuals in their respective dominions. This was understood, in effect, to be a fundamental deterrent against federal tyranny. In Federalist 29, for example, Alexander Hamilton makes crystal clear that an armed large body of citizens might be the states best security against a standing federal army, should it exist. The simplest way to describe this interpretation of the Second Amendment is to say that the federal government was prohibited by the Bill of Rights from disarming the states, but the states were free to disarm individuals for any reason. This was a handy interpretation in the South during Reconstruction, allowing states to exclusively limit gun ownership among the newly freed Black Americans. This unjust discrimination, along with the newly enshrined Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, eventually helped lead to what we now know as the doctrine of incorporation, whereby the rights secured in the Bill of Rights at the federal level have been selectively made applicable to the states. Black Americans, it was appropriately discerned, have a God-given right to the individual defense of their life and liberty just as any other American does, and this is a right so fundamental that not even the states could infringe upon it. There is a horrifying history of extrajudicial violence against Black Americans in the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras, and the government was unable to protect them from it. As law professor Robert J. Cottrol observed of the latter era in 1999, the government failed and indeed refused to protect blacks from extra-legal violence. Given our history, its stunning we fail to question those who would force upon us a total reliance on the state for defense. We will never know how many lives were saved because lynch mobs feared the guns that Black families kept in their homes, as was their God-given and constitutionally-protected right, though we could safely wager that its a large number. But there are things we do know for certain, such as the fact that the highest rates of violent crime exist in Black communities. It should be no wonder, then, that 81 percent of Black Americans want police to spend the same amount of or more time in their area than they currently do. We also know that police presence in these communities has declined since 2014, in what Heather Mac Donald refers to as the Ferguson Effect, a phenomenon where police became nationally less proactive in the wake of the sensationalism of Michael Browns death. Violent crime has risen since 2014, as well, reversing the downward trend in that category that Americans had experienced in the years before. And again, this violent crime has largely been happening in Black communities, where police are retreating and even disappearing at Democrats behest. Should it be any wonder that gun sales surged among Black Americans during the left-wing crime waves of 2020, to the tune of 58 percent? It is also inarguably true that guns work as a means of protection against crime. The CDC observed in 2013 that gun-using crime victims had consistently lower injury rates than victims who used other self-protective strategies, and that defensive gun uses by victims [of crime] are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, noting that estimates of how often these instances occur annually range between 500,000 and 3 million. More than four-of-five Black Americans say that they want the police to protect their communities. Democrats in ivory towers say that Black people dont need police, however, and that the removal of the police presence in their neighborhoods is for their own good. They are releasing career criminals into their communities all across the country and refusing to prosecute them for crimes. In response, law-abiding members of those communities have been clamoring for guns to sufficiently defend themselves, but Democrats say that what is needed is more restrictions on acquiring deadly weapons, because the government will take care of them? None of that makes any sense at all. And quite the contrary to the imaginations of the cackling hens on The View, we gun rights advocates want more law-abiding Black Americans to be armed and capable of defending themselves -- and especially in light of the fact that Democrats are systematically making it easier for criminals to prey upon them in their communities. Today in history witnessed one of the most remarkable feats in the long war between Islam and Christianity: the capitulation of the great Muslim kingdom of Valencia to the Spanish warlord Roderick (or Rodrigo) Diaz of Vivar better known to posterity as "the Cid" (from the Arabic honorific al-sayyid, "the lord"). In the late eleventh century, the Almoravids, a semi-civilized Berber group committed to jihadist teaching, began to pour into Spain from Africa to aid their Spanish counterparts, the Moors, against the Christians. The Cid's premiere modern biographer, Professor Ramon Menendez Pidal (d. 1968), summarized the mood and stakes: With the Almoravid invasion, the struggle between the two civilizations had reached its height. ... [W]ith the invasion of the desert races and the recrudescence of Islamic fanaticism, a new chasm opened out between the two. And, on the Christian side, it was the Cid who, as the leader of the resistance against the victorious invaders, showed himself the most determined to carry on the war without giving or seeking quarter. ... [I]t was upon the Cid that the task devolved of resisting, unaided, the whole might of Islam. Toward the end of the year 1093, a secret plot between the Almoravids and the Moors of Valencia, which had only recently become tributary to the Cid, resulted in the overthrow of its king, Yahya al-Qadir, who had "increased their [Valencians] hatred by being a friend to the Christians" that is, by being a vassal to the Cid. During the uprising, fanatical Muslims discovered al-Qadir trying to abscond out of Valencia dressed in and concealed by a woman's burqa. To cries of "Allahu akbar," the mob slaughtered him as an apostate and hurled his body into a camel dung pit. On learning of the Valencians' treachery and murder of his vassal, the Cid's "anger was kindled, and his soul was inflamed," writes the Muslim chronicler al-Maqqari. Like a fierce storm, he came and with extreme violence thrashed the Valencian countryside, taking all the castles and suburbs up to the city's very walls. He "fought so fiercely," writes Ibn al-Qama, who was present in Valencia, "that the Moors were terrified at the havoc he played among them." From the wreckage of the lands he stormed through, and as an indication of Roderick's iron determination, he had a small town built in a few weeks complete with granaries, ramparts, and even churches near and to launch operations against the walls of Valencia. In short, "with growing harshness," he "gave the Spanish Moslems to understand that no mercy would be shown to any who sought an alliance with the Africans." Months passed, and mass starvation soon plagued the Moorish kingdom, but the Muslims continued to hold out on the conviction that their Almoravid allies would eventually come to their rescue. At long last, an immense host of Almoravids was espied marching to Valencia's relief. Acting fast, the Cid, who was camped outside the walls of Valencia, destroyed all of the bridges leading to the city and flooded the countryside with water from the canals, so that only one strip of land, which he now controlled, was dry. Done none too soon, a massive dust storm heralded the arrival of the Islamic hordes of North Africa. [Now] when the news came that the Africans had arrived at Alcira, the Valencians, frantic with joy, rushed to the walls to scan the horizon for signs of their saviors and watch by night the twinkle of the numberless fires of the Almoravid bivouacs. ... And all the time the citizens prayed unceasingly for Allah's aid against the Cid and agreed in council to plunder the Christian camp and the stores and hostels of the suburb when the battle reached the wall. When morning came, the Cid and the Valencians awoke to a strange sight: empty fields. The jihadist saviors of Valencia had retreated in the dark over the flooded plains, abandoning the city to its fate. A contemporary chronicle allots two sentences to this ignominious event: a large "army of Moabites [Almoravids], swiftly on its way to relieve the siege, approached Valencia. But they did not dare to commit themselves to battle with Roderick. Greatly fearful of him they dispersed by night and retired to their bases in confusion." Black despair now fell on the Moors of Valencia: "they were like drunkards who understand not one another," wrote Ibn al-Qama; "they became as one that falls into the sea." Their mood was not helped by the Cid's army. Completely unopposed, it now surrounded the city's walls and loudly reviled the oath-breaking Muslims with vows of unrestrained vengeance. Topping it all off, the famine had reached the point that "the poor were driven to eating the flesh of human corpses." With no hope, Valencia finally surrendered to the Cid "may the curse of Allah fall on his head!" to quote al-Maqqari on June 15, 1094, after a nearly nineteen-month-long besiegement, and Roderick Diaz of Vivar became its undisputed lord literally, its sayyad, Cid. Although it did not ostensibly concern them, even Europeans outside Spain rejoiced at this outstanding feat for "the conquests by the Cid" were seen as "a barrier protecting, not only Spain, but the whole of Western Europe from the Moslem peril." There is much more to say about the Cid's exploits against the jihad (he receives an entire chapter in my new book). Even so, it is perhaps his conquest of Valencia that, when closely examined, truly underscores his remarkable nature. As Roderick's modern biographer, Pidal, explains: It savors of madness that a single man, unsupported by any national organization and lacking resources even for a single day, should appear before [the walls of] Valencia determined upon restoring a rule that had been overthrown this second time by an enemy [the Almoravids] who had proved irresistible to the strongest power in Spain [Emperor Alfonso VI]: that he should dream of doing what the Christian Emperor had failed to do, and in the teeth of the Moslem Emir's opposition [and succeed in] ... the most extraordinary achievement ever performed in Spain by anyone but a king. This article was abstracted from Raymond Ibrahim's new book, Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam. Ibrahim 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: MemoTravels via Pixabay, Pixabay License. The new University of Austin (UATX), in Texas, will open this summer. It will be a radically different kind of university, neither right-wing nor left-wing. Rather, it will be on the wing that focuses on advancing truth. What in the world does that mean, and what is truth? I can make this clear by quoting a passage from John Stuart Mill's On Liberty. Note that this passage is neither right- nor left-wing, but about truth: If an opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility. ... Though the silenced opinion be an error, it may, and very commonly does, contain a portion of truth, and since the general or prevailing opinion on any subject is rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by the collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being supplied. Mill was not pushing politics; he was pushing the delineation and discovery of truth. That is precisely the goal of the new University of Austin. Session I begins in Dallas June 1317, with Session II launching June 2024. These sessions are given the strange title "Forbidden Courses" to reflect that the discussion will include topics now forbidden in most universities. "The purpose of civil discourse is not to share opinions but to shape and sharpen our understanding. All ideas should be heard" which is the freedom of speech that John Stuart Mill encouraged "but all ideas must also be backed up by reasoned arguments and evidence." There is no place here for mindless cliches about wokeness, cancel culture, political correctness, or Critical Race Theory. Note that the Forbidden Courses do not steer away from current focuses on hot topics. Here are the opening courses: Session I: free vs. unfree societies in the 20th century free speech, religion, and women's rights approaches to climate change the psychology of social status Session II: varieties of feminism ideology capitalism: catastrophe or triumph? black-male writing from Richard Wright to Ta-Nehisi Coates UATX is currently seeking authorization from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to offer degrees as a private postsecondary educational institution and is pursuing accreditation eligibility from an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Once the institution receives these two authorities, the school will implement five centers of inquiry: the Center for Politics, Economics, and Applied History; Center for Theoretical and Experimental Science; Center for Mathematics, Technology, and Engineering; Center for Education and Public Service; and Center for Arts and Letters. UATX declares: "For universities to serve their purpose [the unfettered pursuit of truth] they must be fully committed to freedom of inquiry, freedom of conscience, and civil discourse. In order to maintain these principles, UATX will be fiercely independent financially, intellectually, and politically." I was a vice president at Hillsdale College in Michigan for 14 years. The school takes no federal or state government money or loans. But it is doing very well financially because private money is available to support such principles as liberty and truth. Money will be available for the University of Austin, too. Founding president Pano Kanelos asserts, "We are done waiting for the legacy universities to right themselves. And so, we are building anew." I cannot think of any university in the world, Harvard or Oxford notwithstanding, that will do a more thorough job of teaching a student how to think. Ronald L. Trowbridge, Ph.D., is a policy fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, Calif. He was appointed by President Reagan to the United States Information Agency and later became chief of staff for U.S. chief justice Warren Burger. Image: University of Austin. Luke Rosiak has been paying close attention to the race-hustlers making money going into American schools and teaching children that Whites are evil and Blacks are the victims of this evil. On Tuesday, he posted a few Twitter items that expose some of the worst grifters pushing these toxins into the American system and making lots of money doing so. First up is Glenn Singleton, who founded the Pacific Educational Group: The attached docs show the actual bizarre stuff schools are teaching about "whiteness"--hundreds of districts pay to have these racist old booklets brought in. PEG's founder Glenn Singleton is a major part of my book on schools because this firm has had extraordinary influence. https://t.co/KK8tVjIJaE pic.twitter.com/vgJngcwuqy Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) June 14, 2022 The attached tweet from Ian Prior about what PEG does is a little hard to read, so let me digress to show that thread here, just so you can understand whats going on in many American classrooms: "Whites are taught to see themselves as individuals, rather than part of a racial group." CRT is anti-individual liberty and full on race-based Marxism. It's also false and racist to claim that only white people see themselves as individuals. /2 pic.twitter.com/xBLL5LCCl9 Ian Prior (@iandprior) June 14, 2022 That point is about anti-individualism is important: these are collectivists who dream of a Maoist nation in which the government controls everything; they (of course) are on top; and they, like all the nomenklatura in a socialist system, become billionaires. The rest of Ian Prior's posts show how desperate these race-hustlers are to destroy all the traits that led to American liberty and economic success which, incidentally, led to liberty and a pathway out of poverty for large parts of the world: "Must always 'do something' about a situation." Again, isn't that a human trait to try and solve a problem? CRT falsely claims that only applies to "whiteness." False and racist. /4 pic.twitter.com/DJmqlp8kmM Ian Prior (@iandprior) June 14, 2022 "Intent counts." CRT values impact over intent. Do CRT proponents believe in eliminating the intent requirement someone to be guilty of a crime? That is terrifying. /6 pic.twitter.com/y29SMhRMZX Ian Prior (@iandprior) June 14, 2022 "Respect authority." Again, that's just a "whiteness" thing? False and racist. And do we want a society where people don't respect authority? Seems . . . dangerous. /8 pic.twitter.com/K9NSxS79Jo Ian Prior (@iandprior) June 14, 2022 "Nuclear family (father, mother, 2.3 children is the ideal social unit)" CRT proponents say the quiet part out loud - they want to break up the nuclear family. Also assumes that the nuclear family is only a characteristic of "whiteness." False and racist. /10 pic.twitter.com/d1NLkJNVzr Ian Prior (@iandprior) June 14, 2022 "Emphasis on scientific method." So are gravity, the theory of relativity, and the ideal gas law a symptom of "whiteness." Should we not use the scientific method when performing surgery? Or trying to cure cancer? /11 pic.twitter.com/Z6dWfxGQfN Ian Prior (@iandprior) June 14, 2022 Here are two other bizarre, dangerous women who have gained tremendous control over children's education and become quite wealthy in the process: Here's another "Consultant to Know" -- one who married a child molester, thinks math is racist, and wants to maintain a racial gap. pic.twitter.com/tarwsGuk2Y Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) June 14, 2022 Tracy Castro-Gill is an especially strange and damaging person. In another essay, Rosiak has described her in some detail, including the fact that this deluded, angry woman was honored for quite a long time in the Seattle public school system: In June 1997, a 36-year-old child molester named Brian Gill was released from a Washington state prison after serving time for repeatedly abusing his eight-year-old cousin. Gill spent his days immersed in a computer game called Second Life, where players create idealized images of themselves and interact with others' false personas. There, he met a woman named Tracy, who was fourteen years his junior. Tracy's avatar became the "submissive" to Brian's "dominant" in violence-tinged online sex games. At the time, Tracy was a married stay-at-home mother of three, but she left everything behind, including her children, to run off with Gill. Tracy then got a master's in education and became a substitute teacher in Seattle. There, she became obsessed with "white supremacy." She also had a new identity. "I am Xicana, chingona, and pissed off." In this world, she was the hero. Teachers gravitated toward her as she laid out an inspiring story. She told of an impoverished childhood, abandoned by a Hispanic father. None of this was real, her father Rick Castro told me. He and his wife, Rita, had provided for Tracy a conventional, stable middle-class upbringing. Rick eventually earned a six-figure income, and Rita was a stay-at-home mom. The closest Tracy came to that Latina (or Xicana) identity is that her father is a half-Hispanic man born in Long Beach. "Remember Rachel Dolezal, that lady a few years ago who pretended to be black? That's exactly what this is," he said, referring to a white woman who became an NAACP official while identifying as black, also in Washington State. That's crazy, but the narrative only gets crazier as Tracy gains custody of her daughter, moves the child in with Brian Gill, the convicted child molester, tries to force transgenderism on her daughter, and becomes a DEI power broker in the school system. Crazy...and horrifying. The people Roziak identifies have been given incredible power in America's schools. They are shaping how our children view the world, themselves, and each other. If this doesn't stop very soon, there will be no turning back. When elections roll around, those school board seats that most of us paid little attention to for years may be the most important items on the ballot. You can read more in Luke Rosiak's new book, Race to the Bottom, which I haven't read but sounds excellent. Image: Tracy Castro-Gill flash card. Twitter screen grab. Let's travel back through the mists of time, to the days when Jimmy Carter was president. Carter's chief economic adviser, Alfred Kahn, achieved historic significance when he revealed that he had been told not to use the word "recession." He agreed fully with the order and would, henceforth, say "banana" when he really meant recession. Now, that's loyalty. Backing up a bit, there are basically two different economic systems on this planet. Socialists and communists have command-and-control economies. The rest of us have market economies, where buyers and sellers continually negotiate the difference between supply and demand. Command-and-control economies never have recessions...er, bananas...because abject poverty is constant under such tyranny. Market economies tend to have cyclical recessions. Commies try to sell their bill of goods to the economically naive during those periods, but market economies never stay stagnant for long. I ran a small business through three recessions. The end was always obvious. The phone started to ring again. But things were still different. There was more serious competition. The marginal competitors failed to survive, leaving the better-run businesses to fight with the rest of us for the customers. I might call this the Darwin effect because it's a stimulant for evolutionary progress. Yeah, I'm saying that recessions can be considered blessings in disguise because they push private enterprises into cleaning up their acts. Better-run companies benefit their stockholders, customers, and employees. Have I left anybody out? A less considered aspect of recession has to do with employee retention. When business slowed down, we cut back workers' hours. Then we had to do lay-offs. I considered that to be a crime against capitalism, but we had to stay in business. When the phone started to ring again, at first, we used overtime to make up the difference. We were compensating for both the reduced hours during the recession for the retained workers while also avoiding serious commitments that may still be premature. When the recovery continued, we started hiring. In the European Union, layoffs are severely suppressed. As a result, European employers do what they can to get by with the absolute minimum number of workers. A more subtle aspect to all of this is the use of technology to improve worker productivity. Much, if not all of the pervasive improvement in our standard of living is the result of increases in productivity due to technological advances. In a business, there are two kinds of costs: fixed and variable. Considering layoffs and overtime, employee costs are variable. But when one considers the purchase or lease of new technology, that is a fixed cost. Fixed costs cannot be reduced when business slows down. Hence, it can sometimes be desirable to avoid productivity-increasing new technology in favor of workforce flexibility. Gee, it's really not a perfect world. We have to struggle to survive, just as Darwin said we should. It is, however, a benefit to have the freedom to make our own decisions as we work our way through the obstacles that nature and government have placed in our way. Forbidding honest descriptions of what is really going on just doesn't cut it. Image via Pxhere. DUBAI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China's Huawei and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) held their second strategic meeting on Wednesday to strengthen cooperation on digital transformation strategies in the energy sector, green infrastructure, and smart grids as well as to share experiences in achieving carbon neutrality. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, CEO of DEWA, a public service infrastructure company owned by the Dubai government, said "the UAE has made great strides in using clean and renewable energy as an essential pillar of sustainability," according to a statement from DEWA. Al Tayer said his company's partnership with Huawei has resulted in "major achievements over the past years," and the two sides have been "exchanging best international solutions in disruptive technologies, smart grids, digital transformation, automation, cloud platforms, Artificial Intelligence, data security, and big data management, among others." Steven Yi, president of Huawei Middle East, lauded a "long-lasting strategic partnership with DEWA," pledging that Huawei will continue to provide the Dubai company with Huawei's global expertise and innovative solutions that support DEWA to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. "At Huawei, we remain committed to supporting our partners in their digital transformation efforts and further contributing to Dubai's sustainable development strategies and strengthening the UAE's global leading position in driving a digitally-led economy in the region," Yi underlined. The summit, held at DEWA Campus for Occupational and Academic Development in Dubai, was also attended by experts and specialists from both sides. This qualifies as a political earthquake. In a special primary election to fill out the term of former rep. Filemon Vela, who resigned his House seat in March, GOP candidate Mayra Flores received 50.98% of the vote, making a runoff election unnecessary. Rep.-elect Flores will represent the Texas 34 Congressional District that runs along the Gulf Coast to the Mexican border, and which is 84.54% Hispanic. Source. Hispanic voters are dumping the Democrats, a trend that has the potential to doom the party at a national level. BREAKING The first Mexican-born woman ever elected to Congress is REPUBLICAN @MayraFlores2022 who ran on a pro-borders, pro-patriotism, pro-God, and pro-family platform. How's THAT for narrative-busting? The Hispanic shift is real and we're just getting started. pic.twitter.com/XxkwFBF8ME Giancarlo Sopo (@GiancarloSopo) June 15, 2022 This historic win will bring back God to the halls of Congress! This win is for the people who were ignored for so long! This is a message that the establishment will no longer be tolerated! We have officially started the red wave!! #TX34 God, Family, Country pic.twitter.com/pNn8UYoPor Mayra Flores For Congress (@MayraFlores2022) June 15, 2022 Rep. Flores will serve only until January but will be the incumbent when the seat is up for election in November. However, as the Texas Tribune notes, [t]he special election was unique in that it was held under the previous lines of the 34th District, which President Joe Biden won by only 4 percentage points. But redistricting made the district more friendly to Democrats in November, when the Democratic nominee is U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen. If the new more Democratic district elects Gonzalez in November, the Dems will have a talking point to refute the trend of Hispanic voters going Republican. But incumbents have a large advantage in most races, and Joe Biden's performance in office is a millstone around the neck of any Democrat, so a Dem win is far from a certain outcome. And the trend is likely to continue in other districts with heavily Hispanic populations. The loss of support among Hispanic voters is a disaster for the Democrats of gigantic significance. The 34th District was created in 2010, so it has not been represented by a Republican for its entire existence as a separate seat. However, the area has been represented by Democrats for over a century, according to Ryan Saavedra of The Daily Wire: Flores is now "the first GOP candidate to represent that area of the Rio Grande Valley since 1870," the Houston Chronicle reported, adding that she is now "the first congresswoman born in Mexico." Photo credit: Twitter. Perhaps the most invaluable weapon of choice the Marxist left harnesses today is the transfiguration of language, expanding the literal definition of a word to the subjective. As was once articulated by Race Marxism author James Lindsay, while Marxists might advertise the same words, they are wielding an antithetical dictionary that flies in the face of logic. Two of the modern Marxist left's most preferred offerings include "fascist" and "fascism." The prevailing narrative is that fascism is indistinguishable from conservatism, as well as conservative and Trump voters. The obvious intent is to castigate any individual or group who dares to oppose progressive doctrine. This equivalence is inaccurate, to put it mildly, and demonstrates a purposeful contortion of history. George Orwell recognized in the 20th century that the word "fascist" became an "almost entirely meaningless" term attributed to the endless overuse by the Marxist left. The term was, and remains, detached from its historical context, used solely as a means to shame and humiliate anyone who dares disagree with the Marxist transformation of society. Fascism itself both the term and its governing principles is traditionally associated with Benito Mussolini, who was a fourteen-year member of the Italian Socialist Party before conceiving the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento (Italian Fascist Party) in 1921. Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises described Mussolini as "an intransigent champion of the pure creed, the unyielding defender of the rights of the exploited proletarians, and the eloquent prophet of the socialist bliss to come." The late Harvard University professor Richard Pipes likened Mussolini to Vladimir Lenin: "[n]o prominent European socialist before World War I resembled Lenin more closely than Benito Mussolini. Like Lenin, he headed the anti-revisionist wing of the country's Socialist Party; like him, he believed that the worker was not by nature a revolutionary and had to be prodded to radical align by an intellectual elite." Prior to his death in 1945, Mussolini openly called for "the socialization of the economy," while proclaiming, "There can be no doubt; we are the working class in struggle for life and death, against capitalism." Mussolini hardly sounds like a modern-day conservative. Giovanni Gentile is also a name worth mentioning as we uncover the roots of fascism. A Hegelian philosopher, Gentile is often credited with being the intellectual author of The Doctrine of Fascism, on which he drew inspiration from thinkers including Hegel, Nietzsche, and Karl Marx. Gentile's rhetoric and vision for society in many ways plagiarize core socialists and Marxists. At one point, Gentile asserted that "[f]ascism is a form of socialism; in fact, it is its most viable form." Similar to Marx and the devout socialists who came before him, Gentile opposed individualism and stood firm on the notion that all private property should be repurposed to serve society. He asserted that no distinction could be made between private and public interest. Further, he preferred planned economies and assiduously supported the State, classifying liberal democracy as too harmful due to its unfettered focus on the individual. Similar to Mussolini, Gentile hardly sounds like a modern-day conservative. The late Angelo M. Codevilla once observed that "today, the adjective 'fascist' is an epithet often mixed promiscuously with 'white supremacist,' 'sexist,' etc. that the ruling class uses to besmirch whoever challenges them, and to provide emotional fuel for cowering, marginalizing, and disempowering conservatives." He would add, "Fascism had fathered the modern administrative state's omnicompetent bureaucracy. The state had a monopoly on a variety of goods, including salt, tobacco, saffron and telecommunications. Fascism had invented public-private partnerships and 'para-state corporations' in all manner of enterprise." Fascist Italy would become the first nation where elected legislatures relinquished their powers to the executive. Such actions serve as a complete repudiation of the type of government conservative voters cherish, whereby a free citizenry is governed through laws made by elected representatives. Progressive Marxists who denigrate their opponents as fascists are never tasked with explaining the historical context behind their famed slight. It is therefore beyond ironic that even the most conservative free-market capitalist is not spared the slur of "fascist" upon daring to challenge the absolute authority of the ruling class. J.B. Cohle is a graduate student. Image: The All-night Images. If a bipartisan Senate deal on guns is passed as a law, it will mark the most significant federal push ever for states to set up red flag laws. This means a judge can order the seizure of firearms merely based on the suspicion that owners of firearms will use them to hurt themselves or others. Under these proposed red flag laws, family members, law enforcement officials, associates, doctors, etc. can petition a court to confiscate firearms for a period of time if they feel that the owner is a threat. Currently, nineteen states and the District of Columbia have some form of this law on the books. In states with no red flag laws, an individual has to be convicted of a felony or committed to a mental institution to lose the right to own firearms. Under red flag laws, firearms can be seized temporarily without any criminal record or a history of mental illness. The proponents of these laws claim that law-abiding gun owners have nothing to fear. They also say that most shootings are done by mentally unstable people. Hence, if a friend or a psychiatrist, or a family member, can alert a judge about the potential of violence, a shootout can be prevented. Precious lives can be saved. But this best-case scenario where this law may work is a utopian picture where each and every family member, friend, doctor, law enforcement official, and court judge is both morally upright and objective. But laws must not be judged solely by how they will be used in utopian climates but also by how they could be misused and exploited by rogue elements in a worse possible scenario. In democratic nations, courts operate by certain immutable principles. The accused is pronounced guilty only when it is established beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused did commit a crime. Most importantly, the accused has a right of defense to contest the charges and make his case. However, with red flag laws, this provision of defense is eliminated totally because it is deemed as an emergency situation where urgent action is needed. Even the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which by no means is a Second Amendment absolutist, opposed red-flag laws in California back in 2019. The ACLU said red flag laws posed a "significant threat to civil liberties," as they allow employers, co-workers, teachers, and those covered under the existing measure to seek the gun violence restraining order without first allowing the owner an opportunity to contest and make his case. Beyond violation of due process, in a democracy, a court pronounces guilt solely based on actions and emphatically not on suspicion. If an armed individual walks up to a bank with the intent to rob it but abandons his plans at the very last minute at the doorstep of the bank, he cannot be convicted of robbing a bank, or on the suspicion that he may have robbed a bank. He also cannot be convicted because he may rob banks in the future. A conviction occurs only if there is proof that he did indeed rob the bank. What happened to the principle of innocent until proven guilty? The burden of establishing guilt lies with the prosecution. When suspicion becomes the criterion, the individual is guilty until proven innocent. This is Kafkaesque and has no place in a civilized democratic society. In the end, suspicion is purely a matter of conjecture, perspective, and opinion. When someone looks suspicious, the suspicion often emanates from the inherent bias of the beholder. For instance, an MSNBC viewer may think of anybody wearing a MAGA hat as suspicious. A CNN viewer may think of maskless vaccine skeptics as suspicious. Another may look at masked individuals with suspicion. A BLM supporter may look at law enforcement officials with suspicion. At times, suspicion is aroused due to appearances or sartorial choice. There is a random subjectiveness or arbitrariness that informs suspicion; hence, it has no place in a court of law, which should be based on hard evidence. Beyond the confiscation of guns, the mere stigma of being targeted due to a red flag law will have dire consequences. The grounds may be baseless, but the smirch prevails. Perhaps employers will be hesitant to retain such an individual. If a judge deemed him unworthy of having a firearm, he has to be unstable. What if he uses an office paperweight as a weapon to strike a colleague he disagrees with? Perhaps employees or clients will be reluctant to work with such an individual? Perhaps friends stay away because they see the individual as a risk. Perhaps landlords evict the individual and hotels refuse accommodation because they do not want to endanger the lives of other guests. The law can be used to target people and destroy lives. Most importantly, this law will not prevent dangerous individuals from procuring guns illegally. What makes laws such as these alarming is the climate in which they are being passed. The protesters of January 6 were and still are being subjected to draconian punishment. The partisan January 6 Select Committee's sole function is to harass and intimidate political opponents. Parents concerned about their children being indoctrinated with Critical Race Theory were branded as domestic terrorists. Biden called the Trump supporters "the most extreme political organization that's existed in recent American history." Then there is the ominous Disinformation Governance Board, which intends to sit in judgment of the pronouncement of citizens. There were and perhaps still are government-ordered vaccine and mask mandates that override the democratic right of choice. There were lockdowns that restricted the movement of citizens. It comes as no surprise that the Democrats are supporting these draconian red flag laws. It is disappointing that Five House Republicans and ten Republican senators are also pushing these laws. Yes, some among these are disgruntled never-Trumper Republicans and some are turncoats, but what about the rest? This continues to be the risk when Republicans retake the House and the Senate, the GOP may be in control but the strings of some puppets may be in the hands of the Democrats. These red flag laws will be another step toward authoritarianism, where the government encroaches into the private space of the citizen. This is a truly worrisome trend in one of the world's foremost and largest Democracies. Photo credit: Soman, CC BY-SA 2.5 license. Perhaps the most bizarre choice of material humans ever made to make a vessel that floats was reinforced concrete. For centuries ships have been made of wood, which later gave way to tougher materials such as steel. But steel was expensive and not readily available, which became a major issue during the World Wars when there was an acute shortage of the metal. Long before the war, in 1848, Joseph-Louis Lambot, the inventor of reinforced concrete, tried and successfully fashioned a small boat out of ferrocement, jumpstarting the small and short-lived industry of concrete shipbuilding. Before long, ferrocement barges were regularly plying the canals of Europe, and just as the century was drawing to an end, an Italian engineer made the first concrete ship. The concrete ship SS Palo Alto on Seacliff State Beach, California. Photo credit: David Wan/Flickr As suspected, concrete was not the most ideal material to build ships with. The basic problem with concrete ships is that they require a very thick hull to be as strong as a steel ship. This made the ship very heavy and consequently burned more fuel to move around. And if the hull is breached, they sink quickly owing to their weight. The sailors of WWI often called them floating tombstones and hesitated to serve on them. Nevertheless, ferrocement ships continued to be made and their sizes gradually increased. The largest of these was the 425-foot SS Selma, an oil tanker launched in 1919. Today, its wreckage remain partially submerged in Galveston Bay in Texas Gulf Coast and visible from both the Houston Ship Channel and Seawolf Park. After the United States entered the First World War, President Woodrow Wilson approved the construction of 24 concrete vessels as support ships to the Navy. However, none of them could be completed on time and put into service. By the time the ships were ready only 12 of them the war had ended. The completed ships were sold to private companies who used them for light-trading, storage and scrap. Photo credit: Joost J. Bakker/Wikimedia Similar scarcity of steel occurred during the Second World War, and another 24 concrete ships as well as barges for transporting supplies were commissioned. This time, all ships were completed on time and due to innovations in cement mixing and materials, the second fleet was much stronger than the previous. The ships played an important role during the war, particularly in the D-Day Normandy landings, where they were used for fuel and munitions transportation, and as floating pontoons. Some were fitted with engines and used as mobile canteens and troop carriers. When war ended, steel was once again available and the more efficient steel ships were back in production. The concrete ships were de-commissioned and towed to various harbors to be sunk or made into breakwater. The largest collection is found at Powell River, British Columbia, where ten of them were arranged in an arc to function as a breakwater. Another nine were sunk in shallow water in Chesapeake Bay off the coast of Kiptopeke Beach, Virginia to create a breakwater for the local ferries. The oil tanker SS Palo Alto was towed to Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California, and made into an amusement park with amenities including a dance floor, a swimming pool and a cafe. The park closed two years later when the company went bankrupt. Today, its yet another wreck on the beach, its hull fractured through the mid-section. SS Palo Alto on Seacliff State Beach, California. Photo credit: Ted Silveira/Flickr SS Palo Alto on Seacliff State Beach, California. Photo credit: Verifex/Flickr SS Palo Alto on Seacliff State Beach, California. Photo credit: Don DeBold/Flickr SS Selma at Seawolf Park in Galveston. Photo credit: Louis Vest/Flickr The wreck of the San Pasqual, off the coast of Santa Maria, Cuba. Photo credit: phamhoanghai/Panoramio The Kiptopeke Breakwater in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. Photo credit: Douglas MacGregor/Panoramio Breakwater created out of concrete ships at Powell River, British Columbia. Photo credit: David Stanley/Flickr The wreck of SS Selma at Seawolf Park in Galveston. Photo credit: Katie Mague/Flickr The wreck of USS Selma at Galveston Bay on the Texas Gulf Coast. Photo credit: Galveston.com/Flickr Sources: www.concreteships.org / Wikipedia / www.mobileranger.com One of the oldest and most fundamental web browsers is now getting the ax. Come June 15th, Microsofts Internet Explorer, the program that introduced a lot of 80s and 90s kids to the internet, will officially be dead. On a support page for Microsofts website, the company outlines when Internet Explorer will lose its support and for what operating system. The final operating system to support the program is the Windows 10 Semi-Annual channel. The program will lose support for it tomorrow, and that will be the end of the program support. This really shouldnt come as a shock to anyone at this point; the writings been on the wall for a while. Up until this point, Internet Explorers only been receiving minor security updates. Advertisement Not only that but Microsoft Edge did launch north of seven years ago. Since that program launched, plenty of people have been wondering if this was going to be the end of Internet Explorer. It didnt happen back then, but its happening tomorrow. Internet Explorer is dead, so whats next? With Internet Explorer being laid to rest, its obvious that Microsoft is going to turn its attention to Edge. If youre an avid Internet Explorer user, Microsoft encourages you to make the switch over to Edge. The process, hopefully, should be too painful if youre fully integrated into the Internet Explorer browser. This program has been around for a long time Internet Explorer is one of Microsofts oldest pieces of software. Being released back in 1995, it was one of those early browsers like AOL and Netscape. While there was some competition, Internet Explorer rose to the top of the charts and became the most used web browser in the world. After its reign, Google came in with its Chrome browser, and since then, Internet Explorer became a bit of a joke. Advertisement While a lot of people seem to dunk on Internet Explorer, we cant deny that its one of the most important browsers to grace the tech world. UNITED NATIONS, June 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday strongly condemned a recent attack in Burkina Faso which resulted in scores of civilian casualties, his spokesman said. "The secretary-general expresses his sincere condolences to the bereaved families of the victims, as well as to the people of Burkina Faso," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement. According to Dujarric, the appalling attack happened on the night of June 11, against the town of Seytenga in Burkina Faso's Sahel region, which resulted in the deaths of scores of civilians and the displacement of large numbers of people from their homes. Security in Burkina Faso has worsened since 2015 as attacks have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than 1.9 million others in the West African nation. Guterres called on the Burkinabe authorities to spare no effort in identifying and bringing the perpetrators of the latest attack to justice, Dujarric said in the statement. "He reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to continue to support Burkina Faso in its efforts to end insecurity and foster social cohesion," the statement said. (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 15 - Russia on Wednesday cut its daily gas supplies to Italy by 15%, fuels giant Eni said after being informed by Russian energy giant Gazprom. Eni said Gazprom had not given a reason for the reduction, and did not say how long it would last. Italian officials have said there are sufficient stocks to offset any reduction in gas supplies. The Italian government has "moved rapidly" to diversify suppliers by scrambling to set up alternatives with countries like Algeria, Angola, Congo, Libya, Egypt, Israel and Mozambique, Premier Mario Draghi said recently. Rome is trying to wean itself off Russian gas, which currently accounts for 40% of total gas imports. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 15 - ANSA is again Italy's most trusted news outlet, with 73% of people saying they trust it, according to the Reuters Institute's Digital News Report 2022. It is the fifth consecutive year that Italy's leading news agency has come top for brand trust among the Italian public in the report on the media landscapes of 46 countries. It came top ahead of financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore and TV news channel SkyTg24, both trusted by 65%. ANSA came third for online reach, with 18% of people using it each week, behind digital-born outlet, Fanpage, and Mediaset's Tgcom24 online, both on 21%. (ANSA). (ANSA) - BRUSSELS, JUN 15 - Impose new sanctions on Russia to stop Putin's war machine, recognize Ukraine's status as an EU-membership-candidate country and change the EU's unanimity rule to avoid repetitions of what happened with the sixth package of sanctions, which Hungary 'held hostage' for weeks - these are some of the proposals made by Renew Europe MEP Urmas Paet, the Vice Chair of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. Writing in the soon-to-be-released new edition of TerritoriALL, the twice-yearly magazine of the ESPON research programme specialising in regional analysis, Paet said that it will be impossible after the war to "restore relations with the Russia of the current criminal regime" because of what is happening in Ukraine. In a climate dominated by the Ukraine conflict, which has "profound effects" for Europe in terms of security, as well as "economic, political and psychological" impacts, the liberal MEP stressed how European countries had "changed attitudes that had been consolidated over decades" in the last three months. He mentioned Germany's decision to "provide significant military assistance" to Kyiv, the historic move by Sweden and Finland to apply to join NATO and the "strong support" of EU countries for sanctions on Moscow. "But the important thing is what happens now," wrote the former foreign minister of Estonia, stressing the need to impose sanctions designed to hit "Russian energy exports" and "the financial sector". This is a difficult path to take, given the opposition of some European countries to making the restrictive measures even tougher, especially in the energy sector. Paet said the current situation shows "how some States still use tactics to delay and dilute the vital decision-making process". He suggested giving the EU "a faster and more effective decision-making process" by using "qualified-majority votes in foreign policy in the case of breaches of human rights and international law". Furthermore, the Estonian political thinks Brussels should set a "coherent energy policy" that reduces the EU's exposure to third countries to meet its energy needs and conclude "energy connections between member States". He said these factors had been "neglected up to now", pointing the finger at the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, work on which continued "even after the Russian occupation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine in 2014" and which would have "further increased reliance on Russian gas if it had been used". Then, the EU should "continue to provide" military, economic and political assistance to Ukraine, recognizing "its status as an EU candidate country, along with Moldova and Georgia". Looking to the period after the war, Paet concluded that "Russia must radically change, otherwise there will be no guarantees that the horrors we are witnessing will not be repeated". (ANSA). (ANSAmed) - CAIRO, JUNE 15 - Israeli energy minister Karine Elharrar said Wednesday in Cairo that, "today we are making history. Today Egypt and Israel have made a commitment to share their natural gas with Europe and to help with the energy crisis." She was speaking at a ceremony for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the seventh ministerial meeting of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) in the presence of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Von der Leyen also called the agreement "historic", noting that "we are creating an infrastructure" that will have to be ready also for the "transportation of tomorrow's clean energy", referring to hydrogen. It is a "milestone in collaboration between Egypt, Israel and the European Union", added Egyptian oil minister Tarek El-Molla. "We are paving a new road of partnership, solidarity, and sustainability", said Elharrar. "We know the enormous wealth and opportunities that exist in energy sources in the eastern Mediterranean," the EU Commission president said, adding that: "the gas pipeline from Israel to Egypt obviously transports gas but must also be ready for hydrogen, since we know that hydrogen will be the energy resource of the future". "We are currently developing an ambitious project with Egypt for hydrogen that I see as a first step towards a broad Mediterranean agreement," she added. "We will start our partnership on hydrogen with Egypt at COP-27," Von der Leyen said in referring to the UN conference on climate change that will this year be held in November in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh. (ANSAmed). CAIRO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and visiting Chief of Staff of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithi discussed here on Wednesday ways to promote bilateral military and security cooperation. "The two sides agreed to continue strengthening coordination and regular consultation with regard to military and security cooperation in a manner that also supports the bonds of Arab solidarity," the spokesperson of the Egyptian presidency Bassam Rady said. President al-Sisi stressed the important relations between Egypt and the UAE, and "what they represent as a pillar for the stability of the Middle East region and the entire Arab world." Al Rumaithi affirmed UAE's keenness to strengthen the strategic cooperation between the two countries at various levels, especially in the exchange of military experiences. (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 15 - Russia on Wednesday cut its daily gas supplies to Italy by 15%, fuels giant Eni said after being informed by Russian energy giant Gazprom. Eni said Gazprom had not given a reason for the reduction, and did not say how long it would last. Italian officials have said there are sufficient stocks to offset any reduction in gas supplies. Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani said Wednesday "at the moment there no critical issues" with the gas supply. He said supplies were being "constantly monitored with operators". The Italian government has "moved rapidly" to diversify suppliers by scrambling to set up alternatives with countries like Algeria, Angola, Congo, Libya, Egypt, Israel and Mozambique, Premier Mario Draghi said recently. Rome is trying to wean itself off Russian gas, which currently accounts for 40% of total gas imports. Gazprom's move came after it cut supplies of gas to Germany by 40%, a decision described as "political" by the German government. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Gazprom was trying to raise prices by its cuts. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday signed what she called an "historic accord" to get Israeli natural gas for the European Union, sources said after her meeting in Cairo. The gas will be pumped to the EU via Egypt, von der Leyen explained after the deal. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 15 - Russia on Wednesday cut its daily gas supplies to Italy by 15%, fuels giant Eni said after being informed by Russian energy giant Gazprom. Eni said Gazprom had not given a reason for the reduction, and did not say how long it would last. Italian officials have said there are sufficient stocks to offset any reduction in gas supplies. Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani said Wednesday "at the moment there no critical issues" with the gas supply. He said supplies were being "constantly monitored with operators". Italgas CEO Paolo Gallo said "we have to do our sums before getting concerned. The positive element ts that the level of stocks is high and we are continuing with topping it up". The Italian government has "moved rapidly" to diversify suppliers by scrambling to set up alternatives with countries like Algeria, Angola, Congo, Libya, Egypt, Israel and Mozambique, Premier Mario Draghi said recently. Rome is trying to wean itself off Russian gas, which currently accounts for 40% of total gas imports. Gazprom's move came after it cut supplies of gas to Germany by 40%, a decision described as "political" by the German government. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Gazprom was trying to raise prices by its cuts. The price of natural gas in Amsterdam closed sharply up Wednesday with July futures up 24% to 120.33 euros per MWh, back up to March 30 levels. Methane was up 31.15% to 257.78 pennies at the MBTU in London. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday signed what she called an "historic accord" to get Israeli natural gas for the European Union, sources said after her meeting in Cairo. The gas will be pumped to the EU via Egypt, von der Leyen explained after the deal. (ANSA). Prosecco, against Prosek Italy adopts a systematic approach Synergy project for name protection presented in Rome (ANSA) - CONEGLIANO, JUN 15 - The Prosecco network launches a collaboration project among stakeholders to protect the name of the famous wine from operations such as those that have led to the Prosek 'war'. The aggregation project was presented in Rome at a meeting with the press. It envisages a partnership involving the different stakeholders to spread the culture of Prosecco in Italy and worldwide, along with the hills of Conegliano Valdobbiadene heritage of humanity. Some MPS, heads of the protection consortia, and the association's president for the Prosecco Hills' heritage, Marina Montedoro, attended the event, promoted by Senator Gianpaolo Vallardi. The meeting included a reminder of the July 5 date for the filing with the relevant European authorities of the deductions opposed to the recognition of the right to use the name 'Prosek' for the production of a particular type of wine in Croatia. (ANSA). Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved LISBON - Some 97% of Portugal is suffering from a "severe drought", as seen in the data and satellite images collected by the Instituto Portugues do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA), a government agency tasked with monitoring the land, sea, and atmosphere. The month of May was the hottest in 92 years, with an average temperature of 19.19 degrees Celsius and average precipitation levels of just 8.9 mm. In an interview with CNN Portugal, Joaquim Pocas Martins, director of the Department of Hydraulics of the engineering faculty of the University of Porto, said that episodes of severe drought of this type now occur almost every year. This has become the "new normal", he said, underscoring that those living in cities for the most part do not realise the gravity of the situation, which affects mainly the agricultural sector. MILAN - A businessman member of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta mafia infiltrated building work on the Olympic village going up for the 2026 Winter Games in 2026, police said Wednesday. The man, 53-year-old Pietro Paolo Portolesi, is said to be a member of a leading clan in Italy's most powerful and richest mafia. He is alleged to have landed a contract for the disposal of construction waste at the Olympic village building site. In particular, he allegedly landed contracts for the revamping of the Milan-Porta Romana railway station. Police seized some 5.5 million euros from his company and three others, which were sequestered. The man, a sub-contractor in the works, was placed under house arrest. ATHENS - Hundreds of anti-fascist protestors met on Wednesday morning in Athens at the opening of an appeals trial against dozens of leaders of the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, almost two years after they were sentenced to lengthy detention. "Do not reduce the sentences" was written on banners held aloft outside the appeals court of the Greek capital, calling for even harsher sentences for those found guilty. In October 2020, high-ranking Golden Dawn members were sentenced to up to 13 years in jail. Leader Nikos Michaloliakos and about 60 members were sentenced for participation in a criminal organisation. Prosecutors had called for harsher sentences for the killing of the anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas, committed in 2013, and for violent beatings of migrants and political opponents. After the first-degree trail, a prosecutor had filed an appeal, claiming that the sentences were too light and that the leaders of the neo-Nazi party should be sentenced to the maximum time allowed in prison according to the law: 15 years. The Athens criminal court had sentenced Michaloliakos and six other members of the organisation to prison terms of between 10 and 13 years. Michaloliakos, hospitalised with COVID, is not expected to attend the opening of the trial, which may last as long as a year. Other former high-ranking members of Golden Dawn on trial include Member of the European Parliament Ioannis Lagos and former party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris, who have formed a new nationalist group. The trial against Golden Dawn, which lasted for over five years, has been described as one of the most important in the history of Greek politics. Golden Dawn, a xenophobic and anti-Semitic organisation, was on the sidelines of Greek politics until a debt crisis in the country in 2010. Then, capitalising on the anger among the public against immigration and austerity measures, it entered parliament for the first time in 2012 with a total of 18 seats. Three years later, it became the third largest political party in the country. Dozens of UK journalists and media sanctioned by Russia say an imposed travel ban will not silence their work and have vowed to keep reporting independently and fairly on the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. Journalists from a wide range of British publications were included on a list in which they were accused of deliberate dissemination of false and one-sided information about Russia and the war. A statement published by Russias Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday listed 29 individuals, including the heads of the BBC, The Times, The Guardian and The Independent. Another 20 figures who Moscow claims are linked to the defence industry were also sanctioned. BBC chairman Richard Sharp and director-general Tim Davie are among those sanctioned (House of Commons/PA) Among those on the list are BBC director-general Tim Davie, The Times editor John Witherow, The Guardians editor-in-chief Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of The Daily Telegraph Chris Evans, BBC chairman Richard Sharp and managing director of The Independent, Christian Broughton. BBC journalists Nick Robinson, Orla Guerin and Clive Myrie, who have all reported from the ground in Ukraine and its capital of Kyiv during the conflict, also feature, as do correspondents from ITV News and Channel 4 News. Russia said the journalists and media representatives named had contributed towards fuelling Russophobia in British society. Oh well, there goes the plan for a nice dacha https://t.co/0gQjwz9Ay6 Nick Robinson (@bbcnickrobinson) June 14, 2022 A spokesperson for the BBC said: We will continue to report independently and fairly. While a spokesperson for The Guardian said it was a disappointing move by the Russian government, calling it bad day for press freedom. They added: Trusted, accurate journalism is more important now than ever, and despite this decision we will continue to report robustly on Russia and on its invasion of Ukraine. In a more light-hearted response, Robinson wrote on Twitter: Oh well, there goes the plan for a nice dacha Emma Graham-Harrison, who is among the sanctioned Guardian journalists, wrote on Twitter: Surprised probably doesnt cover how I feel about being sanctioned/banned by a country Ive only visited once. Surprised probably doesnt cover how I feel about being sanctioned/banned by a country Ive only visited once. Emma Graham-Harrison (@_EmmaGH) June 14, 2022 Another reporter for The Guardian, Shaun Walker, added: I wasnt racing to visit Z-land Russia, but it is still a very strange/sad feeling to be put on their sanctions list along with other British colleagues. I lived in Russia for more than a decade and have been at least once every year since 2000. Their colleague Luke Harding wrote: Eleven years after the #FSB deported me from Moscow Im on a #Russian foreign ministry list of banned journalists, together with four @Guardian colleagues including editor @KathViner. Sad but no regime lasts forever and I hope one day to go back. In a column in Wednesdays Independent, Broughton, who is the papers former editor-in-chief, said the determination of reporters is not to be underestimated. The travel bans will not silence our industry, he said. The determination of reporters is not to be underestimated. They will continue to hold truth to power. Eleven years after the #FSB deported me from Moscow Im on a #Russian foreign ministry list of banned journalists, together with four @Guardian colleagues including editor @KathViner. Sad but no regime lasts forever and I hope one day to go back https://t.co/mro26uSKTr Luke Harding (@lukeharding1968) June 14, 2022 And there is one particular truth we all know: any government that attempts to crack down on journalism clearly has something to hide. A Telegraph spokesperson said: The Telegraph is proud of its reporting of the invasion of Ukraine and regrets attempts by Russia to restrict press freedom. The chief foreign affairs commentator for The Financial Times, Gideon Rachman, who is on the list, said on Twitter: I have been banned from visiting Russia which is a shame since Ive always learned from my trips there and enjoyed them. I have been banned from visiting Russia which is a shame since Ive always learned from my trips there and enjoyed them. I hope I can return to the country when it has a civilised government that no longer attacks its neighbours and murders its opponents Gideon Rachman (@gideonrachman) June 14, 2022 I hope I can return to the country when it has a civilised government that no longer attacks its neighbours and murders its opponents. Russia said those figures on the list who are connected to the UK defence industry had been involved in making decisions on the supply of weapons to Ukraine, which are used by local punishers and Nazi formations to kill civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure. The list also includes Britains navy chief and senior executives at defence and aerospace firms Thales UK and BAE Systems. The European Union will set out its response to Boris Johnsons plan to override Northern Irelands Brexit deal, with fresh legal action expected against the UK. European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic is set to resume legal action against the UK that was paused in September last year in a spirit of constructive cooperation. Mr Sefcovic believes Mr Johnsons unilateral action to effectively tear up elements of the Brexit deal signed by the Prime Minister goes directly against that spirit. European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic arrives for talks will set out Brussels response (Rob Pinney/PA) As well as resuming that frozen legal process over claims the UK was failing to properly implement the Northern Ireland Protocol, the EU could also begin a further round of infringement proceedings against the Government. Mr Sefcovic will deliver an update at a press conference in Brussels at 10am. The issue could also feature when Mr Johnson faces Prime Ministers Questions in the Commons at noon. Friends star Matthew Perry has announced that he has completed work on his autobiography. The actor, who played the sarcastic Chandler Bing on the popular US sitcom, joked that his ego did not like that he had finished writing about himself. The book is titled Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing and will be available from November 1. Sharing a picture of the finished work on Instagram, the actor wrote: My ego doesnt like that I have to stop writing about myself. But the book is now done. So thats that. Announcing the books title and release date Perry said that much had been written about him and that it was time people heard from me. The highs were high, the lows were low, he said. But I have lived to tell the tale, even though at times it looked like I wouldnt. And its all in here. He added: I apologise its not a pop up book. Perrys memoir will be published by Flatiron books, who acquired the rights in a deal in the mid-seven figure range, according to US reports. It is due to take readers behind-the-scenes on the era-defining sitcom Friends as well as exploring the substance abuse and alcohol issues that have dogged Perrys career. The actor, 52, was one of the best-known and best-paid television stars during the 10-year run of Friends from 1994, but struggled to overcome addiction issues. His appearance on the show changed as his weight fluctuated drastically due to his health problems. He joined his former co-stars for the highly awaited Friends reunion special in May 2021, after which some fans expressed concern at his appearance on the programme. ABUJA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A missing Nigerian schoolgirl abducted from a school dormitory together with over 200 others in the northeastern state of Borno has been found eight years after the abduction by extremist militant group Boko Haram, the army said on Wednesday. The young woman, identified as Mary Ngoshe and believed to be one of the 276 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram on the night of April 14, 2014, at the Government Girls' Secondary School in Chibok, a town in Borno, was found during a patrol by army personnel on Tuesday, according to a terse statement by the army. Ngoshe was "intercepted" with a son of hers by troops of 26 Task Force Brigade on patrol around Ngoshe, a town in Borno, the army noted, saying it is further investigating the lady's condition. The abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014 provoked a lot of international reactions, with many calling for the unconditional release of the youngsters. Some of the Chibok schoolgirls were earlier rescued by security operatives and others through back-channel negotiations by the government, while many are still considered missing. Boko Haram, which claimed responsibility for the infamous abduction, has been collaborating with its sister group, Islamic State West Africa Province, to establish an Islamist state in northeast Nigeria. The terror groups have also extended their attacks to other countries in the Lake Chad Basin. Priti Patel has insisted the Government will press ahead with its plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda despite an 11th-hour legal ruling by a European court which halted the first departure. The Home Secretary said she was surprised by the European Court of Human Rights intervention, overruling domestic judicial decisions, but told MPs it was inevitable there would be legal challenges to the Governments policy. In an apparent reference to the human rights lawyers who have repeatedly taken on the Government, she told MPs that the usual suspects had set out to thwart the plan. But she added: This Government will not be deterred from doing the right thing. We will not be put off by the inevitable legal last-minute challenges. Nor will we allow mobs to block removals. Giving details of the decisions made out of hours by the Strasbourg court, she said it had not ruled the policy was unlawful but prohibited the removal of three of those on last nights flight. Those prohibitions last for different time periods but are not an absolute bar on their transfer to Rwanda. Anyone who has been ordered to be released by the courts will be tagged while we continue to progress their relocation. She said the courts decision was disappointing and surprising but we remain committed to this policy. We believe that we are fully compliant with our domestic and international obligations, and preparations for our future flights and the next flights have already begun, she told MPs. Ms Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have repeatedly hit out at the lawyers bringing legal challenges against the Government and the groups and MPs supporting them. The Home Secretary told the Commons: I am afraid the usual suspects, with the blessings of honourable and right honourable members opposite, have set out to thwart and even campaign against these efforts, and, with that, the will of the British people. At Prime Ministers Questions, Mr Johnson accused Labour of being on the side of the people-traffickers who would risk peoples lives at sea. The ruling by the Strasbourg court was greeted with fury by Tory MPs, with fresh demands for the UK to pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The European Court of Human Rights rules on issues relating to the ECHR and is not an EU institution, so its influence has not been affected by Brexit. Backbencher Andrea Jenkyns tweeted: Yes lets withdraw from European Court of Human Rights and stop their meddling in British law. Greg Smith called on the Government to bring forward its promised UK Bill of Rights and remove all power of the European Court of Human Rights over our sovereign decisions. Jonathan Gullis, a ministerial aide to Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, said the ECHRs role in UK law needs looking at urgently but reportedly deleted an initial social media post suggesting the courts role should be removed entirely. Downing Street would not rule out taking the drastic step of withdrawing from the ECHR and said the Government will do whatever it takes to ensure relocation flights to Rwanda go ahead. (PA Graphics) The Prime Ministers official spokesman said the Government will consider the Strasbourg courts ruling but that all options are on the table. Asked if the Government could withdraw from the ECHR, the spokesman said: We are keeping all options on the table including any further legal reforms that may be necessary. We will look at all of the legislation and processes in this round. Asked if a flight could go ahead before legal proceedings in the UK are complete, the spokesman said: That is my understanding. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the situation is a shambles and it is shameful and the Home Secretary has no-one but herself to blame. This is not and never has been a serious policy and she knew that when she chartered the plane. The ECHR has publicly confirmed details of one of the cases heard by an out-of-hours judge. It ruled that an Iraqi asylum seeker, referred to as KN, should not be put on a flight until three weeks after the final domestic court decisions on the legality of the whole Rwanda policy. Court of Appeal judges granted injunctions to three asylum seekers whose challenges were dismissed at the High Court on Tuesday. The court confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that three judges held an urgent hearing at 9.50pm on Tuesday just 40 minutes before the flight was due to take off. The injunction prevents the removal of the men until after a challenge against the decision of Mr Justice Swift to reject their bids to remain in the UK pending the full judicial review of the Rwanda relocation policy. The Court of Appeal will hear applications for permission to appeal by the three men on June 28. A full High Court review of the plan is expected in July. Seven passengers were due to be on the plane to east Africa on Tuesday, a figure dwarfed by the 444 people intercepted attempting to cross the English Channel in small boats on the same day. The head of the UKs armed forces has said he will not speculate on the political ambition of the SNPs drive for Scottish independence. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, said the armed forces were really strong in Scotland and emphasised the militarys investment north of the border. The admiral, who began his role as the professional head of the armed forces in November, visited Edinburgh Castle on Wednesday and saw the One OClock Gun being fired. During his time in Scotland, he spoke to soldiers from the 51st brigade and civil servants at a conference in Edinburgh. Chief of Defence Admiral Sir Tony Radakin with Brigadier Ben Wrench (right) after watching District Gunner Sgt David Beveridge fire the One OClock Gun at Edinburgh Castle (Andrew Milligan/PA) On Tuesday, Nicola Sturgeon released a paper which is intended to be the first in the Scottish Governments renewed prospectus for Scottish independence. Asked about this in an interview with the PA news agency, he said: I dont think it would be correct for me to speculate on a political ambition. All I can say is that the UKs armed forces serve the whole of the UK. Were in a Platinum Jubilee year, were Her Majestys armed forces, and were really strong in Scotland. All our submarines are based in Scotland. All our maritime patrol aircraft are based in Scotland. All our primary shipbuilding is done in Scotland. Admiral Radakin said the armed forces served the whole of the UK (Andrew Milligan/PA) He said there were more than 10,000 servicemen and women based in Scotland while the defence industry directly employed at least 12,000 people. Admiral Radakin continued: Thats what we provide for the people of Scotland. Thats what we provide for the whole of the United Kingdom, hopefully to help us collectively look after our security and also engender increased prosperity for the whole of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Government intends to discuss defence issues in an independent Scotland in one of its future papers. Admiral Radakin said it would not be appropriate for someone in his role to make suggestions to a political party. He said: Scotland is really important to us, is demonstrated by the investment that goes on here. These gifts will delight dear old Dad. And you will be delighted that they'll actually arrive on time! (Photos: Amazon) Listen, we get it. We all have a lot going on, between work and kids and errands and... So it's really not your fault that Father's Day snuck up on you. Again. But here we are. And here you are, in desperate need of a gift that makes your partner or husband or father or best friend think that you put months of thought into picking it out. Here's the good news: All the gifts below are available at Amazon, via expedited shipping, which means you can order now and bask in his appreciation when he opens the most thoughtful gift he's ever received. Which took you minutes to pick out. Don't have Amazon Prime for free shipping? You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And even those without Prime get free shipping on orders of $25 or more). Happy shopping... 1. Wise Owl Outfitters Camping Hammock Give dad the gift of solid snoozing. (Photo: Amazon) $26 with coupon $33 at Amazon You know whats better than a cat nap under a tree? Nothing, thats what. He can snooze by the fire or under the stars in this dreamy hammock. It supports up to 500 pounds worth of human, weighs only 24 ounces and comes with two nine foot tree straps and carabiners, so he can set it up in minutes. One of over 35,000 five star reviewers says, "I've never liked sleeping in a tent. I'm always too hot, and it's stuffy in there, and all the nylon, plus the weight and the setup... no thanks. So, for a recent two night hike I thought I'd try a hammock. After doing some research, I settled on the Wise Owl Outfitters Single Hammock. I'm a convert for life! It's lightweight, easy to setup, sturdy and comfortable. I'm a big guy (6' 4", 250lbs) so I was a little concerned with how well it would hold up... My fears were completely unfounded." Get dad the Tesla of coolers with this offering from Yeti, which makes stylish yet indestructible gear. This one, in a striking new color for the brand, has ColdCell Insulation, which is a closed-cell foam that keeps his cans so, so cold. No camping trip or tailgate will be the same. So dads muscles ache and burn after a rough workout? And he loves nothing more than a back rub? Let this powerhouse new massager do the work for you. One pleased purchaser shares, "Theragun knocked it out of the park with the mini! It's so quiet and soothing; great help for people who have labor intensive wok! The arches on my feet never felt more relaxed after 8 hours of being on my feet." If dad's idea of a perfect night is one spent in a tent under the stars, here's a lantern with his name on it. This repeat customer shares, "I bought our first one 2 years ago for a camping trip. It still works fantastic the same as the day it was purchased. I bought another one when we lost power from an ice storm. I highly recommend. You can charge with the crank or plug into a wall. They are light weight and the light lasts a very long time." Dad will be prepared for any eventuality that life throws his way with this tactical pen. This user put it perfectly "Do more with less!" adding, "Combining a pen, a glass breaking tip, and a flashlight is genius, and I have less to carry and still get the job done." Hell feel chipper from his head to his toes when he steps out in these whimsical, funky, bright socks. Theyre from a Swedish brand that doesnt take itself too seriously when it comes to design. One foot covering aficionado says, "Happy Socks are the hallmark of my otherwise boring attire. I always get compliments on my Happy Socks. The fit, quality and feel are perfect." Hell get 45 minutes worth of burn time, can use this indoors or outside, and can light his fire on any smooth, hard surface. Well refrain from singing that Doors song right about now. This happy customer shares, "It's mesmerizing watching the flame flicker. We have used it for toasting marshmallows outside and my 6 year old thinks it's the coolest thing (and now we don't have to wait for a campfire to make S'mores)." Hell dig this set of six global spices, inspired by Korean, Canadian, Greek and Jamaican flavors they'll elevate every single thing he cooks. And you can let him take all the credit. So he loves the outdoors, but not without his java. We get it. So does Stanley. Let him brew that perfect first cup with this pour over coffee maker, which happens to be unbreakable. This convert explains, "I must say I had my doubts about this pour over but it really works well. I have used the cone shaped pour over devices and the Vietnamese method for the past 10 years. After going through different metal cone filters I saw this one and took a chance. Here is the difference: It is more durable and easy to clean. I will probably never own another one." Best of all, the frame does all the thinking for him: It pairs related portrait photos side-by-side, so he can see every single Fathers Day image together. Choose whatever frame color of three options that floats his boat. This gift giver shares, "With the gift option, we were able to let many family members upload photos through the app before it was even opened so that there were nearly 300 photos ready in the lineup." It has a fixed number dial, an olive nylon canvas strap and green lume dial accents this is the hardy, classic timepiece hell wear daily. Its waterproof up to 10 ATM/100 meters, so he can even take it on waterborne adventures. And hell never be late for anything again. Maybe. Yes, there are cheaper pans out there. But you get what you pay for, and when dad wants to cook, he deserves the best. And with this pan, you get even heat distribution, total heat control and true durability. This customer put it to the test: "I bought this 8 inch first to check out the quality before renewing all of my cook wear. This pan sold me in minutes, now months later it still looks good as new and performs like a champ." It has responsive analog triggers, tactile buttons and clickable thumbsticks, for the perfect gaming session when hes at the airport. In the park. Or just because. The headset jack lets him connect to his iPhone, and the controller itself is cordless and never needs to be charged. This gamer shares, "I never enjoyed playing games on my phone although I do enjoy console gaming. The backbone has totally changed that! Finally I can play actually engaging games on my phone instead of boring games like Angry Birds." This telescoping tool lets him grab anything stuck in hard-to-reach areas and impossibly tight corners. Even better, its designed with a pocket clip so he can always have it on hand. One customer put it to the test: "I tried out the magnet on different size objects and it passed with flying colors. The heaviest I tried was a hammer and it did fine. The extension on it works great when extended out. I tried the LED light and it is as bright as some of my brightest flash light." Does Pop has sensitive skin and ordinary razors tear up his face? With this tool, he can toggle between two heat levels, depending on his preference, and the razors five blades ensure that every part of his face gets some TLC. This user says that "the hype is real," adding, "The heat element really helped cutdown on razor burn and I have a nice smooth finish when done shaving." Plus, theyre manufactured with high-density memory foam, which means he can even wear these puppies outdoors. When he walks to the store. And theres enough traction that hell never slip around when the floor is wet. One multi-purpose user shares, "Well built. This is my third pair. I like the rubber soles and use them daily to walk the dogs and around the house." The serum is made with 27 different botanicals to help him look fresh and renewed. The cleanser gently exfoliates and feels him leaving refreshed. As for the base layer, its a dense, rich moisturizer that, like the rest of the line, is vegan and plant-based. His visage will thank you. Let dad get up close with such daredevils as freestyle climber Alex Honnold. But this book is much more than a compilation of mind-boggling achievements (although it is that). Its also the life story of Academy Award-winning filmmaker and National Geographic Jimmy Chin, who gave the world the mesmerizing documentary "Free Solo". Hard day at the office? Brutal commute? Let him chill out with this life-changing vibrating foam roller, which works his back, shoulders or other troubled areas. This user shares, "I use this roller at PT and now I can use it at home. It's amazing how effective it is at reducing pain." Drizzle it on steak, chicken, fries, pizza, bread whatever it touches, it instantly elevates. Bon appetit, dad. This customer shares, "It's unique and different but also completely familiar all at the same time...It's hard to explain the flavor profile so you really just have to try for yourself. You definitely get a good mixture of tangy, then the truffle kicks in, then a spicy finish. Pretty good stuff and I would consider this a must have in your pantry." Plus, the blades are full-tang, meaning they extend into the handle (the gold standard of knives) and the handles are oval, so he always has a solid grip when hes chopping, slicing, dicing, or mincing. These three essentials are all chef dad needs to get to work in the kitchen. This way, his phone charges in another room, and he gets solid shut-eye without disruptive blue light. One heavy sleeper shares, "So cute and always wakes me up. Love the design. I can sleep through every and any phone alarm, but this one does the trick!" If dad is particular about his libations, he needs the proper cocktail shaker. This one has a vacuum-insulated design that guards against diluting heat transfer, so drinks are ice, ice cold. Bottoms up! This repeat customer explains why they love it, "This is the absolute perfect cocktail shaker. First it is insulated so your hands don't freeze. Second there is a measurer in the cap. Third, the cap twist off to expose the strainer that is built in. This is the fourth one I have bought. I gave two as gifts and now have two of them for myself." In essential mode, this watch also has an amazing 45-day battery life. It keeps track of his real-time fitness and health data, and has a built-in GPS, speaker and microphone, barometer and sleep tracker. And it looks cool as all get out. He can put it in his back pocket and pull it out for an impromptu picnic, since it seats up to four adults. Or use it for a nap. This user gives it to us straight: "Just buy the damn thing...For the price, heft, and size it's a no brainer to keep in a school bag, work bag, EDC bag, or glove box in the car." If dad finds his inner piece when hes building something, or putting stuff together, get him one of the best tools on the market. This customer plans to pass it on to his kids, "This is the Rolex of hammers. It just looks and feels great. It makes you want to build things just for the sake of using it. Well worth the money and I will definitely hand it down one day to one of my lucky kids." Yes, we love Nintendos new(ish) OLED offering, but the shipping times arent great. So in a pinch, go for the Lite, which offers a nimble, fun, and ultra-portable gaming experience. One customer calls it "the perfect handheld system," adding, "While not as versatile as its original big brother, it is weighted perfectly and is far more ergonomic than the larger Switch, causing less fatigue over long gaming sessions. For on the go, you simply can't beat it. Best game selection spanning decades, there are games for everyone, and you can play them anywhere and never miss a beat." Started by two friends who love the water, Vineyard Vines is known for bright, offbeat prints and quality that's top-notch. If this print isn't calling his name, the brand has a massive assortment of equally engaging options. Practicality has its place, but lets face it: It can get boring. And thats why we dig this set of pizza scissors, which look like something out of a Pixar movie. They have curved blades that slice from above, to keep pizza toppings in place, and his hands away from the melted cheese. It's dad-approved: "As a husband and father it is my job to purchase ridiculous gadgets, show them off, then gleefully use them while my wife shakes her head in disapproval. On the rare occasion that the ridiculous and unnecessary gadget works, my existence is validated and my zeal for life is renewed. These scizzas are one of those gadgets. My kids find it amusing, my wife begrudgingly uses them, and they actually work well." 30. Victrola Revolution GO 3-Speed Bluetooth Portable Record Player Dad will appreciate the nostalgia. (Photo: Amazon) So dad is an audiophile of the old school. Let him play his vinyl to his hearts delight with the first portable, rechargeable, Bluetooth record player on the market. It plays his records, streams his music, works for 12 hours on a single charge and looks beautifully retro doing it. The removable lid doubles as a vinyl stand for five discs. Oh, and it's $50 off. $150 $200 at Amazon The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication. Looking for more great Amazon deals? Check these out: Home theater deals: Headphone, earbud, smartwatch and tablet deals: Tablet and tech deals: Video game deals: Smart-home deals: Vacuum deals: Fashion deals: Kitchen deals: Beauty deals: Bedding deals: Health and Wellness: Lawn and Garden: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Life's newsletter. Theresa May has insisted the UK must do everything it can to press Brazilian authorities to uncover the truth about the disappearance of British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. The Conservative former prime minister made the plea to Boris Johnson in the House of Commons after police arrested a second suspect in connection with the case. Police said the suspect, Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, 41, is the brother of the first suspect. Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, also known as Pelado, has been named as a suspect in the disappearance but arrested for allegedly carrying a firearm without a permit, a common practice in the region. He is thought to have been among a group of men who threatened the missing pair near an indigenous territory on June 4. It comes after police said personal items belonging to the two missing men were discovered in a river on Sunday. In a statement, they said objects recovered included a backpack and a pair of boots belonging to Mr Phillips, as well as a health card, black trousers, a black sandal and a pair of boots belonging to Mr Pereira. Mr Phillips, 57, and Brazilian indigenous expert Mr Pereira, 41, vanished from a remote part of the Amazon last week and are believed to have last been seen early on June 5 in the Sao Rafael community. Speaking at Prime Ministers Questions, Maidenhead MP Mrs May said: My constituent Dominique Davis is the niece of Dom Phillips, the British journalist missing in Brazil, alongside the indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. Will my right honourable friend ensure that the Government makes this case a diplomatic priority, and that it works to do everything it can to ensure that the Brazilian authorities put the resources necessary to uncover the truth and find out what has happened to Dom and Bruno? Prime Minister Mr Johnson replied: FCDO officials are working closely now with the Brazilian authorities following his disappearance on June 5. The minister responsible has raised the issue repeatedly, the search and rescue efforts, with Brazils justice and public security minister and what we told the Brazilians is we stand ready to provide all the support that they may need. Earlier, the Brazilian ambassador to the UK apologised to Mr Phillips family after they were incorrectly told his body had been found. According to The Guardian, the family received a call from an aide to the ambassador early on Monday saying their bodies had been discovered tied to trees in the rainforest. However, Mr Phillips brother-in-law, Paul Sherwood, confirmed to the PA news agency on Tuesday that ambassador Fred Arruda had written to the family to say the statement was incorrect. Some 30,000 had been raised for the missing men by early on Wednesday (Victoria Jones/PA) Mr Arruda said: We are deeply sorry the embassy passed on to the family yesterday information that did not prove correct. He went on to say the embassy had been misled by information it had received from investigating officials. Mr Arruda insisted: The search operation will go on, with no efforts being spared. He added: Our thoughts remain with Dom, Bruno, yourselves and the other members of both families. On Saturday, separate reports emerged that police had discovered human matter in the Itaquai River, near Atalaia do Nortes port. Authorities previously said blood found on Pelados boat had been sent for analysis. A GoFundMe set up by friends of the men neared 37,000 dollars (30,732) early on Wednesday morning. LONDON (Reuters) - Up to 1,200 civilians may be holed up in the shelters of the Azot chemical plant in the eastern Ukrainian city where one of the fiercest battles of the war has been raging between Russian and Ukrainian forces, a Russian-backed separatist said. Russian forces are trying to grind down Ukrainian resistance in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, part of a wider push to drive Kyiv's forces out of two separatist regions which Russia backs and has recognised as independent states. Russian-backed separatists said Ukrainian forces sought to disrupt a humanitarian corridor out of the sprawling ammonia factory founded under Soviet leader Josef Stalin to a separatist-controlled town, the RIA news agency reported. "About 1,000 to 1,200 civilians of Sievierodonetsk may still be on the territory of the Azot chemical plant," Rodion Miroshnik, an official in the Russian-backed self-styled separatist administration of the Luhansk People's Republic, said on Telegram. Miroshnik said the civilians are in part of the plant that is still controlled by Ukrainian forces, which he said numbered up to 2,000 people including Ukrainian and foreign fighters. Ukraine says the number of civilians at the plant is closer to 500. FILE PHOTO: A man holds his baby inside Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine, Russia on Tuesday said it dismissed a Ukrainian request for a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians to Kyiv-controlled territory, citing the destruction of the last bridge across the Siverskyi Donets river which blocks the city's eastern exits. "We offer the militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries located at the Azot plant to cease any hostilities," the defence ministry said. Russia's defence ministry said what it said were Ukrainian "militants" had deliberately led civilians into the Azot plant and was using them as human shields. Reuters was unable to verify that claim. Ukraine has denied Russian claims that it uses civilians as human shields. Russia's humanitarian corridor northwards to the city of Svatove was supposed to be open until Wednesday evening, the defence ministry said. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that the main immediate reason for what he casts as a "special military operation" was to protect the Russian-speakers of Donbas from persecution and attack by Ukraine. Ukraine and its Western backers say Russia is waging an unprovoked war against a sovereign state which is fighting for its existence. Kyiv says Russia's claim of persecution of Russian-speakers is a baseless pretext for the invasion. The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed forces fighting Ukraine's armed forces. About 14,000 people were killed there between 2014 and 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. Uber and Lyft received a drubbing at the hands of the Massachusetts high court in their effort to gut the state's labor laws. (Associated Press) Following their successful effort to gull California voters into endorsing their method of exploiting their drivers and field workers, Uber, Lyft and other gig companies expanded their campaign to gut labor protections into other states. That included Massachusetts, where the companies managed to get two measures resembling California's Proposition 22 certified for the state ballot. On Tuesday, the state's Supreme Judicial Court threw them out. The high court's reasoning was similar to that of Judge Frank Roesch of Alameda County Superior Court, who ruled Proposition 22 unconstitutional in August: The Massachusetts initiatives were overly greedy, and designed to confuse voters about their real purpose. [Proposals ] that bury separate policy decisions in obscure language heighten concerns that voters will be confused, misled, and deprived of a meaningful choice. Massachusetts Justice Scott Kafker Indeed, the Massachusetts justices wrote, they themselves found untangling the obscure language of the proposed ballot measures to be "no simple task." The gig companies say they will now try to persuade the state Legislature to enact the provisions they tried to sneak past the voters. "We hope the Legislature will stand with the 80% of drivers who want flexibility and to remain independent contractors while having access to new benefits, Conor Yunits, a spokesperson for Flexibility & Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers, the campaign group for the gig companies, told me by email. That's not a promising option, as we'll explain. Politicians in other states, such as New York, are showing less willingness to bow down to the companies' assertions that their business models are good for consumers and workers alike. Fares are rising in some cities, in part because as public companies, rather than venture-funded startups, Uber and Lyft are under greater pressure to start showing profits. (Neither company has ever turned a dime of profit.) Organized labor is also responding more aggressively to the threat the companies pose to the well-being of their workers. Here's the background to the gig companies' ballot campaigns. By spending a stupefying $205 million the largest sum spent on a ballot initiative in American history the gig companies managed to persuade California voters in 2020 that Proposition 22 would be a boon for their drivers and delivery staffers. The measure designated those workers as independent contractors, overturning rulings by state regulators and judges that they were employees entitled to all the benefits of employment. These include overtime pay, workers compensation and unemployment benefits, the assurance of a living wage and the right to unionize. Instead, the companies were able to maintain a business model that involves sticking the workers with expenses that customarily are paid by employers, such as fuel, insurance and upkeep of their vehicles. The companies maintained in their campaign that the workers got something more valuable in return "flexibility" to set their own work schedules. As it happens, soon after Proposition 22 passed, Uber started withdrawing some of the flexibility options it had granted drivers to win their support during the initiative campaign, and even took steps that drivers said reduced their income. Then came Roesch's ruling. He observed that the state Constitution requires ballot initiatives to be limited to a single subject. The measures own text identified its subject, in Roeschs words, to be protecting the opportunity for Californians to drive their cars on an independent contractor basis, to provide the drivers with certain minimum welfare standards, and to set minimum consumer protection and safety standards. The initiative, however, includes language that obliquely and indirectly prevents drivers and delivery workers from unionizing, which is not a stated goal of the legislation, Roesch found. Instead, it appears only to protect the economic interests of the network companies in having a divided, ununionized workforce. Roesch also found that the measure infringes on the Legislatures right, granted by the state Constitution, to set workers compensation rules, such as determining which workers are eligible. The proposition was greedy, it tried to cement the companies business model and to take away all rights of workers in this sector, Veena Dubal, a professor at UC Hastings College of the Law and a longtime critic of the gig companies, told me after Roesch ruled. Weve never seen an initiative try to do what this initiative tried to do. The companies are appealing Roesch's ruling, but Proposition 22 remains in effect pending action by the appeals court. This brings us back to Tuesday's action by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which applied to certifications by state Atty. Gen. Maura Healey of two almost identical ballot measures modeled on Proposition 22. The unanimous decision written by Justice Scott Kafker cited a Massachusetts rule similar to California's, that a ballot measure must have only one subject. The court found that the proposed initiatives had two unrelated goals, "one of which is buried in obscure language at the end." The declared purpose, Kafker observed, was to cement in place the designation of gig drivers as independent contractors. The concealed purpose, however, was to immunize the companies from lawsuits by people who had been injured by drivers say by assaults or in traffic accidents. Normally, the employing company would be liable for the actions of its workers while on the job; the proposals would entirely remove that liability by stating that the drivers were acting on their own. Proposals "that bury separate policy decisions in obscure language heighten concerns that voters will be confused, misled, and deprived of a meaningful choice," Kafker wrote. Voters "may not even be aware" of what they're voting on. That was exactly what happened here, he wrote. As for the companies' efforts to obtain a legislative solution, indications are that the Democratic-controlled state Legislature is turning more hostile to the idea. When the companies tried to gain admission to the state Democratic convention earlier this month, they encountered strong opposition from hundreds of delegates, including Healey, a candidate for governor; and all the candidates seeking nominations for lieutenant governor, attorney general and state auditor. The party already had voted to oppose the ballot initiatives. In her role as attorney general, moreover, Healey has sued Uber and Lyft, charging that by misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors, they're violating Massachusetts wage and hour laws. The companies' success with Proposition 22 is beginning to look like a Pyrrhic victory: It opened the eyes of officials outside California to what really is at stake in the companies' efforts to gut employment law for their own interest. That can't be the outcome they were hoping for. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. FILE - In this photo released by Saudi Royal Palace, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, speaks during the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 14, 2021. After President Joe Biden took office, his administration made clear the president would avoid direct engagement with the country's defacto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, after U.S. intelligence officials concluded that he likely approved the 2018 killing and dismemberment of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) WASHINGTON (AP) One month ahead of President Joe Bidens trip to Saudi Arabia, the District of Columbia is renaming the street in front of the Saudi embassy Jamal Khashoggi Way, trolling Riyadh for its role in the killing of the dissident Saudi activist and journalist in 2018. With members of the D.C. Council in attendance, a Jamal Khashoggi Way sign was unveiled directly in front of the embassys main entrance. We intend to remind the people who are hiding behind these doors ... that we hold them responsible and we will hold them accountable for the murder of our friend, said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of DAWN, the pro-Arab world democracy organization founded by Khashoggi prior to his death. Whitson also criticized what she called the shameless capitulation of the Biden administration for seeking improved relations with the Saudi government and scheduling an official presidential visit to the kingdom. Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, seeking the necessary documentation for a planned marriage with his fiancee waiting outside for him. The 59-year old never emerged. The Saudi government initially denied any wrongdoing. But under mounting international pressure, Riyadh eventually admitted that Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate in what the Saudis characterized as a repatriation effort gone wrong. The CIA later released a report concluding that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered on the orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The Saudi regime has consistently denied that connection. Several lower-level Saudi officials and agents received jail sentences over the killing. The D.C. Council unanimously voted late last year to rename a one-block stretch for Khashoggi. The renaming is ceremonial, as signified by the brown street sign instead of the usual green, and it won't impact the embassy's mailing address. But the sign will remain indefinitely. An email to the Saudi Embassy seeking comment did not receive a response. Khashoggi's Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, could not attend the ceremony, but a statement from her was read aloud. In it, she bitterly criticized the Biden administration for putting oil over principles and expediency over principles. Cengiz also directly requested of Biden, when he meets with the crown prince, Can you at least ask, Where is Jamals body?' Karine Jean Pierre, the White House press secretary, would not say whether Biden would raise the issue of Khashoggis murder when he meets with Bin Salman next month. The president is a straight shooter. This is not something that hes afraid to talk about, she said. But she didnt confirm if the killing would be a topic of conversation. The D.C. government has a history of such public moves to troll or shame foreign governments. In February 2018, the street in front of the Russian embassy was Boris Nemtsov Plaza, after a Russian activist shot dead while walking on a bridge near the Kremlin in 2015. At the previous site of the Russian embassy, a street was renamed for longtime Russian dissident Andrei Sakharov. Wednesday's street renaming was essentially a formalization of an independent activist-driven campaign that had been going on for years. Shortly after Khashoggi's death, local activist Claude Taylor started placing realistic-looking Jamal Khashoggi street signs around the city, including outside the embassy. Taylor said he had as many as 10 signs in different places at one point, including one near Dupont Circle that lasted for two years before being vandalized. It's just a form of public protest with a performance art aspect to it, Taylor said. Although he noted with a laugh that he wasn't invited to Wednesday's ceremony, Taylor said, I'm glad the city did the right thing and I'm glad he's being recognized this way. ___ Associated Press writer Chris Megerian contributed to this report. A customer uses her mobile phone at an internet cafe in the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 29, 2021. (Brian Inganga / Associated Press) A new study has found that Facebook has failed to catch extremist content from the Islamic State and Shabab militant groups in posts aimed at East Africa as the region remains under threat from violent attacks and Kenya prepares to vote in a closely contested national election. An Associated Press series last year, drawing on leaked documents shared by a Facebook whistleblower, showed how the platform repeatedly failed to act when sensitive content, including hate speech, was posted in many places around the world. The new and unrelated two-year study by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found Facebook posts that openly supported IS or Somalia-based Shabab even ones carrying explicit Shabab branding and calling for violence in languages including Swahili, Somali and Arabic were allowed to be widely shared. The report expresses particular concern with narratives linked to the extremist groups that accuse Kenyan government officials and politicians of being enemies of Muslims, who make up a significant part of the East African nations population. The report notes that xenophobia toward Somali communities in Kenya has long been rife. The Al Qaeda-linked Shabab has been described as the deadliest extremist group in Africa, and it has carried out high-profile attacks in recent years in Kenya far from its base in neighboring Somalia. The new study found no evidence of Facebook posts that planned specific attacks, but its authors and Kenyan experts warn that allowing even general calls to violence is a threat to the closely contested August presidential election. Already, concerns about hate speech around the vote, both online and off, are growing. They chip away at that trust in democratic institutions, report researcher Moustafa Ayad told the AP of the extremist posts. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue found 445 public profiles, some with duplicate accounts, sharing content linked to the two extremist groups and tagging more than 17,000 other accounts. Among the narratives shared were accusations that Kenya and the United States are enemies of Islam, and among the posted content was praise by Shababs official media arm for the killing of Kenyan soldiers. Even when Facebook took down pages, they would quickly be reconstituted under different names, Ayad said, describing serious lapses by both artificial intelligence and human moderators. Why are they not acting on rampant content put up by Shabab? he asked. Youd think that after 20 years of dealing with Al Qaeda, theyd have a good understanding of the language they use, the symbolism. He said the authors have discussed their findings with Facebook and some of the accounts have been taken down. He said the authors also plan to share the findings with Kenyas government. Ayad said both civil society and government bodies such as Kenyas national counterterrorism center should be aware of the problem and encourage Facebook to do more. Asked for comment, Facebook requested a copy of the report before its publication, which was refused. The company then responded with an emailed statement. Weve already removed a number of these pages and profiles and will continue to investigate once we have access to the full findings, Facebook wrote Tuesday, not giving any names, citing security concerns. We dont allow terrorist groups to use Facebook, and we remove content praising or supporting these organizations when we become aware of it. We have specialized teams which include native Arabic, Somali and Swahili speakers dedicated to this effort." Concerns about Facebook's monitoring of content are global, say critics. As we have seen in India, the United States, the Philippines, Eastern Europe and elsewhere, the consequences of failing to moderate content posted by extremist groups and supporters can be deadly, and can push democracy past the brink, the Real Facebook Oversight Board watchdog group said of the new report, adding that Kenya at the moment is a microcosm of everything that's wrong with Facebook owner Meta. The question is, who should ask Facebook to step up and do its work? asked Leah Kimathi, a Kenyan consultant in governance, peace and security, who suggested that government bodies, civil society and consumers all can play a role. Facebook is a business. The least they can do is ensure that something theyre selling to us is not going to kill us. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Pamela Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, is a former director of a research center at a university. At 46, she retired after living with long COVID made it too difficult to work and care for her family. She shared her story with TODAY with the hopes of helping people with long COVID feel less alone, and also to encourage researchers to study it more. Before I contracted COVID-19 in December 2020, I was what my 11-year-old daughter calls active mom. I ran a research center at a local university, taxied my daughter and 15-year-old son to sports practices and games, managed our familys social calendar and ran the household. Now if I attend their sporting events, I spend most of my time lying in the car with the air conditioning on, my eyes covered or in dark sunglasses. I have no endurance for walking, which means I cut back on what practices and games I even attend. From one day to the next, I never know if Ill wake horribly ill or be able to function. That makes planning very difficult. But after struggling with full-time work and parenting, I realized that I couldn't do both. I retired from the university to focus all my remaining energy on my family. Today is 18 mos since my +test. 1.5 years being sick. I don't have anything profound to say. Life is completely unrecognizable from what it used to be. The damage is likely permanent. I'm never ok anymore. I weep for my children's loss of the mom they had. This is #LongCovid Pam Bishop, PhD (@pamelarbishop) June 5, 2022 Prior to COVID-19, everything was going as planned. We had a future. We knew our roles in the family and household. Then COVID hit and everything was turned upside down. The pandemic already felt difficult for my children, and then their mom became sick and never got better. I used to love attending my kids' sporting events. Now I often have to retreat to the car to rest. (Courtesy Pam Bishop) My husband and I had COVID-19 in December 2020. He was asymptomatic when he tested positive. I had lost my taste and smell thats when we figured I also had COVID-19, and a test confirmed it. My husband experienced no symptoms while I started developing what seemed like new ailments daily. I experienced severe insomnia, memory impairment, brain fog, terrible headaches, fatigue, joint pain, leg pain, foot cramps, gastrointestinal issues, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, chest pain and anxiety. This occurred in what I considered the acute phase. As a researcher, I kept a careful log of my symptoms. My oxygen levels never dropped, so I never went to the hospital. By Christmas, the acute phase of COVID-19 had ended and I started feeling a little better. I still couldnt taste or smell but many of my symptoms dissipated. Fishing with my son in the Then in January I experienced random fatigue and noticed I was easily agitated, which wasn't normal. I returned to working from home, but I felt easily exhausted. By February the fatigue became constant and I started having chest tightness, joint pain and more brain fog. Then I was hit with severe nausea and weird mood swings. I felt really sick when I had COVID and thought I was going to die. As these symptoms persisted, I thought that they were part of the healing process. After all, my body had been through a lot. But then I became scared. One day in March I couldnt wake up. It was like my brain wasnt working and I could not open my eyes. Every symptom worsened. I went to my doctor and all my test results were normal. They offered me an antidepressant, which at that time I didnt need. It was implied that I was simply anxious. I knew my mental health wasnt the issue, but I didnt know where to turn. My work days became longer as I found I needed to rest after each Zoom meeting. After a meeting in April someone noted a local writer had been detailing symptoms similar to mine on social media, and I reached out to her. She told me about a local primary care physician who believed her and was trying to rule out possible causes for her lingering symptoms. I made an appointment with that doctor as I had become convinced that I had something people were calling long COVID. I knew something was very wrong with my body and my brain. I soon learned about a long COVID clinic in Nashville and I made an appointment. I was one of their first patients. Again, many of my tests came back as normal, which feels incredibly frustrating. Sadly, its not uncommon. Ive been to more than 100 doctor appointments. Ive seen about 20 different specialists, including neurologists, cardiologists, gastroenterologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, physical therapists, speech and language pathologists and pulmonologists. As I tried navigating treatment, I started developing terrifying tremors while fatigue, brain fog, nausea, tachycardia, muscle cramps, back pain, dizziness and an inability to eat full meals continued. No one knew what was happening. Between managing my health, running a research center and caring for my family, something had to give. That's when I retired. After collecting all my symptoms and test results, I presented a mini proposal to my cardiologist about what I thought might be wrong with me. I was finally diagnosed with autonomic dysfunction. It seemed like he suspected that diagnosis for a while before diagnosing me at my insistence. After I was treated at an autonomic dysfunction clinic, I was diagnosed with POTS, which is common among long COVID patients. (POTS is short for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a condition that involves an excessively rapid heartbeat and can cause dizziness upon standing, among many other symptoms.) We were an incredibly active family before I got COVID-19. (Courtesy Pam Bishop) Having long COVID is incredibly frustrating. But thats why I want to share my story. There are so many people suffering and more research needs to be done to help us. I want my life back and I know Im not alone. Whats especially maddening is that the symptoms increase or change without warning. I recently started experiencing severe hand pain that moved from my hand to my wrist and my elbow, and I need to see a rheumatologist to try to understand why this roving pain started. It is very likely I will get no answers. The cost on my mental health is real. I feel like a guinea pig, trying a variety of different medications with various side effects, to see if anything changes. Being chronically sick is almost like a full-time job. And it impacts my children, too. My daughter started having breakdowns and crying at school because she misses active mom. But its more than just her longing for the old me. She also worries Im going to die. Its been really hard because I went from active mom to sick mom. Long COVID causes a lot of anxiety and fear for both the people experiencing it and their families. I experience guilt and shame and feel like a burden to those I love. Ive been talking with a therapist (as has my daughter) and that helps me. But sometimes I miss being a contributor to the household income, social scheduler, research center director, household manager mom. Im learning that my value is not tied to how much I accomplish. Being a part of a support group has also helped me tremendously. Having a community keeps me sane. I want others who experience long COVID to know theyre not alone. I also hope more doctors and researchers try to understand long COVID and find better treatments or even a cure. We could use a little hope. This interview had been edited and condensed DETROIT (AP) A Michigan police officer charged with murder after shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head has been fired, officials said Wednesday. Christopher Schurr, a Grand Rapids officer for seven years, waived his right to a hearing and was dismissed, effective last Friday, said City Manager Mark Washington. Schurr's dismissal was recommended by police Chief Eric Winstrom after a second-degree murder charge was filed Thursday. Washington declined further comment, noting the criminal case and a likely lawsuit over Lyoya's death. Lyoya, a Black man, was killed at the end of a traffic stop on April 4. He ran and physically resisted Schurr after failing to produce a driver's license. Schurr, who is white, claimed Lyoya had control of his Taser when he shot him. Defense attorneys said the officer feared for his safety when he shot Lyoya. The confrontation and shooting were recorded on video. Schurr had been on leave while state police investigated the shooting and prosecutor Chris Becker decided whether to pursue charges. Schurr's personnel file showed no complaints of excessive force but much praise for traffic stops and foot chases that led to arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs. Grand Rapids, population about 200,000, is 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Detroit. ___ Find the APs full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya CAIRO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Egypt, the European Union (EU) and Israel signed a trilateral deal here on Wednesday to boost the export of Israeli natural gas to Europe via Egypt in a bid to reduce the bloc's dependence on supply from Russia. The signing of this agreement is "a special moment," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a press conference alongside the Egyptian and Israel energy ministers in Cairo. The deal will allow more supplies of gas from Israel via Egypt, which has facilities to liquify it for shipment by sea. "With this agreement, we will work on the stable delivery of natural gas to the EU from the East Mediterranean region," she tweeted shortly after the ministerial meeting of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EastMed), where the deal was reached. "This will contribute to our EU energy security, and we are building infrastructure fit for renewables -- the energy of the future," she noted. Russia constitutes nearly 45 percent of the EU's gas imports in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency. Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla said the deal is an important step to boost relations between Egypt, Israel and the EU, and will foster cooperation among EastMed members and partners. EastMed is an international organization formed by Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France and Israel in 2019 and headquartered in Cairo. Meanwhile, Israeli Minister of Energy Karine Elharrar said the partnership between Egypt and Israel "ensures natural gas security for our European partners, helping to face the current energy crisis." This deal "sends a message that the EastMed plays a pivotal role in securing energy to Europe," she said, noting geopolitical developments in east Europe have highly impacted the energy industry, necessitating collaboration. After achieving self-sufficiency in natural gas in 2018, Egypt is working to take up a role as a regional energy hub by strengthening regional cooperation and carrying out several gas discoveries. In November 2021, Egypt announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel to increase natural gas supplies from Israel to Egypt for re-export. Egypt's revenues from liquified natural gas export reached 3.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 from 600 million dollars a year earlier. In South Carolinas congressional primaries Tuesday, there was one Republican who publicly lacerated former President Donald Trump and lost, and another who criticized Trump but nevertheless won by taking a more conciliatory approach. Trump endorsed and campaigned for both of their opponents, hoping to replace them with more loyal supporters. More interestingly, Rep. Tom Rice, who had voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection and continued to verbally lash the former president up until election day, was seeking reelection in one of the states most Trump-friendly districts. South Carolinas Seventh District includes large swaths of rural forest and farmland in the states northeast region, known as the Pee Dee. Rice lost decisively to Trump-backed candidate Russell Fry, 51% to 24%. Rep. Nancy Mace speaks during a campaign rally. (Meg Kinnard/AP) But Trumps choice in another district, the Charleston-dominated First District, failed to unseat Rep. Nancy Mace, who did not vote to impeach Trump but had incurred the former presidents anger nonetheless by condemning his actions leading up to and on Jan. 6, 2021, and by voting to hold former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress. Mace defeated challenger Katie Arrington, 53% to 45%. Mace took a far less confrontational approach to Trump than did Rice, even though Trump won Maces district in 2020 by the smallest margin of any Republican president in the last 20 years. Mace won the seat in 2020 in a race against Joe Cunningham, who was the first Democrat to represent the Charleston-based seat in almost 40 years. In an effort to soften her Trump criticism, Mace went to Trump Tower in New York this past winter, after Trump had endorsed Arrington, and praised the former presidents policy accomplishments during his time in office. She argued that Republicans should vote for her to keep the seat out of Democratic hands. During a South Carolina rally, the former president mocked her Trump Tower video as untruthful just like everything else she does. Former President Donald Trump at a rally with candidates Russell Fry and Katie Arrington in Florence, S.C., in March. (Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) In contrast, Rice had apparently decided he would not try to pacify his critics but would rather go down to defeat without bending the knee to Trump. Hes purging. Hes purging. Hes trying to set the Republican Party up as a bunch of yes-men loyalists. Think about that. Thats scary, Rice told Politico last weekend. But Maces win shows the limits of Trumps endorsement, even though it also demonstrates that there are limits for how much any Republican in deep red America can go against Trump. There was another layer to Maces win as well. Former Trump Cabinet member Nikki Haley sought to make the election a contest between herself and Trump. Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, endorsed Mace a few days before Trump endorsed Harrington, but then she campaigned aggressively for Mace in the closing days of the campaign. Rep. Tom Rice during a committee hearing. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Haleys ambitions for the presidency are no secret. She has been building a political operation for years that would help her launch a run for the presidency. Maces victory gives Haley a proxy win against Trump ahead of the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Trump is widely expected to launch another campaign for president himself after the midterms. But another potential contender for the Republican nomination, former Vice President Mike Pence, has gained some traction recently by standing behind a Republican politician fiercely attacked by Trump. Pence backed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp against a primary challenge from former Sen. David Perdue. Trump constantly blasted Kemp for his refusal to aid in the former presidents attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. Pence, who also earned Trumps ire for not working to reverse the election, appeared at a Kemp rally the night before the Georgia primary. Kemp crushed Perdue by 50 points. Maces win was not nearly the same magnitude as the Kemp victory, but it gives Haley something to show donors and voters to indicate that her political brand has purchase in a showdown against Trumps. WASHINGTON (AP) Donald Trump on Tuesday notched a significant victory in South Carolina, where his preferred candidate easily ousted five-term Rep. Tom Rice, the first Republican to be booted from office after voting to impeach the former president last year. But another high-profile GOP target of Trump in the state, Rep. Nancy Mace, managed to hold back a challenger. Meanwhile, in Nevada, Trump's pick, Adam Laxalt, won his U.S. Senate primary, defeating a populist candidate who is arguably more representative of the Trump base. Takeaways from the latest round of primary elections: SPLIT DECISION IN SOUTH CAROLINA Rice and Mace have been objects of Trumps anger ever since a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of President Joe Biden's win. Their transgressions? Mace stated on national TV that Trumps entire legacy was wiped out by the attack, while Rice became an apostate for joining a small group of Republicans who voted with Democrats in favor of Trumps second impeachment. He threw a temper tantrum that culminated with the sacking of the United States Capitol, Rice told NBC News on Monday. Its a direct attack on the Constitution, and he should be held accountable. Voters ultimately rendered different judgments on the duo, reflecting a split within the GOP about how to move forward from the Trump era. Rice's largely rural district is representative of Trump's America, where crossing the former president carries a steep cost. Even as Trump railed against both lawmakers, he chose to hold a rally in Rice's district earlier this year. That's because Mace's district, which centers on Charleston, is full of the type of moderate suburban voters who fled the GOP under Trump. It is one of the few districts in an overall red state where Democrats have been even moderately competitive in congressional races. The results demonstrate that the Trump factor can't be underestimated in solidly Republican territory, a potential warning sign for other Republicans, including Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who also voted to impeach Trump and has helped lead the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack. She's facing a competitive primary in August from a Trump-backed challenger. Another notable factor in the Mace contest: It amounted to a proxy battle between Trump, who is contemplating a 2024 White House campaign, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is also considering a run. Trump backed former state Rep. Katie Arrington in the race, while Haley, a former South Carolina governor, effectively challenged Trump by campaigning with Mace. TRUMP, MCCONNELL ALIGN ON LAXALT IN NEVADA Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell don't agree on much. One rare exception is Laxalt, who won Nevada's Republican Senate primary. The two Republican leaders haven't been on speaking terms since December 2020, when McConnell acknowledged that Biden defeated Trump. But they both endorsed Laxalt, who defeated retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, a West Point graduate and Purple Heart recipient who ran an unexpectedly strong campaign as a conservative outsider. The mutual support, which brought together the Trump and establishment wings of the party, demonstrates the intense focus Republican have placed on flipping the seat held by first-term Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who is considered among the most vulnerable senators. Rep. Tom Rice has become the first first Republican to be booted from office after voting to impeach former President Donald Trump last year. (AP) TEXAS HOUSE SEAT FLIPS A once solidly Democratic district in South Texas will now be represented by a Republican after Mayra Flores won a special primary election to finish the term of former Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela, who resigned this year to become a lobbyist. Flores, a GOP organizer who is the daughter of migrant workers, will only hold the seat for several months before the district is redrawn to be more favorable to Democrats. But her victory in the heavily Hispanic Rio Grande Valley is an ominous sign for Democrats. They are not only losing ground in a region they long dominated, but Flores' success as a candidate also demonstrates that Republicans are making inroads with Hispanic voters. Her win also has implications for Democrats' ambitions in Congress, denying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an opportunity to add to her slim two-vote margin to pass legislation. FROM SOUTH CAROLINA TO THE WHITE HOUSE? Also in South Carolina, Republican Tim Scott coasted to an easy and unopposed primary win Tuesday for what he says will be his last term in the Senate. But another state is also on his mind the presidential proving ground of Iowa. It's become an article of faith that there are no accidental trips to Iowa by ambitious politicians. And Scott, the Senates sole Black Republican, has made several visits, including one last week. He certainly has the money to contend. As he campaigned for reelection to the Senate, Scott amassed a jaw-dropping $42 million. That's more than double the $15.7 million average cost of a winning Senate campaign in the 2018 midterms. It's also more than enough to launch a Republican presidential campaign in 2024. Even before his recent appearance at an Iowa Republican Party event, Scott has been raising his profile. He spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention and delivered the Republican response to President Joe Bidens first joint congressional address. He's also visited New Hampshire, another early-voting presidential state, and delivered a speech at the Reagan Presidential Library, another frequent stop for Republicans eyeing the White House. A LEPAGE COMEBACK? Governor's races are often overlooked. But the general election contest in Maine is among a handful of governor's races that are likely to be competitive this year, along with Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona. Tuesday's gubernatorial primaries were a mere formality, since the races were uncontested. But they locked in what promises to be a doozy of a general election between two longtime foes. Democratic incumbent Janet Mills is seeking a second term. Shes a former district attorney, state lawmaker and Maine attorney general who frequently clashed with Republican Paul LePage when he was governor. Now LePage, who has described himself as Trump before there was Trump, is challenging her. The contest will test the appeal of Trumpian candidates in New England. The Democratic Governors Association has already booked $5 million in TV ad time. That Mills and LePage are even competing against each other is somewhat of a surprise. LePage moved to Florida and swore off politics when he left office in 2019 following two raucous terms that often drew national attention for his indecorous remarks. But the draw of elected office was apparently too great. By 2020, he was back in Maine pledging to challenge his old nemesis. Etienne Ilienses, right, and her three children show their documents before a flight to Chile from Haiti in January. (Odelyn Joseph / Associated Press) With jokes, upbeat Caribbean music and vacation scenes of sun-kissed beaches and palm trees, Haitian influencers on YouTube and TikTok advertise charter flights to South America. But they are not targeting tourists. Instead, they are touts for a thriving, little-known shadow industry that is profiting from the U.S. government sending people back to Haiti, a country besieged by gang violence. More than a dozen South American travel agencies have rented planes from low-budget Latin American airlines some of them as large as 238-seat Airbuses and then sold tickets at premium prices. Many of the customers are Haitians who had been living in Chile and Brazil before they made their way to the Texas border in September, only to be expelled by the Biden administration and prevented from seeking asylum. They are using the charter flights to flee Haiti again and return to South America. Some, clearly, plan to make another try to enter the United States. Rodolfo Noriega of the National Coordinator of Immigrants in Chile said Haitians are being exploited by businesses taking advantage of their desperation. They are at the end of a chain of powerful businesses making money from this circuit of Haitian migration, he said. The airlines and travel agencies say they work within the legal norms of the countries where they are operating from and are simply providing a service to the Haitian diaspora in South America. The thriving business model was revealed in an eight-month investigation by the Associated Press in partnership with UC Berkeleys Human Rights Center and its Investigative Reporting Program. Haitians sick of the deprivations of their island home resettled in Chile or Brazil, many after Haitis catastrophic 2010 earthquake. Then, last fall, struggling as the COVID-19 pandemic hit local economies and beset by racism, thousands decided to make their way to the Texas border town of Del Rio. There, they ran afoul of a public health order, invoked by the Trump administration and continued under the Biden administration, that blocks migrants from requesting asylum. Authorities returned them not to South America, where some of their children were born, but to their original homeland Haiti. Some interviewed by the AP said they feared for their lives there and wanted to return to South America. But airlines had stopped direct commercial flights from Haiti to Chile and Brazil during the pandemic; their remaining option was the charters. The flights from Haiti became a lucrative business as restrictions aimed at controlling the spread of the coronavirus decimated tourism, according to the travel agents. Planes arrive empty to Haiti but return to South America full. From November 2020 until this May, at least 128 charters were rented by travel agencies in Chile and Brazil for flights from Haiti, according to flight tracking information, online advertisements matching the flights to agencies, and other independent verification by the AP and Berkeley. Since taking office in January 2021, the Biden administration has sent more than 25,000 Haitians back to Haiti despite warnings from human rights groups that the expulsions would only contribute to Haitis travails and feed more Haitian migration to Latin America and the United States. Not all of the passengers on the charters had tried to immigrate to the U.S., but based on interviews with dozens of travel agents, Haitian migrants and advocates, and an analysis of flight data using the Swedish service Flightradar24, it is clear that the charters have become a major means to flee Haiti. Some who took charter flights back to South America have headed north again on the network of underground routes that wind through Central America and Mexico and that ultimately lead to the United States, according to immigration attorneys, advocates and interviews with dozens of Haitians. Many of the Haitians go back to Chile and Brazil, rather than places close to the U.S. like Mexico, because they have visas and other legal paperwork to get into those countries. And having lived there, they can find jobs quickly to make money for the trip north. Some, such as Amstrong Jean-Baptiste, also have children who were born in South America. The 33-year-old father of two said he spent $6,000 on a harrowing trip from Chile to Texas, only to be sent back to Haiti. He said he had knives pulled on him, forged rivers that carried others away to their deaths and encountered highway robbers. In the end, he said the Haitians were handcuffed and treated like animals by U.S. immigration authorities. He said his son caught pneumonia in the immigration detention center. As he waited in Port-au-Prince for a charter flight back to Santiago, news from northern Chile underscored why he wanted to go to the United States in the first place: A demonstration against immigrants drew thousands of protesters who turned violent and destroyed the belongings of migrants living in a camp. Would he try to go to the U.S. again? He did not rule it out. The risks are so numerous that this shouldnt be an experience to repeat, he said. However, one should never say never. Ana Darcelin, a travel agent with Travel VIP, a Santiago-based agency that rents planes for flights from Haiti to Chile, said Haitians who migrated north from the South American country, only to be sent back to Haiti, are scrambling to leave Haiti and get back to Chile again. Everyone is offering charter flights. There is a lot of demand, she said. Travel agencies in Brazil and Chile said in interviews that they pay anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000 to rent an aircraft. At that rate, the three airlines that rented planes for 128 charter flights between Haiti and either Brazil or Chile would have been paid a total $12 million to $25 million. Meanwhile, some prices for one-way tickets from Haiti to Chile have more than doubled in eight months, from $625 to more than $1,600. In Brazil, many agencies offering flights from Haiti rented from the low-cost Azul S.A. airlines, which was started by JetBlue founder David Neeleman. Most of the charters to Chile are on planes rented from SKY Airline, owned by the Chilean Paulmann family, who are worth billions. Neither Neeleman nor Holger Paulmann, chairman of SKY, responded to emails and LinkedIn messages requesting comment. SKY also signed a $1.8-million contract in April with the previous administration of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera to fly Latin American immigrants, mostly Venezuelans and Colombians expelled from Chile, back to their homelands. SKY earned about $670 for each expelled immigrant it flies to Central and South America. Under the contract obtained by the AP and Berkeley, the carrier must complete at least 15 flights carrying 180 passengers each. John Paul Spode, who has worked 35 years in the travel industry and manages NewStilo, which rents planes from SKY for the flights, said Haiti is not the only place in crisis that offers an attractive market for the charter flight business. His agency also offers charter flights between Venezuela and Chile. But there are few places with the demand for charter flights like Haiti, though he said its not an easy place to do business. In March, protesters stormed the tarmac at an airport in the countryside and set a small plane on fire. Gangs also operate in and around the airport, he said. Unfortunately, we have had many passengers who have not been able to board because there are people who stand outside [the airport] with some kind of a list and some kind of uniform and they started charging, saying You are not on the list, sir, but for $250 you can be added, and then they let them enter the airport, Spode said. Some passengers said, once inside the airport, they were blocked again by so-called airport business employees and told that their names were still not on the list, and they must pay again, Spode said. Many do before they reach the ticket counter where they finally are checked in by a legitimate employee with the flight. But would-be passengers brave all that. Its tough to sell tickets from Santiago to Port-au-Prince. The plane leaves usually almost empty, Spode said. But we know that on the return trip its going to be full, literally, like people practically hanging from the plane, so to speak. The demand has been so great that a second low-cost airline based in Ecuador, Aeroregional, entered the Chilean market for the first time and started offering charter flights from Haiti to Chile. At least 11 Aeroregional charters have arrived from Haiti to Chile since December. Dan Foote, a former U.S. envoy to Haiti who resigned over the Biden administrations handling of Haitians at the Texas border, said he is not surprised to hear Haitians expelled from the U.S. are making their way back to South America, and that businesses are lining up to help them. Until the root causes of instability are truly attacked in a patient, systematic, holistic way, its going to keep going, Foote said. The travel agencies and airlines denied they are facilitating Haitian migration. Aeroregionals managing director, Luis Manuel Rodriguez, said in a statement via LinkedIn that the airlines role is simply to transport people. He said that the immigration status of its passengers is checked by the immigration authorities of the countries involved. Azul confirmed by email that it has provided charter flights between Haiti and Brazil, but said those contracts have confidentiality clauses. The company did not respond to a follow-up request for more information. Carmen Gloria Serrat, the business manager of SKY, said in a statement that the company offers safe, legal transportation for whoever wants it and needs it. She said airlines are responsible for validating the paperwork of passengers and must eat the costs of returning anyone who is denied entry to a country. She said the flights run four times monthly on average and represent a minuscule part of SKYs business. The act of providing safe and legal transportation is a guarantee to avoid the possibility of abuses, Serrat said. Its important to point out that in SKY, we operate within the established norms for entering a country and always in coordination and under the supervision of immigration authorities. At least one travel agency is open about offering to help those who hope to reach the United States. Alta Tour Turismo Travel Agency rents planes for charter flights between Haiti and Chile. A TikTok account with the handle @altatourtravelagency posted a video on June 14, 2021, discussing how to avoid the Darien Gap, a treacherous, roadless area of thick jungle between Colombia and Panama traversed by migrants from South America heading north. In the video, two men are talking about different routes north as they show a big boat at sea. Considering the level of mistreatment Haitians endured from the Colombians in the jungle, I will never go through the jungle, says one as the camera zooms in on the boat on the horizon. It was unclear if the video was meant to connect people to boats or was a marketing tool to attract customers in need of flights to South America who intended to then take the migrant route north. Alta Tour Turismo started with a video on Facebook at the start of 2021 that informed viewers that Bolivia was not deporting people. The agency incorporated a month later. The slogan of the Santiago-based agency is travel with joy. Reservations for flights are largely done through WhatsApp. The agencys social media accounts have nearly 40,000 followers; they promote travel from Haiti to such countries as Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Chile and Mexico. Ezechias Revanget said he started the agency with three other Haitian immigrants in Chile to rent planes so fellow Haitians in Chile could go back home to see family. His agency has leased 186-seat Airbus planes from SKY airlines. Our objective is to work with our compatriots, and there are also other people such as Chileans, Bolivians, Dominicans, anyone, any nationality can buy tickets at our agency, he said. Alta Tour Turismo also advertised flights to Suriname. In an April 2021 post, the agency posted on its Facebook page that Haitians who had only a passport and wanted to leave Haiti should not miss this opportunity, asserting: you know if you arrive in Suriname you can go to other places too, followed by three smiling emoji and the agencys numbers. Revanget, who also uses the name Dave Elmyr, refused to answer more questions. They should be investigating these flights they should, said Carolina Rudnick Vizcarra, an attorney and director of LIBERA, a Santiago-based nonprofit combatting human trafficking. And by now, everyone knows that Haitians are vulnerable they dont have the money" or places to stay. U.S. officials told the AP they were unaware of the charter flights from Haiti. Some South American nations have taken action to prevent their use by migrants and smugglers. Last year, Suriname stopped charter flights from Haiti and issuing visas to Haitians, according to Suriname's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That same year, neighboring French Guiana complained about Haitians coming across its border. What was strange was that in the middle of a pandemic, so many flights were arriving from Haiti ... there were unaccompanied minors on the flight, as well as several Haitians without visas, Antoine Joly, the former French ambassador in Suriname told the French Guiana TV station Guyane la 1ere in a video posted May 4. Shortly after that, Guyana, which also borders Suriname, canceled an earlier order allowing Haitians in without a visa, contending the country was being used as a destination for human smugglers who were taking migrants into neighboring Brazil, where they would stay briefly before heading north to Mexico and the United States. Giuseppe Loprete, chief of mission in Haiti of the International Organization of Migration, said the United Nations agency learned about charter flights from Haiti to Chile in interviews with migrants who had been sent back from the United States and Mexico. We tried to find out more, but we dont have the means to investigate these flights, he wrote in an email to the AP on April 22. Our assumption was that from Chile they move on to other countries heading [to] the Mexican-USA border, if not right away, after some time. Probably when they have collected enough money and information to move forward. The Azul charter flights started on Nov. 14, 2020, from Port-au-Prince to Manaus, Brazil. The city of 2.2 million boasts one of Brazils biggest airports, is the capital of the Amazon region with a Haitian immigrant population and is also a well-known jumping-off point for Haitian migrants who travel by boats from there along a river connecting the Colombian, Peruvian and Guyanese borders before continuing north. Flight data showed that 54 Azul planes flew charter flights from Port-au-Prince to Manaus. The flights stopped in October. That same month, the Brazilian embassy in Haiti stopped issuing all visas to Haitians, according to a document from the Brazilian ambassador in Haiti obtained by AP and Berkeley. Jean Robert Jean Baptiste, 49, said he bought a $1,400 ticket for an Azul flight in December 2020 to Brazil. He spent a month in Haiti after he was deported from Louisiana, where he was held at an immigration detention center following his arrest on a DUI charge. Back in Haiti, he said an enemy threatened to kill him and had the backing of the police. He said he decided to fly to Brazil because he had a visa to get into the country after living there from 2011 to 2012 before making his way to the United States in 2016 and settling in Alabama. In 2021, he made his way from Brazil by bus and on foot. He walked for a week, most of it in the rain, through the Darien Gap, where he said he saw dead bodies of those who didnt make it. He said he had to pay bandits who blocked his path; robbers stole his phone and $500 from him. All told, he said it cost him about $7,000 to return to Tijuana, where he was trying to find a way back to the United States. Hes driven, he said, by a determination to have a good life for his children. The Paulmann family's SKY, meanwhile, is the charter of choice between Haiti and Chile; of 71 such flights since 2020 that AP and Berkeley tracked, 60 were on SKY. The Paulmanns run one of Latin Americas biggest retail companies, Cencosud, and have a net worth of $3.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine. SKY charter planes also flew three flights between Haiti and Brazil in 2021. Etienne Ilienses said she was sent back to Haiti from Texas on Dec. 14. She talked to the AP before flying to Santiago with her three children on a Jan. 30 charter flight on SKY. To get to the USA, I braved hell, she said. Still, she did not dismiss the possibility of doing it again because Haiti offers nothing to its children. We are forced to suffer humiliations, affronts everywhere." But just because Haitians fly to Chile, it doesnt mean they can stay. Dozens have been held by immigration officials after arriving in Santiago in recent months. One group spent weeks sleeping at the airport before Chiles Supreme Court on Jan. 31 ordered police to release them and allow them to request asylum. Others were sent back to Haiti within hours of landing. SKYs Serrat said the airline works closely with immigration officials to avoid that situation, while the marketing aimed at passengers is the responsibility of the travel operators. (Aeroregionals manager did not respond to questions about flying in Haitians who were later expelled.) Theleon Marckenson, 31, was sent back to Haiti from Texas last fall. He said he spent $1,650 for a charter flight on Aeroregional to return to Chile, where he had lived since 2017. After Marckenson landed in Santiago, Chilean authorities told him the application he had submitted for permanent residency before he left for the U.S. border had expired. Hours later he was put on another Aeroregional flight to Haiti with six others. I dont have any more money, Marckenson said by phone after landing back in Port-au-Prince. I dont know what I am going to do. But I cant stay here. There is only hunger. There is no life. Gisela Perez de Acha is a supervisory reporter for Berkeleys Human Rights Center and its Investigative Reporting Program. Katie Licari is a recent Berkeley graduate journalism alum. Watson reported from San Diego, Daniel from New York. Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego; Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami; and Gonzalo Solano in Quito, Ecuador, also contributed to this report. University of California students Zhe Wu, Mar Segura, Grace Luo, Gergana Georgieva, Jose Fernando Rengifo, Pamela Estrada, Freddy Brewster, Sabrina Kharrazi, Jocelyn Tabancay, Imran Ali Malik reported from Berkeley, along with Human Rights Center Investigations Lab director Stephanie Croft. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A soldier carries a child from a group of people thought to be migrants who were brought to Dover, England, by Border Force after a small boat incident in the English Channel on Tuesday. (Andrew Matthews / Associated Press) Britain canceled a flight that was scheduled to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda late Tuesday after the European Court of Human Rights intervened, saying the plan carried a real risk of irreversible harm." The decision to scrap the flight capped three days of frantic court challenges from immigrant rights lawyers who launched a flurry of case-by-case appeals seeking to block the deportation of everyone on the governments list. British government officials had said earlier in the day that the plane would take off no matter how many people were on board. But after the appeals, no one remained. British media reported that the number of potential deportees had been more than 30 on Friday. After the flight was canceled, Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was disappointed but would not be deterred from doing the right thing. She added: Our legal team are reviewing every decision made on this flight and preparation for the next flight begins now. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had emphatically defended Britains plan, arguing that it is a legitimate way to protect lives and thwart the criminal gangs that smuggle migrants across the English Channel in small boats. Britain in recent years has seen an illegal influx of migrants from such places as Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Iraq and Yemen. Johnson announced an agreement with Rwanda in April in which people who enter Britain illegally will be deported to the East African country. In exchange for accepting them, Rwanda will receive millions of pounds in development aid. The deportees will be allowed to apply for asylum in Rwanda, not Britain. Opponents have argued that it is illegal and inhumane to send people thousands of miles to a country they dont want to live in. The leaders of the Church of England joined the opposition, calling the governments policy immoral. Prince Charles was among those opposed, according to British news reports. Activists have denounced the policy as an attack on refugee rights, which most countries have recognized since the end of World War II. Refugee Council Chief Executive Enver Solomon said the British government's deportation threat would not serve as a deterrent to those seeking safety in the U.K. The government must immediately rethink by having a grown-up conversation with France and the (European Union) about sharing responsibility and look to operating an orderly, humane and fair asylum system, Solomon said. The U.N. refugee agency condemned the plan out of concern that other countries will follow suit as war, repression and natural disasters force a growing number of people from their homes. Politicians in Denmark and Austria are considering similar proposals. Australia has operated an asylum-processing center in the Pacific island nation of Nauru since 2012. At a global level, this unapologetically punitive deal further condones the evisceration of the right to seek asylum in wealthy countries, said Maurizio Albahari, a migration expert at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana as he described the U.K. policy. Many millions of people around the globe have been displaced over the last two decades, putting the international consensus on refugees under strain. The world had more than 26 million refugees in the middle of last year, more than double the number two decades ago, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Millions more have left their homes voluntarily, seeking economic opportunities in developed nations. In Britain, those pressures have led to a surge in the number of people crossing the English Channel in leaky inflatable boats, sometimes with disastrous consequences. In November, 27 people died when their boat sank in the waters between France and England. Johnson, fighting for his political life amid concerns about his leadership and ethics, responded by promising to stop such risky journeys. Although Rwanda was the site of a genocide that killed hundreds of thousands of people in 1994, the country has built a reputation for stability and economic progress since then, the British government argues. Critics say that stability comes at the cost of political repression. Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, attacked the policy as all wrong. If the British government is truly interested in protecting lives, it should work with other countries to target the smugglers and provide safe routes for asylum seekers, not simply shunt migrants to other countries, Grandi said. The precedent that this creates is catastrophic for a concept that needs to be shared, like asylum, Grandi said Monday. The archbishop of Canterbury and 24 other bishops from the Church of England joined the chorus of voices asking the government to reconsider an immoral policy that shames Britain. Our Christian heritage should inspire us to treat asylum seekers with compassion, fairness and justice, as we have for centuries, the bishops wrote in a letter to the Times of London. Britains Supreme Court refused to hear one last-ditch appeal Tuesday, a day after two lower courts refused to block the deportations. Legal challenges continued, however, as lawyers filed case-by-case appeals on behalf of individual migrants. Many migrants favor Britain as a destination for reasons of language or family ties, or because it is seen as an open economy with more opportunities than other European nations. When Britain was a member of the European Union, it was part of a system that required refugees to seek asylum in the first safe country they entered. Those who reached Britain could be sent back to the EU countries they traveled from. Britain lost that option when it withdrew from the EU two years ago. Since then, the British and French governments have worked to stop the journeys, with a great deal of bickering and not much success. More than 28,000 migrants entered Britain in small boats last year, up from 8,500 in 2020. Nando Sigona, a migration expert at the University of Birmingham, said large principles are at stake if the Rwanda policy stands. How can we establish any kind of moral high ground where we intervene in other countries if we are not signatory to providing protection to those fleeing war and persecution? Sigona asked. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The flooding Yellowstone River swamps trees and threatens homes Tuesday in Billings, Mont. (Brittany Peterson / Associated Press) The forces of fire and ice shaped Yellowstone National Park over thousands of years. It took decades longer for humans to tame it enough for tourists to visit, often from the comfort of their cars. In just days, however, heavy rain and rapid snowmelt caused a dramatic flood that may forever alter the human footprint on the park's terrain and the communities that have grown around it. The historic floodwaters that raged through Yellowstone this week, washing out bridges and pouring into nearby homes, pushed a popular fishing river off course possibly permanently and may force roadways nearly torn away by torrents of water to be rebuilt in new places. The landscape literally and figuratively has changed dramatically in the last 36 hours, said Bill Berg, a commissioner in nearby Park County, Mont. A little bit ironic that this spectacular landscape was created by violent geologic and hydrologic events, and its just not very handy when it happens while were all here settled on it. The unprecedented flooding drove more than 10,000 visitors out of the nations oldest national park and damaged hundreds of homes in nearby communities, though remarkably no one was reported hurt or killed. The only visitors left in the massive park straddling three states were a dozen campers still making their way out of the backcountry. The park could remain closed as long as a week, and northern entrances may not reopen this summer, Superintendent Cam Sholly said. Ive heard this is a 1,000-year event, whatever that means these days. They seem to be happening more and more frequently, he said. Sholly noted that some weather forecasts include the possibility of more flooding this weekend. Days of rain and rapid snowmelt wrought havoc across parts of southern Montana and northern Wyoming, where it washed away cabins, swamped small towns and knocked out power. It hit the park as a summer tourist season that draws millions of visitors was ramping up during the park's 150th anniversary year. Businesses in hard-hit Gardiner, Mont., had just started recovering from the tourism contraction brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and were hoping for a good year, Berg said. Its a Yellowstone town, and it lives and dies by tourism, and this is going to be a pretty big hit, he said. Theyre looking to try to figure out how to hold things together. Some of the worst damage occurred in the northern part of the park and Yellowstones gateway communities in southern Montana. National Park Service photos of northern Yellowstone showed a mudslide, washed-out bridges and roads undercut by churning floodwaters of the Gardner and Lamar rivers. In Red Lodge, a town of 2,100 thats a popular jumping-off point for a scenic route into the Yellowstone high country, a creek jumped its banks and swamped the main thoroughfare, leaving trout swimming in the street a day later under sunny skies. Residents described a harrowing scene where the water went from a trickle to a torrent in just a few hours. The water toppled telephone poles, knocked over fences and carved deep fissures in the ground through a neighborhood of hundreds of houses. Electricity was restored by Tuesday, but there was still no running water in the affected neighborhood. Heidi Hoffman left early Monday to buy a sump pump in Billings, Mont., but by the time she returned, her basement was full of water. We lost all our belongings in the basement, Hoffman said as the pump removed a steady stream of water into her muddy backyard. Yearbooks, pictures, clothes, furniture. We're going to be cleaning up for a long time. At least 200 homes were flooded in Red Lodge and the town of Fromberg. While the flooding hasn't been directly attributed to climate change, Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said a warming environment makes extreme weather events more likely than they would have been "without the warming that human activity has caused. Will Yellowstone have a repeat of this in five or even 50 years? Maybe not, but somewhere will have something equivalent or even more extreme, he said. Heavy rain on top of melting mountain snow pushed the Yellowstone, Stillwater and Clarks Fork rivers to record levels Monday and triggered rock and mudslides, according to the National Weather Service. The Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs topped a record set in 1918. Yellowstone's northern roads may remain impassable for a substantial length of time. The flooding affected the rest of the park, too, with park officials warning of yet higher flooding and potential problems with water supplies and wastewater systems at developed areas. The rains hit just as area hotels filled up in recent weeks with summer tourists. More than 4 million visitors were tallied by the park last year. The wave of tourists doesnt abate until fall, and June is typically one of Yellowstones busiest months. Mark Taylor, owner and chief pilot of Rocky Mountain Rotors, said his company had airlifted about 40 paying customers over the past two days from Gardiner, including two women who were very pregnant. Taylor spoke as he ferried a family of four adults from Texas, who wanted to do some more sightseeing before heading home. I imagine theyre going to rent a car and theyre going to go check out some other parts of Montana somewhere drier, he said. At a cabin in Gardiner, Parker Manning of Terre Haute, Ind., got an up-close view of the roiling Yellowstone River floodwaters just outside his door. Entire trees and even a lone kayaker streamed by. In early evening, he shot video as the waters ate away at the opposite bank, where a large brown house that had been home to park employees was precariously perched. In a large cracking sound heard over the river's roar, the house tipped into the waters and was pulled into the current. Sholly said it floated five miles before sinking. In south-central Montana, 68 people at a campground were rescued by raft after flooding on the Stillwater River. Some roads in the area were closed and residents were evacuated. In the hamlet of Nye, at least four cabins washed into the Stillwater River, said Shelley Blazina, including one she owned. It was my sanctuary, she said Tuesday. Yesterday I was in shock. Today Im just in intense sadness. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Gun violence has become a dominant topic of conversation following horrific mass shootings recently at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York and an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Politicians are still debating the best course of action, with Democrats calling for more gun control and Republicans focusing on mental health. Buried in that discussion, however, is another issue hampering real progress. When we look to understand what we do and we don't know about gun violence, we have to understand that, first of all, for most of the last 20 years, we have cut off most of the funding for gun violence research for those years, Dr. Rebecca Cunningham, vice president for research at the University of Michigan, said on Yahoo Finance Live (video above). "Since the 1990s, there was a real chilling effect on doing research." Cunningham highlighted how for many years, the leading cause of death for children who live past infancy was motor vehicle accidents. The country responded by dedicating resources to understanding how to keep kids and teenagers safer on the road. Gun violence is now the no. 1 cause of deaths for children between the ages of 1-19. (Chart: NEJM) In 2020, guns surpassed car accidents to become the leading cause of death among children, according to research from The New England Journal of Medicine. That study found that firearm-related fatalities for those ages 1-19 jumped nearly 30% between 2019 and 2020. Despite the sobering statistics showing the number of fatalities have been climbing over the past decade, funding for researching gun violence hasn't opened up the way it did for automobile accidents. There was a chilling effect for researchers for those years, where we were in some years only dedicating a million dollars a year for the entire country to study this problem, Cunningham said. That number has started to increase over the past couple of years, which is good news. However, she added, it's still vastly underfunded. Our studies show that we're 30 times exponentially underfunded, compared to what we're funding for other leading causes of death, for example, cancer research in children or motor vehicle crash death in children. And that research is needed. People don't understand. Legal precedent Research regarding the causes of gun violence can significantly influence how policy is crafted. For instance, some policymakers have called on Congress to raise the age to buy assault rifles to 21. According to Cunningham, there is some legal precedent for that: When the U.S. raised the legal drinking age to 21 from 18, the country saw a 30% decrease in drunk driving deaths among teenagers. Attendees hold American made AK-47 style 7.62mm semi-automatic rifles from Kalashnikov USA during the NRA Annual Meeting in Houston on May 28, 2022. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) When we added graduated driver licensing laws that are implemented across all states at this point which means that 16-year-olds need to have a lot of training and a lot of supervised time before they're allowed to have a deadly vehicle in their hands and go 60 miles an hour on the highway on it that decreased teen driving deaths, again, by about 40%, Cunningham said. So there are certainly lessons we can learn from other types of injury prevention. In the case of the Uvalde school shooting, the gunman purchased his AR platform rifles just days after turning 18. Given the legality of the purchase, we do need to think about what that means for our availability and our access and how we increase safety in the same ways that we've done it for other aspects, like dangerous motor vehicles in the wrong hands, Cunningham said. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), speaks during a hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill June 8, 2022. Jason Andrew/Pool via REUTERS Similar to how those convicted of drunk driving are often stripped of their drivers license, she called for red flag laws (also known as extreme risk laws) to be expanded. These laws allow household members or law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily prevent someone deemed to be in a crisis from accessing guns. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, 19 states currently have laws like this in place. Red flag laws have been shown to have some efficacy, specifically when they're tied to having a felony associated with them when they're enforced and enforceable, Cunningham said. 'These regulations are not a step back' A key hurdle is that the Second Amendment is a highly controversial issue in the U.S. Pro-gun activists and the National Rifle Association (NRA), a highly powerful lobbying organization, have dismissed the idea of implementing any type of restrictions on the rights of gun owners. Gun control supporters, meanwhile, have called for assault weapon bans, red flag laws, expanded background checks, and more. During a recent visit to the White House, actor and former Uvalde resident Matthew McConaughey called on the government to act. Actor Matthew McConaughey holds a drawing by 10-year-old school shooting victim Alithia Ramirez as he speaks to reporters about the recent mass shooting at an elementary school in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, June 7, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals, he said. These regulations are not a step back. They're a step forward for a civil society and the Second Amendment. Look, is this a cure-all? Hell no. The people are hurting. Families are, parents are. And look, as divided as our country is, this gun responsibility issue is one that we agree on more than we don't. According to a new Marist Poll conducted in the wake of the Uvalde shooting, 59% of U.S. adults say it's more important to control gun violence versus 35% who believe it's more important to protect gun rights. No one policy here or one prevention program is going to be the answer, Cunningham said. In COVID, in America, we got used to hearing about a multitude of layering of preventions that help people stay safe. And gun violence is going to be like that as well." Adriana Belmonte is a reporter and editor covering politics and health care policy for Yahoo Finance. You can follow her on Twitter @adrianambells and reach her at adriana@yahoofinance.com. Click here for politics news related to business and money Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube Several large-scale smuggling incidents show that EU concerns over the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol are not theoretical, Brussels has said. Seizure of counterfeit high-value electrical products last year, fitted with the European Union-type plugs, show the need for robust processes at Northern Ireland ports, an EU official said. The official said there was evidence criminals were trying to use the Irish Sea crossing to get prohibited products into the EU single market. UK Border Force officers on duty at a checking facility at Belfast Port (PA) Drugs and weapons have also been seized, the official said. There is smuggling going on, for sure, they added. The EU official said the ongoing failure by the UK to provide real-time data on trade movements in a useable format meant the EU was unclear how big the problem is in relation to smuggling. However, the official said seizures made by UK Border Force, with the involvement of EU personnel on the ground, have indicated it was a significant issue. In March 2021, there was a seizure of undervalued and counterfeit high-value electronic products such as smartphones sent in parcels, plugs were EU type, said the official. Between April and May 2021 and in October 2021 there were seizures of smartphones including counterfeit ones, tobacco, cigarettes, weapons, drugs and medicines hidden in parcels. In December 2021, in the context of control on postal deposits, there were seizures of heroin, cocaine, cannabis, 177,000 prescription medicine tablets, 24 kilos of tobacco, nearly 17,000 cigarettes. So, this is not theory. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Marysville, CA (95901) Today Abundant sunshine. High near 105F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low around 65F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. ULAN BATOR, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia will improve social protection for children with disabilities, Ayush Ariunzaya, the country's minister of labor and social protection, said Wednesday. A note outlining 26 measures to be taken on children with disabilities was issued during a regular government meeting. Instructions were given to cabinet members and governors of the capital city and all 21 provinces of the country, Ariunzaya told a press conference. In particular, the Mongolian government is expected to pay for treating children with cerebral palsy. In addition, the government will pay for the social insurance contributions of legal guardians of children under 18 and provide children with disabilities with equal opportunities to study in kindergartens and general education schools. Currently, Mongolia faces a shortage of much-needed staff to work with disabled people, such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists and sign language interpreters. According to the minister, the government will offer support to those who want to study such professions. According to official statistics, Mongolia, with a population of around 3.4 million, is home to roughly 130,000 people with disabilities, and over 10 percent of them are children. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. No one could guarantee that the peace agenda will succeed, but the government of Armenia has a will, determination to pass that path, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in the Parliament during the debate of the 2021 state budget performance report. Our ship of Armenian statehood has appeared in a whirlpool of a turbulent storm, because, in fact, the whole world has appeared in the whirlpool of a turbulent storm, he said. The PM noted that the only guarantee for the state and the security is the comprehensive peace. According to him, the comprehensive security is when the issues with neighbors are solved, settled, the borders are demarcated and delimited, and the peace is established de jure. Now we are trying to move on this path. Whether we will succeed, no one could guarantee because peace is not a unilateral movement, it is a result of cooperation. We have no illusions and see that the number of those who want to eliminate us is greater than we imagine. And the peace agenda is an attempt to manage and neutralize the desires existing in the world to eliminate us. No one could guarantee that the peace agenda will succeed. This is a path for us accompanied by insults, accusations, threats, dangers and losses both inside and outside. And we have a will, determination to pass this path despite that no one could give a guarantee to success, the PM added. However, the PM said he could guarantee one thing for sure that the opposite path leads not only to the destruction of Nagorno Karabakh, but also Armenia. And we, of course, cannot allow this. Therefore, I call on the Armenian people, the people of Armenia to unite around the peace agenda, around the Armenian statehood and its interests because there is nothing more important and higher than Armenia and its state interests, he said. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. At the invitation of the President of the Majles of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan is in Iran on an official visit, the Parliaments press service said. On June 15, the delegation led by Alen Simonyan met with the President of the IRI Majles. Thanking the President of the Majles for the meeting and the acquaintance, Alen Simonyan noted that it is his first visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, adding that the mutual visits will be continuous. He invited his colleague to Yerevan on a mutual visit. Alen Simonyan told his colleague that in December of the previous year there were effective discussions with the Iran-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group of the IRI Majles hosted in Yerevan, and their continuous character are considered to be an important basis for the implementation of the joint programs of the two parliaments. In this context Alen Simonyan mentioned the meeting of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO PA) held in Yerevan recently, where the parliamentary delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran also took part. He noted that after the meeting the parliamentarians of Iran had meetings in the National Assembly, and an opportunity was given to discuss issues regarding the bilateral agenda. The President of the Majles of Iran welcomed the visit of the delegation led by the Speaker of Parliament of Armenia noting that the agenda items of todays private talk should be at the focus of Armenia-Iran inter-parliamentary relations. According to him, there is a lot of work jointly to do at the parliamentary level, including the boosting of the economic ties, the development of legislative cooperation, as well as the creation and improvement of transport infrastructures. As he assessed, the parliaments should support the processes of the opening of Iran-Armenia railway and highways and creation of infrastructures. Touching upon the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf informed about his position, underlining the preservation of the territorial integrity of the two countries and the establishment of lasting peace. At the end of the meeting Alen Simonyan invited his colleague to Armenia on an official visit. After the bilateral meeting followed the press conference of the heads of the parliaments of the two countries. During the press conference with the President of the Majles of Iran Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf the NA President noted in particular: Distinguished Mr Ghalibaf, Dear colleagues, Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, I would like to thank the President of the Majles of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, my colleague and good friend for the invitation, warm reception and effective discussions and negotiations. During our discussions with the President of the Majles Ghalibaf in the atmosphere of friendship and mutual trust we expressed our satisfaction about the high level of the Armenian-Iranian relations and the inter-parliamentary close ties. We have underscored that our partnership is based on the friendship and neighbourhood of the millennia, we both expressed readiness for deepening our partnership in all directions. We discussed in detail the regional developments. Naturally, I touched upon the Azerbaijani-Turkish last aggression and its consequences against Nagorno Karabakh. I have noted that numerous humanitarian problems have remained after the war, particularly, the return of prisoners of war, the preservation of the Armenian historical-cultural and spiritual values on the territories passed under the control of Azerbaijan. The encroachments of Azerbaijan towards the sovereign territory of Armenia endanger our efforts aimed at the stability and security of the region. In this respect we highly appreciate the position of Iran on the territorial integrity and the inviolability of the borders. Certainly, the important themes of our todays meeting were also the last challenges of the transport transit and the ways of their overcoming. Distinguished Mr President, we have also spoken about continuing our economic joint programs and reaching them to an end. I would like to note once again, as Mr President also assured the political leaderships are resolute to fully develop our partnership relations and deepen them. I am again thankful for the invitation, dear Mr President, and I will gladly wait for you in Yerevan. Thank you, Alen Simonyan concluded his speech. by Dames Alexander Sinaga JAKARTA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has launched a vaccination campaign against the re-emergence of the deadly foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on livestock across the country. The highly contagious viral disease among cloven-hoofed animals including cattle, sheep, pigs and goats has spread across 181 municipalities after it was initially found in the province of East Java in late April. As one of the world's worst animal plagues, FMD spreads by direct contact with animals, animal products, by mechanical transfer via fomites and by the airborne route. The disease is characterized by blisters or sores around the mouth, muzzle, feet and teats, a tendency to lie down, as well as lethargy or depression. On Tuesday, the Indonesian Agriculture Ministry began the FMD vaccination campaign in Sidoarjo, East Java, one of the worst affected areas of the outbreak. At present, authorities were using vaccines imported from France while still developing their own vaccines to overcome the crisis. At least 10,000 doses of FMD vaccines arrived in Indonesia on Sunday. "At the first stage, we are prioritizing vaccinating healthy livestock animals in the red and yellow zones, which are most seriously hit by the disease, due to the limited availability of vaccines," the ministry's director-general of livestock and animal health Nasrullah told local media. To date, more than 150,000 animals are reportedly infected with the disease and at least 760 animals have died due to the disease, according to the official data from the National FMD Task Force. More than 41,000 animals have recovered so far as authorities have deployed thousands of veterinary paramedics and distributed medicines, antibiotics, vitamins, immune boosters as well as disinfecting agents to the livestock farmers. According to Nasrullah, those animals having recovered from FMD will not immediately be vaccinated as they already have immunity against the virus. He called on livestock farmers to persistently practice biosecurity to stop the spread of the virus. Prior to this outbreak, Indonesia had been free of FMD since 1986, a status recognized internationally by the World Organization for Animal Health in 1990. Next month Muslims across Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim population, will celebrate Eid al-Adha festival, during which people gather in front of mosques to watch as cattle and goats are killed as sacrificial animals. The meat is then distributed to the poor to celebrate the Islamic day of sacrifice. The Agriculture Ministry has repeatedly emphasized that the meat of animals infected with FMD is safe to eat and there will be more than sufficient cattle supply for the festive day. A spokesman of the ministry Kuntoro Boga Andri said that the number of sacrificial animals to be distributed to the public this year amounted to 2.2 million, which would be more than needed. Andri also highlighted that the livestock animals to be sacrificed will come from areas free from FMD outbreaks or green zones. He added that the animals will be distributed by land and sea transportation with strict procedures amid restrictions on the mobilization of livestock animals across the country since last month. Mamata arrives in Delhi to galvanise opposition effors New Delhi: In a bid to build a consensus on the presidential candidate, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee landed in the national capital on Tuesday. The Congress, amongst other parties, including the CPI and the CPI(M), will be attending the meeting. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, along with other leaders, will represent the Congress. DMKs T.R. Baalu, Shiv Senas Subhash Desai, RLDs Jayant Chaudhary and Mehbooba Mufti have confirmed that they will be participating. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will also attend, as will Jharkhand Mukti Morcha president and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. NCP chief Sharad Pawar will be attending the meeting. The Left parties representatives, and not the top leadership, will attend the meeting. It is learnt that TRS will also send a nominee. According to reports, Pawar has declined to be the oppositions consensus candidate in the upcoming presidential elections. A delegation of left parties met Pawar in the national capital. After the meeting, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, I have been told that Pawar will not be the opposition face for the presidential poll, some other names are under consideration. After landing in Delhi, Banerjee also met the NCP chief. The two leaders discussed presidential elections during their meeting. Insiders claim that this is a preliminary meeting to assess the number of political parties and votes that are with the Opposition. As of now, no specific name has cropped up, but discussions behind closed doors are being held. A leader from the Opposition party, not wanting to be named, said that any leader of standing will only be ready to give his name if there is a chance of winning. As of now, the odds are favouring the treasury benches. In 2017, the Opposition had fielded former speaker of the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Meira Kumar as the presidential candidate. President Ram Nath Kovinds term ends on July 24. Elections will be held on July 18 for the next President of India and counting, if required, will be held three days later. The ongoing European conflict is a grand opportunity for the arms makers, suppliers and middlemen to make their mega bucks The war in Europe certainly offers the prospect of mega bucks in future arms bazars, and particularly for the manufacturers of machine guns and other merchants and ministers. (AP File Image) The Bengali proverb karo poush mash, karo shorbonash, that implies development for one is disaster for another, is now playing out in the heartland of Europe amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As belligerents do battle, God knows for what, the choked food supply lines lead to famine for non-Western countries, and guaranteed profits for the Wests arms manufacturers. The latters rising value has already lit up world stock markets. To rush weapons and ammunition to besieged Ukraine, the Nato-European Union combine is busy multiplying military budgets and stepping up arms purchases and production. The ongoing European conflict is thus a grand opportunity for the arms makers, suppliers and middlemen to make their mega bucks. The same Europe which had bolstered military contractors and corporations in the two World Wars lay behind the astronomical profits of the US military-industrial complex, which has been ruling the world since the 1940s. Ironically, the very profit and loss of the arms bazar is indelibly linked to Moscow since the beginning of the Cold War. The military-industrial complex, whose dangers were most famously highlighted by late US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, thrived during the Cold War, with the West and Moscow at loggerheads, on tensions, terror and territorial violation in the Third World. Today, however, the West-created world order appears under unprecedented threat as it takes a severe beating. Moscow had collapsed in 1991, but more surprising was the collapse of the carbine companies market on both sides. First, the US arms industry structure changed drastically. Fourteen top military contractors shrank into nine; and of these, four aerospace/electronics giants Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop consolidated their position as prima donnas. With a drastic reduction in the Moscow-Washington rivalry, the arms giants combined their resources for sheer survival. Without war, tensions and rivalry, sales would be below par and profits would be hit, leading to production cuts and retrenchment. The USSRs fall cast a gloom over world defence promoters as Moscows arms bazar went into recession. Overnight, Russias 6.4 million-strong industry shrank to three million employees, as military production fell 66 per cent in 1991-1994. By end-1995 Russias electronics/communications gear fell almost 80 per cent from 1991. But Russia survived! Major US military contractors were hit too as conflict threats reduced. The mega companies resorted to restructuring, mergers and acquisitions and employee numbers were cut. Yet America remained the worlds top arms producer. Of the 100 top arms-producing companies in the OECD, 46 belonged to the US; followed by France 18, UK 13; Germany 11 and Japan 10. Not a single Russian company was on the list. One only wonders how with an egregious economy, declining defence, puerile polity and depleted demography, Moscow managed to retain its sovereign status in one piece. Perhaps the fear of the nuclear button in the hands of psychologically bruised and battered bosses saved Moscow. The times have, however, changed, and so have the actors. But whats in store for the belligerents and those in the vicinity and beyond? The US still rules the arms trade, and Europe follows. From 100 in 1995, as of 2019 there are 25 top arms-producing companies, of which 12 are American. Of the rest, four are Chinese and two each Russian, British and French; one is Italian and one trans-European. And 11 of the 12 US manufacturers are now profitable, thanks to the wars in Asia and Africa, including the two-decade-long war in Afghanistan. The latest SIPRI figures reveal that all the top 25 arms company sales are on the upswing; especially since 2015. As the current European conflict is unlikely to abate anytime soon, it will not be wrong to suggest that those raking in cash in conflict times wont mind its continuation. This only proves that development for one can be disaster for another. The war in Europe certainly offers the prospect of mega bucks in future arms bazars, and particularly for the manufacturers of machine guns and other merchants and ministers. Everyone is entitled to make money in the new world order of free markets. But in the process, the world outside Europe is getting crushed, with its finances, food and fuel supply and factories getting hit. It has exposed the ugly side of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation, with the after-effects of the economics of warfare there for all to see. As the insurmountable problems beyond the war zone threatens millions of lives, how does one justify the co-existence of globalisation as well as sanctions? Is the business of sanctions by the West a matter of selective picking and choosing? It is alleged that food is being weaponised by Russia. But long before that, the West has been wantonly weaponising its technology and finances and flexing its economic muscle, and acting ruthlessly and dictatorially, insensitive to all and sundry. Dont buy fuel from X; dont deal with Y; dont you dare be seen with Z? Why is the United States, along with Nato and the European Union, trying to target India? When the 60-nation Nato-EU combine, with a combined population of 800 million, is way short of Indias 1.35 billion, its time for the West for Washington, Brussels and fellow travellers to drop their oblique threats to New Delhi. The Ukraine war is essentially a European issue, not a global one. It shouldnt be needlessly globalised. Globalisation is for all-embracing strategic development, not for national destruction. Sanctions and globalisation cant, therefore, go together. Is the West serious about bidding a farewell to arms, the line made famous by Ernest Hemingway? It seems unlikely. The West has a sorry track record, from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, of trying to impose its will by force in various parts of the globe. It does not occupy the moral high ground, after its naked imperialism, to sermonise the world on rules and principles. As Indias external affairs minister S. Jaishankar had recently noted, it ill behoves Europe, which till the other day was the biggest consumer of Russian oil and gas, to hector poorer countries not to do so. Why should they not go into the market and get the best deal for (their) people? Its high time for the West to resolve its own local dispute rather than try to drag the rest of the world into a local war in Europe, and perhaps destroy the entire planet in the process. The human rights lawyer, who is accused of trying to subvert state power, faces life in prison, but his lawyers will plead not guilty. The manner in which he was arrested is disputed. He was detained after he called for Xi Jinping's resignation in the wake of the outbreak of the pandemic. Activists linked to him are in the same situation. Beijing (AsiaNews) The trial for the well-known human rights lawyer Xu Zhiyong finally seems to be on the agenda. The former law professor at Peking University has spent more than two years in jail after he was charged with planning a "colour revolution" to subvert state power and for the minor offence of incitement to subversion. If found guilty he could get life in prison. According to the authorities, Xu and other activists were inspired by the colour revolutions that broke out in the early 2000s in some former Soviet republics like Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. As reported by the South China Morning Post, which cites friends of the activist and legal sources, the Linyi People's Intermediate Court (Shandong) informed Xu's lawyers that a pre-trial hearing is scheduled for this Friday. This suggests that a full trial is imminent. The same is the case for Ding Jiaxi, Xu's colleague, who is also in prison awaiting trial on the same charges. The latest reports indicate that Xu is currently detained at the Linshu County Penitentiary (Shandong). According to the Post, his lawyers will plead not guilty, claiming that his arrest and detention violated legal procedures. After attending a meeting with pro-democracy activists in Xiamen (Fujian) in December 2019, Xu went on the run for some time, but police eventually arrested him on 15 February 2020 in Guangzhou (Guangdong) during a "health check" for COVID-19. Founder of the New Citizens Movement, the academic is a well-known critic of the Chinese Communist Party. He was given a four-year sentence back in January 2014 for defending democracy and denouncing the corruption of Chinese leaders. In early February 2020, Xu published an article online arguing that Xi Jinping was unable to manage" the pandemic crisis. He blames the regime's crackdown on freedom of expression for contributing to the uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus. According to the activist, the Chinese president also failed to address the trade war with the United States and the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. In addition to Ding, other activists linked to Xu are currently in prison, most notably Chang Weiping, Zhang Zhongshun, Dai Zhenya and Li Yingjun. Xus girlfriend Li Qiaochu was also jailed in February 2021 on subversion charges for tweeting that Xu and Ding were mistreated in prison. by Nirmala Carvalho Thomas Dabre spoke to AsiaNews after some Christians reacted negatively to his address at an event organised by right-wing Hindu nationalists who are increasingly accused of intolerance towards other religions. Jesus loved the Jewish people, the bishop said. On that basis I made the point that Jesus was a patriot. A meeting point can be found since Catholics and Hindu nationalist share the same love for their land and culture. Pune (AsiaNews) A Catholic bishop reached out to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS[*]), a Hindu nationalist organisation known for its saffron-coloured flags. Last Sunday in Pune, the cultural capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra, the local bishop, Mgr Thomas Dabre, took part in the launch of the Social Science Journal, a quarterly journal published by the Shripati Shastri Research Institute of Social Sciences, which is linked to the Hindu religious right. The RSS had published a periodical to promote research on matters Indian, said the prelate, a former member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and a former president of the Office for the doctrine of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. They flashed my two-page message in their front page and invited me to attend the programme, he told AsiaNews. In the meetings of the Indian bishops I have always said that we must engage them in dialogue. The late Archbishop Abraham Viruthakulangara of Nagpur wanted this dialogue, but he left us prematurely. Nothing has happened since then. I personally maintain good relations with the RSS. I have forged bonds of friendship with them and it was an honour for me that they published my message. I want to act as an intermediary between the Catholic Church and them because Pune is the main centre of the RSS ideology. In his address, Bishop Dabre said that love for country unites the RSS and the Christian community, remarks that have been widely reported by the media and that aroused some negative feelings among Indian Christians, especially at a time growing intolerance on the part of Hindu nationalists towards religious minorities. I am reading all the reactions. It is like a storm in a teacup, Bishop Dabre explained. The reactions are most probably based on ignorance on what I exactly meant and what exactly is the RSS trying to say. If people are saying that RSS values are opposed to Gospel values, I would like to know which RSS values are opposed to Gospel values. As for his position, he said that when he spoke at the launch he insisted on a need for a dialogue between the RSS and the Church in order to clear the misunderstanding and prejudices on either side. Have those who are creating the controversies ever talked to the RSS? Do they know the RSS? I think the principles of the RSS should be acceptable to Christianity because Jesus himself was a patriot: he loved the Jewish people; he loved the Jewish culture. On that basis I made the point that Jesus was a patriot and his followers should also be patriots. In the Holy Bible it is written that God gave the Jews the land of Israel, so He gave every Nation their land with fixed boundaries. It is in Deuteronomy, 32, Isiah, 34, and also in the Psalm that God has distributed land among all the people. This is why, we Christians love our country and are patriots, which are the principles of the RSS: love of the land, love of the people and love of culture. In this context I said the principles and values of the RSS are acceptable to us Christians. At the launch, I praised them, saying that their approach is quite correct and that everything should be research based. I told them that in a country where 30 per cent of the population is in poverty, and with widespread superstition, in such a situation we need objective facts, which will be brought to light by research. [*] National Volunteer Organisation. For the Custos of the Holy Land, the facility reflects the birth of Jesus, which gave it meaning and value. With charity as its main purpose, it offers a venue for various initiatives. The facility was built thanks to local workers. For a Pro Terra Sancta official, investing in job skills development will help preserve the Christian presence in the area. Bethlehem (AsiaNews) The Dar al-Majus Community Home, the House of the Three Wisemen, was inaugurated in Bethlehem on 9 June, a major undertaking by the Custody of the Holy Land and the Pro Terra Sancta Association. At the ceremony, the Custos of the Holy Land Fr Francesco Patton said that the facility is centred on solidarity, reflecting what happened in the town with the birth of Jesus. Its meaning and value come from the charity that took root here. Indeed, its raison detre is charity, the Franciscan explained. What is more, Here we can give truth, not just create it. The House of the Three Wisemen is "first of all a place to create connections and relationships, a place of dialogue. The old building, dating back to Ottoman times, is located in Bethlehems Old Town. It took more than three years to renovate it, a major undertaking, especially during COVID-19, that entailed finding the right materials, and hooking it up to the electrical grid and the sewer. The Pro Terra Sancta Association will set up offices in the Dar al-Majus Community Home, to serve primarily Bethlehem residents. It includes a job centre and social coops. This will give the association a permanent place to continue its operations, which began 15 years ago in the area. Bethlehems Deputy Mayor Hannah Hanania and the Italian Consul Giuseppe Fedele were present at the inauguration ceremony. The facility will not serve only as a place for dialogue and outreach but will provide space for local and international artists so that art can educate against ethnoreligious violence and conflicts that still cover the region with blood. For Fr Patton, the Home will provide venues to support students" not only from the Holy Land, but also from neighbouring countries. In his view, "Just as the Wisemen found the truth of love and took it with them, spreading it across the world, so too will this home, which will reach out to the wider community, starting in Bethlehem, to everyones benefit. Vincenzo Bellomo, head of Pro Terra Sanctas activities in Palestine, said that the Dar al-Majus Community Home is the work of local workers, including planning, construction and renovating the old building, since This is where we must invest" to ensure a future for the earth and its people, especially the Christian community. The most significant acts of charity are closeness and friendship, he explained. This is what the Home is providing amid the reality of conflicts and violence since society can only be rebuilt with a local sense of community based on "values of justice, dialogue and peace. Dar al-Majus Community Home will be a venue to highlight the beauty of the Palestinian community and give value to exchange among people based on solidarity. It will showcase, on the public road, Pro Terra Sanctas work, but also other groups who do good deeds in Bethlehem. For Bellomo, work and beauty will be able to exist side by side since the Home is not far from the Basilica of the Nativity where beauty was born and where lives are shaped. Last but not least, the Home will be a place to network with other associations and give people, especially youth and women, the opportunity to learn and hone job skills taught by experts. In 58 of the 76 countries where Christians are most persecuted, they say they have also been forced to leave their homes, reveals a new report by the NGO active in the defence of religious freedom: "It is not a consequence, but part of the strategy of persecution. Governments and international bodies must not close their eyes to this aspect in welcoming refugees". Milan (AsiaNews) - The persecution of Christians is not only taking place in their own countries, but is also at risk of perpetuating itself among those who have been forced to abandon everything in order to get to safety, reveals a new report released today by Open Doors. Through its World Watch List the international NGO constantly monitors situations of the most serious persecution against Christians globally. The study - entitled "Refugee Church. Report 2022 on Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees" and released ahead of World Refugee Day on 20 June - cross-references data on religious freedom with those that recently led UNHCR to put at 100 million the number of people in the world today who have been forced to flee their communities. The result that emerges is that in 58 of the top 76 countries on the Open Doors World Watch List (see graph above), there are Christians who claim to have been forcibly displaced from their homes because of their religious identity. Among the internally displaced - that is, those who have been forced to leave their homes but remain within the borders of their own country - almost half (46%) come from five countries that are also on the list of those where Christians suffer persecution the most: Syria, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia and Yemen. Even 68% of refugees - that is, those who find themselves having to leave their country because of war and violence - come from 5 countries that experience a high level of discrimination and religious persecution: Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar. It is precisely this strong overlap between the countries of origin of refugees and the countries known as the worst violators of religious freedom in the world that leads Open Doors to affirm that a better understanding of the role of religious identity would be vital to meet the needs of those fleeing and in particular Christian minorities. "To get a full picture of religious persecution, we need to look at both the Church at home and the Church on the run," comments Helene Fisher, an expert from the reseacrh team. "Dividing religious communities is part of a deliberate strategy. Displacement is not just a by-product of persecution, but in many cases a deliberate part of a broader strategy to eradicate Christianity from the community or country." In the Middle East, the case of Iraq is emblematic, where according to Open Doors just 166,000 Christians remain, compared to one million twenty years ago. And even after the military defeat of Isis in 2017, the return of displaced people is still hindered by the lack of security and the lack of support from the authorities in the operation to recover property lost in the last ten years due to the conflict. As for the situation in the rest of Asia, the main factors that lead people to leave their homes are family and local community, with strong pressure on those who convert to Christianity from another religion. Particularly serious is the case in Pakistan, where religious minorities live under the shadow of laws against apostasy and blasphemy that mean that even within families themselves a conversion can be seen as a threat to their honour. Political instability and the rise of extremist religious groups are other factors fuelling displacement in the region, as is happening for example in Myanmar, particularly in the Karen, Chin, Kayah and Kachin States. In North Korea, where no religion is allowed, those who flee seek greater freedom across the border, for example in China. But according to one regional expert, Covid-19 has further complicated the situation with the consequence that North Korean men are even more exposed to threats of denunciation by Chinese employers, while women run the risk of being trafficked. Raising awareness about the presence of so many Christians among IDPs and asylum seekers,' Open Doors concludes, 'is also a way to protect them in their flight. There are in fact situations where their suffering continues even in the camps, precisely because the issue of religiously motivated violence is not sufficiently focused on. "In some cases," explains Eva Brown, Senior Specific Religious Persecution Analyst at Open Doors, "governments and even well-intentioned international organisations can unfortunately be complicit in intensifying discrimination against displaced Christians. This is why awareness of this vulnerability at multiple levels is vital, so that the needs of displaced and marginalised refugees can best be addressed'. by Vladimir Rozanskij Orthodox consider the Russian Tsar the 'Westernist' Antichrist. The Russian president on the outcome of the war against Ukraine: in 10 years time we will have a better standard of living. The people wait with resigned submission. Moscow (AsiaNews) - The speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who on 9 June compared himself to Tsar Peter the Great, during a meeting with young scholars and entrepreneurs at the Vdnk Fair in Moscow, continues to arouse comment and debate, promising that "in 10 years Russia will live much better". The perplexity comes both from the figure of the 'Westernized' emperor, who is usually remembered in negative tones, and from the optimism about future prosperity, when the effects of Western sanctions on the skin of citizens are beginning to be felt. In the course of time, Putin had compared himself, or had done so for him by numerous prompters and ideologues, with the first prince Vladimir 'the baptiser'. Or with Aleksandr Nevsky, who had saved Rus' from the Germans and made a deal with the Mongols. There was no shortage of comparisons with Ivan the Terrible who had defeated the Tatars, with the more authoritarian 19th century tsars such as Nicholas I and Alexander III, and finally with Stalin, the victor over Nazism. Peter is considered the Antichrist by the Orthodox and the most intransigent nationalists, for having wanted to 'open a window on Europe'. the one that today Putin himself is closing again, as well as for having introduced the capital vices of smoking and vodka, imported by the immoral West, which only wants the ruin of the holy Russian people. In reality, the reasons for appropriating the legacy of the last Tsar of Russian blood (the successors were descendants of crossbreeds with European imperial courts) are not trivial. Peter remained on the throne for 44 years, from 1682 to 1726, second only to Ivan's 54, and Putin with his '10-year promise' has made it clear that he has every intention of wanting to reach 2032, the designated year of the end of his last constitutional term, also surpassing the 30-year reign. Moreover, Peter had to fight for most of his term, first with internal opponents and then with Swedes, Poles, Turks and any kind of adversary that could even tarnish the imperial grandeur of St. Petersburg, Putin's own hometown. The president was pleased to be with the young people at the site of the great exhibitions of the Soviet era, the Vdnk, the acronym for the 'Fair of the Conquests of the People's Economy', which in the years of 'Yeltsin westernization' had been 'turned into a dump' by consumerist invasions from abroad. It was precisely the sanctions that freed most of the exhibition and commercial spaces from the foreign firms that left, and the Vdnk today represents the new Russian ideal of 'economic and moral purity'. Putin's good humour suggested that he was beginning to feel satisfied with the outcome of the 'special military operation', in which the borders of the Donbass are almost completely secured and the long-awaited proclamation of victory is approaching, which would bring a sigh of relief not only to the invading Russians and their many supporters around the world. He set out his leadership theory as follows: 'In order to be able to claim any leadership, even not global, but at least in something, every country, every people, every ethnos must guarantee its sovereignty, because here there are no half measures: either you are sovereign, or you are a colony'. Putin avoided naming names 'so as not to offend anyone', but insisted on the need to free ourselves from colonial oppressions 'in this current fierce geopolitical struggle', which after all also comes to us from the past, when 'we were forced to retreat, but then we regained our strength, we concentrated, and we moved forward!' Thanks to the comparison with Peter, who was indeed able to learn from mistakes and humiliations, Putin's Russia has 'regained its strength' in the past two decades to once again assert itself over the 'colonisers'. Praising the Russian scientists and industrialists, who 'provided us with hypersonic weapons', today Russia will rise up from all the weaknesses of the past, and will finally be able to live off its own prosperity, refusing all meddling. The Russian people wait with resigned submission, hoping that at least all will not be lost, because according to Putin 'the whole world blames us for the problems, but we have nothing to do with it'. The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights has presented a 40-page report documenting abuses and violations. At least 250,000 children displaced; 382 maimed or killed, over 1,400 arrested. Those deprived of study exceeded 7.8 million, some 33,000 died of treatable diseases. The appeal for urgent intervention by the international community. Yangon (AsiaNews) - Dozens of children have been killed in Myanmar since the February 2021 coup that overthrew the democratic government of Aung San Suu Kyi - now under arrest - and returned the military dictatorship to power. Underage victims have not only died in the crossfire between the army and opponents or ethnic rebel groups, but have been subjected to targeted attacks by soldiers who, according to testimonies collected by UN experts, have inflicted 'immense suffering'. Tom Andrews, UN special rapporteur for human rights in the former Burma, says that children and young people have been beaten, stabbed, had their nails and teeth pulled out during interrogations, others have faced mock executions. During these 16 months, the junta has repeatedly attacked the United Nations and Western countries, accusing them of interference and rejecting accusations of atrocities. However, from testimonies and contributions collected by UN-linked agencies, activist and pro-human rights groups, civil society representatives and eyewitnesses, a very different picture emerges. At least 250,000 children have been displaced by the fighting, another 382 have also been killed or maimed by air raids or heavy artillery. The 40-page report is entitled: 'Losing a generation: how the military junta is attacking children in Myanmar and stealing their future'. The Special Representative accuses the military regime of systematically abusing children since it came to power. Over 1,400 young people have been arrested and at least 61 are currently being held hostage. According to the report, at least 7.8 million children are deprived of their right to education because of the conflict and another 33,000 are at risk of dying from treatable diseases because they have not had their vaccination cycle this year. "The junta's relentless attacks on children underscore the generals' depravity and willingness to inflict immense suffering on innocent victims in its attempt to subjugate the people," Andrews said in a statement. "The junta's attacks on children constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes." The UN has received information about 142 children being tortured by soldiers, police and pro-army militias, and there are accounts of increased child labour, in this case also by armed formations that stand in the way of the military junta. The UN expert appeals to the international community to take coordinated action to isolate the military dictatorship financially and to commit to a 'significant increase' in humanitarian assistance. We must respond, he concludes, 'to the crisis in Myanmar as urgently as we did to the crisis in Ukraine' to avert the looming danger of a crisis that could create an entire 'lost generation'. RTHK: "Heavy lifting done" on US gun deal: senators US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he was "comfortable" with the framework of a bipartisan gun violence bill unveiled earlier this week and would vote for it if it is not changed substantially, adding momentum to a compromise that could pass the Senate as early as next week. "The heavy lifting is done," Senator Chris Murphy, the lead Democrat on the bill, told reporters. Republican Senator John Cornyn, the lead Republican in the effort, said negotiators could finish writing the bill by the end of this week, clearing the way for a possible vote next week. McConnell's support is a significant boost to a growing group of bipartisan lawmakers who are expected to back the finished legislation. The bill needs 60 votes to advance in the evenly-split 100-seat chamber, including 10 Republicans. Crafted in the aftermath of last month's massacres at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, the framework is far less ambitious than proposals offered by President Joe Biden and other Democrats. The plan, lauded by Biden, includes support for state "red flag" laws keeping firearms from potentially dangerous people, tougher criminal background checks for gun buyers under age 21 and a crackdown on "straw purchases" by people buying weapons for others who could not pass a background check. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer repeatedly has said he would work quickly to pass the bill once it is written. But thorny issues still need to be resolved. Cornyn said negotiations were focused on the "red flag" provision. The legislation would provide money to help other states set up their own laws, but it would not create a national red-flag program, he said. Sixteen states already have red flag laws in place, he said. The provision should be broadened, he said, so that new federal funding could be targeted at various state programmes, such as outpatient treatment programs for people suffering from mental illness. (Reuters) This story has been published on: 2022-06-14. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. China's Shenzhen sees trade grow with RCEP members Xinhua) 08:29, June 15, 2022 SHENZHEN, June 14 (Xinhua) -- China's southern boomtown Shenzhen in Guangdong Province saw its trade with members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) near 354 billion yuan (about 52.4 billion U.S. dollars) from January to May, an increase of 1.2 percent year on year. During the period, exports from Shenzhen to RCEP members reached 123.8 billion yuan, up 11.4 percent year on year, according to statistics from the local customs. The value of the exported goods reached 2.3 billion yuan during the period, while that of the imported goods reached 570 million yuan, the statistics showed. Local authorities have also set up the Shenzhen Service Center of RCEP to facilitate the trade with RCEP members. The RCEP, the world's largest free trade deal to date, covers 10 member states of the ASEAN and its five free trade agreement partners, namely China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. The countries under the framework account for roughly 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product and population. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) CANBERRA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has acknowledged the recommendation that mask-wearing will no longer be mandated in airport terminals but still be required on all flights. In a statement released Tuesday night, the federal government announced that, on the advice of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), the mask mandate in airport terminals will be lifted from Saturday. But travelers will still be required to wear masks on planes to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The AHPPC said it did not consider the mask mandate in airports to be "proportionate" amid relaxed mask rules in most other environments across the country. However, the AHPPC "continues to strongly recommend" continued mask-wearing in airport terminals and other indoor settings, especially where physical distancing is not possible. "The government notes the AHPPC has strongly recommended Australians continue to wear masks as a key measure to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 and influenza," the government statement said. "Masks help us protect the most vulnerable in our community who are unable to get vaccinated and people who have a higher risk of developing severe illness," it said. The announcement came when the nation's COVID-19 cases continued to rise. On Wednesday morning, Australia reported more than 20,000 new COVID-19 cases and more than 40 deaths. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Back in the 60s, for example, the Swedish brand was betting big on the Saab Sport, a model specifically introduced in 1962 to replace the successful Saab GT750.Sharing lots of parts with the Saab 96, the Sport eventually made its way to the United States as well, though, since its debut here in 1963, the car was known as Granturismo 850.Saab had a change of mind only three years later when the Saab Sport was renamed Monte Carlo 850. However, not even this new naming approach prevented the series from getting the ax in 1968.And now, here comes the good news.One of the few Saab Monte Carlo 850 examples that were sold in the States has recently been found in the woods, where it has allegedly spent many years just sitting. While no further information on this front has been shared, the photos shared on Craigslist do seem to confirm this Monte Carlo 850 has indeed been parked for decades, albeit this doesnt necessarily mean its already a complete wreck.Not at all, actually. While its obviously a project car that needs a full restoration, the general condition is well above the average. There are indeed signs of rust here and there, but the photos dont seem to tell the full story, so youd better check the undersides, the floors, and the trunk as well before committing to a purchase.No details have been shared on the engine under the hood, but the Saab Sport was originally launched with an 841 cc two-stroke, three-cylinder engine developing 52 horsepower. The power was later increased to 55 horsepower with the debut of MY 1965.The seller claims the engine was still running when the car ended up on the side of the road, but of course, nobody knows for sure if theres any sign left in it today.Located in North Georgia, this rare Saab can be yours for just $2,900, and as it turns out, some other offers are accepted as well. On Sunday, we were telling you about an interesting and very welcomed mishap. A Shell gas station from Rancho Cordova sold for a couple of hours premium gas for $0.69 a gallon . The employees didnt immediately figure out what was going on. They started suspecting something was off only after they saw that people were queueing and were only filling up with their most expensive type of gasoline.The price was eventually corrected. Unfortunately, in those almost three hours, people managed to reportedly incur a loss of almost $16,000. The owner assessed the situation and fired the gas station manager, according to ABC Fresno . John Szczecina took full responsibility for the error.The ex-manager explained that he accidentally misplaced a decimal when trying to set the price of premium gas at $6.99 per gallon.But the man is worried he might be sued by the stations owners since they have to cover the loss out of their own pockets. This situation hasnt been brought up yet by the bosses, but the former managers family took matters into their own hands and created a GoFundMe page. They want people to contribute as little as they can. The manager says he intends to pay back his former employer just to avoid further problems.After finding out about what went on at this Shell filling station, people from other parts of the U.S. started accusing those that took advantage of the discounted price of theft. One driver asked the Police if he did something wrong by filling up with 69-cent gas. The officers told him that he was in the clear. They argue that Shell couldve refused to accept the payments made by those that had the chance to top off their cars or trucks for cheap. Moreover, the gas station has an emergency button that can cut the pumps power instantaneously. Nobody did any of that, so customers cant be held liable for the losses.Gas recently reached a national average of over $5 a gallon . Experts anticipate the uptrend will continue. Their prognosis is backed even by the U.S. energy secretary, who said this summer is going to be rough. As of June 2022, Ellison is worth a reported $89 billion, which makes him the 11th richest man in the world. He owns a vast portfolio of real estate and shares in various companies (including Tesla), is an active philanthropist, and, more relevant to our interests, a reportedly notorious car collector. He also owns his own private island , which is also the sixth-largest island in Hawaii, so it would make sense to host at least part of said famed auto collection there.If he does, theres little chance were going to find out about it or, at least, not directly so. Ellison is also famously private, so except for a few bits and pieces along the years, theres a little fact to back up the urban legend that hes an exotics collector. We do know that he used to own a McLaren F1 because it sold for $3,575,000 at auction in 2005 and that he also owns or used to own an Audi R8 , an Acura NSX , which he called his favorite car, and a Lexus LFA Bloomberg recently did an expose on his ownership of Lanai, his private island that he bought in 2012 for $300 million, and in between details about how hes run every local business out and how he never seemingly lived up to the original promise of turning Lanai into a sustainable paradise, theres this: his daily on the island is a bright orange Corvette. Its the only sign locals get of his presence on the island because some of them have never met him, even though they have been trying to, in an official capacity, for the better part of the last decade.As far as sustainability on Lanai, Ellison has installed a Tesla supercharging station, which he probably hardly ever uses, since hes a Corvette kind of guy. But Ellison is also close with Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, and has had him over as a guest at least on a couple of occasions, so the supercharger is probably put to use then. Lanai also has a hydroponic farm and counts on the help of academics to do things like track rainfall, the publication notes.Ellison never quite got into the details of his sustainability plans with Lanai, and it makes sense if you think about it: itsisland, and he can not talk about it if hes not in the mood for it. David Agus, Ellisons partner in Sensei, says that the goal is to include education and the overall local economy as well as food and energy, with benefits for both locals and visitors.Until that happens, the takeaway is that one of the worlds most private billionaires and passionate car collectors drives an orange Corvette. And maybe a Tesla , on occasion. TOKYO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Japan concluded its 150-day regular parliamentary session Wednesday, with the Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida deciding amid political and party headwinds an upper house election will be held on July 10. Official campaigning ahead of the election will kick off on June 22, government officials said, with the focus of the election race likely to be centered around soaring prices and measures for economic growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other points of focus for the triennial campaign are likely to include international and regional diplomatic issues, as well as geopolitical affairs, informed sources said. "Finally the upper house election is about to commence. I will continue my efforts as we have a mountain of big issues," Kishida told ruling Liberal Democratic Party executives. Japan's top government spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, meanwhile, said that pertinent issues at home and abroad will be "steadily" tackled. "The government will steadily tackle domestic issues and diplomatic challenges," Matsuno said, referring in part to soaring energy and commodity prices here, which threaten to dampen consumption and hence the growth of resource-poor Japan's already fragile and COVID-hit economy. Kishida, who took office last October, along with his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito coalition ally will be looking to extend their grip on power in the upper house, so as to more swiftly pass key legislation and consolidate the government. The ruling bloc currently controls both chambers of Japan's bicameral parliament. Half of the upper chamber's 248 seats will be vied for in the upcoming election. Under the proportional representation system, 50 seats will be chosen with the remaining seats based on results from electoral districts. Kishida's ruling bloc, while having achieved all 61 pieces of legislation submitted by the government, for the first time since the ordinary session in 1996, has, however, been facing some political and party-related headwinds of late. On Monday, a nationwide media poll showed that the approval rating for the Kishida's Cabinet dropped to 56.9 percent having edged up to 61.5 percent a month earlier, marking its highest level since he took office in October. The disapproval rating for Kishida's Cabinet, meanwhile, rose 5.1 percentage points to 26.9 percent, according to the poll conducted by Kyodo News. In addition, an overwhelming 64.1 percent of those surveyed considered Kishida's response to rising prices to be "inadequate." This compares to just 28.1 percent who considered the prime minister's response to the price hikes to be "satisfactory." The poll also revealed that 77.3 percent of those surveyed said that soaring prices for food and daily necessities have affected their lives. For 71.1 percent of those surveyed, this issue would be borne in mind when voting in next month's upper house election. The LDP-led ruling bloc has also faced criticism from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) over the ruling bloc's response to soaring prices. House of Representatives Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda, meanwhile, has caught flak recently for being embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal. In another blow to Kishida and his ruling bloc, a lower house LDP member who belonged to a party faction led by Kishida, resigned from the party last week following allegations he took an 18-year-old girl out drinking and gave her 40,000 yen (300 U.S. dollars). The legal age to consume alcohol in Japan is 20-years old. As stern as the words from Hangin with Mr. Cooper actor may seem, he has a point. With everything happening worldwide, analysts predict gas prices will only go higher in the following months. A May report by JPMorgan indicates gas prices in the U.S. could go well over the $6.20 mark by August.Im not a rich man. I have to put gas in my car like everybody else. But Bam! You go less places. You can ride a bike to the grocery store if its that bad, he said.The U.S is not the only region affected. Over the weekend, the UK witnessed a new record, with gas prices hitting $8.54 a gallon.This year, oil and refined fuel prices in the U.S. have hit their highest levels in 14 years. Industry experts say its mainly due to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and consequent sanctions. Theres also a higher demand for gas after the pandemic since many people had to put off travel plans last year owing to stay-at-home orders.The price of gas is indivisibly linked to the cost of crude oil. Every $10 increase in the cost of a barrel of crude adds close to $0.25 to the price of a gallon of gas, CNET reported. While the U.S. doesnt import crude oil from Russia, it is traded globally. Therefore, any change in the market sends ripples throughout the global market.During the short interview with TMZ at LAX on Monday, Curry advised U.S. vehicle owners not to look at gas prices and just fill up. He urged drivers not to worry and instead drive slower and to fewer places. EV Elon Musk might have become a controversial public figure in the last couple of months. That's because he's focusing on buying the social media platform Twitter rather than fixing the dire outlook at Tesla. Some people are being laid off, while his attention as an executive seems to always be elsewhere. But surviving the incoming economic crisis, transforming space travel, and keeping in touch with an international fanbase is not easily manageable. All this didnt bode well with those that are keeping Tesla accountable for every little error possible.This context has brought back a couple of statements that may be incorrect. Elon Musk accepted the invitation to interview with Tesla Owners Silicon Valley. He spent a decent amount of time clearing some things out.Back in 2007-2008, the world was succumbing to a deep financial crisis. Many lost their jobs, savings, and retirement investments. On top of all that fiasco, people were being asked if they should back a high-end electric carmaker. Many said no. But now, heres what Musk says happened.The CEO explains that back then, it was Daimler that saved Tesla from closing its business for good. According to Elon Musk, it wasnt the American taxpayer that first came to offer much-needed support. He says the German companys investment was essential to Tesla s survival, not the government loans.Daimler wanted to make an electric smart car just to calm down the regulators. Afterward, they decided it would be good for city use too, but the company needed the right technology for a good powertrain. They were also interested in finding out how thewould behave in tests that were specifically tailored for target demographics. At the time, the wisest decision was to use somebody elses expertise. They got to Tesla because the Roadster was already making waves internationally, and they unknowingly bailed them out.The entrepreneur says this subject is still a misunderstanding because back then, General Motors (GM) received a flat-out freaking donation from taxpayers, Chrysler enjoyed a bunch of money, and Ford got a loan of $5 billion.Elon Musk says that only after Daimler injected cash for the Smart deal did Tesla receive in mid-2009 a non-binding letter of interest from the Department of Energy (DoE). That piece of paper contained the confirmation that a loan was possible. They applied but ended up with a different result.In fact, says Musk, Tesla never got a loan that was similar to what other auto manufacturers received at the time.That was not a loan where they just give you $500 million. That was one where you spend the money, you provide invoices, those invoices are provided to DoE, and they then refund you based on the audited expenses that you paid. Its not like a lump sum type of thing. () Its a loaned reimbursement. Nothings given for free. It would not be possible to use that as advanced capital to make something happen, said Elon Musk about the money received from the U.S. government. Moreover, he underlines that the agreement entered into effect in 2010, and the reimbursements took months to arrive. By then, the recession was already over.If we had needed the money from that loan, Tesla wouldve gone bankrupt, stated the CEO.He also points out that until today, Tesla and Ford are the only American car companies that havent gone bankrupt post-2009.Moreover, Musk says the DoE loan Tesla got was paid back in full after the initial public offering (IPO) in 2010. That meant the company had to pay the interest and the early repayment penalty too.Taxpayers made money on the loan [Tesla got], said Elon Musk. That was not extremely hard to do for the B-body Mopar introduced by Plymouth back in 1967 on the basics of the Belvedere model. It rocked its gentlemans muscle car position with 426 Hemi or 440ci grace, and it even featured no less than three redesigns over its short lifespan.Alas, fans who remember the GTX as a four-headlight affair will immediately notice that something is amiss with this bare-naked, massively exposed Plymouth GTX 426 Hemi, that travels the imagination land of Abimelec Arellano, a virtual artist better known as abimelecdesign on social media. The pixel master has again prepared a marvelous wishful thinking project if you do not mind those ardent Mopar purists might run amuck crying their outrage.But they should not, since no actual GTXs got hurt in making this digital project, and the authors main gist was not to send them into a diehard frenzy but rather to play the old-school muscle car trope in a signature, virtual way. The explanation behind this idea is simple, as the CGI expert says he just cant get enough of how good old muscle cars look sitting low on big, meaty vintage Goodyears.So, he took the unsuspecting Plymouth and gave it a virtual treatment with a few twists. These include the extended upwards fenders, a big motor sticking out freely as there is no hood to take away its spotlight, meaty tires, and a bare/exposed setup for the front end that also includes no windows and a massive roll cage to signal this Plymouth means digital business.Naturally, there is also one last touch that could set the Mopar crowd on fire the headlights are Holleys single retro bright units. So, is this your vintage cup of CGI muscle car tea or not? From excessive wear to rubbing on the roll bar and snow intrusion, the list keeps on growing. Back in May 2022, the owner of a Badlands uploaded pics of a soft top that comes apart at the seams. He was contacted by a Ford rep one day later, who asked the guy to bring his Bronco in for inspection.Owner Jarmo Karhu vented on Bronco6G on May 26th as follows: The service department told me that not only had they done the inspection, but they had attempted a repair and closed my case. This is what Im left with, and it is now much worse than it was before I took it in. The repair was a complete failure. It is separating in multiple locations now. Im beginning to honestly believe that my top may tear apart and fly off on the highway.Fast forward to the present day, and the issue still hasnt been fixed. Karhu has an appointment at Galpin tomorrow morning. The fabric is now lying on the guys head as he drives. Every edge is showing signs of separating, which isnt excusable for a car thats less than one year old. Karhu took delivery last September, and he first identified the issue six months later.Fellow members of the forum experienced this very problem to varying degrees, and obviously enough, theyre not happy with the problem in question. Theyre not really pleased by the repair either. North7 believes that the culprit is the water-based adhesive, which is friendlier to the environment but not as good as less eco-friendly solvent-based adhesives.I've used 3M Super 77 on other upholstery projects and used this to fix that interior top backing issue seen in the photos, he told fellow members. Cleaned the light adhesive overspray with no issues. My Bronco sits outside, and the top liner has not sagged since I fixed it two months ago. The Mountain View-based search giant refers to this version as Google Maps built into the car, as its pre-installed on Android Automotive and comes with deeper integration into vehicle functions. As a result, Google Maps can read more data from the car and act accordingly.For example, the app can check the battery range, and if needed, it can suggest charging stations along the route to make sure the vehicle can reach the destination.However, Google Maps doesnt seem to be working flawlessly all the time.Users on reddit reveal that the navigation app is now going crazy in their Polestar, as it keeps repeating the last session for no clear reason.In other words, every time Google Maps launches, it automatically starts navigating to the previous destination configured by the user, even if the navigation was canceled before turning off the engine.Someone says Google Maps also changed the navigation to the previous destination in the middle of the drive.At this point, no fix is known to exist, and Google is yet to acknowledge the glitch, so youd better not hold your breath for a solution.But on the other hand, Google Maps misbehaving in the car is living proof Android Automotive users need more alternatives. Waze is one of the best navigation apps on the market, and while an Android Automotive version is currently in the work, no ETA is available as to when it could go live.Waze would obviously feel at home on Android Automotive, given its a Google-owned app, therefore making it more convenient for users to turn to an alternative whenever something goes wrong with Google Maps. That's why when New York State governor Kathy Hochul announced the construction of an $83 million safety project this was underway week, some commuters breathed a sigh of relief. Under this plan, vast sections of the furthest west portions of the 71.02-mile (114.30 km) long superhighway will receive major infrastructure upgrades to help decrease the length and frequency of major traffic jams along the route.It's hoped that the construction of new auxiliary lanes and reconstructions at two of the road's major Queens exits will ease congestion at the highway's most busy points between the entrance ramp from the southbound Clearview Expressway to the Exit 29 ramp at Springfield Boulevard. This stretch of the road also happens to be a frequent spot for severe or fatal car accidents."Safety is a top priority for our transportation infrastructure, which is why we are investing in these critical enhancements along the Long Island Expressway," Governor Hochul explained in New York State's official press release on the matter."We remain laser-focused on making our infrastructure safer and more efficient, and investing in infrastructure projects like this will ensure our communities and transportation networks across the state are well-connected. Motorists on this busy section of the highway have historically experienced heavy congestion and delays. It's believed this project will help ease travel to the benefit of residents and everyone who uses this critical corridor."Alongside the new auxiliary lanes, two new entrance ramps from the northbound Clearview Expressway and from the Horace Harding Expressway at 212th Street will be heavily modified. All to alleviate bottlenecks that too often lead to immense traffic jams that last for miles.It's all capped off by replacing a decades-old bridge over Oceania Street in Bayside, Queens, which passes over the eastbound and westbound Long Island Expressway in favor of a new one more favorable to motor vehicle and bicycle traffic alike. Whether these changes yield positive results will remain to be seen for some time. The Rochester-based company has just acquired Orten, a German brand that includes Orten Betriebs GmbH and Orten Electric Trucks GmbH, specializing in truck and trailer bodies for the beverages industry.This will help expand the offer of battery-electric and hydrogen-electric trucks for the needs of various customers. On one hand, trucks that are under 26 tons can transition to Ortens electric vehicles. On the other hand, Hyzon will provide FCEVS (fuel cell electric vehicles) as green alternatives to medium and heavy-duty trucks.Plus, Hyzon gains access to three fully-operational production facilities with more than 80 employees. The Orten's team expertise in retrofitting and bodybuilding, as one of the pioneers of electrification, will support the Rochester-based company's FCEV development.Hyzon is gearing up to offer the first repowered Class 6, Class 7, and Class 8 trucks for regular operations in California. This will be achieved with support from HVIP (Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program), a local program for clean commercial vehicles. Germany is also one of the states that offer incentives for transitioning heavy diesel vehicles to cleaner alternatives. Public fleet operators are particularly encouraged to switch to either electric or fuel cell vehicles, but commercial operators can benefit from incentives as well. According to Hyzon, Germany has the potential to become one of the largest markets for green commercial vehicles."We look forward to working with the ORTEN team to accelerate Germany's move to zero emissions through hydrogen fuel cell technology, said Craig Knight, Hyzon Motors CEO. The Oslo-based TECO 2030 company describes itself as a specialist in innovative engineering and equipment, with the main focus on clean technology. Its been supporting hydrogen fuel cell-related projects through various partnerships and programs. One of its major projects, the TECO 2030 Innovation Center, was meant to be an innovative fuel cell factory that would double as a research and education hub.The Norwegian company believes that fuel cells can be considered the engines of tomorrow, which is why their applications in the maritime transportation industry should be extended, especially with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) starting to impose harsher restrictions and emission standards on shipping operators.Last year, TECO 2030 also announced that its fuel cells will power one of the worlds pioneering high-speed hydrogen boats. The Port of Narvik planned to replace one of its existing boats with this innovative vessel. While this fuel cell boat was built from scratch as a zero-emission model, TECO 2030 is also gearing up to launch a tanker thats converted to a hydrogen-electric propulsion system.Called Hy-Ekotank, the future vessel will be based on the current fleet operated by Ektank AB. But, through the retrofit installation of a fuel cell system (with either compressed or liquid hydrogen storage), the Hy-Ekotank will be able to reduce up to 100% of the GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions while operating. Plus, it will completely eliminate emissions in ports.Shell Shipping and Maritime and DNV are also partners in this project. TECO 2030 will supply the fuel cells, while the Ektank AB tankers will be the ones to be retrofitted. The Hy-Ekotank will become one of the first hydrogen-powered vessels of its kind a necessary development for achieving the goal of cutting GHG emissions by 55% by the end of this decade. For consumers, most car manufacturers might be on board with going electric, but what they might not know is behind the scenes, the same automakers are secretly lobbying against the switch.Toyota might be a pioneer hybrid technology pioneer with the 20-year-old Prius, but that doesnt necessarily mean they want a rapid shift to electric vehicles. If anything, its CEO, Akio Toyoda, was criticized by investors last year for questioning Japans plan to ban conventional cars by 2035.During its AGM, Toyota emphasized that it would stick to its position developing both BEVs and hybrids that, for the past decade, made it a leader in cleaner vehicles. The automakers executives also tackled questions from investors on Toyodas succession and what plans they have to evade the current microchip crisis AkademikerPension, an active shareholder in Toyota, tabled some questions at the AGM after an earlier proposal on the automakers lobbying activities was rejected for missing a deadline.Masahiko Maeda, Toyota's Chief Technology Officer responded saying the goal is carbon neutrality. He added that customers need to choose to popularize electrification that includes plug-in hybrids.After the AGM, AkademikerPension said, Toyota used the pretext of 'customer choices' to avoid answering questions about its lobbying activities and policy towards climate action. They added that they expect more from Toyota since climate change threatens more than consumer choices.Toyota is not looking to rapidly shift to electric vehicles. The automaker believes hybrids still have a place in the industry, especially in regions where the infrastructure is not ready to support a rapid shift to electrification.Toyota was once a favorite with environmentalists and climate change crusaders, but lately, it is facing harsh criticism over its stand for a gradual shift towards EVs. Since the start of the war in Ukraine in February this year, several countries, including EU members, the UK, and the U.S., have imposed economic sanctions against Russia. These include the seizure or temporary arrest of Russian-owned assets like superyachts, real estate, auto fleets, and private jets. The decision to impose sanctions has struck panic among superyacht owners (and not only) and sparked a cat-and-mouse game where the same owners try to avoid seizure by stowing their assets on friendly ground, where possible.Billions of dollars worth of boats are already in the hands of authorities, with some of the worlds most famous and expensive superyachts detained in ports all around the world. But two have managed to escape: the 2021 Lurrsen build Nord, which is owned by steel billionaire Alexei Mordashov, and Motor Yacht A, the 2018 Blohm & Voss build owned by EuroChem founder Andrey Melnichenko. The former is worth a reported $500 million, while the latter has a price tag of $300 million, and both are iconic in the industry due to their unique and memorable silhouettes.Both boats are in friendly waters now: Nord was able to sail from Seychelles to Vladivostok in April this year, after traveling in the dark after AIS (automatic identification systems) tracking was turned off, while Motor Yacht A went off the radar in March, and was just recently discovered in the port of Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, where it had been hiding since mid-April According to vlogger and superyacht expert eSysman SuperYachts (see the video below), both vessels have been de-registered by the Lloyds Register and the DMV, two international maritime classification societies that ensure ships are up to modern, seaworthy standards. Prior to this, the vessels were sailing under the Cayman Islands flag, which is standard practice: the flag of convenience has nothing to do with the nationality of the owner, and is chosen for tax reasons only. De-registering a vessel means forced mothballing it because it can no longer sail international waters or secure insurance.Nord and Motor Yacht A will probably be an exception, albeit with limited mobility. Both vessels are now sailing under the Russian flag in what would be a first in this sector of the industry. This could mean a variety of things industry outlets can only speculate on, ranging from Russia seizing the superyachts to the oligarchs taking a stand to show allegiance to Putin. It most definitely means that both Nord and Motor Yacht A are now sailing with all-Russian crews and no longer trying to hide. by Burak Akinci ANKARA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkey is seeking to broker a grain corridor from Ukraine across the Black Sea as part of a United Nations-backed effort to avert a food crisis. Ukraine is a major grain exporter to Africa and the Middle East. As the Russia-Ukraine conflict drags on, disruption to the shipments is pushing prices higher, fuelling an international shortage of food. Meanwhile, international maritime insurance companies have placed the region on a "high risk" list, which would result in significantly higher shipping prices for agricultural products. The United Nations had already appealed to Russia and Ukraine, as well as NATO member Turkey to agree to a maritime corridor to export grain from Ukraine. Turkey has authority over maritime traffic entering and leaving the Black Sea through the Bosphorus Strait. Experts said any Turkish-brokered grain corridor would involve cargo vessels leaving Black Sea ports such as the Ukrainian city of Odessa with a Turkish naval escort, before traveling towards Turkey and on to global markets. "Even if an agreement is reached soon, there are logistical challenges, such as getting ships ready, demining the zone, and preparing the legal basis of such an operation," Murat Onsoy, a scholar from Ankara's Hacettepe University, told Xinhua. However, the UN-backed plan is the most feasible one compared to alternative trade routes through Poland or Romania, Onsoy said, adding that given the vast quantities involved, the majority of Ukrainian grain has always been transported by sea rather than road or rail. "Time is of the essence, but we are already running very late" as Ukraine's stranded wheat and corn may rot before a viable solution is reached, the scholar added. Turkey, which has good relations with both Kiev and Moscow, made efforts early in the conflict to act as a mediator between the two sides. Kerim Has, a Moscow-based analyst on Russian and Eurasian affairs, also insisted on the urgency of the matter to avoid a food crisis of global proportions. Even though it is not an organic item that rots quickly, millions of tons of wheat and corn cannot wait for months, he said, calling for "goodwill from parties involved." SUV Most recently, Alfa Romeo introduced the world to its Giulia and Stelvio Estrema specifications that bridge the gap to the high-performance Quadrifoglio versions but that was back in March. A little earlier, in February, they even gave us Tonale their first all-new model since the introduction of the aforementioned compact executive sedan and crossoverStill, that does not mean Alfa is deprived of its legions of fans, even if some of them love the real-world setting while others dwell across the virtual automotive realm. One member of the latter bunch is also Russia-based virtual artist Nikita Chuicko, better known as kelsonik on social media, who again decided to plaster a Tonale front end all over an Alfa Romeo place.This time around, it was not a green or crimson Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA with a fresh face but rather a red Stelvio undergoing the same transformational procedure yet again . Only now the pixel master has decided to make do without the dark body accents, massive wheels, or the lowered stance and only kept the aggressively new, Tonale-inspired face. Still, do not hurry and discard this as yet another Tonale face-swap because we really need this in our Alfa Romeo life, at least according to the popular opinion of the channels fans.Some even think this slightly frowned look is a huge improvement over the original that just seems like it has a birds beak. Plus, the Stelvio is growing rather long in the tooth as it was released back in 2016 and only underwent a subtle facelift in 2019 for the 2020 model year. Now, seriously, since everyone loves the Tonale styling, why not splash it onto its siblings as well? That way they might also feel a little fresh once again. That would be a contraption assembled in the facilities of AeroVironment , and destined to be used for surveillance and intelligence gathering. The machine has a wingspan of 9.2 feet (2.8 meters) and weighs just 15 pounds (7 kg).Its so light, in fact, that it can be launched by hand, in a fashion not unlike the one we used if we wanted to launch model planes for the greatest distance possible back when we were kids. For the record, this one though can also be launched by bungee, rail, or vehicle.Once airborne, the drones can travel for as much as 37 miles (60 km), being capable of staying in the air for 2.5 hours at a time. It can carry with it a variety of payloads, depending on the needs of its operator.Last time weve heard something about the Puma 3 was back in the summer of last year, when the U.S. Air Force (USAF) signed a $15 million contract with AeroVironment for the delivery of Puma 3 drones and spare parts for them, but also for another drone called Raven.This summer, another military branch steps into the spotlight, namely the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). AeroVironment announced this week it received an almost $6.2 contract for the delivery of an undisclosed number of Puma 3s.Puma 3 AE has proven itself as the ideal solution for low-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in any operational environment and continues to serve as the backbone of the U.S. Marine Corps Medium Range/Medium Endurance Forces, said in a statement Trace Stevenson, AeroVironment vice president.The company says it should deliver the drones it owes as a result of this contract sometime next month. A government bill approved by the Armenian parliament earlier this year requires private firms and individual entrepreneurs to carry out transactions worth more than 300,000 drams ($700) only through the banking system. For other citizens the limit is set at 500,000 drams. But it will be brought down to 300,000 drams in July 2023. The law, which will come into force on July 1, also prohibits local and central government agencies from making or accepting any payments in cash. It envisages a similar, albeit gradual, ban on payments of all medical and education tuition fees as well as private sector wages. The ban will first apply to Yerevan and be extended to the other parts of Armenia over the next two years. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian touted the impending entry into force of these restrictions during a cabinet meeting last week. He said that his government will also ban cash payments for real estate and cars. The head of the State Revenue Committee (SRC), Rustam Badasian, confirmed that these measures are aimed at reducing the still sizable informal sector of the Armenian economy. They will result in a certain increase in tax revenues, he said without making concrete financial projections. Garegin Gevorgian, a senior official from the Armenian Central Bank, was likewise confident that restricting the widespread use of cash as a payment method will improve tax collection. Central Bank data cited by Gevorgian shows that payments made in Armenia via bank transfer, check and credit or debit card have steadily increased over the last 12 years. Still, they accounted for only a quarter of all transactions last year. Suren Parsian, an independent economist, welcomed the government efforts to curb cash transactions. But he said the authorities should do more to raise public awareness of the upcoming restrictions and help small and help medium-sized businesses prepare for their enforcement. One small business owner, Garegin Gevorgian, criticized the limitations, saying that many such firms will have to pay more taxes and banking fees. Their tax burden could be doubled as a result, he claimed. Individual car traders are also concerned. As one of them, Tigran Hovannisian, explained, We are going to have disputes with buyers. A buyer will say that I wont transfer the money until you register the car in my name, while I will say I wont register it in your name until you transfer the money. There are also questions about the authorities ability to enforce the new rules in car and property transactions. Real estate agents warn that home buyers and sellers may formalize their deals as free donations but carry out them in cash to evade taxes. Sunnova and Montgomery County Green Bank Team Up to Make Solar More Accessible for Homeowners JERUSALEM, June 15 (Xinhua) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has met here with senior Israeli officials to discuss ways Israel could help Europe to reduce its energy dependence on Russia, Israeli Prime Minister's office said Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett "acceded to von der Leyen's request for cooperation in exporting natural gas to Europe via Egypt," the office said in a statement. The crisis in Ukraine has prompted the EU to seek alternatives to Russian fossil fuels, including in Eastern Mediterranean, to meet energy demand. In a joint press briefing on Tuesday night alongside Bennett, von der Leyen said that the EU wants to boost its energy cooperation with Israel, and that the EU, Israel and Egypt are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding later on Wednesday, under which Israel will export natural gas in a pipeline to Europe via Egypt. "It is, for us, very important, and I'm very grateful that we are now discussing this fascinating project that you are willing to increase the deliveries of gas to the European Union via Egypt," she said. In the past 13 years, with the discovery of natural gas reservoirs off Israel's Mediterranean shore, the country "went from being a gas importer to becoming a gas exporter," Bennett said during the joint press briefing. The country is "currently working to produce natural gas from -- more natural gas from -- Israel's economic waters," Bennett said. The $600 million casino and hotel proposed near Highway 99 south of Bakersfield took another step forward Monday with the announcement of the Click here to read the full article. Joel Whitburn, whose books of research on the charts were a staple of the bookshelves of anyone who cared about the history or business of pop music for decades, died Tuesday at age 82. No cause of death was immediately given, although Whitburn was reported to have been in ill health for some time. The Wisconsin natives company, Record Research, had been publishing books based on the Billboard charts going back to 1970, with a count of tomes that as of a little under a decade ago amounted to 122 books. Amid all the genre-specific books he published, Whitburns flagship book and top seller was Top Pop Singles. That book covered everything that was a hit from 1955 forward, with Whitburn throwing in three years worth of mid-50s stats from a chart that predated the Hot 100s beginning in 1958 because he wanted to include that early rock n roll history. But he was never under the delusion that music started with Elvis Presley, as evidenced by his also having publishing a book titled Pop Memories: 1890-1954. His completism wasnt limited to pure data: Whitburns home in Menomonee Falls, Wis. had an underground vault that contained every single to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100 since it began in 1958 (on 7-inch vinyl records for the first few decades, and official or burned CDs for later years). Talking with former Billboard bureau chief in 2013, Whitburn estimated he had over 200,000 45 rpm singles in his vault (including an estimated 18,000 with picture sleeves), and claimed to have a copy of every pop album that ever charted in the magazine dating back to 1945, too. Whitburns name was also familiar to oldies fans via a series of compilation CDs issued by Rhino Records. In a 2014 Q&A conducted for Billboards 120th anniversary, Whitburn reminisced about becoming the uncontested chart king in a world full of record geeks who would have fought for the crown if it werent so clearly his. After coming across a weekly edition of Billboard at a bus station in the early 50s, when he was 12, Whitburn became entranced by the full-page ads for records he was excited about hearing on the radio, as well as the voluminous reviews of new singles (something modern Billboard did away with decades ago). I started subscribing to Billboard in 1953, he told Gary Trust. It was $10 a year which I had to beg for from my dad. So, he sent the $10 bill in. Whitburn kept every issue, a practice that went on for enough years that he was able to indulge in nostalgia looking at old copies. One September day in 1965 I remember it was rainy I grabbed an issue from 1958, the year the Hot 100 started. I thought it was just an amazing chart. It combined everything into one, and took up two pages in the magazine. I thought, Ill start there.' He started writing down dates and figures on cards, starting with Ricky Nelsons Poor Little Fool, the first No. 1 on the first Hot 100 chart. I wrote down No. 1, the date [Aug. 4, 1958] and Imperial, the record label. Then, I followed its chart history, when it went to No. 4, then to No. 6. I was just doing it as a hobby. He went to work for RCA Records, compiling his chart research on nights and weekends over the next five years. In his day job in the late 60s, I was working in the music industry, Whitburn told LeBlanc. Charley Pride would come to town and Id go out to lunch with him. I met John Gary, Chet Atkins, and Henry Mancini. This was from 68 into early 70. In the Midwest, I was going around setting up these 8-track tape departments all over the place. Everybody was getting into 8-track tapes, including gas stations. He quit his job and began publishing books in 1970. When I was out on my [RCA] routes talking to radio stations, they all said it would be a godsend to have that information at their fingertips, because there was nothing available. I remember calling Billboard, and all they had was a list of top 1,000 hits, on mimeographed sheets, that sold for $50. I bought that, but I thought it would be neat to have something specific by artists, complete discographies. So, I decided to publish what I had. Whitburn was glad he went rogue and self-published before Billboard came into the picture, having seen advertisements for his first book. I (had) just published my book when the first call came, he recalled. It was lucky I did because if I had asked Billboard, they probably would have said no. Billboard publisher Hal Cook, rather than claim copyright infringement, called Whitburn and his wife Fran out to Los Angeles and helped work out an agreement in which Billboard would earn royalties in return for exclusively licensing its data about oldies to the enterprising young man. I ended up with a 26-page licensing agreement with a lot of legal wording. I didnt even read it because I just wanted to sign it, and get going. I wanted to do the album charts as well as country, and I wanted to do an R&B book. At that time, he told Wisconsins Patch site in an interview, they were also working with Casey Kasems contract to do American Top 40. They gave me the publishing agreement and they gave Casey the broadcast agreement, so we started together. Looking back to his teen years. Whitburn figured the timing was right for him to become obsessed with music in the mid-50s, even though his interest pre-dated rock n roll, as he loved the crooners as well. I was at the perfect age, 14 or 15, when rock n roll broke, he told LeBlanc. I was able to go down once a week and buy a record. I had to make that awful decision of what record do I buy this week, and what records do I leave out until next week. Sam Cooke was my favorite. Jackie Wilson was a close second. When I was in college, Jackie Wilson had To Be Loved (in 1958). I thought that was the greatest song ever made at the time. Whitburns collected research made the common practice of fibbing about hits harder to pull off than it once was. He told a local Wisconsin paper: If James Darren came to town and they interviewed him because he was going to appear at the State Fair and if hed say, My first four records were all No. 1 hits, theyd go along with it even though he only had one record that got to No. 3. He used to have trucks deliver as many 5,000 books at a time to his home in Wisconsin, when he was personally responsible for mail order sales. The mailman was pretty excited about it and there were orders coming from all over the world, Whitburn said. So were getting all these foreign stamps and my wife was all excited and saving the stamps from all these countries. Im getting calls from KRLA in Los Angeles, WABC in New York, all these big radio stations are calling and saying, I need the book, the whole history.' When artists came to Milwaukee to do shows, Whitburn would be there to present them with copies of his books backstage, from Paul McCartney to Sting. When Elton John came through well, you can probably guess the punchline. I was going to give Elton John a book, and he said, Ive got all of your books.' Eventually ebooks consumed more of his business, allowing music buffs to free up some shelf space previously devoted to his 200-plus tomes although many still prefer to keep hard copies of the most essential titles, for easy flipping. Asked whether he took a rooting interest in newcomers and what makes it to the top, Whitburn said, Id say about 60 percent is music fan, 40 percent is chartologist. Im just a huge music fan and I love the charts. I enjoy following artists success. Theres just a joy in that. Its a weekly thrill. And there are millions more like me all over the world, he said. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. After a high-speed chase through Orange County, a Bridge City man is pleading guilty to drug trafficking and firearms offenses. Rian Blayke Savoy, 32, drove away from Orange County deputies for several miles in the early morning hours of January 30, 2022, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Texas. Savoy was observed throwing objects out of the window of the vehicle as he was driving. Officers dispatched to the area discovered plastic baggies containing methamphetamine and a firearm. A federal grand jury indicted Savoy on April 6, and on June 14, he pleaded guilty to possession of five grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. ABINGDON, Va. (AP) A Virginia woman convicted earlier this year of charges connected with a scheme to defraud the U.S. government through fake claims for pandemic unemployment benefits has been sentenced to more than two years in prison, a federal prosecutor said. Marissa Leanna Kiser, 27, of Saint Paul, was found guilty by a jury in February of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., fraud in connection with emergency benefits, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud in connection with emergency benefit, and aggravated identity theft. Kiser was sentenced on Tuesday today to 27 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said in a news release. ANKARA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Residential property sales in Turkey increased by 107.5 percent year on year in May to 122,768 units, data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute on Wednesday showed. This is the biggest monthly increase in sales for 2022, with Turkey's biggest metropole Istanbul taking a major share of 18 percent, or 22,148 houses sold. Mortgaged house sales increased by 177.8 percent from the same period last year to 29,335 units, taking up 23.9 percent of all house sales, while the residential property sales to foreigners increased by 235.7 percent, to 5,962 units. Overall, 4.9 percent of all house sales in May were made to foreigners, of which Istanbul took the lion's share with 2,451 units, followed by the Mediterranean province of Antalya, a tourism heartland, which made 1,885 house sales. Russians took first place in residential property purchases with 1,275 units in May. Iranians followed with 736 residences and Iraqi citizens with 617 residences, respectively. In May 2021, full lockdown measures were implemented in Turkey due to the pandemic, leaving the sales transactions at the level of 55,166. Since 2017, the Turkish government has allowed foreigners who invest a particular amount of money in Turkey's real estate sector to obtain Turkish citizenship. In May, the Turkish government raised the amount of investment in properties by foreign nationals to obtain citizenship from 250,000 U.S. dollars to 400,000 dollars. The depreciation in the Turkish currency lira has also made Turkey's real estate more attractive to foreign investors. ISTANBUL, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkey is in talks with more than 10 countries to rent foreign farmland to grow food to meet domestic needs, local newspaper Hurriyet reported on Wednesday. Turkish authorities have been meeting with officials from Venezuela, Ukraine, Sudan, and some other African and Latin American countries in consultation, said the report. Vahit Kirisci, minister of Agriculture and Forestry, said even though Turkey is self-sufficient in domestic consumption, the rented foreign farmland would provide Turkey with the capacity to export food. "We want to produce food on soils that have never been cultivated ... There are many such regions in the world, especially in the south of Africa," he was quoted by Hurriyet as saying. The focus will be on products such as sunflower, corn, cotton, sesame, sugarcane and alfalfa, which have a production shortfall in Turkey. Tropical fruit and vegetables such as pineapple, mango, avocado and canola are planned to be used for both export and domestic market purposes, Hurriyet noted. Turkey has leased 850,000 hectares of land in Sudan over the years, the report said, noting that this project will be replanned, and priority will be given to agricultural products that cannot be produced in Turkey due to climate or other reasons. Kirisci told an agricultural event in southeastern Diyarbakir province on Saturday that Turkey is set to begin wheat cultivation in Venezuela, amid mounting concerns of a global shortage of the commodity, Turkish online newspaper T24 reported. It is reported that growing agricultural products on foreign soil was one of the key topics during Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's recent visit to Turkey. Protesters display the flags of Russia and Ukraine during an anti-war demonstration in front of the Russian embassy in Jakarta, March 4, 2022. The Russian and Ukrainian ambassadors have turned Indonesia this years G20 chair into a diplomatic battlefield by holding tit-for-tat press briefings, becoming regulars at local newsrooms and giving interviews to present their versions of whats happening in the actual warzone. Take the case of an in-person press conference last week by Lyudmila Vorebieva, Russias envoy here. During the interaction with reporters, she claimed that her countrys forces did not target civilians in Ukraine and the Western media had published fake news. When asked to respond, Ukrainian Ambassador Vasyl Hamianin shot back. He called Vorebieva a liar and war criminal who had reserved a place in hell. The reason for this diplomatic battle is Indonesias position as holder of the 2022 presidency of the Group of Twenty leading economies, said Radityo Dharmaputra, an international relations lecturer at Airlangga University in Surabaya. For Russia, Indonesia is important because they need to show that not all countries support Ukraine, Radityo told BenarNews. For Ukraine, they need support from countries other than Europe and the United States. And Indonesia? It does not have an incentive to support either side, partly because its citizens have no affinity with Russians or Ukrainians, Radityo said. Indonesias foreign policy tradition in such a situation is to play it safe, he said. Indonesia voted for a United Nations General Assembly resolution in March that condemned Moscows military strike on Ukraine. But, at the same time, Jakarta has not ever directly criticized Russia or used the word invasion. And still, Indonesia has been drawn into a tug of war between the United States and the European Union on one side and Russia and China on the other, by virtue of being this years G20 president. The U.S. and other Western countries wanted Russia expelled from the group, while China said no member had the right to expel another country. U.S. President Joe Biden said Ukraine should be able to participate in the G20 summit, which is scheduled for mid-November in Bali, if Russia is not expelled. Indonesia has been reluctant to disinvite Russia, but has asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, which is not a G20 member, as a guest. The Ukrainian government has said that Zelenskyys attendance at the G20 summit would depend mainly on the situation in the battlefield. In April, Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would attend the summit, although the Kremlin had not confirmed his participation. Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Lyudmila Vorobieva gestures while talking to journalists, as Defense Attache Sergey Zhevnovatyi listens, during a news conference at the Russian Embassy in Jakarta, March 23, 2022. [Reuters] Meanwhile, Moscows and Kyivs ambassadors to Jakarta launched dueling diplomatic offensives to court Indonesia and its people. In March, both Vorobieva and Hamianin visited the headquarters of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesias largest Islamic organization that boasts 80 million followers, only a day apart. They met with NUs new chairman, Yahya Cholil Staquf, a former advisor to Jokowi. The two have also given exclusive interviews to various Indonesian media outlets. At last weeks press conference, Vorobieva repeated Moscows assertions that what happened in Ukraine was the result of the Wests anti-Russian project. Theyre actually spreading terror, people were fearing and are still fearing. You will not see that in the Western media, but we see it every day, she said. Hamianin laughed off Vorobievas allegations. She doesnt look ignorant. Thats why shes just a liar, right? Hamianin told BenarNews in a phone interview. The oppression Russia committed over Ukraine during the last 30 years, the non-stop blackmailing, nonstop humiliation, like territorial attacks and all that, especially the last eight years is what turned Ukraine into anti-Russia, he said. Because we dont accept the aggressors. We dont accept liars, murderers, and rapists. He described Vorobievas claim that Ukraines government backed Nazis as disgusting. Im absolutely sure that by saying this, she booked her personal seat on the bench of war criminals in The Hague tribunal, and definitely reserved a place in hell, he said, referring to the International Court of Justice, based in the Netherlands. Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law professor at the University of Indonesia, said winning the hearts and minds of people in the worlds fourth most populous country was important for Russia and Ukraine. The Indonesian public needs to be propagandized so that the government takes a position that is in line with public aspirations, Hikmahanto told BenarNews. Alvin Prasetyo in Jakarta contributed to this report. Philippine environmental activists spell out Defend our Rights during a rally at the Department of Justice in Manila, April 20, 2018. Rights groups and a relative on Wednesday condemned the arrest and detention of a 69-year-old woman who has been campaigning against the construction of a major hydroelectric power plant on a protected mountain range. Police accused Daisy Macapanpan of being a member of the banned communist party, but human rights groups said her arrest was the latest attack on activists in the Philippines, a country considered one of the worlds most dangerous places for land and environmental defenders. The Philippine National Police confirmed that Macapanpan was arrested during a joint operation between police commandos and military personnel in Pakil, a town in Laguna province just outside Manila. Visual artist Kiri Dalena said her Aunt Daisy was not a rebel, but a staunch defender of the land, water and cultural heritage in Pakil. (She) has been tirelessly organizing educational materials, primers, signature campaigns and manifestos about why the people should resist, Dalena told reporters. Macapanpan has campaigned against the construction of the Ahunan Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant on top of a mountain in Pakil. The mountain is part of the watershed of the Sierra Madre range. The woman is a victim of the states crackdown against activists, which continues toward the end of the Duterte regime, said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of local human rights group Karapatan, referring to President Rodrigo Duterte who will leave office at the end of the month. (Macapanpan) is a victim of warrantless arrest and unjust detention based on false charges, which are seen as reprisals for her advocacy work for the environment and her community, she said. Witnesses said Macapanpan was dragged, handcuffed and forced inside a police vehicle despite putting up no resistance. Karapatan said the police did not show a warrant for her arrest a recently passed anti-terrorism law empowers authorities to detain anyone even without warrants for up to two weeks on mere suspicion of terrorism. Local media reported that a Regional Trial Court in Quezon had issued an arrest order against Macapanpan for the crime of rebellion. In its statement, the national police alleged Macapanpan was an executive committee member of the [Communist Party of the Philippines] sub-regional area 4A and has long been listed in a police periodic status report as a wanted person. Authorities did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for comment on accusations by Dalena and the rights groups. Voices should be recognized The Kalikasan Peoples Network for the Environment condemned the arrest and expressed fears of more harassment and additional surveillance over accusations of links to communist fronts - a practice known as red-tagging and which has proved deadly in some cases. Kalikasan members said police last week knocked at our office looking for an individual not familiar with our staff and without consent took photographs of the office and a staffer. We fear that this is the beginning of a crackdown against land and environmental defenders under the incoming authoritarian Marcos-Duterte regime, Leon Dulce, the groups national coordinator, said in a statement. Our voices should be recognized and respected as we speak truth to power over the worsening ecological and climate crises our nation is facing. Duterte on June 30 will hand the reins of government to Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is to be inaugurated as president that day. Dutertes daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, will serve as Marcos vice president. In a statement this week, Global Witness, a London-based environmentalist and human rights advocacy NGO, noted that Philippine police and military randomly accuse certain groups of being communist sympathizers. This has become a sinister tactic used to intimidate, defame and vilify legitimate activists for their work, the group said. The criminalization of activists through tactics such as red-tagging is often used as a pretense for arrest and can increase the likelihood of an attack. Global Witness described the Philippines as the worlds deadliest nation in 2018 when 30 environmental activists were killed a number that jumped to 43 the following year when it trailed only Colombia, which recorded 64. This mirrors a trend of criminalization of land rights and environmental activism not only in the Philippines but globally, it said, as it called on the government to guarantee the security and safety of environmentalists. ANKARA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday held a phone conversation over the membership bid of Sweden and Finland. Erdogan reiterated his stance that steps should be taken to address Turkey's "legitimate concerns" about Sweden and Finland's NATO membership requests, the Turkish presidency said in a statement. Erdogan told Stoltenberg that Turkey wants written assurances from the two Nordic countries in order to make progress in their NATO membership. He emphasized that they "cannot achieve progress in the process without concrete steps that meet Turkey's rightful expectations, and without giving written commitments to a paradigm shift in the fight against terrorism and defense industry cooperation," the statement said. Sweden and Finland submitted applications to join NATO in mid-May. Although several NATO countries have already approved the two countries' bid to join the military alliance, the process has proven not to be as straightforward, as Turkey soon raised objections, citing Swedish and Finnish ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and other groups Turkey labels as terrorists. Ankara has also voiced dissatisfaction with the Swedish arms embargo on Turkey. 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. Police say a former home of the father and stepmother of a New Hampshire girl missing since 2019 at age 5 is being searched as part of the investigation into her disappearance PITTSFIELD A tractor-trailer loaded with 40,000 pounds of nonperishable food is on its way from Utah to help keep people in the Berkshires from going hungry. The semi left Tuesday from the national headquarters for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, roughly 2,250 miles away. It is expected to arrive at the South Congregational Church on South Street around 9 a.m. Friday, according to church officials. Quote The donation comes as Berkshire County food pantries struggle to keep up with the growing demand for their services. The 22 pallets packed with cases of canned goods will help replenish the empty shelves at the South Community Food Pantry at the church, serving some 700 households each week, according to pantry director Mary Wheat. Were very excited about the donation. Despite all the deliveries we get each week, we have many empty shelves. This will help as we have a great need, Wheat said. In a month well go through two-thirds of the food [from Utah]. Aaron Buyack and his family have seen the need firsthand as volunteers at the food pantry. The bishop, or head, of the Pittsfield Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is excited by the cross-country donation. As we get into the summer, the kids are home from school and gas prices keep going up, he said. Well see more of need. Buyack says his wife, Christen Buyack, and Wheat first discussed in April the need to boost food contributions to the pantry. Christen Buyack contacted Chris George in Simsbury, Connecticut, who is the regional welfare and self-reliance manager for the national church. He in turn made a donation request to church officials in Salt Lake City after seeing the food pantry in action. I was surprised by the need, he said. They are doing a wonderful job. According to George, 90 percent of the food the church distributes across the country and overseas is produced by the church across the United States and shipped to Salt Lake City, where its stored until distribution. We grow and can our fruits and vegetables and we have canned meat as we have our own farms where we raise the animals, he said. The shelf life of our food is two to four years. The donation comes as Berkshire County food pantries struggle to keep up with the growing demand for their services. Wheat said the South Community Food Pantry served 7,300 people in May among the highest number in recent months. Prior to the pandemic, volunteers made roughly 100 home deliveries a week. That figure has swelled to 350. In Great Barrington, the number of people served at The Peoples Pantry has tripled since February 2020. Overall, the Berkshires and all of Western Massachusetts saw food pantry visits rise 15 percent from January to March, said Lillian Baulding of the Western Massachusetts Food Bank. The countys free meal kitchens alone saw a 34 percent increase in those attending. Aaron Buyack is impressed with how Wheat and her volunteers keep up with the growing need for feeding the hungry. Shes very well organized. Im amazed how they have down to a science how to feed people, he said. There was one logistical problem that needed to be worked out before the tractor trailer left Utah how to unload the pallets. Jonathan Sutherland answered the call. Sutherland, a dispatcher for Dettinger Lumber Co. in Pittsfield, offered his time and a company forklift to offload the food. Who could say no to helping out? he said. Anything we can do for the community. BRUSSELS, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) has launched legal action against the United Kingdom (UK) in response to the latter's "unilateral" moves to rewrite parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol in the post-Brexit deal, the European Commission said on Wednesday. The EU executive said in a statement that it had launched infringement proceedings against the UK "for not complying with significant parts of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland" and for failing to implement the protocol despite repeated calls. "This is a clear breach of international law," it said. Earlier this week, the UK government said that a bill it introduced on June 13 will allow it to "address the practical problems the protocol has created in Northern Ireland in 4 key areas: burdensome customs processes, inflexible regulation, tax and spend discrepancies, and democratic governance issues." However, the European Commission believes that the UK is violating international agreements. "Trust is built by adhering to international obligations," Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said. "Acting unilaterally is not constructive. Violating international agreements is not acceptable. The UK is not respecting the protocol. "I am still convinced that with genuine political will to make the protocol work, we can reach our objectives," he added. Wednesday saw the launch of two new infringement proceedings against the UK for failing to carry out its obligations under the EU's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules and for failing to provide the EU with certain trade statistics data in respect of Northern Ireland, as required under the protocol. The 27-nation bloc also restarted the infringement procedure launched against the UK government last year after it unilaterally extended a grace period that applies to trade on the island of Ireland. The action was put on hold in September 2021 as the two parties tried to find a joint solution. Infringement proceedings may end up before the Court of Justice of the EU. GREAT BARRINGTON The town asked the embattled private water company to reimburse residents for the cost of replacing discolored tap water. The water company now says no. In response to a May 3 request by town officials, Housatonic Water Works Co. says state regulators dont have a way to calculate customer refunds and bottled water as restitution for bouts of manganese-tinted water. Theres also no reason to, suggested the companys treasurer and co-owner, James Mercer. Regulators, he said in a letter, have deemed the water safe to drink. If You Go 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 16 on Zoom Housatonic Water Works Co. will hold an informational meeting about its pilot study to test a filtration system that it hopes will remove manganese from the water. The link to the meeting can be found on the town's website. As you know, our water is frequently tested by both company personnel and an independent certified laboratory, Mercer said. So while HWWCOs water may have color at times due to the manganese, at no time has the water been considered unsafe for customer consumption by either HWWCO or the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Mercer also explained to The Eagle that the state Department of Public Utilities doesnt provide a method to figure out reimbursements for something relatively sporadic. How do you quantify that? he said. Mercers letter came in response to a request from Town Manager Mark Pruhenski on behalf of the town and its Select Board to offer refunds and/or bottled water to residents who have been struggling for years with discolored water. Its unappetizing and stains laundry and fixtures. The company believes it has diagnosed the problem, which is high levels of naturally occurring manganese. It will hold an informational meeting Thursday night to discuss plans for a pilot study this summer of a filtration system that could remove the mineral. Sign-up for The Berkshire Eagle's free newsletters Sign up Questions about safety, have also arisen but for different reasons. The towns request followed heightened concern about water test results last year showing the presence of a compound linked to cancer that rose above maximum levels allowed by regulators. The spikes in haloacetic acid, a byproduct of chlorine used to disinfect the water, appear to be the result of record-breaking rainfall in July, the company says. It also says levels have been decreasing since the initial high reading in August. The May report shows levels of the compound to be half what they were in August. The DEP determines whether levels are within safe limits by averaging out a years worth of quarterly readings. Bouts of discolored water, in shades from light yellow to coffee, have upset residents and drawn DEP scrutiny. The issue prompted a slew of meetings, studies and a Facebook page dedicated to complaints and photos of the water. The town has written to top state officials for help and residents have organized petitions. Town officials have discussed a way to purchase the company and merge it with Great Barringtons water system. The company hopes a greensand filtration system will remove the manganese and will test that remedy this summer. Greensand is a mineral with a number of uses, including in water filters. Great Barrington says yes to Airbnb rules that cap rental days at 150 Great Barrington voters Monday night ended a bitter debate by approving a short-term rental bylaw that some residents said was too restrictive. After a contentious bylaw-drafting process, Great Barrington has new rules for short-term rentals. Its not the only Berkshire community that has struggled to reach consensus on how to deal with this issue. When the new regulations go into effect, this South County town will act as a laboratory of sorts for an attempt at regulating a growing trend that shows no signs of stopping. Were eager to see how it turns out, and other municipalities likely are as well. Great Barringtons short-term rental bylaw, passed at annual town meeting, affects units rented for 30 or fewer days at a time. Homeowners may only have one short-term rental in Great Barrington, which requires registration and is subject to inspection. Short-term rentals are limited to 150 days per year, although this cap only applies if the owner is not on-premises while the unit is rented out. Short-term rental properties must be owned by people instead of corporate entities; LLCs are allowed to register as short-term rental hosts as long as they are owned by a person and not a corporation. A separate warrant item also approved at town meeting establishes a three percent impact fee on short-term rentals to be collected for the towns Affordable Housing Trust. Like other communities impacted by the rise of Airbnb, Great Barrington faces the tough task of balancing a multifaceted issue. Short-term rentals allow people to generate some extra income from the property they own, a boon for folks on fixed incomes and those squeezed by property taxes and other costs who want to keep the homes they have. Theyre also a conduit for travelers to the area a big upside for the regions tourism economy if more than a bit disruptive to traditional lodging businesses. The nascent short-term rental industry puts more pressure on a widespread housing crisis, eating up stock in towns like Great Barrington where low- and even moderate-income housing is already hard to find. That downward push on housing supply while demand stays high poses problems for overall affordability and availability, factors that have confounded many Berkshire communities. Some also understandably worry about the character of neighborhoods when short-term rentals become increasingly prevalent and the people across the street are no longer familiar faces but an ever-rotating set of Airbnb guests. This bylaw intends to address all these issues. The 150-day cap is intended to let homeowners still get some short-term rental income if they wish while trying to prevent residences from turning into de-facto motels year-round. Barring investor-only corporate ownership of short-term rental properties aims to prevent business entities from gobbling up a critical fraction of local housing stock in an already tight market. Inspections and registration requirements are sensible attempts to keep public safety from getting lost in the shuffle of this new lodging sector rapidly growing in residential neighborhoods. Additionally, the three percent tax on short-term rental income tacked on in a separate warrant item seeks to address bylaw opponents argument that it would do nothing to directly benefit affordable housing in town, although just how much benefit the Affordable Housing Trust can expect from this revenue is unclear. These are the bylaws intentions; whether they pan out as workable policy to meaningfully mitigate any of these matters remains to be seen. As multiple Berkshire municipalities struggled to put together short-term rental regulation proposals, we used this space to suggest a zoning-based approach to short-term rental regulation; this would acknowledge the extent to which these units often operate more as hotels than residences, and as such subject them to special permitting in residential-only districts. The margin by which Great Barringtons bylaw passed, however, suggests a zoning-based approach might not surive the inevitable contentiousness. Zoning changes require a two-thirds vote at town meetings, which Great Barringtons bylaw fell just short of at 207-111. Great Barringtons polarizing debate over the substance of its bylaw underscores just how big of a problem municipal policy-makers face when making good-faith efforts at regulating short-term rentals, even when many residents agree that something should be done. Is Great Barringtons approach the solution? Is any municipal approach enough to grapple with this unwieldy issue? This newly approved bylaw, effective Jan. 1, offers an experiment we can all watch. We wish Great Barrington luck and look forward to the opportunity to assess its effectiveness down the line. MOSCOW, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian gas giant Gazprom announced on Wednesday that it will shut down another turbine engine on the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline, thus significantly reducing the amount of gas delivery to Europe. As Germany's Siemens, the manufacturer of the gas turbine engines, failed to provide the overhaul service in time, Gazprom decided to stop the second engine at the Portovaya compressor station due to its technical condition, the company said on Telegram. The daily output of the Portovaya compressor station from 1:30 a.m. Thursday Moscow Time (2230 GMT Wednesday) will be no more than 67 million cubic meters, sharply down from 100 million, Gazprom said. Citing the same reason, Gazprom said on Tuesday that the amount of gas supply via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would be cut from 167 million cubic meters per day to 100 million. Completed in 2011, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline connects Vyborg City in northwestern Russia and Germany via the Baltic seabed. To relax its overload, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was finished in 2021 but has been halted since Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February. Why do people get baptized? There is an old joke that is popular with pastors and preachers. A new pastor was having lunch with several colleagues when he began lamenting about a group of bats that had taken residence in the churchs bell tower. I dont know what to do, he said, nothing seems to get rid of them. Another pastor indicated he had the same problem in her church. Finally, a wise and seasoned pastor offered the solution; Just baptize them, he suggested, then you will never see them again! The joke plays off a reality of which we are all too aware; baptism does not always hold the significance that it should. Those who work in the church see many individuals and families come for baptism only to disappear afterward. Some may see baptism as a rite of passage to complete the ticking of a religious box; Others may view baptism as an easy way to satisfy the religious leanings of grandma and grandpa. For whatever reason, baptism does not always point to the presence of a vibrant and active faith. This reality is held in stark contrast to the way that baptism is presented in the New Testament. Scripturally, baptism is an important indicator of a persons (or familys) faith in the crucified and risen Lord, and a sign of ones membership in The Way. Far from being simply an external action done to satisfy dogmatic religious requirements, the very essence of Christian life, and faith, began with ones baptism. Why Do People Get Baptized: Baptism Is an Immersion into New Life When thinking about baptism, the first association many have is with the figure of John the Baptist. Each of the gospels records how John stood at the Jordon, baptizing people in an act of repentance. John called people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, expressed through the rite of outward washing. This was a departure from the ceremonial washing practiced by faithful Jews of the day. Faithful Jews would often immerse themselves (Greek: baptizo) in public pools prior to going into the temple. Such an immersion, sometimes done under the watchful eye of the Levitical priest, was an act of religious cleansing and would be repeated each time one desired entrance into the temple courts. The immersion offered by John, however, was different than the above cleansing, both in frequency and in meaning. John baptized people as a singular action representing a turning away from sin and waywardness. One was immersed in the river Jordon as a sign of their turning toward the dawning messianic age. Standing on the banks of the Jordon, John heralded the coming of the long-awaited Messiah. So popular was his baptism that all of Judea went out to the Jordon to be baptized by John (Mark 1:8). Importantly, Johns baptism is not the same baptism that Christians undergo. Through Christs resurrection and ascension, baptism takes on a different understanding. For Christians, baptism is neither ritual purification nor a preparatory rite. Rather, baptism is an immersion in the new life offered by Jesus. For example, following his Pentecost sermon, about 3000 people were baptized (Acts 2:41). Baptism becomes the appropriate response to the hearing (and accepting) of the gospel. Throughout the book of Acts, the apostles make frequent appeals for people to Repent and be baptized. Repentance simply means to turn, to change ones direction. Thus, the call to baptism is essentially the call to turn ones life toward Jesus and be immersed in his Spirit. For those rising from the baptismal waters, baptism entailed living a new life. Importantly, this new way of life is not simply a new way of thinking about life. Christ effects change. A person is fundamentally transformed in the waters of baptism. The outward and visible sign (water) testifies to an inward transformation (new life). The Apostle Paul put it this way, We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4). Baptism is a joining to Christs death and a sharing in his resurrection. This means that from the moment of baptism, one begins to live the very eternal life promised in Christ Jesus. Baptism Is about Immersion in a New Community How do we understand this new life? This was the question that faced the early Christians, and equally, it faces us today. Too often is baptism understood individualistically. Whether the baptism is for an adult or an infant, it is assumed that it is a rite for the individual alone. Sure, family and friends may watch with enthusiasm and rejoicing, but in no way are they involved in the baptism itself. The baptism is a blessed occurrence between the individual and his/her Lord. There is truth to this. We cannot deny that it is an individual person who is baptized. But is this all that goes on? Viewing baptism as pertaining to an individual alone means we will fail to see how baptism sparks an entrance into a new community. Baptism is not simply a rite of individual religiosity. Rather, baptism speaks to an activity of the entire community of faith, of which the individual has now become a member. In baptism, one becomes a member of a baptized people. We see this communal reality in the way that Scripture describes baptism. Baptism frequently involves the community of faith. To be baptized is to become immersed within a new life that can only be fully experienced in a new community. The Apostle Paul provides a great example of this. Following his Damascus road conversion, Paul is immediately baptized (Acts 9:18) and began to spend time with the disciples of Damascus (9:20). In fact, in his letter to the Galatians, Paul describes spending three years with the Christian community (Galatians 1:18). Clearly, Pauls baptism immersed him in the wider community of Christs followers. Perhaps the only time baptism is seen to occur in an individual context is with the Ethiopian eunuch of Acts 8. Here, Luke records that Philip preaches the gospel to this traveling Ethiopian, who in turn, responds with Look, here is water, what is stopping me from being baptized! (8:36). Philip agrees and baptizes the eunuch. The Ethiopian, presumably, continues on his way with no more mention being made of him in the Scriptures. Christian history, however, holds that the Ethiopian went back to his home country and began the Christian community there. Even here, new life leads to a new community. Baptism makes no theological or ecclesiological sense if one does not wish to be an active part of the Christian body. To live the Christian life is to live amid the Christian community. Why Do People Get Baptized? So important is baptism to the Christian life that Jesus makes the call to baptize a fundamental part of Christian discipleship (Matthew 28:20). This is something that the disciples took to heart. Not only did they begin a ministry of baptism while Jesus was with them (John 4:2) but they were diligent in calling people to the waters of baptism after his resurrection. This is because the very image of baptism was an image of the new creation. Being plunged into, and rising out of, the baptismal waters, signified ones death to sin, and ones participation in the resurrected life of Jesus. Baptism, therefore, was held up as the appropriate way to respond to the gospel. Christians are baptized as a sign of their acceptance of Christs salvation. For example, upon hearing Peter articulate the reality of Christs resurrection and Lordship, people are encouraged to be baptized in the near-by pool as a sign of their turning to the resurrected Lord (Acts 2:38). Scripturally, it was simply understood that responding to the good news of Christ would involve ones immersion in baptismal waters. Yet, more than a mere proclamation of ones faith, the call to baptism is also a call to receive the Holy Spirit. Peter calls the people to repent and be baptized, but then continues and you will receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). The Scriptures continually pair the experience of water-baptism with the bestowal of the Holy Spirit. Importantly, this does not occur in the same way each time. For Cornelius, and the community of gentile Christians, the bestowal of the Holy Spirit occurred prior to their baptism (Act 10), whereas with the disciples at Ephesus, the bestowal of the Spirit occurred afterward (Acts 19:1-6). In fact, so strong is the connection between baptism and the bestowal of the Spirit, that Paul has no hesitation in inquiring did you receive the Holy Spirit when you were baptized? The connection between ones participation in baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit is clear. One can only wonder what it would be like if churches began emphasizing this reality in their baptismal services today. Living the Baptized Life Baptism is not an end; it is a beginning. One is baptized into a new life, as a sign of ones new creation by the Spirit of Jesus, embodied within the context of a new community. In this way, despite what one believes about who is to be baptized (i.e., infants or adults only) baptism must be connected to how one lives. Thus, it is an action that none should lightly undertake. The question of what does it mean to be baptized? therefore, should more appropriately be rendered What does it mean to live the baptized life? In Acts 2:42 we get a picture of what this life is to look like. The 3000 people, baptized that first Pentecost morning, became a community of the baptized. Luke records that this community devoted to themselves to the Apostles teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of the bread, and the prayers (Acts 2:42). These four disciplines mark the baptized community. If it is true that baptism pertains to the entire community of faith, then all must sit with the question: Will you devote yourself to the apostles' teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of the bread and the prayers? Without an affirmative response to Christs Lordship, and a willingness to join the community in faithful living, any articulation of baptismal theology lacks the fundamental character as revealed in Scripture. Photo credit: GettyImages/Alexmumu Reverend Kyle Norman is the Rector of the Anglican Parish of Holy Cross in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He has a doctorate in Spiritual Formation and is often asked to write or speak on the nature of the Christian community, and the role of Spiritual disciplines in Christian life. His personal blog can be found here. LEWISTON Lewis-Clark State College political science professors Kylee Britzman and Leif Hoffmann are putting on a free Consent of the Governed: Student Democracy Day event for students age 12 and older on July 27. The civics event runs 8:45 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and includes activities, tours, and discussions led by Lewiston Mayor Dan Johnson and Lewiston Tribune editor and publisher Nathan Alford. Britzman and Hoffmann are putting on the event to provide students an opportunity to learn more about how government and society operate at the local level. The event also allows students to get a daily look at the democratic process, learn about studying these topics in college, and gain knowledge about the history of the Lewis-Clark Valley. Students interested are asked to register by 5 p.m. on July 25 by emailing either Britzman (kjbritzman@lcsc.edu) or Hoffmann (lshoffmann@lcsc.edu). Participating students also are asked to bring a sack lunch. The event kicks off at 8:45 a.m. in front of the main entrance to the Student Union Building/Center for Student Leadership on the LC State campus. After an overview, students will take part in activities on campus at 9-10 a.m. before walking to Lewiston City Hall in downtown Lewiston. At 10:30 a.m., the group will meet with Mayor Johnson and tour City Hall. The group will then break an hour for lunch at 11:30 a.m. The afternoon begins at 12:30 by meeting with Alford and touring the Lewiston Tribune. At 1:30, the group will walk to the nearby Nez Perce County Museum and Idaho Territorial Capitol for tours. The museum is giving the group an educational discount and the LC State Social Sciences Division is covering the remaining entrance charge to keep the event free for students. After the tours, the group will walk back to the LC State campus where it will have a small discussion to wrap up the event. For more information on the event, contact either Britzman or Hoffmann at the email addresses listed above. (The Center Square) A property management company and a non-profit organization are collaborating on a $2 million pilot program offsetting rising rents for low income residents. The partnership is between HNN Communities and Housing Connector, a nonprofit with a listing platform and other services that helps connect people with homes. The $2 million was donated towards the program by DevCo, the parent company of HNN Communities Residents who are eligible for the assistance funding have to reside at any of the 39 properties managed by HNN Communities throughout the state. That means about 21,000 residents within HNN Communities can apply for relief funds if needed. According to HNN Communities, over 80% of HNN Communities households earn less than 50% of the area median income. As housing costs throughout Washington state continue to rise, government relief that was being distributed throughout the pandemic has become less available. This collaboration is meant to continue some of that financial aid to households within HNN Communities who are more likely to be affected by increasing rent. We understand that the rising costs of rent can present a challenge for our residents facing financial hardships, which is why it was essential to us to invest in providing immediate support, President of HNN Communities Alison Dean said in a statement. Our partnership with Housing Connector allows us to assist residents with tangible, accessible resources, while ensuring the process is fair and professionally managed for all residents. HNN Communities claims it bucked the trend over the past two years of rent increases across the Puget Sound region and instead spent over $4.3 million to support residents. The new rental assistance program will help to cover rent payment differentials from August to December 2022. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BIG RAPIDS Police have identified a suspect in the quadruple homicide of a family of four last month in Stanwood. Charles Gillard, 51, of Austin Township, faces multiple charges in the shooting deaths of his wife, Dawn Gillard, 40, and their three children Katelynn Gillard, 6, Ronald Gillard, 4, and Joshua Gillard, 3. At about 2:30 p.m. Friday, May 27, police responded near 180th and Johnson Road, in Austin Township for a report of a male with a gun and shots fired. Upon arrival, they found three children under the age of 10 years old and an adult female dead from apparent gunshot wounds. "I don't know if you can ever be ready for what we saw that day three young lives but I think it affected everybody that was there present that day," Mecosta County Sheriff Brian Miller said at a news conference Wednesday, June 15. "A lot of us have children of our own, and it was very hard for all of us." Police also found a 51-year-old male, identified by Miller as Charles Gillard, at the scene with a gunshot wound to the head. He was transported to Spectrum Health Big Rapids Hospital, later transferred to Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, before being transferred to University of Michigan Hospital, in critical condition for his injuries. According to Miller, Gillard is due to be released from the hospital in the next couple of weeks. Upon his release, Mecosta County Chief Prosecutor Amy Clapp said the attorney's office will issue the following charges: Count 1: Homicide, open murder Count 2: Felony firearm Count 3: Homicide, open murder Count 4: Felony firearm Count 5: Homicide, open murder Count 6: Felony firearm Count 7: Homicide, open murder Count 8: Felony firearm Count 9: Child abuse in the first degree Count 10: Child abuse in the first degree Count 11: Child abuse in the first degree Count 12: Child abuse, first-degree, committed in the presence of another child Count 13: Child abuse, first-degree, committed in the presence of another child Count 14: Discharge of a firearm in a building causing death Count 15: Felony firearm "Each of the charged offenses, except for the felony firearm counts, are punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment," Clapp said. "Felony firearm is punishable by two years consecutively with and proceeding any term of imprisonment that might be imposed for the felony convictions. "These are allegations and charges only," Clapp continued. "Charles Gillard is presumed to be innocent and will retain that presumption until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law." At the arraignment, a probable-cause conference and preliminary examination will be scheduled. "We expect that to happen in the next couple of weeks as his prognosis from the University of Michigan is good," Clapp said The strategic location of the Centre in Singapore provides proximity to this global hotspot and will help address a specific need for timely access to genetic data of the pathogens that pose disease threats Leveraging the research, collaborations and commercialisation successes that have contributed to Singapores fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Duke-NUS (National University of Singapore) has launched a new centre to further strengthen regional research capacity, cooperation and preparedness against future pandemics and public health threats. Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat joined some 100 guests at the launch of the Centre for Outbreak Preparedness or COP. The launch, held at the Fullerton Hotel, was followed by a panel discussion on enhancing regional capacity to predict, prepare and respond to future health threats. Among the guests were Duke-NUS Governing Board Chairman Goh Yew Lin as well as members of the board, benefactors, partners and leaders from across the biomedical, healthcare and other sectors. Introducing the new Centre, its director Professor Paul Pronyk highlighted that the Centre will leverage Duke-NUS strong partnerships around the world, with particular focus on research institutes in South and Southeast Asia to increase the regions research capacity and capabilities. In addition to its close ties with Duke-NUS parent university, the National University of Singapore, the Centre will also work closely with Singapore government agencies and key partners such as Singapores National Programme for Research in Epidemic Preparedness and Response (PREPARE), A*STARs Bioinformatics Institute (BII), the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The company looks forward to making a deeper foray into Bihar Lupin has launched its first Regional Reference Laboratory in Patna, Bihar. The new Regional Reference Laboratory at Patna has capabilities to conduct a broad spectrum of routine and specialised tests in the fields of molecular diagnostics, cytology, microbiology, serology, haematology, immunology and routine biochemistry. By establishing a presence in Patna, the company now looks forward to making a deeper foray into Bihar. Earlier this year, Lupin Diagnostics opened its Regional Reference Laboratories in Assam and West Bengal. Through upcoming launches of laboratories in Jharkhand (Ranchi) and Orissa (Bhubaneshwar), the company is poised to solidify its position in east India. The company started its journey by establishing a state-of-the-art 45,000 square foot National Reference Laboratory in Navi Mumbai with world-class equipment, experienced doctors assisted by trained technologists, and stringent quality control protocols. The Duke Group has partnered with Omnicom Media Group (OMG) South Africa to launch Fame - an independent, locally owned, specialist media agency to be spearheaded by managing director, Amy Leibbrandt. She spoke to us about her vision for Fame and her plans on how to achieve this. Source: LinkedIn LinkedIn Amy Leibbrandt, new MD of Fame How did you get involved in media? What is your vision for Fame? How will you go about accomplishing this? What excited you the most about your new role and Fame? How does it fit into the rest of the Duke business? What do you think is the biggest skill you bring to the role? How has media buying changed? What do you love the most about media / your job in media? What do you do when you are not working? After high school and a gap year in London, I completed my BA Marketing degree at the AAA School for Advertising. Having completed all three specialities, namely brand, account and media management, I felt media best suited to my personality and strengths. I love working with people but at the same time, Im equally as comfortable focusing on the detail and data that comes with media. Media gives me the best of both worlds.My vision for Fame is to provide not only strong strategic thinking and value to clients brands but to deliver excellent client service and innovative solutions to all the stakeholders within the business.I also hope to nurture and grow young, new talent in the media industry, as the business develops and grows.We are lucky enough to be a part of the Duke group, while at the same time, have access to amazing tools from the OMG business.This gives us a competitive edge when it comes to really looking at media as an art and a science.Over the past few years, pure costs and performance have driven a lot of clients media-marking decisions, with significant pressure on business and the bottom line (especially throughout lockdown).We overlay this thinking with a strategic approach, to ensure that we deliver on clients needs in a way that is right for the brand and its consumers.I also want to get young people excited about the media industry again, and for them to look at the opportunities available as viable and exciting career options. I truly believe this is where growth, innovation and great work will come from.I was excited to work as part of a full-service agency team again; the excitement of physically being in the same space as great creative teams is inspiring.I also love the fact that we are part of the Duke group with its specialist partners, such as Dialogue, Champ, Mark1, Nude and Duchess which lets us deliver on any and all clients needs - all under one roof.We partner with Duke and the other specialist agencies to fill the media role for their clients and vice-versa. We also work independently with other creative, specialist agencies and clients throughout South Africa.I have worked in this industry for almost two decades, so my experience has been peppered across a great number of brands and categories. This gives me a holistic view and strong strategic base, not only with media, but with brands and consumers as a whole.Secondary to that, I love working with people and developing close relationships with my clients and colleagues. At the end of the day, we are partners with the same goal.There is so much pressure on business, that media seems to have become very transactional.Clients are wanting the very best results at the cheapest cost, sometimes at the sacrifice of innovation or really great ideas.We are having to be smarter in our decision-making to ensure that we can tick those budget boxes, but still do work that is memorable, relevant, and interesting.I love that media is constantly evolving. Every time I meet with a new media partner, I am blown away by the evolution of media from the time I was studying (before Facebook had been created) and now it makes our jobs increasingly challenging, but I love that we are forced to stay immersed and are constantly learning.I am a mom to a 12-year-old tween, so my free time revolves mostly around his sport and social schedule, which I love, but leaves little free time for myself. Other than that, I spend my time doing pole fitness, dancing, looking after my pets and eating my way through Cape Towns restaurants. The acquisition provides customers of digital marketing specialist, Incubeta, with extended access to SEO, PPC, creative and social media solutions in the Middle Eastern and Northern African territories while broadening its global expertise Lars Lehne, Group CEO of Incubeta Leading digital marketing group, Incubeta has announced its acquisition of Dubai-based integrated digital marketing agency Bruce Clay MENA, specialists in search, social and creative. This acquisition, the fourth in 12 months for Incubeta, will expand its global presence in the Middle East and North Africa, allowing the group to continue driving growth for clients through their expertise, and best practices in media, technology and creative.Operating in 17 countries globally, Incubeta is a market leading specialist that uses the power of bespoke, localised digital solutions to unlock and amplify business growth potential. Established in 2015, Bruce Clays MENA office is part of the Bruce Clay Inc. network and has delivered SEO, PPC, creative and social media solutions for well known brands, such as McDonalds, Johnson & Johnson, Zoflora and Canon. Together Bruce Clay MENA and Incubeta will drive growth for clients, and the group, in the Middle Eastern and North African markets.This acquisition fits squarely with our ongoing strategy of acquiring companies that complement our core business growth. Having Bruce Clay MENA join the Incubeta family opens up an endless avenue of opportunity for us in the services we can provide, the work that we can do, and the culture that we continue to build. Ive no doubt that theyll contribute to our overall success as a business, a brand and a partner, comments Lars Lehne, Group CEO of Incubeta.Sitting under the Incubeta brand, Bruce Clay MENA will have access to Incubetas full scope of services, including Incubetas exclusive Google Marketing Platform relationship. As such, Incubeta MENA will provide clients with a fully integrated, end-to-end digital offering beyond their founding specialisms.Once Incubeta showed an interest in our business and after meeting the leadership team, it was an easy decision for us to pursue this partnership. These are truly exciting times for Bruce Clay MENA, as through the Incubeta brand we will infuse deep performance marketing knowledge and experience into our team and agency offering unlike anything there currently is in the region. Additionally through Bruce Clay MENA, Incubeta are acquiring world class SEO, social media and creative talent that will help provide a fully integrated end to end solution to clients. The opportunities we will open together are super exciting and the team and I cant wait to get going, says Neal Patel, managing director of Bruce Clay MENA. BELGRADE, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Beijing-based Power Construction Corporation of China (PCC) has completed the construction of a new section of the "Belgrade bypass," a U-shaped motorway encircling the capital of Serbia. The inauguration ceremony for the 3.1-kilometer section, which includes a 700-meter-long tunnel, was attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and members of his government on Wednesday. Vucic expressed satisfaction with the quality of construction works so far and announced a continuation of construction works along the bypass. "Ancient Chinese wisdom says that if you want to get rich, build a road first," he said. "This proverb best defines the development of Serbia in recent years. We have invested intensively in the construction of roads, and we have had the support of our friends from China and Azerbaijan." Although the "Belgrade bypass" was planned to be inaugurated almost three decades ago, it remained incomplete until 2018, when the project was awarded to the Chinese contractor PCC, and to Azerbaijani Azvirt, a subcontractor. Harpic is investing in rebuilding and restoring community toilets, to keep South African women safer. Harpic spokesperson, Masibonge Mkhize International Day of Action for Womens Health is observed annually across the globe and aims to raise awareness against the injustices faced by women and how it affects their overall health. This day also acts as a reminder of the importance of ensuring that all South African women live a life of dignity, equality, and freedom. Strides have been made to ensure that basic sanitation is available to all, however, millions of women still find themselves dreading to use public or shared toilets. This is why Harpic is launching a programme aimed at rebuilding and restoring toilets in communities, with the objective of providing better hygiene and sanitation for women and children.It is a universal truth that women in South Africa dread using public toilets, says #HarpicHygieneForHer project manager, Masibonge Mkhize. This truth applies across the entire socio-economic spectrum of women. However, the circumstances of lower income communities are even more severe. Public and shared toilets in these communities can be unhygienic, unsafe and are typically not suited to womens needs, she adds.Harpic intends to change this and has developed the #HarpicHygieneForHer campaign. The campaign is focused on restoring broken public toilets and, where space allows, building new women-friendly toilets.Unisex toilets are often not safe for women and children. Our aim is to ensure that toilet facilities are purpose-built for women, well-lit, secure, and safe, private, provide access to soap and water, include hooks, and are easily accessible, says marketing manager of hygiene, Sarah Ahmed.She reveals that Harpic will provide cleaning products to keep the toilet facilities hygienic. To further empower the residents, the programme will work with local NPO Arise Community Development, to conduct an educational drive in the community and its surrounding areas. It is encouraging to see top brands such Harpic invest in improving the health of women in our community. There are high rates of unemployment in Klipfontein, and this has forced many individuals to share a single yard, which puts a strain on the toilets with the result that many are broken, unhygienic or leaking, says Chantel de Wee, founder and manager of Arise Community DevelopmentWe have identified five initial sites in Klipfontein, a small community near Midrand Gauteng, where we will be restoring broken toilets and, where possible, building toilets specifically designated for women, rather than unisex facilities, as well as ensuring better security, locks on doors and lighting, reveals Mkhize.What Harpic aims to achieve through this programme is restore dignity to the women in these communities and create #NoDreadToilets in South Africa. Mkhize further notes that the #HarpicHygieneForHer campaign will, by and large, serve as Harpics contribution towards helping government realise the national and international sustainable development goals ( SDGs 6 ) which aim to achieve adequate access to equitable sanitation and hygiene for all, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls, as well as those in vulnerable situations, by 2030.The programmes contribution towards reaching the SDGs is centred on bringing dignified sanitation and hygiene services to the countrys most vulnerable communities, so that women and children can grow and learn in a safe environment."The programme was first piloted in Zandspruit in 2020. The pilot involved the restoration of a facility which catered for more than 150 people and the construction of an entirely new additional toilet. In addition, the brand provided the community with education on safe cleaning methods, as well as educational materials on sanitation hygiene.The pilot was so successful and received such positive feedback from the beneficiaries using these facilities and the community at large, that we decided to build a long-term purpose programme focused around improving sanitation facilities, one community at a time, concludes Mkhize. Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has called on young and black academics to partake in the department's research support provided to South African public universities. Image source: Ion Chiosea 123RF.com The research support is implemented through the departments Policy and Procedures for Measurement of Research Output of Public Higher Education Institutions.Nzimande said in the 2022/23 financial year, the department invested R5,226,955,000 in research productivity in the university sector, up from R1,124,807,000 in the 2004/05 financial year.He said the policy uses research publications in peer-reviewed journals, published peer-reviewed conference proceedings, peer-reviewed books, and research Masters and Doctoral graduates as proxy for research activities within universities.The subsidy also includes creative and innovations research, which are subsidised through the Policy on the Evaluation of Creative Outputs and Innovations, produced by public higher education institutions.Since the inception of the research policy in 2003, the number of units used to calculate all the research outputs, as enumerated above publications, graduates, artefacts and innovations - grew from 12,051 in the 2004/05 financial year to 40,847 units in the 2022/23 financial year, Nzimande said.In the earlier years of the implementation of the policy, Nzimande said the department made available developmental funds to institutions that struggled to meet their set research output norms.He said this has since been converted into the University Capacity Development Grant, which covers several projects within institutions, including the development of researchers and young academics.The Sibusiso Bengu Development Grant - allocated to the institutions defined as historically disadvantaged - allows for coverage of such a need, depending on the priorities the affected institutions identify, the Minister said.Nzimande said since its inception in 2003, the policy has aimed to sustain current research strengths and to promote research and other knowledge outputs required to meet national development needs.The purpose of the policy is to encourage research productivity by rewarding quality research output at public higher education institutions. Therefore, the department has been subsidising research productivity at the universities through this policy, Nzimande said.The Minister said the policy was revised and improved, and now bears a new title -. He, however, assured that the original aim and objectives have been maintained.He said independent analysts have further associated the growth of research productivity in the higher education sector in recent years to the positive impact of the stated policies and therefore, it is believed that the "policies and projects of the department have instilled a research culture in universities".However, institutional policies and practices do also play a role too in this regard. Plans are underway to also deal with its unintended consequences, such as predatory publishing and a focus on quantity rather than quality, the Minister said. European countries, scrambling to secure alternatives to Russian coal, imported 40% more coal from South Africa's main export hub in the first five months of this year than over the whole of 2021, figures obtained by Reuters showed on Wednesday, 15 June. A truck loaded with coal drives off at Canyon Coal's Khanye colliery near Bronkhorstspruit, around 90km north-east of Johannesburg. 26 April 2022. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko Imports began since start of Russia-Ukraine war Poor performance at RBCT South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) delivered 3,240,752 tonnes of coal to European countries by end-May this year, 15% of RBCT's overall exports, up from 2,321,190 (4%) in 2021, the figures showed.Starting the second week of August, Russian coal imports will be banned in the European Union, part of wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow.RBCT did not immediately reply to a request for comment. RBCT usually provides figures annually and does not give a comprehensive breakdown of export destinations.The Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Denmark, Poland, Germany, and Ukraine have received coal from RBCT so far this year. Some of them only began importing from RBCT after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.The Netherlands received no coal from RBCT in January or February, but imported 1.27 million tonnes of coal from the terminal in March, April and May, with volumes increasing each month. It was the fourth top recipient of RBCT coal, accounting for 5.76% of total volumes.France's coal imports from RBCT jumped nearly seven-fold, from just 68,005 tonnes over the whole of last year to 464,432 tonnes so far this year.Spain, Poland and Germany did not import any coal from RBCT last year. In the first five months of this year, Spain has imported 355,250 tonnes, Poland 181,515 tonnes and Germany 157,383 tonnes.Japan, which has also said it would ban Russian coal imports, received 388,249 tonnes of coal from RBCT since January, nearly double the tonnage it bought last year.China, the third biggest importer of coal from RBCT in 2021 with 6.09 million tonnes, did not receive any coal from the terminal this year, the figures showed, reflecting China's increased imports of Russian coal.The surge in exports to Europe came despite a backdrop of poor performance at RBCT, underscoring the missed opportunity for South Africa as prices of the fossil fuel shot up.Poor maintenance, a lack of locomotives, and copper cable theft have eroded South Africa's state-owned freight rail services which transport coal to RBCT and other ports. Some miners are using trucks to get their coal to port instead.RBCT exported 22,057,587 tonnes of coal in the first five months of 2022. At that rate, RBCT will again see a drop in annual exports after its 2021 tonnages were the lowest since 1996. Lately, South Africans seem to be making waves internationally in all facets of life. In fact, Africans, in general, are continuously innovating, breaking boundaries, and gaining recognition worldwide. What makes this fact sweeter is that many of these people are young - a testament to the truth that Africa's youth will change the continent for the better. Leah Molatseli | image supplied Congratulations on being recognised by the American Bar Association for your contributions to the legal tech industry. Tell us what this means for you and the legal tech landscape in Africa. What sparked your interest in the legal tech space as a youth? How did you break into the industry? Other than the monumental recognition from the American Bar Association, what other successes have you achieved throughout your career? What barriers have you faced as a woman of colour in your industry and how did you overcome them? In your opinion, what should South African youth prioritise to make a substantial difference in our country and why? Tech is changing the lives of South African youth. How can this be leveraged to their advantage? As we are celebrating Youth Month this June, what advice do you have for youth that would like to enter the legal tech sector? Follow hashtags #legaltechwithleah and #legaltech on Twitter. Read, research, it's still such a niche area in South Africa you can still carve out your expert status in the country and the industry is big enough for us to all thrive. Recently, a young South African by the name of Leah Molatseli was honoured by the American Bar Association for her contribution and influence in the legal tech industry, a first for Africa. This achievement prompted me to get in touch with Molatseli to find out more about her, her successes, and her opinions on SA's youth.But before we dive into the Q&A, here are a few facts about Molatseli: she's a lawyer and legal tech innovation specialist. One of Africas most influential and prominent thought leaders in the legal tech sector, she is a host and guest speaker for various legal tech talks globally as well as a guest lecturer at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where she develops and teaches legal tech innovation-related courses to the broader legal industry.Molatseli also sits as a council member at the University of the Free State (UFS), and is part of the advisory board for the Global Legal Tech Hub and the Women in Tech South African Chapter.It serves as validation for the very hard work being done on the continent, and that not only are we producing quality legal tech solutions but that we have professionals on the continent who contribute just as much as our foreign colleagues.I fell into legal tech about five years ago when I consulted with a client for a legal matter, and my nanny for my youngest did not pitch on the day. Instead of cancelling the appointment, I asked for us to rather Skype (this was pre-Covid and the world of work as we know it now). After that virtual legal consultation, it sparked an interest. Being able to do what I love, still spend time with my children and make a living... it just made sense.Since then, I have gone down the legal tech rabbit hole.I officially launched Lenoma Legal as a legal tech startup in 2017, after my encounter with the nanny who did not show up. I also realised at that stage that the market was not aware of legal tech, so I made an effort to not only build the startup but also to continue educating the market, and the legal community through strategic partnerships such as guest lecturing at the University of Cape Town or writing a book with Juta titledThe most recent ones are probably being named by the International Legal Tech Associations 2022 Influential Women in Legal Tech, speaking in Nairobi at the Africa Law Tech Festival, writing one of the first African books on legal tech, and being named as one of Africa Law Tech Associations Top 50 African Individuals Leading in Legal Innovation, amongst others. But I think my biggest achievement is being able to fully live out my passions and chart a non-traditional legal route for a young female Black lawyer in this country.People often underestimate you; they question your presence in certain rooms and spaces. This probably fuels some of my focus because I know people will question why I am in certain roles or in key spaces. I have to work harder, prove myself constantly to justify my presence and other times not even get paid as much as my counterparts.I tweeted the other day about whether we study further for upward mobility or to drive impact in our society, communities, country and ultimately our continent. The responses were mixed, granted because often our country does not create an environment conducive for us to actually make a difference. It starts with being intentional about what we consume on social media, who we spend our time with, what we read, etc.I am a loner by nature and often keep to myself, I think the biggest thing for me has been just focusing on the end goal irrespective of circumstances, the naysayers, or the people around me who did not believe in me or my dreams.Some examples include, being able to learn on YouTube. Personally, I think YouTube is the worlds biggest democratised university. If you really want to hone your skills or learn something new, that has been my go-to place. With social media sharing as you learn can make you find your tribe. Sometimes when you dream big, you can feel alone or stuck, but opening yourself up and finding your network allows you to accelerate your growth via the experience of others.Dont overthink it, just do it. Find a problem you want to solve, become obsessed with it and just: As part of a month-long commemoration of International Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Businesses Day in June, Google has announced new initiatives to support small retail businesses in Africa. This includes a one-hour virtual training event and the Shopping Small Business Summit aimed at helping SMB owners develop skills and tools to compete online. Topics will include e-commerce trends and digital marketing and it is open to all who register here Google has also partnered with Coursera, an open online course provider, to develop an online career certificate course in digital marketing and e-commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and is offering 1000 scholarships to Africans who wish to attend.This month also sees the debut of Local Opportunity Finder, a new tool that evaluates a Google Business Profile and makes personalised recommendations for changes that a business owner may make to enhance how their business profile looks to consumers in Google Search. Also, the free, one-week-long Hustle Academy in June will focus on essential skills that will help small and medium-sized retail businesses (SMBs) build the skills they need to grow.E-commerce presents an opportunity for small businesses in Africa to reach new customers and grow. Through the digital marketing and e-commerce career certificates and specialised pieces of training and 1,000 scholarships, we want to be able to assist small businesses in Africa gain the expertise to connect online, expand their customer base and scale up, says Zeph Masote, YouTube Lead for Southern AfricaAfricas growing young population and urbanisation present huge expansion opportunities for small retail businesses. South Africa has almost 2,000 shopping malls covering over 24 million square metres. Wholesale and retail are the third-largest contributors to Nigeria's GDP, with more than 90% of the industry made up of informal merchants, while Kenya, with an e-commerce market growth rate of 44% in 2021, has seen a steady rise in the number of outlets over the last five years.E-commerce markets in Kenya and Nigeria increased by 40% and 30%, respectively, in 2021, while online sales in South Africa increased by 66% from 2019 to 2020, reaching more than $1.8bn. "As more consumers on the continent continue to search for goods and services online, it is critical that small retail businesses learn how to better harness online tools for growth," Masote adds. Subscribe to daily business and company news across 19 industries SUBSCRIBE Junior Copywriter (retail) Remuneration: cost-to-company Location: Woodstock, Cape Town Education level: Diploma Job level: Junior Own transport required: Yes Job policy: Employment Equity position Type: Permanent Reference: #JnrRetailCopywriter Company: King James Job description Work according to clients brief; translate and generate ideas into a compelling creative solution Conduct research and understand the clients brand and target audience Generate / script copy for TVC, Radio, Digital etc. Work closely with the creative and client service teams Present work to the Snr creative team (i.e. Creative Group Head, Creative Director etc.) Keep abreast with advertising trends within industry best practices A tertiary qualification in Copywriting or Advertising Proficient in MS Office (i.e., Outlook / Word / Excel etc.) Minimum 1 year working experience either as an Intern or Jnr Copywriter in an Advertising Agency Knowledge of and experience in (exposed to) writing for TV / Radio / Print / Digital (TTL or ATL) An excellent command of the English language (both verbal and written) Well versed in Digital Good time management skills Good presentation skills Good administrative skills A portfolio demonstrating creative copywriting skills / proficiencies (i.e., Behance or Wixsite) Team player with the ability to work independently Ability to remain calm in a fast-paced environment Creative out of the box thinker Proactive Resilient Deadline driven Solution driven Meticulous with attention to detail Other: Comfortable to work on-site (at the King James office) and comfortable to work on alcohol brands King James Part of Accenture Song is seeking a Jnr Copywriter to join their team. The successful candidate will be responsible for generating ideas and scripting for retail whilst being exposed to the energetic world of Advertising (and learning MORE)! If this, along with growth and honing your craft appeals to you, King James wants you!(include but are not limited to):Interested? Please submit ato careerskj@kingjames.co.za. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Should you not hear from us within 1 week after submitting your application, kindly consider your application as unsuccessful. Posted on 15 Jun 13:55, Closing date 14 Jul Ukraine, EU finalize deal on road transport liberalization Xinhua) 08:42, June 15, 2022 KIEV, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine and the European Union have agreed on the final text of a deal on road transport liberalization, the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The agreement, which is set to be signed by the end of this month, will significantly improve and speed up logistics between Ukraine and the EU, the ministry said on Facebook. In particular, the deal stipulates that the EU will cancel the obligation for Ukrainian haulers to obtain special permits for transporting goods in the EU. "This is critically important today, when, in the conditions of the blockade of seaports, the Ukrainian economy is completely dependent on stable logistics on the western borders," said Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Ukrainian infrastructure minister. Ukraine and the EU began negotiations on road transport liberalization last year. After the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February, 12 EU countries have temporarily allowed permit-free passage for Ukrainian freight automobile transport. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) CAIRO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday that the EU has allocated 100 million euros (about 104 million U.S. dollars) in "an immediate relief" to Egypt's food crisis. In a joint televised press conference with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Von der Leyen said "we stand beside Egypt in this crisis," in reference to the international grain crisis that resulted from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The pledged amount to Egypt is part of a 3.13 billion U.S. dollars allocated by the EU to the region for agriculture and irrigation programs. She also emphasized the importance of expanding the cooperation with Egypt in the field of energy, adding that Egypt could be a model for clean energy and she supports "Egypt transferring into a regional hub for energy trade." "We also agreed to cooperate in the field of technical and financial support and investments to develop the infrastructure for the production of green hydrogen as a source of clean energy," the Egyptian president said. Earlier on Wednesday, Von der Leyen witnessed the ceremony of signing a framework agreement between the EU, Egypt and Israel to export Israeli gas to Europe via Egypt. BUCHAREST, June 15 (Xinhua) -- France conveyed a positive message regarding Moldova's application to get the status of country candidate for accession to the European Union (EU), said visiting French President Emmanuel Macron Wednesday in Chisinau, capital of Moldova. "You can rely on the support from France and the European Union," Macron told a joint press conference after talks with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu. According to Macron, Moldova's application is up for debate at the Summit of the European Council later in June on the basis of an opinion issued by the European Commission. Macron noted that the response to Moldova's EU accession bid will be clear and will be accompanied by conditions for moving forward. He pledged to "offer accelerated guarantees of cooperation for Moldova, which do not replace the accession process, but aim to open up concrete ways of solidarity and cooperation as soon as possible." The Moldovan president said her country relies on the support from France in getting the status of country candidate for EU accession. "We do not look for shortcuts. We are prepared to do our homework and we want to be assessed according to the merits," she said. During Macron's working visit to Moldova, the first by any French president in 24 years, the two countries signed three agreements on trade, economic and investment cooperation. A recent incident in which a Brandon Correctional Centre inmate briefly escaped while being treated in hospital is a reminder more needs to be done to protect nurses, the Manitoba Nurses Union says. Advertisement Advertise With Us A recent incident in which a Brandon Correctional Centre inmate briefly escaped while being treated in hospital is a reminder more needs to be done to protect nurses, the Manitoba Nurses Union says. On June 5, at approximately 11:30 p.m., police officers responded to a report from the Brandon Regional Health Centre that a BCC inmate tried to escape. Police say officers quickly found the inmate hiding behind hospital equipment near where he was being treated. He was arrested and confined after the escape attempt while being treated. "While no one was injured in this particular incident, it is a reminder that we have to do more to ensure these situations do not happen," Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson stated in an email. "We need to ensure that patients are not coming into our facilities with weapons or left unsupervised. Inmate or not, any patient who appears to be a threat to the facility should be monitored at all times." The inmate was under watch by Manitoba Corrections officers at the time, said Brandon Police Service public information officer Sgt. Kirby Sararas. She did not have any details on how the man got away while in hospital, but said privacy is sometimes needed during treatment. "They were in shackles, they couldnt have gotten very far," she said. Detainees are handcuffed when they are transported to hospital by police, Sararas said, but the province has other guidelines for security with inmates. An internal review is being launched to investigate the escape attempt and what led to the incident, according to a provincial spokesperson. The review will also evaluate how to prevent future incidents like this from happening. "We appreciate the timely response by correctional staff and the Brandon Police Service The province is not able to provide any further details about the individual or the escape at this time," an emailed statement reads. Inmates at the hospital are placed in a single room to protect staff and other patients, according to a Prairie Mountain Health spokesperson. The person is also continuously monitored. Staff at the hospital took "additional measures" to secure the area, according to PMH. The situation was contained within the original hospital unit. The 34-year-old man was later charged with attempting to escape lawful custody. According to Jackson, a 2017 survey from the Canadian Federation of Nurses Union found that 61 per cent of nurses reported issues with violence at work. In 2020, Jackson said physical assault was cited as a frequent risk for nurses. dmay@brandonsun.com Twitter: @DrewMay_ While the worst may be over, Brandon and area residents should prepare for another couple days of rain, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. Advertisement Advertise With Us While the worst may be over, Brandon and area residents should prepare for another couple days of rain, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. Meteorologist Sara Hoffman told the Sun Tuesday afternoon that the massive thunderstorm that began Monday night had already resulted in around 38 to 55 millimetres of precipitation in the region. The system is expected to linger until at least Friday. "Itll be much more gentle showers than the thunderstorms that rolled through," Hoffman said. Five to 10 more millimetres of rain is anticipated today and up to five millimetres Thursday. The massive rainfall over Monday and Tuesday has taken a toll on the Westman region, resulting in provincial flood warnings being issued for areas near Brandon, Glenora and the Rivers Reservoir as of Tuesday evening. The Municipality of North Norfolk declared a state of emergency Tuesday morning after the rain prompted significant flooding within the town of Austin. MacGregor, which is located 90 kilometres east of Brandon, was also heavily impacted by the storm, with several major roads in the region being closed due to the rain. In terms of what is causing this severe weather, Hoffman said a large low-pressure system hovering over Alberta is the main culprit. "So the thunderstorms that impacted most of southern Manitoba are actually associated with a cold front of that low-pressure system," she said. "That low-pressure system thats over Alberta has yet to move eastward out of the area. Once it does, then conditions will begin to stabilize across the Prairies. But that wont be until probably Friday, Id say." Manitobans have had to endure an unusual amount of rain this year, with the province starting to emerge from the second-wettest spring on record. This month has seen its fair share of precipitation Brandon has received 18.3 millimetres of rain throughout June 6-12, according to the most recent provincial crop report. While this has resulted in a cooler-than-average start to the summer, Hoffman said temperatures are expected to go back up on Friday, with the forecast calling for highs of around 25 C on Friday and 30 C on Saturday. "That heat is going to feel kind of shocking," she said. "So just to remind folks, staying hydrated is really important. [Use] sunscreen. Plan activities for not the peak of the day. And stay tuned to the alerts as they come out, because if it does reach heat warning criteria, we will issue heat alerts for that." kdarbyson@brandonsun.com Twitter: @KyleDarbyson COVID-19 vaccine mandates for domestic and outbound international travellers are being suspended for now, ministers announced Tuesday. Advertisement Advertise With Us COVID-19 vaccine mandates for domestic and outbound international travellers are being suspended for now, ministers announced Tuesday. The new rules or lack thereof will come into effect on June 20. Several ministers lauded Canadas high vaccination rate at a news conference to announce the changes, but Intergovernmental Affairs Infrastructure and Communities Minister Dominic LeBlanc warned the government is prepared to reinstate mandates and restrictions if there is a surge of the virus. Asked what would constitute a surge, he only said there were several factors, including rising case numbers. The decision to drop the federal mandate is not a response to the situation at Canadas airports but rather is "based on science," LeBlanc said. "We dont regret at all being cautious when it comes to a virus that has tragically killed tens of thousands of Canadians and millions of people around the world," LeBlanc said. "Acting prudently has saved lives." These vaccine requirements have been blamed by travel industry groups for slowdowns at airport customs, causing long waits for passengers and forced flight delays and cancellations. Airport delays have been caused by a number of factors, said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, including staffing shortages. The decision to lift these requirements is based on science, he said, but will not have an immediate impact on travel times. The government has already taken a number of steps to speed up processing, including hiring 900 more staff. Travellers will still need to fill out health questions through the ArriveCan app when travelling to Canada, even with continued congestion issues at airport customs. "Were working on efficiencies to ensure that ArriveCan is less of a source of complaint. However, it continues to be a meaningful tool to verify the vaccination status of travellers who are arriving into our borders," Alghabra said. In addition, people will still need to wear masks when on federally regulated planes and trains. This is because people are in close proximity to one another and masks have been shown to reduce transmission of the virus, Alghabra said. Foreign nationals coming to Canada will still have to be vaccinated in order to enter. Vaccination requirements for passengers and crew of cruise ships will remain in effect. The COVID situation isnt the same as it was when the vaccine requirements were implemented last fall, Alghabra said. Canadians rolled up their sleeves and got their two doses, leading Canada to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, which in turn led to lower cases and making the announcement possible. However, in that time calls from health experts have been growing to get more people to receive a third dose. Among them is Dr. Theresa Tam, Canadas chief public health officer, who said in comments last Friday in a technical briefing that epidemiology shows two doses isnt enough to protect against severe outcomes. More people need to get a third and possibly a fourth dose, she said, which means provincial and government agencies must do more to encourage people to get another shot. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the government is changing requirements now because of new and positive epidemiological trends anticipated for the next few months. "The number of hospitalizations, cases and deaths has fallen and experts tell us that we should expect the next few weeks in the summertime to be relatively good in terms of COVID-19," Duclos said. With that positive news, he echoed LeBlancs concern over surging cases and the possibility of new variants arriving in the near future. The fall is when any resurgence historically happens, so the federal government is working with provincial and territorial governments in the event this happens, and they can ramp up vaccinations. While more than 89 per cent of Canadians over the age of 12 have at least two doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine, only about 55 per cent of them have received a booster shot. The federal government is moving away from encouraging people to be fully vaccinated and instead move toward making sure Canadians are "up to date" on their COVID-19 vaccinations. Duclos added this announcement is a suspension. The requirements can be re-instated if need be. As well, vaccine mandates have been lifted for all federally regulated workers for the time being all those who refused to get one or were unable to and put on unpaid leave because of their vaccination status. The mandates applied to all members of the core federal public service, which included the RCMP. Federally regulated workplaces like Crown corporations and banks were also required to have a COVID-19 vaccine mandate policy for employees. The federal government hasnt disclosed how many employees have been put on leave, but Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said close to 99 per cent of public servants are fully vaccinated with two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. "Those who were put on leave without pay will be contacted by their managers to resume their regular duties with pay." Fortier said she expects government agencies and Crown corporations to remove vaccine mandates for their workers for the time being. Like all changes, this could cause some anxiety, a spokesperson for the provincial government stated in an email. The province knows COVID-19 restrictions have taken a toll on many peoples health and well-being, but it is prepared for changes, as evidenced by the province-wide move from restrictions to recommendations in mid-March. However, Manitoba Public Health continues to monitor the COVID situation, along with many other conditions that may affect public health. Manitoba Public Health is working closely with the federal government and has assured it that the province continues to follow COVID-19 trends very closely, including what is happening in other jurisdictions in Canada and around the world. In addition, vaccination continues to be the best defence against severe outcomes from COVID-19, the spokesperson stated. Public health encourages Manitobans to get their next dose as soon as they are eligible. In comments to the Canadian Press, Conservative transport critic Melissa Lantsmans response to the announcement was simply "finally," as she and other MPs in her party have been calling for an end to the mandates for months. She pointed out on Twitter that "suspending" mandates is not the same as eliminating them and there will still be some federal mandates in place. kmckinley@brandonsun.com, with files from the Canadian Press Twitter: @karenleighmcki1 OTTAWA - Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday Pope Francis's upcoming trip to Canada remains unchanged at the moment, but the pontiff's health is an "extreme concern." Advertisement Advertise With Us Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations provides an update on the Government of Canada's actions and investments to support Indigenous communities regarding the ongoing impacts of residential schools during an announcement in Ottawa on Monday, May 16, 2022. Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller says Pope Francis's upcoming trip to Canada at the moment remains unchanged, but his health is an "extreme concern." THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday Pope Francis's upcoming trip to Canada remains unchanged at the moment, but the pontiff's health is an "extreme concern." Miller's comments come after the Vatican announced last week the 85-year-old Pope would reschedule an upcoming trip to Africa to avoid interrupting therapy he is undergoing for his knee. His trip to Congo and South Sudan had been scheduled to take place from July 2 to 7, just weeks before he is set to travel to Canada to deliver a long-awaited apology to Indigenous people for the Catholic Churchs role in running residential schools. "We're all systems go in Canada in terms of hosting, effectively, what is a head of state," Miller said before entering a meeting of the Liberal caucus. "But obviously his precarious health is of extreme concern." An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend these church-run, government-funded institutions, where physical and sexual abuse, as well as neglect, were rampant. The final report released in December 2015 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which collected testimony from thousands of survivors, called for a papal apology to take place on Canadian soil for the role played by the Catholic Church and its clergy for running these schools. That request went unheard until earlier this year, when Pope Francis apologized to First Nations, Inuit and Metis delegates who travelled to the Vatican to speak to him about the matter. Survivors still hope to see him deliver an apology in Canada. On Wednesday, the National Indian Residential School Circle of Survivors released a suggested text for the apology, which it said it also shared with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. The survivors' circle said it wants to ensure the Pope's apology is accepted and in it, he must recognize the church's wrongdoing and seek forgiveness, while also committing to making changes and offering restitution. The text calls for the Pope to accept the Catholic Church's role in "Canada's assimilation policy," and acknowledge the many ways Indigenous children and their families suffered under the system, including by burying children in unmarked graves. Ken Young, a former Assembly of First Nations regional chief and member of the survivors' circle, says he hopes they and the Canadian bishops group can work together on the wording of an apology, saying he believes the Pope needs to offer one on behalf of the Catholic Church as a whole, and not individual clergy. In terms of reparation, Young says he believes the church must renounce its Doctrine of Discovery, return land it took back to First Nations as well as the cultural property it holds. Miller saidearlier Wednesdaythat as far as he's aware, Pope Francis's upcoming trip to Edmonton, Quebec City and Iqaluit remains on track. "There's no change. Obviously his state of health would perhaps require some accommodation," the minister said, adding those details will be sorted out with the parties involved. A spokesman for the papal visit said last week that the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops is in regular touch with the Vatican about the pontiff's upcoming travel. Neil MacCarthy has said care has been taken to ensure Pope Francis, who has recently been photographed using a wheelchair, can rest in between events. On Wednesday, Miller said much of the work left to do is logistics around how survivors, many of whom are elderly, will be able to meet with the Pope and what psychological supports will be in place. "There's a lot of work that we need to do to make sure that survivors can properly have that moment with the Pope. And that's the support that the government will always provide," Miller said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2022. Tesla chair Robyn Denholm expects a boom in technology-related jobs in western Sydney in the next five years, adding that the recent wipeout in global technology stock valuations would not hinder growth in the sector domestically. There are more than 100,000 people from across western Sydney working in technology-related jobs. We expect that number to boom over the next five years. She did not quantify how much she expected those job numbers to expand. Tesla chair Robyn Denholm says lower global tech company valuations dont diminish the opportunity for the sector in Australia to be a great exporter and also a huge creator of jobs. Credit:Jessica Hromas Denholms rosy predictions for the Australian tech sector come amid a gloomier picture overseas. In the United States, where there are predictions of a looming recession, as many as 20,000 tech workers have been laid off, including at companies such as Netflix and PayPal. The job cuts in the US and the pandemic have seen many Australian expatriate tech workers return home. The Chinese Communist Party has always been wary of the influence of the business class, even as it tried to co-opt its members to help strengthen the countrys economy. Under Chinas current top leader, Xi Jinping, the partys attitudes toward the private sector took a more hostile turn and made the entrepreneur class the boogeyman for social ills. In the past few years, the government has steered away from the market economy and cracked down on some industries. It demonised entrepreneurs and went after some of the most prominent of them. Then when the mild, albeit contagious, Omicron variant of the coronavirus emerged in China this year, the government meddled with free enterprise as it hadnt in decades. Beijing set its lowest target for economic growth in 30 years in March. Credit:Getty The lockdowns and restrictions have done so much damage to the economy that Premier Li Keqiang summoned about 100,000 cadres to an emergency meeting in late May. He called the situation severe and urgent, citing sharp drops in employment, industrial production, electricity consumption and freight traffic. Many business leaders believe that it will be hard to reverse the damage if the government doesnt stop the zero COVID policy. Yet they feel that theres nothing they can do to make Beijing change course. There are good reasons to fear speaking out. Zhous post was censored, as were a couple of others by entrepreneurs who argued for a more balanced approach between pandemic control and economic activities. James Liang, chairman of travel site Trip.com as well as a trained economist, wrote a few articles that compared the pros and cons of different pandemic policies. Then, in mid-May, his social media Weibo account was suspended. Loading Stakes could be much higher than a few censored articles and suspended social media accounts. Jack Ma, founder of the e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, largely disappeared from the public view after he criticised banking regulators in late 2019. The regulators quashed the initial public offering of Ant Group, the tech and financial company controlled by Ma, and fined Alibaba a record $US2.8 billion ($4 billion) last year. Ren Zhiqiang, a retired real estate developer, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of committing graft, taking bribes, misusing public funds and abusing his power. His real crime, his supporters say, was criticising Xis handling of the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020. Zhou, 49, is known as a maverick in Chinese business circles. He founded his first business in stereo systems with his brother in the mid-1990s when he was still in college. In 2010, he started Yongche, one of the first ride-hailing companies. Unlike most Chinese bosses, he didnt demand his employees work overtime, and he didnt like liquor-filled business meals. He turned down hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and refused to participate in subsidy wars because doing so didnt make economic sense. He ended up losing out to his more aggressive competitor Didi. Our country cant go on like this. We cant allow it to deteriorate like this. Zhou Hang says Chinas zero-COVID strategy is throttling its economic prospects. He later wrote a bestseller about his failure and became a partner at a venture capital firm in Beijing. In April, he was named chairman of ride-sharing company Caocao, a subsidiary of auto manufacturing giant Geely Auto Group. A Chinese citizen with his family in Canada, Zhou said in an interview that in the past many wealthy Chinese people like him would move their families and some of their assets abroad but work in China because there were more opportunities. Now, some of the top talent are trying to move their businesses out of the country, too. It doesnt bode well for Chinas future, he said. Entrepreneurs have good survivors instinct, he said. Now theyre forced to look beyond China. He coined a term passive globalisation based on his discussions with other entrepreneurs. Many of us are starting to take such actions, he said. Alibabas Jack Ma has kept a low profile since he criticised banking regulators in late 2019. Credit:AP The prospect depressed him. China used to be the best market in the world: big, vibrant, full of ambitious entrepreneurs and hungry workers, he said, but the senseless and destructive zero COVID policy and the business crackdowns have forced many of them to think twice. Even if your company is a so-called giant, were all nobodies in front of the bigger force, he said. A whiff of wind could crush us. All the business leaders I spoke to said they were reluctant to make long-term investment in China and fearful that they and their companies could become the next victim of the governments iron fist. Theyre focusing on their international operations if they have them or seeking opportunities abroad. Zhou left for Vancouver, British Columbia, in a hurry in late April when Beijing was locking down many neighbourhoods. Then he wrote the article, urging his peers to try to speak up and change their powerless status. He said that he understood the fear and the pressure they faced. Honestly speaking, Im scared, too. But he would probably regret it more if he did nothing. Our country cant go on like this, he said. We cant allow it to deteriorate like this. In recent years, a few of Zhous articles and social media accounts have been deleted. His outspokenness has caused uneasiness among his friends, he said. Some have told him to shut up because it didnt change anything and was creating unnecessary risks for himself, his family, his companies and the stakeholders in his businesses. But Zhou cant help himself. Hes worried that China could become more like it was under Mao Zedong: impoverished and repressive. His generation of entrepreneurs owes much of their success to Chinas reform and opening up policies, he said. They have the responsibilities to initiate change instead of waiting for a free ride. Peaky Blinders Netflix Peaky Blinders returns in fairly bonkers style for its handsome, cinematic fever dream of a final season. Birmingham gangster Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) has come right up in the world. Hes now Thomas Shelby OBE, MP, and he hobnobs with everyone from Winston Churchill to Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists, and a female IRA commander who dresses just like Michelle of the Resistance from Allo Allo. And yet, our Tommy is still very much the street brawler wholl happily lay a mans face open with a knife. The most surreal action in Peaky Blinders takes place inside Tommys (Cillian Murphy) head, whether it be flashbacks to the First World War or losing his mind over the idea that his daughter is cursed. Credit:Netflix The first order of business, though, is a tribute to series star Helen McCrory, who died last year. The Murphy family being descended from Romani Travellers, McCrorys character, Polly, gets a fitting send-off, being cremated in a traditional horse-drawn caravan. When season three of The Crown debuted in 2019, the historic drama added the esteemed credits of Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter to its royal cast. But the breakout star was Erin Doherty, whose Princess Anne was a bolshie teenager with a cut-glass accent and a precise way with tart rejoinders. A fast-rising stage actor whod barely been sighted on television, Doherty revived the publics interest in a forgotten Windsor woman, so much so that afterwards she was deluged with offers of posh but nonetheless lesser parts. I knew I wanted to try and hold out and see what kind of different stuff would come my way and luckily it didnt take too long, Doherty says. When Chloe landed at my feet I jumped at it because Beckys the polar opposite to Princess Anne. For me personally, as an actor, I love shape-shifting and surprising people. Thats what I consistently want to achieve. Erin Doherty plays a mysterious young woman who infiltrates the social circle of a childhood friend who has suddenly died. Credit:Luke Varley Doherty is jet-lagged for her promotional day in New York Ive had lots of green juices and coffee, she cheerfully notes but shes still feeding off the energy of Becky Green, her lead character in the British psychological thriller Chloe. The character is fiercely complicated, a 20-something struggling with her own life but in thrall to social media, who turns to deception when the subject of her online obsession Chloe Fairbourne (Poppy Gilbert) mysteriously dies and Becky infiltrates the womans grieving circle. Becky is at ease in the roles she invents, but uncertain as herself. I just like to decide how people see me, she admits, which is both a truth and a lie since shes posing as someone else more confident, cultured, and cashed-up when she says it. With a mother at home who has early onset dementia, Becky could be a sociopath or an intrepid detective, as Chloe refuses to offer an easy explanation. Her identity is so fluid and the situations so tense that the plots juicy excess proves to be gripping. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Brendan Cowell has never been called up for jury duty before, but having just spent almost half a year watching a murder case unfold in the new drama The Twelve, he thinks hes done his time. Ive definitely done it now, he says laughing. And thats what Ill be saying if I ever get the letter. Ill be like, I did five months [of jury duty] in 2021-22. Sam Neill was the lawyer and so was the lady from Janet King. Its late March and Cowell is on his lunch break. They are in the middle of the shoot for The Twelve and hes been spending his time sitting in a wooden box built in the middle of a sound stage in Sydneys Artarmon. Its a room at the (fictional) Parramatta Supreme Court, where the actors judge, jury, accused, lawyers and spectators and camera crew sit on the inside, while on the outside are the sound and make-up crew, who are perched on chairs with make-up kits slung around their waists. They are watching Marta Dusseldorp, who is playing prosecutor Lucy Bloom, on the monitor, as she delivers another flawless take. And while the camera is focused firmly on Dusseldorp, over her shoulder you can see Cowell and 13 other actors sitting quietly: sometimes their heads nod, sometimes they write something down. They are the jury of The Twelve, tasked with determining the fate of Kate Lawson (Kate Mulvany), an artist who is accused of killing her 14-year-old niece Claire. Sam Neill (centre) as barrister Brett Colby, who is defending Kate Mulvanys character Kate Lawson (far left) in a murder trial in The Twelve. Based on a Belgian drama, the 10-episode series focuses as much on the stories of the men and women of the jury as it does on the case. How will their lives determine the fate of Kate Lawson? They will judge her not only on the evidence, but on the way she looks, appears and behaves. Even her shade of lipstick will come under scrutiny. Advertisement As Neills smooth defence barrister, Brett Colby, warns: The jury is everything. (If you are wondering why there are 14 jurors when the show is called The Twelve, its because 12 is the number of people on a standard jury, with two extras empanelled as back-ups in case the trial goes longer than three months.) The show begins on the first day of the trial, as the 14 jurors are chosen. They are a mixed bag a widower, a devout Catholic, a woman who believes horoscopes may determine the case, an indigenous student, a wealthy heiress, an alpha-male businessman and an Uber driver from Iraq, among others. All jostle for position in the jury room, all look each other up and down. Cowell plays Garry, whose I-love-the-dog-track dress sense and down-at-heel circumstances come from a gambling addiction that makes him an easy mark for outside influences on the case. And even though the murder trial is fictional, what struck Cowell was the enormity of situation. I remember coming to [director] Dan Nettheim on the first day with the jury and this is just a really stupid actor comment and saying this would be incredibly overwhelming walking into this murder case of this young girl, says Cowell. And going on Garry I live in that shitty little flat in Glebe, Ive got two greyhounds and I have to decide who killed this person? And suddenly, I kind of took a breath in, and I spoke about it to the whole cast. Like, when weve just found out what the case is, lets all take a breath when we enter the jury room because its not a traffic fine, you know, and its going to affect lives. Advertisement Early on, Garry is dismissed by some of his fellow jurors, who mistake his friendliness for nosiness. And thats Garrys greatest trick, says Cowell, he is not who he appears to be. Cowells character Garry is initially dismissed by some of his fellow jurors, who mistake his friendliness for nosiness. Credit:Ben Symons/Foxtel Im not putting Garry into a familiar dead-shit archetype, says Cowell. Hes a very emotionally intelligent man. Hes a very capable man. Hes a wise fella. Hes just got a disease. And when theres a green light, he goes 100 miles an hour with everything. He doesnt comprehend balance. And its a very topical question in society: If you do bad things, does that make you bad? Or can you still be good and do bad things? Joining Cowell in the jurors box is Brooke Satchwell, who plays Georgina, a mother-of-three who tries to dodge jury duty and whose unstable home life brings to bear on the case, too. The 14-person jury in The Twelve must decide if Kate Lawson murdered her 14-year-old niece. Shes in different states of fragility and vulnerability, says Satchwell of Georgina. So questions of integrity, particularly when it comes to the care of a child, deeply affect her. And anything of a more volatile nature is starting to creep into her understanding of her own situation. Advertisement So there is quite an emotional aspect, as someone who potentially, until this point, has kept all of their emotions very strongly compressed and, and suppressed in a way that they cant be used against her. And that means during the various testimonies throughout the court case, some of her responses perhaps arent as rational, or more governed by emotion, which is what the most fascinating aspect of all of this is: how on earth we are expected to pass judgment on someone, particularly for something as diabolical as murder? Brooke Satchwell, centre, plays mother-of-three Georgina in The Twelve. Credit:Brook Rushton/Foxtel Satchwell is a big fan of the Flemish-language original, De Twaalf, which she describes as having a thermal texture. Its incredibly human, she says. That living, breathing, closeness of observing a person reacting in a situation and experiencing it, theres a lot of space for that, which is a really captivating thing to watch on screen, to see someone navigate a situation rather than dramatic plot point, dramatic plot point. And while court cases should be the last bastion of truth that is, after all, what everyone is there to discover Cowell says there is just as much room for opinion. Weve just had four different witnesses tell a very different story about the same thing, he says. And thats because were getting towards the crescendo. You start with facts, everyones presenting facts, but hang on, the facts arent the same. Reminds you of certain American presidents, you know? Advertisement Its up to us to decipher [the truth] from the life that weve lived, on what our values are. Who is telling the truth? Garry, not so much because Garry has motive, but everybody else is reacting to it emotionally. And that doesnt necessarily mean theyre saying the truth. Loading Which is the brilliance of the show the ripple effect through the lives of juries, and you go home with the jury members. And you see why theyre taking stuff personally, but that can really, really cloud their judgment. So I think everybodys pretty baffled by the end because of their own shit. And while we do get to see the jurors lives outside the courtroom, a lot of the acting work is just sitting in the background, listening to the evidence presented before them. Half of the time they are not even on camera, so what exactly are they doing? Listening acting is my favourite thing, says Satchwell, before conceding but I am getting a lot of work done. Ive finally embraced technology and I am very happily sitting there and getting a lot of work done in between takes. And for Cowell? Its a great way to get paid, he says, laughing. What did you do today, darling? I sit there and watch Marta Dusselldorp and Sam Neill talk. And hanging out with Brooke Satchwell. You know, its not awful. Advertisement The wonders of nose breathing have gained traction on TikTok, with posts spruiking the benefits of taping your mouth shut while you sleep to force you to breathe through your nose. Need an easy way to improve your overall health and immune system? Mouth taping is the way to go! one influencer enthuses. Many TikTok users spruik the benefits of taping your mouth shut while you sleep, forcing you to breathe through your nose. Credit:@vio2tape; @wellthybelly; @zth.training While nose breathing puts you on a path to wellness, mouth breathing can kick you down the road to dental decay and problems with facial development, narrowing the shape of the face or so many of the posters suggest. How accurate are these claims? The COVID-19 pandemic has seen many employees switch to working from home at least for part of the week but the revolution sweeping across the workforce is far wider. Employers should take heed: Students nowadays and soon to enter the workforce have markedly different expectations about their jobs than earlier generations, new research reveals. Dorothy Hisgrove, national managing partner for people and inclusion at KMPG Australia, says the professional services company is widening the pool from which it selects talent. Credit: Working for a single employer full-time for a number of years is regarded as old hat by many, who declare a preference for multiple jobs often at the same time. Just 14 per cent of high school and tertiary students told a recent survey conducted by McCrindle Research that their ideal situation is to be working for a single employer. Most said they hoped to end up working for themselves, in something they would start on the side, while also working full-time. A Queensland pharmacist has admitted setting his partners Brisbane home alight in May last year, but will not be sentenced for two attempted murder charges after they were dropped on Wednesday. Curtis Shea Mickan, 36, appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court via video-link from prison during a committal hearing to decide whether his case should go to trial in a higher court. The home in Wooloowin in Brisbanes north was engulfed in flames in May 2021. Credit:Nine News When emergency services were called to Eveleigh Street in Wooloowin, on the citys northside, about 6.15am on May 16, 2021, they found the home engulfed in flames. Police said two women Mickans partner and one of her family members were in the house at the time, but escaped without injury. Blackouts the energy market operator flagged on Tuesday night across the east coast electricity grid did not end up happening after the operator forced power companies to fire up generators they had taken offline. The Australian Energy Regulator has warned power companies they will be investigated for their role in the current crisis as it calls energy companies into a meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the situation. Power companies have been called in for an emergency meeting with the energy market regulator for answers on why so much electricity capacity is sitting idle. Credit:Fairfax Blackout warnings were issued because coal and gas-fired generators reacted to soaring prices for fossil fuels by withdrawing power supply from the grid. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is required under law to issue warnings no matter if the power is not available or if it is just waiting to be fired back up. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has reaffirmed the Liberal partys commitment to the GST deal that has seen billions pour into Western Australias coffers at the same time iron ore royalties catapulted the states budget to two consecutive surpluses above $5 billion Dutton travelled to Perth on Wednesday to hold his partys first shadow cabinet meeting after the Liberals devastating election result in WA, where they lost four seats to Labor and a fifth to teal independent Kate Chaney. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton in Perth on Wednesday. Credit:Hamish Hastie Dutton said he wanted to visit WA to understand what happened and rebuild the party, and reaffirmed former prime minister Scott Morrisons forever commitment to the GST formula. A 70 cent floor was introduced to the formula in 2018 after WAs share dropped to less than 30 cents for every dollar it put into the broader GST pool. Australia is aiming for a trade deal with the European Union by the end of this year to open the two markets to more farm exports and add $15 billion to both economies after years of attempts to seal the agreement. Trade Minister Don Farrell will meet his French counterpart, Franck Riester, in a strong sign of progress on a deal after the new government moved last weekend to end a dispute with France over a cancelled submarine contract. Trade Minister Don Farrell and his French counterpart, Franck Riester. Credit:Photos: Alex Ellinghausen/AP The meeting, to be held on the sidelines of a World Trade Organisation meeting in Geneva, adds to separate talks on free trade agreements with India and the United Kingdom, raising hopes these deals could be done this year. Ive told both the Indians and the English that I believe we can get both of those agreements up and running by the end of the year and that will certainly be my aim, Farrell said in Geneva on Wednesday. The Stars lawyers say the casino failed to conduct probity checks on $70 million in gambling debt repayments over four years, opening its door to increased money laundering and terrorism risks. The gaming giant employed a deficient operating procedure that allowed overseas deposits to be made without authorisation from late 2017 to October last year, barrister Kate Richardson, SC, told an inquiry. Sydneys Star casino in Pyrmont. Credit:Flavio Brancaleone About 500 third-party deposits totalling $70 million were made in that period without any checks completed on where those funds came from, Richardson said, adding that the shortcomings have since been fixed. The acceptance of third-party deposits over nearly four years indicates that adequate know your customer checks were not conducted ... this increased the anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing risks of those transactions. Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Vladimir Putin that his actions on Ukraine were legitimate, reasserting Chinas support for the Russian president on issues of sovereignty and security, according to Moscows official readout of their phone call. Xi told Putin that he noted the legitimacy of the actions taken by Russia to protect the fundamental national interests in the face of challenges to its security created by external forces. Russias Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing in early February. Credit:AP China has refused to criticise Russias invasion of Ukraine or even to refer to it in such terms, while accusing NATO and the West of provoking Moscow into attacking. Xi said all parties should responsibly push for a proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis, according to Beijings readout of the call. He has sought to avoid repercussions from supporting the Russian economy amid international sanctions. 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 Tata Sons-owned is close to signing an agreement with French aerospace major for an order of up to 50 A350-900 aircraft. Additionally, the airline is also in talks to order more than 100 A321 neo aircraft- a popular version of Airbus single aisle version. The airline on Wednesday asked its pilots to prepare for training on the aircraft. is in the process of augmenting its existing fleet with the A350 type of aircraft with the Entry into Service. You are requested to give your acceptance of your willingness to be taken up for Conversion training on the A350 aircraft, a memo to pilots reviewed by Business Standard said. Transition training from A320 to A350 will require only around six months as has ensured cockpit commonality in the two aircraft. Airbus and didnt reply to queries sent on the topic. Sources said that the airline was looking to induct the A350 aircraft as early as the first half of 2023. Such an early delivery of the aircraft is possible because the airline is eyeing aircraft already built for Russian airline AeroFlot, which Airbus couldnt deliver due to the sanctions placed by the company on Russia. Aeroflot had a total of 22 A350-900 aircraft on order. Out of those, only one has been delivered to Aerflot while six aircraft are being taken by Turkish Airlines, which will be delivered in 2022 and 2023. The Russia-Ukraine war has led to Western nations taking swift action against Russia, imposing sanctions and airspace bans. The actions restricted plane makers like Airbus and Boeing from selling and delivering aircraft to their Russian customers. Multiple delays by Boeing for commercial launch of its competing product like the 777X due to regulatory issues also contributed to the order swaying in Airbus favour. Plans of Vistara, the groups joint venture with Singapore, have been hit due to the delay in delivery of 787 aircraft. A team of top executives of Tata Sons, which includes the conglomerates Chief Financial Officer Saurabh Agrawal and Air Indias Chief Commercial officer Nipun Aggarwal, is in Hamburg to finalise details on the seating layout and interiors. Airbus had earlier showcased a more advanced version of the aircraft A350-1000 to executives including group patriarch Ratan Tata. The airline is simultaneously working to restore its grounded aircraft. Around 30 of Air Indias 113 aircraft have been grounded for varying periods due to lack of engine overhaul or non-availability of components and spares. This includes aircraft from both the Airbus and Boeing fleet such as Airbus A320, Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft. While Air India has a fleet of 141 aircraft, a mix of narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft, the airline has agreed to hand over only 118 of them in fly-worthy condition to the Tatas. chairman N Chandrasekaran who is also the chairman of Air India had earlier said that the group will need to order new aircraft inorder to augment the fleet of the airline. We will address it with utmost urgency. Well upgrade our fleet, well bring modernity in our fleet, well bring a new fleet, he had said in a video address to employees. Air Indias last aircraft order was in 2006 when it had placed orders for purchasing 111 aircraft -- 68 from US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing and 43 from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The Union Cabinet has approved the auction of airwaves capable of offering fifth-generation or 5G telecom services including ultra high-speed internet, and gave its nod for setting up of captive 5G networks by the big tech firms. The auction of over 72 GHz of the spectrum will be held by July-end, said an official statement detailing the decision taken by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at its meeting held on June 14. The spectrum auction will commence on July 26, 2022. While the in nine frequency bands will be auctioned to telecom operators like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, the Notice Inviting Applications -- bid-related document issued by DoT -- said big tech firms for the time being will be allowed to take the for their captive non-public network, on lease from the telecom . A total of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put to auction to be held by the end of July, 2022. The auction will be held for spectrum in various bands (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), Mid (3300 MHz) and High (26 GHz) frequency bands, the government said in a press release on Wednesday. Economic potential of 5G services Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently called for a rapid rollout of 5G services and asked the government and the industry to work together for the same, as the 5G service is expected to contribute $450 billion to the Indian economy in a decade and a half through economic growth and job creation. He also announced that the country should be prepared for the launch of 6G service by the end of this decade. Possible pitfalls The next generation 5G roll out is highly expected by the end of this year, but there are some challenges. 1. The 5G roll out will require crucial infrastructural change in the communication system. 2. Consumers will be under a financial liability to upgrade their cellular technology for better transition from 4G to 5G. 3. Lack of capital adequacy with telcos such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea can be considered as a challenge to rapid 5G roll out. Telecom industry, being a major part of the Indian economy, is expected to contribute 8% to Indian GDP in 2022. While the 5G roll out in India is being considered the beginning of a new era. It is also a step forward to PM Modis Digital India dream, as stated by Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. "Moving forward with PM @narendramodi ji's vision of a Digital India. Spectrum auction announced today is an integral part of developing #BharatKa5G ecosystem," Vaishnaw said. Major govt announcements on 5G spectrum According to DoT, the 5G services will initially be introduced in 13 major cities in India including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Jamnagar, Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Kolkata. The government has also announced that a total of 72GHz of spectrum will be auctioned across all frequency bands including 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz. What's in it for telcos The telecom industry is expected to shell out around Rs 1-1.1 trillion on the 5G auction, despite telcos' reservations over high spectrum prices, Icra said on Wednesday but cautioned that sector debt level is likely to rise with upcoming auctions. According to Icra, given the relaxed payment terms for the auction, the upfront outgo is likely to be around Rs 10,000 crore for the industry. It said industry ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is expected to increase to Rs 170 by the end of FY2023, driven by tariff hikes and consistent up-gradation of subscribers. The much-awaited auction will bring significant advancements for the industry and consumers, market watchers said on Wednesday, while some felt that the base price for spectrum remains an issue for bidders, who were expecting much lower rates. The and steps outlined for bidding will open up newer avenues for deeper penetration, access and rich user experience, Peeyush Vaish, Partner and Telecom Sector Leader, Deloitte India, said. He noted that the government has also announced an auction of the millimetre-wave (mm-wave) band, which will not only help in unlocking the true potential of 5G but will also help strategically manage costs for the operators. "The roads are now clear for the 5G auctions. This is probably one of the most awaited spectrum auctions, which will bring significant advancements for the industry and the consumers," Vaish said, adding the good part is that spectrum across bands will go under the hammer shortly. Another aspect which will spur "a good auction" is that operators will have the flexibility to surrender the spectrum after 10 years without any liabilities. Maharashtra cabinet minister reached on Wednesday to offer prayers at the here. On his first visit to Ayodhya, Thackeray will offer prayers at the Ram Temple, visit Janambhoomi site and participate in an 'aarti' at the banks of Saryu river. On his day-long visit, he will also hold a meeting with party functionaries and interact with the media. Thackeray arrived in Lucknow at around 11 am from where he reached by road. According to party officials, over 1,000 Shiv Sainiks have already reached the temple town for Aaditya's visit. Senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut and Eknath Shinde reached on Tuesday to oversee arrangements for Thackeray's visit. Earlier, head of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Raj Thackeray had announced his visit to Ayodhya on June 5 which was cancelled later. Soon after, Shiv Sena announced Thackeray's Ayodhya visit. (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 Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has welcomed the central governments plans to recruit one million people in next one and half years and the Agnipath military scheme, calling it decisive and "far-sighted" measures. Prime Minister on Tuesday announced the plans of mass in the as well as its various agencies, departments, and ministries. If both much-needed schemes are implemented effectively in mission mode, they will boost employment among the youth and help the country take advantage of its demographic dividend, said. It is inspiring and heartening to see the government, led by our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, putting a laser focus on the critical issue of employment, and this move will not only help ease the backlog of vacant but also provide hope to many millions of Indias youth, who are keenly looking to contribute to development, Sumant Sinha, President of ASSOCHAM, said. Deepak Sood, Secretary-General, said The prime minister's call to provide 10 lakh jobs in the Government sector will go a long way in providing additional employment opportunities but also improve government services for the common man. Unemployment has emerged as one of the major challenges in the Indian economy in recent years. According to government data tabled in the Rajya Sabha in February, there were 87 lakh vacant posts in departments as of March 1, 2020, said in the statement. The Centre also introduced Agnipath, a new short-term scheme in the armed forces. ASSOCHAM said the Agnipath scheme would provide the private sector with a young, disciplined, and patriotic workforce in the coming years. The is holding discussions to prepare an action plan for the rollout of the second phase of the bus lane enforcement drive. Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Tuesday inspected bus lane enforcement on the Vasant Vihar-INA stretch and directed officials to clear around major points on the route at IIT Gate, Munirka, Yusuf Sarai, AIIMS. "Private vehicles block near AIIMS which have been cleared for easy movement. Also convened a meeting with Transport dept, DTC, DIMTS, DTIDC officials to prepare Action plan for phase 2 of bus lane enforcement including addressing driver/conductor training & corrective behaviour at its root- a comprehensive system based on diagnosis, rewards & incentives," Gahlot said in a tweet. As of June 6, 28,086 challans had been issued by the Transport Department under the bus lane enforcement drive. These include 1,007 challans issued to bus drivers for lane violation and 27,079 challans issued to private vehicle owners for parking in bus lanes, according to official data. The had started an intensive enforcement drive for buses and goods carriers from April 1. The Transport Department has also been monitoring and prosecuting defaulters under various provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Wednesday issued the notification for 16th Presidential election, scheduled to be held on July 18. As per the notification, the nominations can be filed till June 29 and the scrutiny of the papers will be held on June 30. The last date for withdrawing from the electoral fray is July 2. The counting will take place on July 21. As per a source, 11 candidates filed the nomination for the country's top constitutional post after the notification was issued. However, one nomination was rejected due to incomplete documents, the source said. Meanwhile, a meeting of opposition leaders, called by Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was held here on building consensus on zeroing in on a joint opposition candidate. The opposition parties agreed to field a joint candidate for the upcoming in the meeting. The term of incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind ends on July 24. --IANS avr/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.) Live news updates: The TRS, BJD, AAP and SAD are likely to skip Wednesday's opposition meeting called by TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to forge a consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the NDA in the presidential election. Banerjee last week invited leaders of 19 political parties, including seven chief ministers, for a meeting in the national capital to produce a confluence of opposition voices for the election on July 18. Congress leader was questioned for over 11 hours by the for the second consecutive day in the National Herald money-laundering probe and was again summoned on Wednesday, even as the opposition party continued its protests and sparred with the BJP, accusing it of conspiring to defame the Gandhi family through the ''false'' case. Gandhi, 51, who was quizzed for over 10 hours a day earlier, arrived on Tuesday at the ED headquarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi accompanied by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and his questioning began at 11:30 am. Congress leader was questioned for over 11 hours by the for the second consecutive day in the National Herald money-laundering probe and was again summoned on Wednesday, even as the opposition party continued its protests and sparred with the BJP, accusing it of conspiring to defame the Gandhi family through the ''false'' case. Gandhi, 51, who was quizzed for over 10 hours a day earlier, arrived on Tuesday at the ED headquarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi accompanied by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and his questioning began at 11:30 am. Delhi on Tuesday reported over 82 per cent single-day rise in Covid cases, at 1,118 against 614 recorded on the previous day, while there were two more deaths, as per the government health bulletin. Meanwhile, the Covid positivity rate has slightly dropped to 6.50 per cent, while the number of active cases has also risen to 3,177. With 500 patients recovering in the last 24 hours, the total number of recoveries has gone to 18,85,130. The number of patients being treated in home isolation stands at 1,910. Russian troops control about 80 per cent of the fiercely contested eastern city of Sievierodonetsk and have destroyed all three bridges leading out of it, but Ukrainians were still trying to evacuate the wounded, a regional official said Wednesday. Serhiy Haidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region, acknowledged that a mass evacuation of civilians from Sievierodonetsk now was simply not possible due to the relentless shelling and fighting. Ukrainian forces have been pushed to the industrial outskirts of the city because of the scorched earth method and heavy artillery the Russians are using," he said. India on Tuesday strongly pitched to the WTO members for finding a permanent solution to the issue of public stock holding of grains for programmes, stating that one cannot tread the path of trade on an empty stomach. Addressing a thematic session on agriculture, commerce and industry minister said that the developing countries are in a situation, where the temporary declarations on the issue are not going to help the countries and the permanent solution to public stock holding, pending for more than 9 years, is not yet being taken up for closure. "WTO is an organisation for trade, but one should remember that before trade, there comes hunger and one cannot tread the path of trade on an empty stomach," he said. Goyal said that it is possible to find the solution as there are well established and proven mechanisms available and documents are on the table which can be adopted and finalised. It is ironical that the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) of the WTO provides considerable flexibility to the developed members to provide huge subsidies in the form of Aggregate Measure of Support (AMS). The same flexibilities are not available to the majority of the developing countries including LDCs (Least Developed Countries). The developed countries are giving more than 200 times the support that most developing countries are able to give. "The special and differential treatment accorded to developing countries remains crucial for us and hence bringing it into the ambit of negotiations is just not acceptable. We feel that the draft ministerial decisions on agriculture are expansive and go beyond the Doha Round mandate and do not acknowledge the progress achieved so far," he added. PSH (Public Stock Holding) programme is a policy tool under which the government procures crops like rice and wheat from farmers at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), and stores and distributes foodgrains to the poor. MSP is normally higher than the prevailing market rates and the government sells these foodgrans at a low price to ensure for over 800 million poor people. However, the WTO's Agreement on Agriculture limits the ability of a government to purchase food at MSP. Under global trade norms, a WTO member country's food subsidy bill should not breach the limit of 10 per cent of the value of production based on the reference price of 1986-88. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Hiraba Modi will enter the 100th year of her life on June 18, her family members said on Wednesday. The prime minister, who will be in on that day, is likely to meet her, official sources said. Religious programmes will be organised in Vadnagar, Modi's hometown, for the long life and health of his mother, her family said. Hiraba was born on June 18, 1923. She will enter the 100th year of her life on June 18, 2022, said Pankaj Modi, the prime minister's younger brother. Modi will be on a day's visit to on June 18 when he would be visiting the Pavagadh temple and later address a rally in Vadodara. Officials said he was likely to meet his mother, who lives in Gandhinagar with Pankaj Modi, during the visit. The Modi family has also planned a 'bhandaro' (community meal) at the Jagannath temple in Ahmedabad on that day. Hatkeshwar Mahadev Temple in Vadnagar has organised various religious programmes for the long life and health of the prime minister's mother, it said in a release. The programmes will include a Bhajan Sandhya, Shiv Aradhna and Sundarkand Path. Modi had last visited his mother in March. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Wednesday raised a preliminary objection to a petition filed by MLA Suhas Kande against the ECI's decision declaring his vote cast in the last week's as invalid. The ECI's decision had come after the BJP alleged that he violated the voting process. Kande, in his petition filed through advocate Ajinkya Udane, said the ECI's decision discharging his vote has caused grave prejudice to his dignity and reputation, and sought that the HC quash and set aside the ECI's decision. On Wednesday, advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for the ECI, the Election Commissioner and the Chief Election Commissioner, told a division bench of Justices S V Gangapurwala and Dhiraj Singh Thakur that he was raising a preliminary objection to the plea. "The petitioner should have filed an election petition as he has challenged a decision of the Election Commission," Chandrachud said. The bench then said it would hear arguments on the preliminary objections on June 24. Kande in his plea claimed that on June 10, when the were held for six seats in Maharashtra, he had gone to the electoral hall (at the Vidhan Bhawan in Mumbai), exercised his right to vote, made the necessary endorsement on the ballot paper and as per rules, came out and showed the ballot paper to leader Sunil Prabhu, who had issued a whip for the polls. "It is alleged by MLA Yogesh Sagar that the petitioner had shown his ballot paper to the whip of another political party. This is not true and the petitioner had shown his ballot paper to only Sunil Prabhu and not to any other political party, the petition said. Sagar ought to have raised this objection at that time and not after Kande left the electoral hall, the petition said. It further claimed that the election officer in-charge of the poll station had given his ruling that the allegations made by Sagar were not factually correct and that Kande's vote was valid. However, later in the evening, several leaders of the BJP met with the ECI raising the same grievance. No notice was given to the petitioner (Kande) and without seeking Kande's response, the ECI thought it fit to interfere with the decision taken by the election officer and held Kande's vote as invalid, the petition said. In the fiercely-contested polls for total six seats from last Friday, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Pawar lost to BJP's Dhananjay Mahadik- its third nominee. The ruling in and its allies NCP and Congress won one seat each. The opposition BJP won all the three seats it had contested. (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.) Govt to auction for 20 yrs; allows private captive networks The Union Cabinet has cleared the auction for 5G airwaves paving the way for auction and commercial launch of next generation telecom services this year. The cabinet in its meeting on Tuesday approved Department of Telecom's proposal for the auction of 72 GHz of spectrum for a 20-year-period. It also decided to enable the development and setting up of private captive networks to spur a new wave of innovations in industry 4.0 applications". Read more rise 20.55% to $38.94 bn in May; trade deficit at record $24.29 bn India's merchandise in May rose by 20.55 per cent to USD 38.94 billion, while the trade deficit ballooned to a record USD 24.29 billion, according to the government data released on Wednesday. Read more Imports during May 2022 grew by 62.83 per cent to USD 63.22 billion, the data showed. Read more UAE to suspend exports, re- of Indian for four months: Report UAE's Ministry of Economy has ordered the suspension of exports and re-exports of and flour originating from India for four months, a media report said on Wednesday. According to Emirates news agency WAM, companies wishing to export or re-export Indian wheat that was imported to the UAE before May 13, when the suspension began, must first apply to the ministry. Read more Crypto exchange Binance opens 2,000 positions for hiring, says CEO exchange Binance has opened 2,000 positions for hiring, Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao said on Wednesday, a sharp contrast to a slew of job cuts by companies operating in the digital currency space. "It was not easy saying no to Super bowl ads, stadium naming rights, large sponsor deals a few months ago, but we did. Today, we are hiring for 2000 open positions for #Binance," Zhao said in a tweet to his 6.4 million followers on the social media app. Read more The US has said it will launch a new four-nation dialogue with India, and the United Arab Emirates during President Joe Biden's visit to the region next month. It will be called I2U2 -- for and whose names begin with the letter 'I' and the US and the that begin with the letter 'U' -- and will be focussed on West Asia. It will be launched during Biden's visit to Israel, his first leg of his maiden trip as President to West Asia from July 13 to 16. He will also visit West Bank, home to the Palestinian authority, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he will meet around a dozen regional leaders. A senior Biden White House official said on a background call with reporters about the visit that the new initiative will be launched in a virtual call Biden will hold with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, and UAE's President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They will discuss security and "areas of cooperation across hemispheres where and serve as important innovation hubs", said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and went on to describe the meeting as a "unique engagement". No other details were available of this new initiative, its goals and reach. A spokesperson for the White House's Security Council said I2U2 was inaugurated by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in October 2021 and the virtual summit is a follow on "from that initial touch point". "2U2 is an entirely new grouping of partners that includes the United States, Israel, and the . It is focused on expanding economic and political cooperation in the Middle East and Asia, including through trade, combating climate change, energy cooperation, and coordination on other vital shared interests," the spokesperson added. Since coming into office in January 2021, Biden has launched several multilateral dialogues and initiatives such as a three-nation group with Australia and the United Kingdom called AUKUS and a Quadrilateral dialogue with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan; and deepened and strengthened existing platforms such as the Quad with India, Australia and Japan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. He has also returned the US to several world bodies that it had left under former President Donald Trump. The July 13-16 visit will be Biden's first to a region considered one of the most volatile in the world. It is expected to reinforce the US's "iron-clad commitment" to Israel's security and prosperity and continue the process of its integration into the region under the Abraham Accords brokered by Trump between Israel on the one hand and the UAE and Bahrain on the other in 2020; an agreement with Morocco followed. Biden will also meet with Palestinian leaders in West Bank, recommitting US to a two-state solution that had been somewhat diluted or abandoned under Trump. The American President will wrap up his West Asia tour in Jeddah, where he is also expected to attend the summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt, Iraq and Jordan (known as the GCC+3). He is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts. Biden's meeting with the Saudi king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will be the most closely watched of all his bilateral interactions in Jeddah. He is expected to meet Mohammad bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince who is accused by the US of ordering the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist. MBS, as the prince is known, has denied any involvement. Biden has called Saudi Arabia a "pariah" state and released an intelligence report on Khashoggi's killing that points to the crown prince's involvement. Trump, who had forged very strong ties with the Saudi royals, had withheld the report. Since taking office, Biden had restricted his communications with the Saudi leadership to the king, cutting out the crown prince, who is considered the de facto ruler of the country, entirely. --IANS yashwant/arm (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 Indias consumer affairs ministry has -- of late -- taken a host of measures to protect the interest of consumers. It is locked in a prolonged battle with the restaurant industry over the imposition of service charge. Early this month, the ministry had asked restaurants to stop the practice of levying service charge 'by default', saying that it does not have legal sanctity. The government in its guidelines, issued way back in 2017, had already said that entry of a customer in a restaurant cannot itself be construed as a consent to pay service charge. But most restaurants continue to levy this charge. The National Restaurant Association of India or NRAI has issued a statement, saying that the service charge is legal and the Department of Consumer Affairs is yet to take a call on the new framework. According to reports, the government is now mulling prohibiting the practice through an amendment to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. And now, even as there seems to be no end in sight to this battle over service charge, the government has opened another front against the food services industry after hundreds of consumer complaints. On Monday, the government asked online food business operators to submit a proposal to improve their consumer grievance redress mechanisms. The proposal, which has to be submitted in 15 days, will also include steps to be taken to make billing more transparent too. According to reports, two food business operators have received over 3,500 complaints on their consumer helpline in the last 12 months. These complaints have now prompted the consumer affairs department to ask operators like and to transparently show consumers the breakup of all charges included in the order amount such as delivery charges, packaging charges, taxes, surge pricing etc. The directions came after a meeting between Consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh and major e-commerce food business operators. The food delivery platforms were also told to show individual consumer reviews transparently and refrain from showing only the aggregation of reviews. According to an official statement, received as many as 3,631 complaints while registered 2,828 in the last one year. According to the statement, a maximum 803 complaints registered with were for deficiency in services. 628 complaints were filed for delay in delivery of products. 456 complaints were over delivery of damaged products. 401 people approached the helpline over delivery of wrong products. 391 complaints were filed over non-refund on paid amount. And, last but not the least, at least 100 people complained after receiving non-vegetarian food instead of the vegetarian food they had ordered. Meanwhile, the complainants flooded the consumer helpline of too. While 707 complaints were registered for deficiency in services, 499 complaints were over delivery of damaged products. 307 complaints were over the paid amount not refunded. And 298 people dialled the helpline after getting wrong products. Scores of people also registered complaints over discrepancy in delivery time -- between the promised one and the actual time taken. Absence of a mechanism to separate genuine reviews from the fake ones was also raised. In most cases, like what happens in other platforms too, those associated with the restaurants post scores of positive and motivated reviews about it. According to reports, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) raised the issue of customer information not being shared by the e-commerce food delivery platforms with the restaurants. The association said that if the eateries get the contact details of the consumers, they will be able to serve them better. In April this year, the Competition Commission had launched a probe against Zomato and Swiggy over alleged unfair business practices in their dealings with restaurant partners. The CCI move had come after the restaurant association NRAI asked it to investigate the food delivery companies for breaching platform neutrality by providing priority to exclusive contractors. The probe report will be submitted in 60 days. According to Statista, the revenue of firms is expected to show an annual growth rate -- CAGR 2022-2026-- of 11.92%, resulting in a projected market volume of $ 21.95 billion by 2026. So as the food business operators grow, it is in their interest to bring transparency into their functioning, which will also lessen the friction with the government. Meanwhile, the recent steps taken by the government will indeed address consumers concerns. By Philip Blenkinsop and Emma Farge GENEVA (Reuters) -The World Trade Organization on Wednesday extended its negotiations by a day amid growing doubts they would find consensus on any change to global trade rules and adamant it would not yield on food, fisheries and vaccines. During the WTO's ministerial conference this week, its first major meeting in over four years originally set to end on June 15, the 164-member body is seeking to agree on a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a reduction of fishing subsidies, pledges on security and the launch of an internal reform. "We think we are going towards a no-result ministerial," Pakistan's commerce minister Syed Naveed Qamar told Reuters on the sidelines of the meeting. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told the more than 100 ministers present that time was running out and that they should "go the extra mile" to converge on the full range of issues. Delegates at the meeting said that India, which has a history of blocking multilateral trade deals, appeared far from ready to compromise. That view was supported by comments Indian Commerce Minister Shri Piyush Goyal made in closed sessions and which New Delhi chose to publish. and South Africa and other developing countries have sought a waiver of intellectual property rights for vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for over a year, but faced opposition from several developed nations with major pharmaceutical producers. A provisional deal between major parties - India, South Africa, the United States and the European Union - emerged in May, but drew criticism from campaign groups that it falls short of what is needed. Goyal echoed that view. "My own sense is that what we are getting is completely half baked and it will not allow us to make any vaccines," he said. The WTO has also pushed hard for a global deal to cut fishing subsidies, which would be only the second multilateral agreement since its creation 27 years ago and a demonstration of its relevance in an era of growing trade tensions. Goyal, in comments to delegates, said was a strong advocate of sustainability, but its fishing industry did not operate huge fleets and relied on small-scale and often poor fishers. The minister said India and similar countries should be granted a 25-year transition period to phase out fishing subsidies, far longer than what most other WTO members have suggested. To help bridge the gaps, some WTO members have already proposed to extend the meeting by further 24 hours. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop and Emma FargeEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Louise Heavens) (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 much-awaited auction will bring significant advancements for the industry and consumers, market watchers said on Wednesday, while some felt that the base price for spectrum remains an issue for bidders, who were expecting much lower rates. The 5G auction and steps outlined for bidding will open up newer avenues for deeper penetration, access and rich user experience, Peeyush Vaish, Partner and Telecom Sector Leader, Deloitte India, said. He noted that the government has also announced an auction of the millimetre-wave (mm-wave) band, which will not only help in unlocking the true potential of 5G but will also help strategically manage costs for the operators. "The roads are now clear for the 5G auctions. This is probably one of the most awaited spectrum auctions, which will bring significant advancements for the industry and the consumers," Vaish said, adding the good part is that spectrum across bands will go under the hammer shortly. Another aspect which will spur "a good auction" is that operators will have the flexibility to surrender the spectrum after 10 years without any liabilities. "To boost technological advancement, the government has also announced the development of private networks, which will pave the way for Industry 4.0 applications. Together, these steps will open up newer avenues for deeper penetration and access, rich user experience via consolidation as well," he said. Jaideep Ghosh, Chief Operating Officer of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, said the wide availability of spectrum across all bands is encouraging as potential bidders can opt for spectrum bands and quantum as per their strategy. "Having said that, the base prices for spectrum remain an issue for the bidders who were expecting a much lower price," Ghosh added. The analyst comments came after the Union Cabinet approved the auction of airwaves capable of offering fifth-generation or 5G telecom services, including ultra-high-speed internet, and gave its nod to set up of captive 5G networks by the big tech firms. The auction of over 72 GHz of the spectrum will be held by July end, said an official statement, detailing the decision taken by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at its meeting held on June 14. The spectrum auction will commence on July 26, 2022. The cabinet has approved 5G auctions at reserve prices recommended by the sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Trai, in April this year, recommended about a 39 per cent reduction in the reserve or floor price for the sale of for mobile services, although the industry at that time had termed the cost as being "too high". (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.) There is a simple metric to understand the fascination for government jobs in India. Of all the tribunals established by the Centre, the largest spread across India is of the Central Administrative Tribunal. With 40 benches, the tribunal decides on disputes and complaints about to government offices and conditions of service, once the employees are in. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has more benches, at 67, but they are more limited in their geographic spread. 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 Nearly 12,000 enrolment operators have been suspended in the last two months due to a technical flaw in the document verification process. Many of them were seen protesting outside the Unique Identification Authority of Indias (UIDAIs) headquarters in New Delhi. Many operators from parts of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh have been blacklisted. The protestors demanded that should upgrade its software with an option to verify the documents submitted by residents. For instance, if someone wants to change the date of birth on the card and submits a PAN card, we dont have any authority to verify if the document is genuine or not, said Narendra Kumar Gaud, an operator who was recently blacklisted. There are over 7,000 operators who were blacklisted in February 2022 for failing to verify just one such document, he added. An email sent to for comments remained unanswered. But a government official said, Operators should approach enrolment agencies that work under regional offices instead of the . According to the UIDAI website, over 1.3 million individuals work as certified operators and supervisors across the country. The enrolment operators or supervisors are certified and appointed by enrolment agencies in accordance with UIDAI guidelines. The operators work under registrars such as (CSCs), post offices, rural development departments as well as some private entities. They are responsible for enrolling residents with their demographic details and also have to capture the biometric information using the system activated by enrolment agencies. Arpit Jaiswal, an operator from Indore, said, We make more than 600 cards every month. There is no system in the software to verify the documents for demographic details. If there is a single error in this manual process, we will be blacklisted with DOE 1 (Document Error 1). Jaiswal was blacklisted by his registrar in January. I made a mistake in one Aadhaar card out of the 800 that I enrolled, he added. Jaiswal said, We invest Rs 1.5 lakh to buy machines, and suddenly, we are blacklisted without any reason. They expect 100 per cent accuracy, which is not possible from a process handled by a human. Gurdeep Singh, president of the Aadhaar Supervisor Association, said, The registrars get a show-cause notice about the errors done by us, but they dont forward us that warning. We never get to know why we were sacked. They mark it as a DOE 1 error and write 'missing fraudulent document'. For the first time ever, the Union ministry of coal will have a just transition division, which will draft sustainable coal mine closure plans for areas economically dependent on the dry fuel. The will provide an aid of $1.15 million and also prepare a detailed project report in consultation with various stakeholders, especially mine workers unions. This is the first time since India announced its net carbon zero target year of 2070 that the policymakers have initiated discussions on just transition in coal bearing areas. Just transition ensures safe livelihood, land restoration and reclamation near mining areas. It also paves the way for re-employability of communities and economic stability of regions dependent on coal and allied industries, once a mine is shut. Senior officials said now that Coal India (CIL) has started shutting old mines, the areas need to be restored to pre-mining conditions. There are already some abandoned mines and more mines will reach their expiry in the near future. We would have global standards for closure of mines, land redevelopment and human resource management, among other things, said the official. A recent task completion report of the ministry of coal indicated that the has already prepared a preliminary project report. It has been prepared with inputs from the ministry of power, mines ministry, ministry of environment, forests and climate change, department of expenditure, department of economic affairs and . Officials said the will hold stakeholder consultation with coal companies and workers before finalising the DPR by the year-end. The DPRs will pave the way for pilot projects in two districts. They could become the reference points for planning the transition away from coal in coal-dependent areas. There will be a robust mechanism to plan a socio-economic transition in areas which have been historically dependent on coal mining-related activities, said an official. Sources said a select team would also go for studying just transition models in countries which have executed similar programmes, such as Germany and Poland. Poland recently joined 197 countries to phase out coal and has set the expiry year at 2049. Several other countries such as the UK have coal expiry dates as close as 2024. The UK shut its last coal mine in 2015 and plans to reduce its import dependency too. Wales, which was the main supplier to the UK, shut its largest industry of coal mining in the 1980s. However, it has failed to stabilise its economy, even after three decades. A recent action plan of the also suggested that de-coaled land may be used for developing townships. All the seven coal companies under CIL, Singareni Collieries and Neyveli Lignite have been directed to have a net-zero carbon agenda. The government has asked public sector oil and gas companies to share a new plan for asset monetisation after the original plan to monetise oil and gas pipelines through infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) was shelved. The government has asked the companies to share the plan within 15 days, reports Mint. As per the previous plan, the oil and gas PSUs were likely to transfer some of their pipelines to separate InvITs and sell stakes in those pipelines. The have told the government that their high credit ratings, among the best in the country, will allow them to raise capital easily and at a much lower cost than any return they would have to offer InvIT investors. "For example, the National Highways Authority of India has many (road) assets, but it does not have that much credit worthiness, so it is better for them, but the same might not be applicable in the case of refineries. You (oil and gas companies) can get loans at competitive rates and raise money from the market at quite competitive rates," Mint quoted an official. The asset monetisation programme, announced in Budget 2021, is a pipeline of assets the government is looking to monetise to collect about Rs 6 trillion to partly fund its ambitious infrastructure projects over four years ending 2024-25. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while announcing the plan, said it's vital that India recognises the time has come for making the most out of our assets. The plan includes petroleum product pipelines of 3,930 km to be monetised by Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. In terms of gas pipelines, the assets considered for monetisation during FY22-25 include oil and gas pipelines with an aggregate length of 8,154 km, of which 7,928 km are from the existing operational pipeline assets and the rest from pipelines that are expected to become operational during the period. The total value of natural assets considered for monetisation was estimated at Rs 24,462 crore, according to NITI Aayog. Errors in invoices submitted by Samsung have led to deeper scrutiny, which has caused delays in the release of sops by the government for smartphone manufacturers who have achieved targets under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, a report in the Economic Times said. A person with the knowledge of the development told ET that the South Korean smartphone giant Samsung had submitted invoices with errors. Therefore, there is a delay in the release of incentives. Other than Samsung, overseas majors Hon Hai (Foxconn) and Wistron qualified for the incentives under the . Indian manufacturers like Dixon Technologies and UTL Neolyncs also qualified for the same. However, these companies are waiting for clarification from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). An anonymous company source told ET that since this will be the first significant payout under the scheme, the government is being extra cautious and double-checking the numbers. The handset PLI scheme, which is worth Rs 41,000 crore, entails incentives in the form of cash payouts based on investment by the companies and targeted investment in production. The scheme involves graded incentives for such companies. For each of the first two years, the companies get 6 per cent cash back for incremental sales of goods, 5 per cent for the next two years each, and 4 per cent for the fifth year. To avail of a 6 per cent direct incentive as cashback, foreign handset makers were required to invest Rs 250 crore each and produce an incremental output of Rs 4,000 crore in the first year and Rs 8,000 crore in the second. However, to get the same incentives, Indian companies had to invest Rs 50 crore each for Rs 500 crore of incremental output. Samsung was the only company to meet production targets in 2020-21, while 2021-22 was the first year for Dixon, Hon Hi (Foxconn), Wistron, and UTL. Samsung also met the production targets in 2021-22. Experts see foreign capital rising in China By LIU ZHIHUA (China Daily) 08:59, June 15, 2022 Employees work on the production line of a foreign-funded electronics manufacturing company in Rongcheng, Shandong province. [Photo by LI XINJUN/FOR CHINA DAILY] Amid headwinds, Jan-May data up 17% y-o-y on resilience, growth hopes China's huge economy, its bright prospects and the government's unwavering efforts to open the domestic market wider to the rest of the world make the country increasingly attractive to foreign investors, despite the impact of COVID-19 resurgence and rising protectionism in some countries, experts and business leaders said on Tuesday. Their assessment followed a review of the latest data on the actual use of foreign capital, which surged 17.3 percent year-on-year to 564.2 billion yuan ($83.78 billion) in the first five months of the year. In US dollar terms, the investments were even higher at $87.77 billion, up 22.6 percent year-on-year, latest data from the Ministry of Commerce showed on Tuesday. The actual use of foreign capital in the services sector grew by 10.8 percent year-on-year to 423.3 billion yuan, the ministry said in an online statement, adding the growth rates of high-tech industries, high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services were 42.7 percent, 32.9 percent and 45.4 percent, respectively. "Those figures have again showed foreign investors' strong confidence in China," said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing. "With a huge market that's growing, the Chinese economy is upgrading through better coordination among regions and industries. Its strong capability to continuously coordinate the growth in the consumption, production and services sectors makes it distinctive and always attractive to foreign investors." Nie Pingxiang, deputy director of the Service Trade Institute, which is part of the CAITEC, said the sustained rise in China's actual use of foreign capital is attributable to economic resilience and promising growth potential despite the resurgence of COVID-19 cases. More inflow of foreign direct investment into the high-tech sector is testimony to the improvement of China's FDI structure. More multinational companies now invest in China's high-tech sector, thanks to acceleration of the industrial upgrade process and pursuit of the dual-circulation development model, Nie said. China's dual-circulation paradigm takes the domestic market as the mainstay while encouraging the domestic and foreign markets to reinforce each other. Nie also stressed China's attractiveness to foreign investors is not only stable but immune to the negative impact from political factors to a large extent. MOC data showed investments from South Korea, the United States and Germany rose sharply during the first five months of the year, with the respective year-on-year growth rates hitting 52.8 percent, 27.1 percent and 21.4 percent. Some media reports said the US Congress is pressing ahead with a legislation that could rewrite the rules for US companies investing abroad, proposing the screening of investments in countries like China seen as adversaries. Zhou of the CAITEC said such a proposal violates the spirit of the rules and policies for protecting property rights, an area where the US brags its record is impeccable. Screening of outbound investments of US enterprises will interfere with their decisionmaking, disrupts normal business of enterprises, undermines their efficiency and commercial outcomes, and ultimately hurts the interests of not only the FDI destination nations but the US itself. Alfonso Alba, Germany-headquartered Bayer Crop Science's country division head in China, said the company is very optimistic about the China market. Bayer Crop Science has made an ambitious development plan in China for the next 10 years and already signed up for the fifth China International Import Expo scheduled to be held in November in Shanghai. A factory located in a district of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, will be expanded, after relocating it to another site. "We are happy China has rolled out various high-level opening-up measures. China offers us ample development opportunities, and thanks to the nation's lead in the digital economy, we are also able to explore more possibilities in digital agriculture," he said. Jeremy Yeo, acting general manager in China of the US plant-based meat company Beyond Meat, said the company sees significant potential in the China market, and will step up investment. The company opened a new manufacturing facility in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, in 2021. It is its first end-to-end manufacturing facility outside the US, and is expected to significantly increase the speed and scale of producing and distributing products in China while also improving the cost structure and sustainability of operations. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The Union Cabinet has cleared the auction for airwaves paving the way for auction and commercial launch of next generation telecom services this year. The cabinet in its meeting on Tuesday approved Department of Telecom's proposal for the auction of 72 GHz of spectrum for a 20-year-period. It also decided to enable the development and setting up of private captive networks to spur a new wave of innovations in industry 4.0 applications". A total of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put to auction to be held by the end of July, 2022. The auction will be held for spectrum in various bands (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), Mid (3300 MHz) and High (26 GHz) frequency bands, the government said in a press release on Wednesday. The press statement did not give any details on the base price for auction. Last month, the Digital Communications Commission approved the auction of airwaves. While mobile service providers had lobbied for 90 per cent reduction in the base price, it only recommended 36 per cent accepting the suggestion of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Payments for spectrum can be made in 20 equal annual installments to be paid in advance at the beginning of each year. This is expected to significantly ease cash flow requirements and lower the cost of doing business in this sector. The bidders would be given an option to surrender the spectrum after 10 years with no future liabilities with respect to balance installments, the government announcement said. The availability of sufficient backhaul spectrum is also necessary to enable the roll-out of services. To meet the backhaul demand, the Cabinet has decided to provisionally allot two carriers of 250 MHz each in E-band to the telecom service providers. The cabinet also decided to double the number of traditional microwave backhaul carriers in the existing frequency bands of 13, 15, 18 and 21 GHz bands, it said. After a considerable gap, the Haryana government has issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) to seed major Mahyco to conduct field trials on BG-2 RRF, a herbicide tolerant and insect resistant variety of . The NOC was granted last month for trials to be conducted during the coming kharif harvest season, sources said. So far, India has allowed commercial use of BG-1 and BG-2 GM cotton in the country while the approval for the BG-2 RRF has been pending at various stages. The field trials are likely for the North Zone. Currently, the available BG-2 RRF can provide protection against devastating pest attack such as American Bollworm, Bhagirath Choudhary, Founder Director of the South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC) said. A few months ago, the Central government had for the first time exempted certain types of genome-edited crops from the stringent regulations applicable on genetically modified or GM crops, paving the way for further R&D on them. The Ministry of Environment and Forests had, in the order, exempted SDN1 and SDN2 genome edited plants from Rules 7-11 of the Environment Protect Act (EPA) for manufacture, use or import or export and storage of hazardous microorganisms or genetically engineered organisms or cells rules-1989. In the recent past, many countries have either developed or approved for commercial cultivation of vegetables, fruits, oilseeds and cereals developed through genome editing such as Gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA tomato, high oleic canola and soybean, non-browning mushroom etc. Recently, China too approved guidelines for genome editing that will spur research into crops that have high yields and are resistant to pests and climate change. The has adjourned the plea challenging the notification fixing the tenure of (NCLT) to three years. The matter will be heard on Thursday. The plea was filed by the Bar Association challenging the notification. The Centre on May 25 had told the apex court that a Committee chaired by the Chief Justice of India held a meeting on April 20 in which the question of the tenure of 23 members of was discussed. The committee also has judge Justice Surya Kant and the Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Hima Kohli told the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared virtually, to submit two sets of resolutions of the Committee for each one of them. However, only one set was submitted. Only one set for two Well hear the case tomorrow. We did not expect this, the bench remarked. To which he replied, I have no excuse for this. Request your lordships to hear the matter tomorrow. We will be ready with two sets. Meanwhile, the counsel appearing for the Bar Association expressed its displeasure on the contents of resolutions being sealed. You dont share your resolutions with us. Please let us speak, the counsel said. The Bar Association had submitted that the reduced tenure of the would be detrimental to the speedy disposal of cases. The early expiration of the term from 5 years will create a void, they said. In the early hours of June 12, celebrated in Vladimir Putins country as Day, a curious piece appeared on the website of the pro- daily Izvestia. Signed ostensibly by Putins First Deputy Chief of Staff Sergei Kiriyenko, it promised the residents of the occupied territories of Ukraine that these regions would be absorbed into . It also contained this provocative passage: All of will be working to rebuild a Donbass ruined by fascists. Yes, this will cost several trillion rubles. But that money will be allocated from the Russian budget even at the price of a temporary drop in the nations living standards. Ukrainian media pounced, reporting the article as a genuine policy statement. Izvestia promptly took the piece down, claiming that it had been hacked. ALSO READ - Putin might have started food fight but rest of the world can still win Replete with punctuation errors, the Kiriyenko piece was likely fake. Yet in many respects, it does reflect designs for Ukraines eastern and southern regions that the has already set in motion. These will only fail if Ukraine manages to claw back its territory, pushing the Russian invaders out of the country. Initially unwilling to admit he was starting a war of invasion, Putin appears to lean toward declaring victory by openly claiming the land hes managed to win but to be able to do that, he needs some kind of medium- and long-term vision. Kiriyenko appears to be setting himself up as the man with the plan. More than three months into the so-called special military operation, the has made no official announcement about how it sees the future of the territories it has grabbed. All it has done is recognize the independence of the two pre-existing pro-Russian statelets the Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics within the borders of the eponymous Ukrainian regions. Yet Russia has also seized cities and towns in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions, to which the Peoples Republics had never laid claim. Officials of the collaborationist administrations set up in the conquered territories have often spoken of upcoming referendums on joining Russia. Yet none of these projects has been officially endorsed by the Kremlin. A community in the Zaporizhzhia Region or, more likely, a group of pro-Russian activists there voted to join the Donetsk Peoples Republic in April, apparently fearing a scenario under which the republics become parts of Russia after the war and the rest of the conquered territories are stuck in the kind of grey zone that the republics inhabited after 2014. Not even the republics induction into Russia is an official certainty, though the Russian figures who have spoken of it stand much higher in the Putin-led hierarchy than the local collaborationists. They include top functionaries in the ruling United Russia party and the tame Russian parliament. They diverge, however, on when referendums on joining Russia can be held as early as July, or perhaps only in a years time. Russias hold on its recent conquests is too unstable. In the Luhansk region, most of the territory already has been seized, but about two-thirds of the Donetsk region remains in Ukrainian hands. And even the parts of Ukraine that are under Russian control today are sometimes militarily contested and vulnerable to Ukrainian shelling or insurrectionist attacks. In an address this week, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy assured Ukrainians that Ukraine would return to every town that isnt currently flying the Ukrainian flag. To the collaborationists in the occupied territories, this sounds like a death threat. They need a firm promise from that Russia wont pull back and thus deliver them to the Ukrainian authorities. And for them to aid the Russian military without reservations, the promise must include the ultimate protection of a Russian border moved far enough southwest to give them cover. Only one man is capable of making such a promise, though, and he hasnt done so yet unless one counts Putins recent hint that he saw his mission as akin to Czar Peter Is in the Great Northern War of 1700-1721: Now, Peter I led the Northern War for 21 years. It may seem that he fought Sweden to take something away from it But he wasnt taking it away, he was taking it back It looks as though it falls unto our lot, too, to take back whats ours and to add to our strength. Its the clearest statement of the dictators intent so far. But actually moving the borders is a momentous decision that hes only made once before, in the case of Crimea. The fake popular votes that the peoples republics held back in 2014 were only on broad autonomy within Ukraine: They werent told, or allowed, to vie for the status of Russian regions, though their leadership would have jumped at the chance. Similarly, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian regions Russia also recognizes as independent, have never been invited to join Russia as its integral parts. Its easy to see why Crimea strategically important as the base of Russias Black Sea Fleet has remained the exception. Admitting that territorial expansion is Russias goal pretty much rules out business as usual with the West, and primarily with Europe. Setting such a goal officially would be tantamount to a promise never to stop until the Kremlins appetites are satisfied. These appetites theoretically stretch to any territory that could be seen as part of historic Russia, a vague notion that might encompass much of eastern and northern Europe. Acknowledging them would amount to a declaration of permanent, open-ended war, an aspiring conquerors coming-out that would place Putin a tiny step away from donning an emperors crown. Apart from a certain strain of madness, such a coming-out requires the ability to conquer, hold and manage other countries territory. In those respects, modern Russia has little experience. Crimea was seized without a fight from a weak, panicked Ukrainian leadership. Its management at least initially was left to local pro-Russian politicians and managers, with rather woeful results. Crimean officials put in charge of administering the federal program, which allocated 1.37 trillion rubles ($23.9 billion at the current exchange rate) between 2015 and 2025 to some 900 projects on the peninsula, have invariably ended up in jail. Now that Moscows generous aid 10 billion rubles a year for the city of Sevastopol and 20 billion rubles for Crimea is beginning to shrink, the Kremlin wants tighter control over how it is spent. The statelets recognized by Russia and few others have been managed at arms length; they have received enough resources not to starve but generally have been told to fend for themselves economically, which they mostly have done with the help of smuggling and other non-transparent schemes. In the process, they have enriched some lower-level Russian officials sent by the Kremlin to supervise the locals. These freewheeling ways would hardly be possible had the statelets been part of Russia, where Putins vertical of power is designed to extract results from officials in exchange for finite personal enrichment opportunities. The statelets as they existed before 2022 also were small and thus easy to hold militarily. If Putin ends up with 20% of Ukraine a conservative estimate of his gains in the case of a Russian victory hell have to control additional territory bigger than all but 15 of the 51 countries of Europe and the former Soviet Union. That requires a powerful police and military force and capable administrators. In an only-in-Russia twist, the person whos offering himself as point man for the effort is a protege and disciple of the Russian politician who spearheaded opposition to Russias depredations on Ukraine in 2014. Kiriyenkos first high-level federal government job, in the administration of Boris Yeltsin, was arranged by none other than Boris Nemtsov, murdered by contract killers a year after the Crimea annexation. Unlike Nemtsov, who turned into a fiery opposition leader under Putin, Kiriyenko toed the line and received important appointments, at one point heading up Russias nuclear program. He is Putins domestic policy czar now. And in recent weeks, he also has been made responsible for the conquered parts of Ukraine. His trip to the region last month was highly publicized, and his protege Vitaly Khotsenko was recently appointed prime minister of the Donetsk Peoples Republic. Kiriyenkos ideas about running the conquered regions include the use of the governments substitute bench that he has built over several years through a system of competitions and training programs for bureaucrats. Alumni of these programs are being offered ambitious projects in eastern and southern Ukraine as a chance to jump-start their careers and prevent the kind of rampant thievery by the local cadre that Crimea has seen. Putin has always had a weakness for bureaucrats able to run their domains on a system of key performance indicators. Kiriyenko is trying to show this is possible in the occupied territories. Another Kiriyenko idea stems from Soviet times: patronage, or shefstvo, of Russsian regional chiefs over the war-ravaged towns of occupied Ukraine. In times of natural and man-made disasters, the Soviet Unions big cities and republics often took charge of various aspects of the rebuilding effort, creating the impression of decentralized, compassionate aid campaigns. Now, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has committed to use Moscows budget for the rebuilding of Donetsk and Luhansk, eastern Ukraines biggest cities. St. Petersburg has been called on to restore Mariupol, where at least two-thirds of building have been damaged and where thousands of people are buried in the yards of high-rise apartment blocks. Other regions, including those with major infrastructural problems of their own, have been given smaller projects. For example, Penza, where garbage cannot be removed from some towns because of bad roads, has sent construction machinery to eastern Ukraine. The Russian Construction Ministry is far from done with its damage assessments, and rebuilding budgets are essentially open-ended. While its still able to export energy resources, food and fertilizers and few signs point toward a full embargo Russia has the funds to restore much of the infrastructure it has destroyed in Ukraine and to lavish gifts on the remaining local population to buy its loyalty. In an autocratic regime like Putins, with the logistics in the hands of someone as efficient and ambitious as Kiriyenko, that effort may even look more effective than any measures by a democratic government in Ukraine trying to enlist Western aid during a looming global recession. If it works, it will only whet Putins appetite for more. China's showed signs of recovery in May after slumping in the prior month as industrial production rose unexpectedly, but consumption was still weak and underlined the challenge for policymakers amid the persistent drag from strict COVID curbs. The data, however, provides a path to revitalise growth in the world's second-biggest after businesses and consumers were hit hard due to full or partial lockdowns in dozens of cities in March and April, including a protracted shutdown in commercial centre Shanghai. Industrial output grew 0.7% in May from a year earlier, after falling 2.9% in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Wednesday. That compared with a 0.7% drop expected by analysts in a Reuters poll. The uptick in the industrial sector was underpinned by the easing of COVID curbs and strong global demand. China's exports grew at a double-digit pace in May, shattering expectations, as factories restarted and logistics snags eased. The mining sector led the way with output up 7.0% in May from a year ago, while that in the manufacturing industry eked out a meagre 0.1% growth, mostly driven by the production of new energy vehicles which surged 108.3% year-on-year. "Overall, our country's overcame the adverse impact from COVID (in May)and was showing a recovery momentum", Fu Linghui, a spokesman at NBS, told a press conference, adding that he expects the revival to improve further in June due to policy support. "However, the environment is still complex and severe, with greater uncertainties from outside. Our domestic recovery is still at its initial stage with the growth of key indicators at low levels. The foundations for recovery are yet to be consolidated." CONSUMPTION PRESSURE That caution was underscored in consumption data, which remained weak as shoppers were confined to their homes in Shanghai and other cities. Retail sales slipped another 6.7% in May from a year earlier, on top of a 11.1% contraction the previous month. They were slightly better than the forecast of a 7.1% fall due to the increased spending on basic goods such as grains, oils and food and beverages. Industry data showed sold 1.37 million passenger cars last month, down 17.3% from a year earlier, narrowing the decline of 35.7% in April. Fixed asset investment, a key indicator tracked policymakers looking to prop up the economy, rose 6.2% in the first five months, compared with an expected 6.0% rise and a 6.8% gain in the first four months. China's property sales fell at a slower pace in May, separate official data showed on Wednesday, supported by a slew of easing policy steps to boost demand amid the tight COVID-19 curbs. The government has been accelerating infrastructure spending to boost investment. China's cabinet has also announced a package of 33 measures covering fiscal, financial, investment and industrial policies to revive its pandemic-ravaged economy. The nationwide survey-based jobless rate fell to 5.9% in May from 6.1% in April, still above the government's 2022 target of below 5.5%. In particular, the surveyed jobless rate in 31 major cities picked up to 6.9%, the highest on record. Some economists expect employment to worsen before it gets better, with a record number of graduates entering the workforce in summer. has set an annual economic growth target of around 5.5% this year but many economists believe that is increasingly out of reach. Chinese banks extended 1.89 trillion yuan ($280.62 billion)in new loans in May, nearly tripling April's tally and beating expectations. But 38% of the new monthly loans were in the form of short-term bill financing, suggesting real credit demand still remains weak. The central bank on Wednesday kept medium-term policy rate unchanged for a fifth straight month, matching market expectations. FRESH LOCKDOWN FEARS LOOM While the world's biggest manufacturer reported better-than-expected export growth in May, the subdued external demand due to the Ukraine war and robust production recovery of Southeast Asian nations threaten the country's trade outlook. Fears of fresh lockdowns also loom large under China's zero-COVID policy. One week after the reopening of Shanghai, the local government ordered 15 of the city's 16 districts to undertake mass testing to contain a jump in cases tied to a hair salon. Authorities in Beijing warned on Tuesday that the city of 22 million was in a "race against time" to get to grips with its most serious outbreak since the pandemic began. Any potential lockdown and supply chain disruption risks amid future COVID outbreaks may constrain the rebound of the economy as Beijing has shown no sign of easing its zero-COVID policy, analysts say. ($1 = 6.7350 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Kevin Yao, Ellen Zhang and Stella Qiu; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) (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.) Chinese President on Wednesday expressed his readiness to play a "constructive role" to help settle the Ukrainian crisis, according to the Chinese state-TV. In a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Xi said, "All parties concerned must take a responsible stance, thus promoting the correct settlement of the crisis in Ukraine." "China is prepared to keep playing its constructive role," the Chinese state-TV quoted Xi as saying. Xi asserted that was taking an independent position on the Ukrainian issue, "taking into account the facts and historical realities". "We actively contribute to preserving peace on the global scale. Likewise, we contribute to maintaining a stable economic order in the world," he stressed. However, it is not yet clear whether Xi has offered to mediate to end the Russia-Ukraine war, shedding Beijing's earlier reluctance to do so. China, a close ally of Russia, steadfastly declined to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine ever since Putin launched a special military operation which led to the United States and its allies imposing sweeping sanctions on Russia stepping up weapons supplies to Kiev. (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.) China's all-powerful President turned 69 on Wednesday as he is all set to continue in power for an unprecedented third term, defying the 68-year retirement age rule followed by his predecessors. On his birthday, Xi had a telephone conversation with his friend, ally and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. While Chinese leaders by tradition don't publicly celebrate their birthdays, this is a key year for Xi as he is set to complete the 10-year tenure of his presidentship after which all his predecessors retired. The official retirement age for Chinese leaders is 68 or two five-year tenures at the helm. His number two leader, Premier Li Keqiang, who will turn 67 on July 1, had already announced his retirement after completing his 10-year tenure this year. Li told his annual press conference in March that this will be the last year for him to be in the post as he is set to retire later this year. This is my last year as a premier, Li had said. Li has maintained a low-key profile as Xi went about consolidating his power base, emerging as the most powerful leader after the ruling Communist Party founder Mao Zedong. Christened as the core leader of the party like Mao, Xi heading the Communist Party of (CPC), the powerful military and the Presidency, is widely expected to get endorsed by the key once-in-a-five-year-congress of the party, due to be held in October. But speculation is rife that the meeting will be rescheduled amid concerns over the fallout of Xi's stringent zero-COVID policy resulting in lockdowns, which have not gone down well with the Chinese public. Xi's third term was regarded as a foregone conclusion after China's national legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), removed the two-term limit for President through a key constitutional amendment in 2018. Since then, Xi is widely expected to remain in power for life as the party has already made him a core leader like Mao, who had remained the head of the party and the country till his death in 1976. All other Xi's predecessors, starting from Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, retired after two five-year terms. Since he took over the party leadership towards the end of 2012, Xi quickly consolidated his power with his massive anti-corruption campaign in which over a million officials, including the powerful military and party officials, were punished. His core leader status also ended the collective leadership principle advocated by Deng Xiaoping, regarded as China's paramount leader to avert pitfalls of the Mao era one-leader dominance of the party. As Xi's second tenure draws to a close, a key meeting of the CPC Plenum last year reinforced his core leader status with a historic resolution at the party's Plenum meeting. The high-profile conclave adopted a landmark resolution of CPC's major achievements in the last 100 years and, at the same time, cleared the decks for a record third term for Xi in 2022. Xi, known as a 'princeling' as he was the son of former vice-premier Xi Zhongxun who was persecuted by Mao for his liberal views, rose to ranks steadily, becoming vice president under the previous President Hu Jintao. While Xi had the image of a sedate leader in his previous postings, he transformed himself into the most ambitious and powerful leader soon after he took over the leadership of the party in 2012, immediately followed by the Presidency and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of the two million-strong Chinese military. Experts said the Plenum held in last November essentially cemented Xi's hold on power. "He is trying to cast himself as the hero in the epic of China's national journey," said Adam Ni, editor of Neican, a newsletter on Chinese current affairs. "By pushing through a historical resolution that puts himself at the centre of the grand narrative of the Party and modern China, Xi is demonstrating his power," he had told BBC after the Plenum. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cash-strapped has urged its countrymen to cut down the consumption of to help reduce the import bill eating into the country's depleting foreign exchange reserves. The appeal from Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal came after it emerged that consumed worth Rs 83.88 billion (USD 400 million) in the fiscal year 2021-22, The News newspaper reported. He said that Pakistan, one of the biggest importers of in the world, has to borrow money to import it. I appeal to the nation to cut down the consumption of tea by 1-2 cups because we import tea on loan," Iqbal said while speaking to reporters here on Tuesday. The federal budget document for the outgoing fiscal year showed that imported Rs 13 billion (USD 60 million) worth of more tea than the last fiscal year. In the fiscal year 2020-21, Rs 70.82 billion (USD 340 million) was spent on the import of tea, the News Network news agency reported. Iqbal's appeal to cut down the consumption of tea by one to two cups did not go down well with people as they started criticising him on Twitter. Did Ahsan Iqbal really ask the nation to cut down on chai? Did he honestly really ask us for that? Do they really think we're that stupid, a Twitter user said. Ahsan Iqbal urging the nation to cut down on chai im sorry but I can not be a part of this, another user named Zoha said in a tweet. The planning minister said the traders' community has also been asked to close markets by 8:30 PM to conserve energy. Iqbal said this will help the country cut the import bill of petroleum products. Recently, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail warned that Pakistan's could be in a similar position as that of Sri Lanka if tough decisions were not taken. Storm in a tea cup? Pakistan consumed tea worth Rs 83.88-bn in the FY22 The nation imported Rs 13-bn worth more tea in FY22 than FY21 Pak minister Ahsan Iqbal said that the traders' community has also been asked to close markets by 8.30pm to conserve energy Finance minister Miftah Ismail had warned that Paks could be in a similar position to that of Sri Lankas (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.) Florida Governor Ron DeSantis embraced the backing of Elon Musk, joking that he welcomed support from African Americans, including the White, South African-born Tesla Inc. chief who said earlier hes leaning toward the Republican for president in 2024. In a series of tweets starting about 3:28 am in New York on Wednesday, Musk said hed voted Republican for the first time in a special election for a Texas House seat, that hes tbd on his 2024 pick but is leaning toward DeSantis, and that hes weighing creating a fund-raising group for moderate political candidates. DeSantis has positioned himself as a stalwart conservative. Later Wednesday, DeSantis joked to reporters about gaining the backing of the worlds wealthiest man. With Elon Musk, what I would say is, you know, I welcome support from African Americans, what can I say? DeSantis has staked out a claim as the GOPs heir apparent to Donald Trump, occasionally taking even more conservative positions than the former president. Hes drawn criticism from many Democrats, public health authorities and advocates for LGBTQ rights for policies that scaled back pandemic public health precautions in his state and that seek to police grade-school education on sexual orientation and gender, including legislation his opponents have derided as the dont say gay bill. DeSantis is seeking re-election to a second term this year but is widely considered a potential 2024 Republican presidential challenger, even if Trump decides to run again as he has teased. The Florida governor trails Trump in many polls forecasting a potential GOP presidential primary field but leads in some surveys when Trump isnt included. DeSantis ran ahead of Trump in a straw poll during this months Western Conservative Summit in Colorado and was the overwhelming choice for the GOP nomination if Trump doesnt run again in a Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll earlier this year. Musk, who supported Democrat Andrew Yang for president in 2020, also backed billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso for mayor of Los Angeles earlier this month. He tweeted last month that while he voted for Democrats in the past, he will now vote Republican because Democrats have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them. He has also steadily ratcheted up criticisms of President Joe Bidens administration, alleging that Biden is too beholden to labor and that Democrats stymie business efforts. Biden, in turn, has shrugged off Musks jabs, including warnings on the economy. Earlier this month he dismissively wished the billionaire lots of luck in efforts to land on the moon. Biden frequently celebrates American electric-vehicle makers with unionized workforces, but has seldom mentioned Tesla, which leads the industry. Tesla workers arent unionized. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced earlier this month that its expanding its evaluation of how Teslas automated driver program, known as Autopilot, handles crash scenes with first-responder vehicles. The probe has steadily widened and poses the risk of a recall order. The (EU) has signed a deal with Danish manufacturer Bavarian Nordic for the purchase of 109,090 doses of to curb the spread of monkeypox. European Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides said that the vaccines will be donated to EU member states, Norway, and Iceland. The first deliveries were scheduled for the end of June. Thanks to recent orders, Bavarian Nordic has raised its financial expectations for 2022 from between 1,800 and 2,000 million Danish kroner ($252 and $280 million) to between 1,900 and 2,100 million Danish kroner ($266 and $294 million). There are currently about 900 monkeypox cases in the EU, distributed across 20 countries. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Co is recalling more than 2.9 million vehicles that could roll away because a damaged or missing part may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear. In a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Ford said the recall covers various 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles, the agency said in a notice on Wednesday. A damaged or missing shift cable bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear or the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Ford said it is aware of six reports alleging property damage and four reports of injuries potentially related to the recall population. This is Ford's fifth recall over the issue since 2018, it told the agency. Ford did not immediately respond to a request for comment. After an April recall for the same issue, Ford continued to hold talks with NHTSA over field reports related to vehicles equipped that were not included in previous recalls. "Although claim rates and projected failures remained low, Ford recommended a safety recall for the remaining vehicles in North America" with the specific shift cable bushing. Ford said from April 2015 through March 2022, it has identified 1,630 warranty reports and 233 other reports attributed to this concern. Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap. On Tuesday, the No. 2 U.S. automaker said it was recalling about 49,000 Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles because a part could overheat and result in a loss of propulsion power. On Wednesday, Ford also recalled 53,103 four-door 2021-2022 Bronco vehicles because the passenger-side rear door may be opened from inside of the vehicle when the child safety lock is in the "ON" position. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The leaders of seven NATO nations from across Europe pledged their support Tuesday for Sweden and Finland's bids to join the alliance and for providing more heavy weapons to help Ukraine battle Russia. The support was voiced after an informal gathering at Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's official residence in The Hague co-hosted by his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen. The other leaders attending were Romania's president and the prime ministers of Belgium, Poland, Portugal and Latvia. My message on Swedish and Finnish membership is that I strongly welcome that," said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who also attended. It is an historic decision. It will strengthen them, it will strengthen us. But he said the alliance also has to take seriously concerns raised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has vetoed membership for the two countries until they change their policies on supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Ankara to be terrorists. "There is no other NATO ally that has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey, Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg said Monday that he was glad the Swedish government had confirmed its readiness to address Turkey's concerns as part of assuming the obligations of future NATO membership. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, meanwhile, criticized the support so far for Ukraine, which has time and again called for more and heavier weapons. We have not done enough defend Ukraine, to support Ukrainian people to defend their freedom and sovereignty. And this is why I urge you, I asked you to do much more to deliver weapon, artillery to Ukraine, Morawiecki said. Where is our credibility if Ukraine fails? Can we imagine that Ukraine fails and we revert back to business as usual? I hope not, he added. The meeting came ahead of a June 29-30 NATO summit in Madrid that will seek to set a tough course for the alliance in coming years. Stoltenberg said the alliance has beefed up its defenses following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, reinforcing our ability to protect and defend every inch of NATO allied territory. He said that in Madrid, we will take the next steps and agree a major strengthening of our posture. Tonight we discussed the need for more robust and combat ready forward presence, even higher readiness and more pre-positioned equipment and supplies. He also said that "Ukraine should have more heavy weapons, and NATO allies and partners have provided the heavy weapons now for actually a long time. But they are also stepping up. The meeting followed a gathering Friday in Bucharest of nine NATO nations on the alliance's eastern flank where some leaders urged NATO to step up protection in light of Russia's protracted war against Ukraine. We need to make sure that NATO is able and prepared to respond effectively and calibrated to the threats it faces, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis told reporters after Friday's meeting. The alliance needs to be able to defend every inch of its territory. Three NATO members Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey border the Black Sea, which has turned into a key battleground in the war in Ukraine. Secretary-General has reiterated his call to stop any stemming from religious differences in India. His Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that Guterres "is for the full respect of religion, for calling against any sort of hate speech or incitement and, of course, a halt to any sort of violence, especially one based on perceived religious differences and hatred." He was replying to a journalist's question at his daily briefing on "the high tension" in India following the controversial statements about the Muslim Prophet Mohammed by two former BJP officials. Nupur Sharma, who was a BJP spokesperson, has been suspended by the party's leadership, and the party's Delhi unit media head Naveen Jindal has been expelled. Police in several cities have registered cases against Sharma charging her with "hurting religious sentiments". (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) --IANS arul/dpb (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and the (EU) on Friday will kick start formal negotiations towards a free-trade agreement that has been stuck for close to nine years. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and senior government officials will reach Brussels for the talks, after the ongoing negotiations at the 12th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization in Geneva are over. The launch of fresh negotiations with the EU comes close on the heels of India signing two trade deals, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia; the country is also set to ink a pact with the United Kingdom. As far as the 27-member trade bloc is concerned, experts believe the negotiations will be long-drawn as significant differences need to be bridged, even though both sides aim to conclude negotiations by early 2024. The resumption of negotiations with the EU after a hiatus of almost nine years, besides the recent launch of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council, is notable. However, these negotiations are expected to be protracted. There are significant differences that need to be bridged regarding all the three pillars -- goods, services, and intellectual property (IP), Pradeep S Mehta, secretary-general, CUTS International said. India and the EU agreed to resume negotiations for a balanced and comprehensive trade pact; this shall be split into three agreements on trade, geographical indications (GIs), and investment. A Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) was first mooted in 2007 but didnt move past the negotiating stage. The 16th and last formal round of discussion was held in 2013. Thereafter, both sides tried to restart formal negotiations after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in India but failed to make any headway, with some of the key reasons being disagreement over a bilateral investment pact, and tariff reduction for automobiles and alcoholic drinks. Restarting stalled trade talks shall give fresh impetus to the relationship between India and the EU, amid the change in the geopolitial scenario -- exit of the United Kingdom from the trade bloc and diversification of the supply chain away from China. The trifurcation of talks into separate tracks of investment protection, geographical indications, and legacy trade issues is a pragmatic step. Both sides must channelise this positive momentum and invest political capital to conclude the negotiations, Mehta said. According to Mehta, the EU will desire enhanced market access in the sectors where India is unwilling to liberalise, seek enhanced IP protection, greater regulation of digital trade, and opening up of India's domestic services markets, all of which India is wary of. India will seek to enhance its services exports, particularly by seeking greater ease of movement for professionals, which the EU will resist. Sustainability issues, including labour and environment, will also be high on the EU's agenda, he said. At $64.96 billion, the EU made for more than 15 per cent of Indias overall goods exports during the financial year 2021-22, while imports stood at $51.4 billion during the same time period. The EU is also Indias second-largest export destination and third-largest trading partner. The share of trade with the EU as compared to total bilateral trade has progressively shrunk in recent years. When the strategic partnership was initiated in 2004, export to the bloc was 21.8 per cent of all exports; import was 17.3 per cent of all inbound trade. ESG has become a punching bag for the far right, for disgruntled corporate executives and even industry insiders. But theres one group whose growing disapproval might be the ultimate game changer. Retail investors are slowly starting to look under the hood of the $40 trillion environmental, social and governance industry thats increasingly steering their savings, and many arent liking what they see. Whats more, some of the biggest names in finance have been tainted by greenwashing allegations, with Asset Management and the investment arm of Deutsche Bank AG among the most prominent. The cracks in the ESG firmament appear to be widening elsewhere, too. After attracting huge amounts of money for three straight years, demand for ESG is cooling. Flows into globally slumped 36% in the first quarter, according to data provided by Morningstar Inc. It's the worst showing since before the pandemic began and was followed by another decline in April, Bank of America analysts reported. In May, investors made the biggest-ever monthly redemptions from US exchange-traded ESG funds, Bloomberg Intelligence estimates. And ESG returns, which rode out the worst lockdown-induced selloffs, also are starting to sag. By the second week of June, European ESG equity funds had, on average, lost 14%, compared with an 11% decline in the Stoxx Europe 600 index. In the US, they lost 16%, which was only marginally better than the S&P 500. But perhaps more importantly, doubts about how much good ESG actually does risk becoming a more lasting turn-off for regular people. When Neil Baker, a 37-year-old who works in the UK construction industry, started looking for ESG investments less than two years ago, he said he was dismayed at what he found. One stock he really didnt want to own was Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. But finding an ESG fund without big tech was almost impossible, he said. I dont want to over-ham it too much, but I felt like Id almost been had because I thought I was buying into the more ethical side of this, he said. And then you start looking, youre thinking, why is Facebook in there? While ESG fund managers may have good reasons for building their portfolios the way they do, the gap between the complex strategies theyre applying and the expectations regular people have of what ESG should do is starting to be a problem thats playing out in real life. For example, the investment arm of Danske Bank A/S this year adjusted an ESG portfolio amid complaints from consumer advocates about the presence of fossil-fuel stocks. Danske initially pointed out it was playing by the rules, but eventually removed the assets in question. Financial professionals that deal directly with retail clients are starting to speak out about the disillusionment theyre seeing. For non-institutional investors trying to navigate ESG, theres confusion across the board, said Dan Lane, a senior analyst at UK-based online retail broker Freetrade Ltd. Industry insiders readily admit that ESG remains hard to define. What is an ESG fund? I literally have no idea myself, said Gemma Woodward, head of responsible investment at Quilter Cheviot, which designs bespoke ESG products for professional and retail clients. Baker ended up ditching ESG altogether and going with a broad index fund. He might be among the few who even bothered to look into ESG in the first place, according to a recent survey by Charles Schwab. It found that 66% of UK retail savers dont care whether their allocations are sustainable, and instead only want to maximize returns. If those survey results play out in real life, the ESG industry could be facing an abrupt halt to a party that Bloomberg Intelligence estimates has inflated to roughly a third of the global total for assets under management. For now, the giants of ESG are becoming this years laggards. The worlds biggest ESG exchange-traded fund BlackRock Inc.s $20.9 billion iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA (ticker ESGU) has lost almost a quarter of its value this year. The ETF, which holds shares of Meta, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., performed even worse than the MSCI World Index amid a global selloff. Perhaps ironically, the BlackRock ESG ETFs exposure to the kind of big tech stocks that Baker was trying to avoid is why its done so badly this year. In fact, ESGs early flirt with tech due to its perceived low carbon footprint has been the undoing of many an ESG fund manager in 2022. ESGs recent performance dip has coincided with a rise in notoriety. Mike Pence has called it a left-wing conspiracy that Republicans must rein in. Elon Musk has dubbed it the Devil Incarnate, while Republican donor and hedge fund boss Peter Thiel has described it as a hate factory. Meanwhile, researchers at the European Central Bank have said it remains unclear whether the ESG investment industry is actually helping the fight against climate change. Against that backdrop of confusion, disillusionment and outright anger, regulators are sharpening their teeth. In Germany, the authorities stunned the ESG asset management world on May 31 by launching a raid on the headquarters of Deutsche Bank and its fund unit, DWS Group, amid allegations of greenwashing. Over the weekend, it emerged that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating potentially dubious ESG claims at the investment management unit of Group Inc. As normal people wonder whether ESG is worth it, a new regulatory framework is about to make their opinions a lot more important to the fund management industry. In Europe, whose ESG rules are fast becoming a global benchmark, asset managers are desperately trying to prepare for a looming deadline that will force them to care a lot more about retail client perceptions. Starting in August, the European Union will require financial advisers to make sure individual investors get exactly what they want out of their ESG holdings, even if that means sending them to a competitor. The change applies to all fund managers targeting European investors whether theyre in the US or Asia and is likely to influence regulatory frameworks across other jurisdictions, if history is any guide. In practice, that means that if a client thinks it would be weird to include Meta in an ESG fund, an investment adviser needs to make sure they know that. Lawyers advising the fund industry are trying to prepare their clients for the risks ahead. Theres a real concern that retail investors dont understand the different faces of sustainability, said Lucian Firth, a partner at law firm Simmons & Simmons in London who advises ESG fund managers. What is sustainability? It means lots of different things to different people. Does the retail investor know? They might have in their mind that this stuff should do good and you see these adverts that my money can do good and make me returns, but what do they actually mean? The upshot is there will be more litigation risk, he said. Europes main banking association, EBF, has already warned of the great legal uncertainty the new regulatory framework represents for the finance industry, as well as the huge confusion for clients. Its lobbying to have the new rules, which fall under Europes revised in Financial Instruments Directive, delayed by almost a year. European authorities have so far shown no inclination to grant the requested delay. And consumer protection groups are warning that any hold-up would be bad for retail investors. Guillaume Prache, managing director at retail investor association Better Finance, said the group is concerned the industry will water down whats essentially a once in a generation opportunity to bolster retail investors rights. Retail clients make up about a quarter of direct investment flows in Europe, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association. On top of that, insurers and pension funds manage roughly 40% of total flows, much of which represents money saved by regular people. So the finance industry cant afford to mess up this moment. Money managers who arent running around like scared chickens right now probably havent understood the magnitude of the new regulatory mix due to take effect in August, said Eric Pedersen, head of responsible investments at Nordea Asset Management. Unless firms advising retail investors do their job properly, it puts every step of the chain really in jeopardy, Pedersen said. Quilter Cheviots Woodward said it probably wont be enough for advisers just to hand retail clients a questionnaire and hope theyll understand their ESG demands. The goal is to actually have a conversation, she said. There are so many different ways to do ESG, and clients will need to talk through categories spanning everything from impact to thematic, stewardship, focus and integration, among others; that creates lots of room for interpretation, and potentially even greenwashing, Woodward said. Individual investors shouldnt assume theyll have a good feel for what might be lurking in an ESG fund, said Shila Wattamwar, global head of ESG retail and wealth at Morningstar Sustainalytics. Theyll need to look under the hood, and they might be quite surprised by the holdings they might have, she said. Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, sums up the challenges facing ESG in the same way as Winston Churchill once tried to sum up Russia: a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. The investing form has morphed into something thats overblown with hype, Balchunas said. Ultimately, people are finding its too inconsistent. French President suggestedon Wednesday that he would soon go to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but said he would not publicly discuss details about such a trip. Answering a journalist's question during an official visit to Romania, Macron said the timing was right for a visit to Ukraine's capital but that he would not enter into logistics. Ukraine has been at war since Russia invaded the neighbouring country more than 3 1/2 months ago. We are in a moment where we need to send clear political signals - us, Europeans, us, the - toward Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, Macron said after meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at an air base in southeastern Romania. The two presidents met in preparation for a June 23-24 leaders' summit in Brussels and a June 29-30 NATO summit in Madrid. France currently holds the EU's rotating presidency. Macron said a message of support must be sent to Ukraine before EU heads of state and government have to make important decisions at their Brussels meeting. The leaders are scheduled to consider Ukraine's request for EU candidate status. The French president also mentioned the need to find ways to allow Ukrainian grain exports. All these reasons ... justify deep discussions and new steps, he said. News outlets have widely reported rumours of Macron preparing to travel to Kyiv with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Premier Mario Draghi. The German government has refused to confirm or deny the media reports, while Draghi's office would not comment publicly on an imminent visit. Macron also met with NATO troops stationed at the Romanian air force's Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base on Wednesday, a day after he said they could serve as a powerful deterrent on the alliance's eastern flank. France has around 500 troops based in Romania and leads a multinational NATO battlegroup implemented after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Iohannis, Romania's president, noted the strengthening of NATO's presence in his country and said he and Macron discussed the upcoming summit, "which will take essential decisions for the future of the alliance and for our common security. Macron is deeply involved in diplomatic efforts to push for a cease-fire in Ukraine that would allow future peace negotiations. He has frequent discussions with Zelenskyy and has spoken on the phone several times with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he launched the invasion in late February. Macron underlined the EU's military, economic and humanitarian support to Ukraine. But we want to build peace," he said. Which means that at some point, we all want a cease-fire and discussions to start again. On Wednesday afternoon, the French president is set to fly to Moldova, which shares a land border with Ukraine, for official talks with the country's pro-Western president, Maia Sandu. (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.) MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor said on Tuesday the software firm was capable of withstanding volatility in prices after the token slumped to levels that triggered fears of possible liquidation on its leveraged position. MictroStrategy, an aggressive investor in bitcoin, said it borrowed $205 million from crypto bank Silvergate Capital in March, with the three-year loan mostly secured against some 19,466 bitcoins. If the price dropped below about $21,000, it would trigger a "margin call" or demand for extra capital, MicroStrategy President Phong Le said in webcast in May. fell below that level to $20,816.36 on Tuesday before steadying near $22,000. Typically a margin call is met by providing more capital or liquidating the loan's collateral. It was unclear if the price moves had any consequences for MicroStrategy, or if the firm already provided more bitcoin or cash to secure the loan. The company did not respond to requests for comment. MicroStrategy had "anticipated volatility and structured its balance sheet so that it could continue to #HODL through adversity," Chief Executive Officer Saylor said in a tweet on Tuesday. A spokesperson for Silvergate declined requests from Reuters for comment. MicroStrategy shares rose 6% and Silvergate gained 3% on Tuesday, following 25% and 17% tumble on Monday in line with a pullback in crypto assets. MicroStrategy's Le said in May that the firm had 95,643 "unencumbered bitcoin" that it could use as extra collateral. Based on bitcoin's last traded price of $22,254, the value of those coins was $2.1 billion. "We could contribute more bitcoin to the collateral package, so ... we don't get into a situation of a margin call," he had said. Mark Palmer, head of digital asset research at BTIG, downplayed the risk of a margin call forcing MicroStrategy to trim its holdings. "We see no circumstance in which MicroStrategy is going to need to sell any of its bitcoin holdings," he said. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Maju Samuel) (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that he is determined to timely complete all the projects under the multi-billion-dollar China- Economic Corridor (CPEC) and assured that he will resolve all the issues faced by the Chinese companies working in Special Economic Zones. Addressing a meeting in Rashakai Special Economic Zone, a flagship industrial project of the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa under the CPEC, Sharif said his government is committed to industrial development to make an economically progressive country, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. Shehbaz said a total of nine special economic zones were launched during 2016-17 in the Joint Commission Committee. He added that Pakistan is taking advantage of modern Chinese technology. He said the affordable and skilled Pakistani labour and modern Chinese technology jointly will help make the economic development grow at a vigorous pace. The Prime Minister suggested holding road shows and other activities in China to promote Chinese investment that could result in a "win-win" situation. He assured to resolve all the issues faced by the Chinese companies working in Special Economic Zones. Shehbaz directed to achieve targets in the SEZ on stipulated times and stressed on making the Special Economic Zones a role model. The USD 62 billion CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It was signed in 2015 when Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Pakistan. The multi-billion dollars project aims to build infrastructure, power generation facilities and industrial zones in Pakistan. India has protested to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. (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.) appeared to be readying for a space launch Tuesday as satellite images showed a rocket on a rural desert launch pad, just as tensions remain high over Tehran's nuclear program. The images from Maxar Technologies showed a launch pad at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran's rural Semnan province, the site of frequent recent failed attempts to put a satellite into orbit. One set of images showed a rocket on a transporter, preparing to be lifted and put on a launch tower. A later image showed the rocket apparently on the tower. did not acknowledge a forthcoming launch at the space port and its mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, its state-run IRNA news agency in May said that likely would have seven homemade satellites ready for launch by the end of the Persian calendar year in March 2023. A private company that uses satellites to spot sources of methane emissions around the globe said Wednesday that it detected one of the largest artificial releases of the potent greenhouse gas ever seen, coming from a coal mine in earlier this year. Montreal-based GHGSat said one of its satellites, known as Hugo,' observed 13 methane plumes at the Raspadskaya mine in Siberia on January 14. The incident likely resulted in about 90 metric tons of methane being belched into the atmosphere in the space of an hour, the company calculated. This was a really, really dramatic emission," Brody Wight, GHGSat's director of energy, landfills and mines told The Associated Press. Cutting down methane emissions caused by fossil fuel facilities has become a priority for governments seeking to take quick, effective steps against climate change. That is because methane is powerful heat-trapping gas second only to carbon dioxide, which stays in the atmosphere for longer. GHGSat said the plumes detected at Raspadskaya may have been released intentionally, as a safety measure, since the gas can seep out of mines and ignite with potentially deadly outcomes. Two methane explosions and a fire killed 91 people at this mine in 2010, one of the worst such disasters in post-Soviet times. Companies can prevent the uncontrolled release of methane through best practices. Captured gas can be burned as fuel, lessening its global-warming impact. GHGSat said it measured further plumes over the mine during subsequent flyovers the following weeks, though these didn't reach the same ultra emission scale seen on January 14. Even if it is only for a short period of time it doesn't take long for this to be a significant emission," said Wight. Manfredi Caltagirone, who heads the Methane Emissions Observatory at the UN Environment Program, said he was not aware of any bigger release of methane from a coal mine. If this event is the result of an accumulation of methane that has been then released all at once instead of over several days, the environmental impact would be the same as if a smaller plume was to be released constantly over several days, said Caltagirone, who wasn't involved in the GHGSat observation. But from a safety perspective it is worrisome, he said, citing recent mine explosions in Poland that killed 13 people. Still, the release was likely a very rare event or else other methane-measuring satellites would have picked them up too, said Caltagirone. GHGSat said it alerted the Raspadskaya mine operator to its findings, but received no response. The operator also didn't respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. Several private and government satellites have been launched into orbit in recent years to help pinpoint methane leaks and raise awareness of the risks they pose to the climate and people's health. In one of the most publicized methane leaks in the United States, a 2015 blowout at a natural gas storage in California sickened residents of the San Fernando Valley and led to evacuations of 8,000 homes. (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.) reported 273 vehicle crashes since July involving advanced driving assistance systems, more than any other automaker, according to data U.S. auto safety regulators released on Wednesday. Automakers and tech companies reported more than 500 crashes since June 2021, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued an order requiring the information. Car companies are rushing to add driver assistance systems, saying these improve safety by handling some maneuvers. U.S. regulators are trying to understand the practical effect of the changes. But automakers collect and report data in different ways, making it difficult to draw conclusions on systems performance. Tesla's advanced driver assistant software dubbed "Full Self Driving" has also created some confusion about vehicle capabilities. NHTSA ordered companies to quickly report all crashes involving advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and vehicles equipped with automated driving systems being tested on public roads. Of the 392 such crashes reported by a dozen automakers since July, six deaths were reported and five serious injuries. Honda Motor identified 90 crashes. Companies also reported 130 crashes involving prototype automated driving systems, while 108 involved no injuries and one was a serious injury crash. NHTSA said Alphabet Inc's self-driving car unit Waymo reported 62 crashes involving vehicles with automated driving systems, while General Motors' Cruise had 23. Waymo said its crashes were not high severity and one third were in manual mode. Airbags deployed in only two crashes. Cruise said it "has logged millions of miles in one of the most complex urban driving environments because saving lives is our chief aim." NHTSA said in releasing the first batch of data that it has already been used to trigger investigations and recalls and helped inform existing defect probes. "By providing NHTSA with critical and timely safety data this will help our investigators quickly identify potential defect trends," NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff said, cautioning the raw number of incidents reported per manufacturer "is by itself inadequate to draw conclusions." The agency emphasized crashes are tracked by individual automakers in different ways and discouraged comparisons of performance among automakers in part because there aren't comprehensive metrics on how widely each system is used. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Honda told Reuters it had found no defects in the systems and its crash reports were based on unverified customer statements "to comply with NHTSA's 24-hour reporting deadline." No other automaker reported more than 10 ADAS crashes during the period. Despite the limitations, NHTSA said the data was essential in order to quickly spot potential defects or safety trends. Incidents that occur when an advanced system was engaged within 30 seconds of a crash must be reported within 24 hours to NHTSA. The agency plans to release new data monthly. NHTSA has been scrutinizing Autopilot and said last week it was upgrading its probe into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with the system, a required step before it could seek a recall. The regulator had opened a preliminary evaluation to assess the performance of Autopilot after about a dozen crashes in which Tesla vehicles struck stopped emergency vehicles. Separately, NHTSA has opened 35 special crash investigations involving Tesla vehicles in which ADAS was suspected of being used. A total of 14 crash deaths have been reported in those Tesla investigations, including a May California crash that killed three people. Tesla says Autopilot allows the vehicles to brake and steer automatically within their lanes but does not make them capable of driving themselves. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and David Gregorio) (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An appeals tribunal in the has upheld a previous ruling directing Meta (formerly Facebook) to unwind its $315 million acquisition of online database and search engine Giphy. In November last year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had ordered Meta to sell Giphy, as the acquisition could harm social media users and advertisers. The CMA later fined Meta $2 million for failing to disclose key changes regarding its acquisition of Giphy. In a judgment on Tuesday, the appeals tribunal unanimously dismissed all of Meta's grounds, except that the CMA failed to properly consult and wrongly excised portions from the decision. While the appeals tribunal favoured the CMA in five of the six claims, the tribunal did rule that the CMA had failed to properly inform Meta of Snapchat's acquisition of Gfycat (a short video hosting company) for nearly a year after it became aware of the ruling. Meta emphasised the upheld claim and its impact on the broader ruling. "Today's ruling found that the CMA's approach to its investigation was adifficult to defend' and aundermines the entirety of the Decision,'" a Meta spokesperson told The Verge. "We look forward to understanding how these serious process flaws will be addressed. We firmly believe our investment would enhance GIPHY's product for the millions of people, businesses, and partners who use it." had moved to buy the online GIF platform in May 2020. The CMA had found that Giphy's advertising services had the potential to compete with Facebook's own display advertising services. --IANS na/dpb (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As Britain's grapples with the impact of a record number of job vacancies, a labour market expert has warned that the problem may continue for another three to five years. The impact of Britain's departure from the European Union, and of the COVID-19 pandemic, have sparked one of the biggest worker shortages in years, Donald Houston, a professor from the University of Portsmouth, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. Data released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the number of rose to a new high of 1.3 million from March to May 2022. This is over half a million more than before the pandemic. The record for has been broken several times since the second half of last year. In the first quarter of 2022, for the first time since records began, there were fewer unemployed people than across Britain. "It's important to say that what's happening is not that the is suddenly booming, and that we've got a huge growth in labour demand. This is driven entirely by a reduction in the number of people in the workforce," Houston said. British employers in many industrial sectors are reporting serious difficulties recruiting enough workers, he said. This has led to difficulties including chaos at airports, and massive flight cancellations during the jubilee holiday. "What's really been going on is a combination of the pandemic made slightly worse by Brexit," said Houston, a professor of economic geography at the university's faculty of science and health. He said Britain's shortage of workers became evident as the country emerged from lockdown. "Some staff moved into early retirement because they'd had enough of working during the lockdown, and a lot of people moved out of the labour market because of long-term sickness, no doubt a good chunk of that due to long COVID. And then we've also lost about 100,000 European workers compared to before the pandemic," he told Xinhua. Earlier this month, an ONS survey revealed that an estimated 2 million people in Britain had lingering COVID-19 symptoms more than four weeks after their initial infection, which is classified as long COVID. However, Houston said the job vacancy crisis should improve fairly rapidly, but will not completely disappear for a long time. "Because some of the issues are long-term structural issues, such as losing well over 100,000 people of working age to early retirement during the pandemic, and losing another 100,000-plus people to long-term sickness because of the pandemic, plus the loss of 100,000 EU workers. Those problems aren't going to go away anytime soon," he said. "It's going to take another three to five years beyond that to make sure that we have sufficient workers, and workers with sufficient skills to build a sustainable recovery," the professor said. He also blamed the geographically uneven vacancy crisis across Britain. The highest vacancy rates in the country have been seen in rural parts of the southwest and northwest, as well as certain inner London boroughs. "Some of these rural and inner London boroughs are some of the places that have the greatest dependency on foreign workers, in particular for agriculture and hospitality," said Houston. (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 is expected to announce Wednesday that it will send about $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since the war began, in a effort to help stall Russia's slow but steady march to conquer the eastern Donbas region, US officials said. According to officials, the aid is expected to include anti-ship missile launchers, howitzers, and more rounds for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems that US forces are training Ukrainian troops on now. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public. The aid comes as US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin convened a meeting in Brussels of more than 45 nations to discuss support for Ukraine. At the start of the meeting, Austin warned that the West must step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and prove its commitment to helping the country's military fight along a 1,000-km (620-mile) front line in a grinding war of attrition with Russia. And he urged the participating nations to demonstrate our unwavering determination to get Ukraine the capabilities that it urgently needs to defend itself. We must intensify our shared commitment to Ukraine's self-defence, and we must push ourselves even harder to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself, its citizens and its territory, he said. The meeting, also attended by Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, came on the opening day of a two-day gathering of NATO defence ministers at the alliance's headquarters. Increased arms supplies can't come soon enough for the Ukrainian forces battling to keep Russia from taking control of their country's industrial east after more than 3 months of war. In his nightly address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded Tuesday for more and faster deliveries of Western arms, specifically asking for anti-missile defence systems. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ukrainian President said that he had discussed defence cooperation with Canadian Prime Minister . "Further defence cooperation was discussed," Zelensky tweeted after the talks. The parties also coordinated the next steps in counteracting "Russia's aggression against Ukraine" on the eve of important events, Zelensky said on Tuesday. The Ukrainian president added that he thanked for its leadership in supporting Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported. Last month, Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand announced that would donate more military aid to Ukraine, including over 20,000 artillery rounds of 155 mm NATO standard ammunition. A meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group is set to take place at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday. --IANS int/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.) The number and rate of US abortions increased from 2017 to 2020 after a long decline, according to figures released Wednesday. The report from the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports rights, counted more than 930,000 abortions in the US in 2020. That's up from about 862,000 abortions in 2017, when national figures reached their lowest point since the 1973 US Supreme Court ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide. About one in five pregnancies ended in in 2020, according to the report, which comes as the Supreme Court appears ready to overturn that decision. The number of women obtaining abortions illustrates a need and underscores just how devastating a Supreme Court decision is going to be for access to an absolutely vital service," said Sara Rosenbaum, a George Washington University health law and policy professor. Medication abortions, the two-drug combination sometimes called the abortion pill, accounted for 54 per cent of US abortions in 2020, the first time they made up more than half of abortions, Guttmacher said. The COVID-19 pandemic may have pushed down the numbers in some states, according to the report. In New York, abortions increased from 2017 to 2019, then fell 6 per cent between 2019 and 2020. One in 10 clinics in New York paused or stopped abortion care in 2020. Texas saw a 2 per cent decrease between 2019 and 2020, coinciding with pandemic-related abortion restrictions in the state. Elsewhere, the pandemic may have limited access to contraception, some experts said, or discouraged women from undertaking all the health care visits involved in a . Yet, abortions already were inching upward before the coronavirus upended people's lives. One contributing factor: Some states expanded Medicaid access to abortion. Illinois, for example, began allowing state Medicaid funds to pay for abortions starting in January 2018. The state saw abortions increase 25 per cent between 2017 and 2020. In neighboring Missouri, abortions decreased substantially, but the number of Missouri residents traveling to Illinois for abortions increased to more than 6,500. If states are paying for abortions I hope they are also looking at how to support childbirth, so a woman doesn't think abortion is the best or only option, said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, which opposes abortion. Guttmacher conducts the nation's most comprehensive survey of abortion providers every three years. The tally is considered more complete than data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that omits several states including California, the nation's most populous state. In 2020, fewer women were getting pregnant and a larger share of them chose abortion, the researchers found. There were 3.6 million births, a decline since 2017. The abortion rate in 2020 was 14.4 per 1,000 women aged 15-44, an increase from 13.5 per 1,000 women in 2017. Abortions increased by 12 per cent in the West, 10 per cent in the Midwest, 8 per cent in the South and 2 per cent in the Northeast. (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.) Chinese leader signed new rules governing "non-war" operations which will allow the Chinese to undertake "special operations" abroad. The latest move from Xi comes weeks after Beijing signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, prompting concerns that Beijing may be gearing up to invade the democratic island of Taiwan under the guise of a "special operation" not classified as war, reported Investigative Journalism Reportika (IJ Reprtika). Xi signed an order which takes effect June 15, state media reported, without printing the order in full. "It mainly systematically regulates basic principles, organization and command, types of operations, operational support, and political work, and their implementation by the troops," state news agency Xinhua said in a brief report on Monday. Among the six-chapter document's stated aims are "maintaining national sovereignty ... regional stability and regulating the organization and implementation of non-war military operations," it said. The report came after Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a diplomatic solution to the threat of military action in the Taiwan Strait, reported IJ Reportika. Speaking via video link at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, Zelenskyy used Ukraine as an example, calling on the world to "always support any preventive action," and called for diplomatic solutions to prevent war. Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida warned on Friday that "Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow." The war in Ukraine featured prominently during sessions at the Shangri-La Dialogue. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told participants that the invasion of Ukraine was "indefensible," and "a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil." China's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe delivered scathing remarks about the US Indo-Pacific strategy in a speech in Singapore on Sunday, calling it an attempt to form a clique to contain China. In his speech on "China's vision for regional order" at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum, he hit back at Austin's remarks a day earlier, saying China firmly rejects America's accusations and threats. Wei said the Indo-Pacific strategy was "an attempt to build an exclusive small group to hijack countries in our region" to target one specific country - China. While Taiwan has never been governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), nor formed part of the People's Republic of China, and its 23 million people have no wish to give up their sovereignty or democratic way of life, Beijing insists the island is part of its territory. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shares of five Tata Group companies, Tata Steel, Company, Tata Exlsi, and Tinplate Company of India have turned ex-date for final dividend on Wednesday. had announced a final dividend of Rs 51 per share, while approved final dividend of Rs 42.50 per share, followed by (Rs 12.50 per share), Tinplate Company (Rs 4 per share) and (Rs 1.75 per share). Among the individual stocks, as of 02:19 PM; Tata Chemicals, Tinplate Company, and traded lower by up to 3 per cent on the BSE. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.13 per cent at 52,760. However, the stock of was up 2 per cent at Rs 963.50 (adjusted to final dividend) after hitting a high of Rs 974.15 in intra-day trade on the BSE. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 951.50 in intra-day trade, the exchange data shows. On May 3, 2022, the board of directors of Tata Steel, in order to enhance the liquidity in the capital market, to widen shareholder base and to make the shares more affordable to small investors, considered and approved the proposal for sub-division of 1 equity share of the Company having face value of Rs 10 each into 10 equity shares of the Company having face value of Re 1 each. In the past three months, has underperformed the market by falling 22 per cent, against 5.5 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. Demand and consequently pricing is seasonally weak at present. The governments policy on imposition of export duty on iron ore, pellets, and certain categories of steel will further depress domestic prices, according to analysts. PhonePe, part of the Walmart Inc-controlled group, is considering to raise funds through an initial public offering for expanding its financial services portfolio and deepening its core United Payments Interface (UPI)-based payments operations, investment banking sources said on Wednesday. The digital payment company is seeking a valuation of USD 8-10 billion, they added. According to the sources, the company will soon engage with bankers and legal consultants to take forward the (Initial Public Offering) process. Also, the company has initiated plans to move its registered holding entity from Singapore to India, underlining its 'made in India' credentials. PhonePe's board has already ratified the proposal to move the holding company to India. The company will list on Indian stock exchanges as opposed to many startups that prefer to incorporate overseas, primarily Singapore or the US, chasing relatively friendlier tax laws and business regulations there. was founded by ex- executives Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari and Burzin Engineer, and was acquired by in 2016. In 2018 Flipkart was acquired by Walmart, and was part of the transaction as well. The company plans to go public once its core businesses turn profitable, which it hopes to achieve by 2023, investment banking sources said. In addition, plans to raise its workforce strength to 5,200 by the end of December to ride on the growing UPI-based transactions in India. The company has 2,600 employees and 2,800 open job positions across cities such as Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi. PhonePe had last raised USD 700 million in 2020 led by its promoters Flipkart and Walmart at a valuation of USD 5.5 billion. The digital payment company has raised a total of USD 1.7 billion in funding over 13 rounds that includes Tiger Global Management and Tencent as investors. The company has applied for a mutual fund license and a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) licence and has acquired three companies - WealthDesk, OpenQ and GigIndia. PhonePe is the leader in the space, enjoying a 47 per cent market share in monthly transactions. At present, PhonePe holds a mutual fund distribution licence, and will be adding stocks and exchange traded funds to its growing list of wealth management products. It announced that it will launch SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) for investment in gold. Users will be able to invest in high purity 24K gold of a specified amount every month. The gold can be accumulated in their insured bank-grade lockers, maintained by MMTC-PAMP and SafeGold. PhonePe was also in the process of integrating its processes with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) pilot, India's indigenously created open source e-commerce network, with real-time transactions in the retail and food delivery space starting in some cities. Under ONDC, real-time transactions in the retail and food delivery space have started in some cities such as Shillong and Delhi. Currently, ONDC is focusing more on retailers and restaurants. Recently, a number of internet-led businesses launched their IPOs, including Zomato, CarTrade, Nykaa, Paytm and PolicyBazaar. (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 (VBL) hit a record high of Rs 805.45, soaring 5 per cent on the BSE in Wednesday's intra-day trade. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.15 per cent at 52,613 points at 09:22 AM. The stock has surged 8 per cent in the past two days, in an otherwise a weak market, on expectations of strong earnings. Moreover, in the past three months, VBL has outperformed the market by surging nearly 35 per cent, as compared to 7 per cent decline in the benchmark index. VBL went ex-bonus on June 6th, in the ratio of 1:2, increasing its equity shares to 649.5 million post issue. For January-March quarter (Q1CY22), VBL posted robust 26.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) sales growth, supported by strong 19 per cent YoY volume growth across geographies, and 6 per cent YoY higher realization. Volume growth was led by the early onset of summer in India, translating into higher demand. Despite increase in input costs, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (ebitda) margin improved by 175 bps to 18.8 per cent in Q1CY22 led by higher realization and operating leverage from increased sales volume. The company's profit after tax (PAT) nearly doubled or advanced 98.2 per cent YoY to Rs 271 crore from Rs 137 crore driven by improvement in margins, reduction in finance cost and higher profitability from our international operations. The company is also seeing a solid uptick in consumer demand. With this, the management remains confident of delivering healthy volume growth in the medium to longer term. "VBL is expected to benefit from a strong recovery going forward, led by growing out-of-home consumption, with the opening up of offices and traveling, uptick in volumes in new territories, traction in new products Sting, Value Added Dairy and Tropicana," according Motilal Oswal Financial Services. VBL has signed a co-packing agreement to manufacture Kurkure Puffcorn for PepsiCo India in February 2022. This is the first time that it has ventured into the manufacture of non-Beverages. In the long-term, the company may acquire additional manufacturing and distribution rights of other food products of PepsiCo, the brokerage firm said. It estimates revenue/EBITDA/PAT CAGR of 16 per cent/21 per cent/38 per cent over CY21-23. Meanwhile, on May 26, 2022, CRISIL Ratings had upgraded its rating on the long-term bank facilities of VBL to 'CRISIL AA+' from 'CRISIL AA' and revised the outlook to 'Stable' from 'Positive'. Asian Paints: Asian Paints has subscribed to 51% of the equity share capital of Weatherseal Fenestration comprising of 10,409 equity shares of Rs. 10 each at a premium of Rs. 18,091 per share, issued on preferential basis for an aggregate cash consideration of Rs. 18.84 crore. Accordingly, Weatherseal Fenestration is now a subsidiary of the company. Wipro: Wipro is increasing its investment locally in Norway to help its clients capitalize on digital transformation. Within the next two years the company is looking to grow from 85 to 350 employees in Norway. Cipla: The drug major received South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) approval to launch 4-in-1 fixed-dose combination of four antiretroviral (ARV) treatments for infants and young children with HIV in South Africa. Engineers India: The company has been engaged as Project Management consultant (PMC) by Neyveli Lignite Corporation for its landmark Lignite to Methanol project, first of its kind in India. PNB Housing Finance: The company's board of directors approved the issuance of non-convertible debentures aggregating up to Rs 2,000 crore on a private placement basis. Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals: The company has successfully commissioned Hydrogen Generating Plant from Biogas produced from biomass/ process effluent at its new manufacturing unit commissioned at Phagwara (Punjab). 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 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stated that banks have to comply with regulations pertaining to financing government entities. The central bank noted that it has come across instances where banks have not been strictly complying with our extant instructions on assessment of commercial viability, ascertainment of revenue streams for debt servicing obligations and monitoring of end use of funds in respect of their financing of infrastructure/ housing projects of government owned entities. Banks have also been found to have violated the RBI's instructions which inter alia require that in case of projects undertaken by government-owned entities, term loans should be sanctioned only for corporate bodies, the central bank said. Due diligence should be carried out on the viability and bankability of the projects to ensure that the revenue stream from the project is sufficient to take care of the debt servicing obligations and that the repayment or servicing of debt is not from budgetary resources. Banks are requested to follow instructions in letter and spirit and are advised to carry out a review and place before their boards a comprehensive report on the status of compliance with the instructions within three months. 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 state-run bank on Wednesday said that its board will meet on 24 June 2022 to consider and approve the capital raising plan for the financial year 2022-23. Shares of Canara Bank declined 0.29% to Rs 190.10, extending losses for the third trading session. It has fallen 8.63% in three trading sessions from its recent closing high of Rs 208.05 on 10 June 2022. In the past one year, the stock has jumped 23.04% while the benchmark Sensex declined 0.03% during the same period. On the daily chart, the stock was trading below its 50-day, 100-day and 200-day simple moving average (SMA) placed at 215.81, 223.78 and 209.52, respectively. These levels will act as crucial resistance zones in near term. Canara Bank is a public sector bank. As of 31 March 2022, the Government of India held 62.93% in the bank. The bank reported a 64.8% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 1,666.22 on 6.1% rise in total income to Rs 22,323.11 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sales rise 10.62% to Rs 85.49 crore Net profit of India Tourism Development Corporation declined 36.24% to Rs 4.68 crore in the quarter ended March 2022 as against Rs 7.34 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2021. Sales rose 10.62% to Rs 85.49 crore in the quarter ended March 2022 as against Rs 77.28 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2021. For the full year,net profit reported to Rs 6.78 crore in the year ended March 2022 as against net loss of Rs 34.71 crore during the previous year ended March 2021. Sales rose 63.62% to Rs 289.40 crore in the year ended March 2022 as against Rs 176.87 crore during the previous year ended March 2021. ParticularsQuarter EndedYear EndedMar. 2022Mar. 2021% Var.Mar. 2022Mar. 2021% Var.Sales85.4977.28 11 289.40176.87 64 OPM %-6.211.33 --0.52-26.45 - PBDT-0.667.70 PL 11.74-30.97 LP PBT-2.265.87 PL 5.11-37.90 LP NP4.687.34 -36 6.78-34.71 LP 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 drug major on Wednesday announced that Lupin Diagnostics has launched its first regional reference laboratory in Patna, Bihar. Lupin Diagnostics offers a comprehensive range of diagnostics services to doctors, patients and consumers. The new regional reference laboratory at Patna has capabilities to conduct a broad spectrum of routine and specialized tests in the fields of molecular diagnostics, cytology, microbiology, serology, haematology, immunology and routine biochemistry. The company said that by establishing a presence in Patna, the company now looks forward to making a deeper foray into Bihar. Earlier this year, Lupin Diagnostics opened its regional reference laboratories in Assam and West Bengal. Through upcoming launches of laboratories in Jharkhand (Ranchi) and Orissa (Bhubaneshwar), the company is poised to solidify its position in East India. Lupin Diagnostics now operates through more than 100 diagnostic centers in East India and close to 280 centers across the country. Ravindra Kumar, vice president and head of Lupin Diagnostics said: "We are pleased to announce the launch of our regional reference laboratory in Patna. Through this we plan to provide quality and affordable testing services for a broad range of routine and specialized tests across the state of Bihar. By leveraging our extensive network of LupiMitra centers, we will make quality diagnostics services available to patients even in the most remote areas." Lupin is a transnational pharmaceutical company. The company develops and commercializes a wide range of branded and generic formulations, biotechnology products and APIs in over 100 markets in the U.S., India, South Africa and across Asia Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), Europe and Middle-East regions. The pharma giant reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 518 crore in Q4 FY22 as against a net profit of Rs 460.4 crore in Q4 FY21. Income from operations rose by 2.8% year on year to Rs 3,864.5 crore during the quarter. Shares of Lupin were up 0.97% at Rs 614.65 on the BSE. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Metal stocks were trading in the negative zone, with the S&P BSE Metal index falling 91.36 points or 0.54% at 16850.61 at 13:47 IST. Among the components of the S&P BSE Metal index, Tata Steel Ltd (down 3.43%), and Coal India Ltd (down 1.12%), were the top losers. On the other hand, APL Apollo Tubes Ltd (up 4.08%), Hindustan Zinc Ltd (up 3.29%), and Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (up 0.6%) moved up. At 13:47 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 56.26 or 0.11% at 52749.83. The Nifty 50 index was up 22.2 points or 0.14% at 15754.3. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 169.31 points or 0.68% at 25111.94. The S&P BSE 150 Midcap Index index was up 51.78 points or 0.67% at 7748.25. On BSE,1969 shares were trading in green, 1255 were trading in red and 126 were unchanged. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Utilties stocks were trading with gains, with the S&P BSE Utilities index increasing 16.7 points or 0.49% at 3407.11 at 09:47 IST. Among the components of the S&P BSE Utilities index, Adani Power Ltd (up 2.08%), GAIL (India) Ltd (up 1.91%),NLC India Ltd (up 1.56%),Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (up 1.46%),Adani Transmission Ltd (up 1.46%), were the top gainers. Among the other gainers were Rattanindia Power Ltd (up 1.34%), Adani Green Energy Ltd (up 1.08%), Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (up 1.05%), Torrent Power Ltd (up 1.02%), and Gujarat Industries Power Co Ltd (up 0.83%). On the other hand, Tata Power Company Ltd (down 0.68%), Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd (down 0.45%), and Va Tech Wabag Ltd (down 0.43%) turned lower. At 09:47 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 142.93 or 0.27% at 52550.64. The Nifty 50 index was down 45.45 points or 0.29% at 15686.65. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 84.08 points or 0.34% at 25026.71. The S&P BSE 150 Midcap Index index was up 15.94 points or 0.21% at 7712.41. On BSE,1722 shares were trading in green, 927 were trading in red and 114 were unchanged. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Within the next two years, the IT major is looking to grow from 85 to 350 employees in Norway. Wipro on Tuesday said it is increasing its investment locally in Norway to help its clients capitalize on digital transformation. "The increased local investment is part of our new operating model, which has identified the Nordics as one of the Strategic Market Units in Europe. As such, we are positioning ourselves as an innovation partner to businesses in the region," said Vinay Firake, senior vice president & managing director, Nordics, Wipro. The intention behind the new operating model is to empower local management to provide more in-depth local contact, decision making, and investment for the long-term benefit of local clients. Having a 95% locally hired workforce in Norway today, Wipro is determined to stay at this level in its new growth phase, Wipro said in a statement. "To help our clients realize their transformation goals, we will be looking to hire for a range of roles from IT consulting, engineering, and industry domainall in the local market, said Firake. Wipro first established itself in Norway and the Nordics in 2006. Since then, Wipro has supported some of the region's largest companies by transforming their business through technology. Wipro is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. The IT major reported 4% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,087.3 crore on a 3% increase in revenue to Rs 20,860 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q3 FY22. Shares of Wipro fell 0.29% to settle at Rs 444.95 on Tuesday. 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 search for the next got more interesting on Wednesday, with Defence Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajnath Singh speaking to Chief Minister to see if the and the government could build a bipartisan consensus on one name. Singhs intervention came after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar signalled his unwillingness to be the Oppositions candidate. Singh also spoke to the Congress party's Mallikarjun Kharge, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik, and the Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav. Earlier in the day, Banerjee spearheaded a meeting of parties where she made it clear that Pawar had refused the Oppositions offer. Among other possible candidates are former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, and retired diplomat and civil servant Gopal Gandhi. parties are expected to meet again and discuss everything, including the BJPs offer. Several parties were here today. We've decided that we will choose one consensus candidate. Everybody will give this candidate their support. We will consult others. This is a good beginning. We sat together after several months, and we will do it again, Banerjee, also the chief of the Trinamool Congress, told the media after the meeting. The said it would call a meeting of the Democratic Alliance (NDA), and the partys parliamentary board will meet in the meantime and decide on a name. This is based on the premise that a consensus on a common candidate is unlikely. These developments took place on a day when the Congress alleged a Delhi Police team entered New Delhis 24, Akbar Road, the partys headquarters, without a search or arrest warrant, and took some party members into custody. Some, including member of Parliament Jothi Mani, were allegedly manhandled, their clothes were torn, and they were denied water. Congress workers, including MPs, were protesting against the interrogation of former party president Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for a third straight day. Against this backdrop, Kharge spoke at the meeting hosted by Banerjee. He said Sonia Gandhi, who was unwell, had asked him to reach out to Opposition parties about a consensus Presidential candidate to fight the divisive and destructive policies of the RSS and BJP. He said the Congress had put aside its own efforts, as Banerjee had called a meeting on the same issue. Kharge spelt out the Congress view of such a candidate: He or she must be committed to upholding the Constitution, protecting the institutions of the Indian democracy, and ready to fight bigotry, prejudice, hatred and polarisation. He also said the Congress had no particular candidate in mind and was ready to go along with the consensus name. Kharge added that the Congress was conscious that many of the parties present were arrayed against the Congress in Assemblies. But that has not prevented the meeting from taking place We must remain united and disciplined and not score political points against each other, he told the gathering. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had, at the Congress Udaipur meeting, underlined the acceptability and universality of the Congress, and dismissed regional parties as casteist. Among the notable absentees from the Opposition meeting were the usual suspects: Members of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSR Congress. The Aam Aadmi Party had already said it would not attend a meeting till it knew who the common candidate would be, making it clear it was not forwarding any name. The DMK's T R Baalu said the leaders present at the meeting had requested Kharge, Banerjee and Pawar to discuss with parties the fielding of a joint Opposition candidate. TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister is meeting with the leaders of the in the capital today. The meeting comes against the backdrop of upcoming presidential elections which are scheduled to take place on July 18. The West Bengal CM met NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday in Delhi a day prior to the scheduled meeting. aims to bring the together, to put up a united fight against the BJP-led Democratic Alliance. During Mamata Banerjee's meeting with Sharad Pawar, the former asked Pawar to become the opposition nominee for the upcoming presidential polls. However, the meeting has become a symbol of Opposition disunity with various parties refusing to attend. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Aam Aadmi Party, the YSR Congress, and SAD have missed the meeting for various reasons. Leaders of the were expected to join the meeting and formulate a joint strategy for the upcoming polls. TMC supremo wrote to 22 Opposition leaders last week, calling for a meeting at Delhi's Constitution Club on June 15. Congress' interim president Sonia Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Mallikarjun Kharge, MK Stalin, K Chandrasekhar Rao, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, and Hemant Soren are among the few leaders who were invited. Apart from and Aam Aadmi Party, BJP's former ally Shiromani Akali Dal also skipped the meeting. According to an NDTV report, a BJD leader stated that their party had not received instruction from party supremo Naveen Patnaik. However, some parties were not invited to the meeting, including AIMIM and BSP. AIMIM chief Owaisi asserted that he would not have attended the meeting because of the Congress party's presence. YSR Congress has also decided to skip the meeting. Defence Minister has spoken with Congress' on the issue of Presidential polls amid reports of cracks appearing in the opposition ranks. Sources said Rajnath called up Kharge over the phone on Tuesday. After the talks, the Congress, however, said that it was a formality and no breakthrough has been achieved. Kharge said, " called me and spoke about the Presidential polls. But when asked about the proposal, there was no response. I am saying if the opposition comes up with a non controversial name... will the government accept that? It's a formality." Mamata Banerjee has called a meeting of the opposition parties, but cracks have emerged as the AAP and TRS are likely to skip the meeting. The AAP will decide on the issue after the name of the candidate surfaces while the TRS is skipping the meet citing the Congress' presence. The will join the meeting convened by Trinamool Chief and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, who had written to 22 opposition leaders and chief ministers last week to attend the meeting to formulate a joint strategy for the Presidential polls on June 15. The opposition leaders are set to join the meeting. Banerjee landed in Delhi on Tuesday and met Nationalist Party chief Sharad Pawar at his residence. As per a source, Pawar has refused to be the opposition nominee for the presidential polls saying he wants to remain in active . However, the NCP will attend the opposition meeting. Several other are also likely to attend the meeting to discuss the joint strategy for the upcoming Presidential poll. (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.) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister condemned the (ED)'s questioning of leader and called it an outrageous act of political vendetta against the party. "I condemn the outrageous act of political vendetta against party and its leaders Sonia Gandhi and by the ruling BJP government using the Enforcement Directorate," tweeted Stalin. He took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stating the parties should lock horns politically and 'not by forcing ED'. "Having no answers to the pressing issues of the common man, BJP uses such diversionary tactics to save itself from the public ire. Political opponents should be fought politically, not by 'forcing' the Enforcement Directorate," he said in another tweet. Congress leader on Tuesday left the ED office in Delhi after the second consecutive day of questioning in the Herald case and has been asked to appear for the third day of questioning. The 51-year-old senior Congress leader reached ED headquarters around 11.07 am along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi and was deposed before the investigators shortly after his entry into the building. The former Congress president, a Z+ category protectee of the Central Reserve Police Force after the Union government withdrew the Gandhi family's Special Protection Group cover in 2019, was asked again to join the probe as investigators were not satisfied with the answers he gave to them during questioning on Monday, said official sources. As per the sources, the Congress leader will be again questioned about the ownership of Young Indian Private Limited (YIL) by the Gandhi family and its shareholding in Associate Journals Limited (AJL), the company that runs the Herald newspaper. Investigators will also question about the circumstances under which AJL was acquired by YIL in 2010, making it the owner of all assets owned by the Herald newspaper. The National Herald, started by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was published by the AJL. In 2010, the AJL, which faced financial difficulties, was taken over by a newly-floated YIL with Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda as directors, both of them Gandhi loyalists. In a complaint in the Delhi High Court, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy accused Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul Gandhi, and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds. Officials familiar with the probe said Rahul Gandhi is being asked questions about the takeover of the AJL by YIL since the Gandhis have stakes in the latter. The central anti-money laundering probe agency is expected to confront the Congress leader with the documents about alleged irregularities later in the day. The Lok Sabha member from Wayanad in Kerala is being questioned under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED also learnt to record the statement of Rahul Gandhi to know about the incorporation of the YIL, the operations of the National Herald and the fund transfer within the news media establishment. The ED is also investigating the financial transactions as well as the role of party functionaries in the functioning of AJL and YIL.National Herald is published by the Associated AJL and owned by YIL.It is also learnt that the ED will take the written statement of Rahul Gandhi statement under Section 50 of the PMLA. (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.) No other Yoga program in commemoration of the International Day of Yoga has such a rich variety of educational and fun activities for an entire week as JKYog's International Festival of Yoga. Filled with incredible options to suit each participant's preference for events and schedule, this hybrid program offers high-quality activities FREE for participants. JKYog's mission has always focused on creating opportunities for people to take active steps to enhance their overall health and well-being. The 2022 Yoga Festival promises to boost the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health of all those who participate in yoga, meditation, pranayam, health-fair, family fun activities, music concerts and above all, the knowledge shared by distinguished speakers. Grand Inauguration The week-long program (from June 15 to 21) will be officiated with the ceremonial Diya Lighting and the release of Yoga for Humanity Balloons. The Keynote Address will be delivered by JKYog Founder Swami Mukundananda, a global spiritual leader, Vedic scholar, a world-renowned teacher of spirituality, yoga and meditation, an international authority on mind management, a best-selling author, and a bhakti saint who has transformed the lives of millions of people for nearly four decades. With the illumination of external and internal minds and hearts, the inaugural ceremonies will culminate with the Proclamation by Allen City Mayor Kenneth M Fulk and a lovely Cultural Program presented by Sampradaya Performing Arts (under the leadership of Gowri Ramaswamy) and Sai Nritya Academy (under the leadership of Sreedevi Rajesh Yadlapati). Know the Revered Spiritual Leaders Many distinguished speakers will enlighten the global audiences this year as well. In addition to the Keynote Address, throughout the week, Swami Mukundananda will present a talk, conduct meditation, engage in conversation with other distinguished hosts, and participate in a Q/A session with the youth. As per Swamiji, "The mind's proclivity for novel stimuli and revulsion for boredom is the cause for a lack of focus. The consequence is a distracted mind. Even during meditation, if the object of attention is 'boring' then the mind will not be attracted to it. That is why roop-dhyan is so useful." Learn the art and science of roop-dhyan or devotional meditation by Swamiji in the segment on Meditation with Masters. Swami Sarvapriyananda, Minister and spiritual leader of the Vedanta Society of New York, a well-known speaker on various prestigious forums such as TEDx, SAND, and various prestigious universities, will also deliver a special address on Spiritual Wellness through the Four Yogas. He elaborates on one of the four yogas: "In Raja yoga, the path of meditation, the paradigm is that our minds are restless and therefore we do not see the truth. If the minds can be concentrated, focused, calmed, then we will be able to see the Truth for ourselves. We will experience it, and we cannot argue with experiences." Pujya Bhaishri Rameshbhai Oza, a spiritual leader and founder of Sandipani Vidyaniketan, is deeply interested in the Vedic scriptures, specifically, the Shrimad Bhagavat, the Ramayana, particularly the Ramacharitamanas composed by Gosvami Tulsidasaji, and the Bhagavad-Gita. As Bhaishri says, "Shrimad Bhagavad Gita is a universal scripture which belongs to humanity at large. It is not just for Hindus. Its principles are applicable to everyone and guides one through life's trials and tribulations." Swami Chidananda Saraswati is the President of Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh, and Founder/Chair of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance. Swamiji's motto in life is, "In the Service of God and humanity". Selflessly dedicated to the welfare of all, He leads, directs and inspires numerous, wide-scale service initiatives. He preaches, "God is kind; God is giving. We are His children. So, naturally, He will frequently give us what we ask for. But, when we ask for these things, aren't we saying to God, "I don't really need You, I only need this possession. Your only purpose is to bring me the possession"? If, however, we have God in our lives, we have everything." Do not miss his discourse at the Yoga Festival. Meet the Distinguished Speakers Smita Sundararaman is the Founder & Managing Director of NatureHealz, a firm that helps transform physical health by using nutrition and lifestyle changes as medicine. "We generally abstain from 'convenient' market foods. Fresh, local and seasonal food is the order of the day. As we do not prescribe any medicines, our therapies & treatment has no side effect," says Smita Sundararaman. She was awarded the Best Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (2018) by ASSOCHAM for her outstanding work in the field of Naturopathy. Do not miss her discourse on "Transforming Physical Health through Nutrition" at the Yoga Festival. Dr Indranil Basu-Ray has a very unique professional background. He received his training in medicine and cardiology from India, and in cardiac electrophysiology from the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He is a faculty member in Medicine (Cardiology) at Harvard Medical School. Additionally, he has taught meditation to hundreds of interested people all over the world. He was also one of the Cardiologist who wrote down the practice guidelines for the American Heart Association. He is invited to talk about the science and the art of meditation from all over the world. Dr Jagannath Dixit is a Professor in the Department of Community Medicine at B.J. Government Medical College, Pune. With a teaching experience of over 31 years, he has received numerous prestigious national and state awards for his commendable contribution in the field of health education. He has authored many publications and is appointed as the Brand Ambassador for the 'Fight Obesity' campaign by Government of Maharashtra. He will present a discourse on "Lifestyle Modification for Weight Loss and Diabetes Reversal" at the Yoga Festival. In addition to these distinguished speakers, the International Festival of Yoga 2022 will also host numerous other speakers, experts and yoga instructors to make this the most memorable week. Of particular interest is the segment on Meditation with Masters. Soulful meditations will be conducted by Swami Mukundananda, Sadhvi Bhagwati Saraswati, and Trudy Goodman. Meet the Health Fair Experts Of particular mention is the free Health Fair where many local medical experts in the field of internal medicine, cardiology, and oncology will provide free consultation as well as checks for vital signs, perform an EKG, and conduct blood work for Hga1c as needed for diabetic patients. A bone marrow drive will also be done to support patients in need of transplant. Participant Testimonies and Sponsor Support: Evidence of Excellence If testimonies of past attendees provide evidence of excellence, the 2022 Yoga Festival guarantees to be much more memorable event due to the availability of in-person sessions at the (https://www.radhakrishnatemple.net/international-festival-of-yoga) Radha Krishna Temple of Dallas, for a direct hands-on experience. Watch the (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxMU1MLfWvo & feature=youtu.be) testimonies of participants where they describe their experiences from the 2021 Yoga Festival. They noted an improvement of their health and well-being in just one week due to the wealth of knowledge and practical experiences. In fact, no health topic was left uncovered with each day power-packed with a vast variety of yoga classes by different instructors, demonstrators, and speakers. Some of the distinguished speakers also provided unsolicited testimonies including (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzU2bqp4kFY & feature=youtu.be" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Baba Ramdev. The distinguished speakers at the 2022 Yoga Festival are also world-renowned leaders in their respective areas of expertise. With extensive support from corporate and private sponsors and community partners including Platinum Sponsors Nanban Foundation and Nanban CapitalX, and Sponsors Dr Dash Foundation, Nanban GrowthX, Priya Living, David Hicks Company, Discount Power, Dr Nick Shroff, Radio Caravan and DuPriestPop, JKYog's International Festival of Yoga 2022 will be an event to remember! (https://www.radhakrishnatemple.net/international-festival-of-yoga) Register now to receive updates and book sessions when the schedule is released. (https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/giftofwellness) #GiftOfWellness #InternationalFestivalOfYoga #festivalofyoga #IFoY #yoga #internationalyogaday #internationaldayofyoga #swamimukundananda #yogafestival This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI/GPRC): How many times have you been disappointed in your tub of chicken that did not have a single leg? Pretty often, isn't it? This is because we all love Chicken legs, and everyone is after the same piece. If you are just like the rest of us who can never truly explain this obsession, It's Just Wings has the most exciting news for you! Your favourite Chicken Legs are now available starting at just Rs 345/-. Amazing right? Brace yourself as it is time to call your friends for a match night, a great house party or if you are just wanting to have a great meal delivered straight to your door. It's Just Wings kitchen has you covered with all-new, affordable, and delicious Chicken Legs now available at a stupid price. These juicy Chicken Legs are available in 2, 4 & 8-piece options in both regular or crispy with your choice of delicious rubs including 3 brand new flavors. Choose from options like Roasted Chicken spiced rub, Tandoori Tikka spiced rub, PeriPeri Lime spiced rub, Cajun Southwest spiced rub, Garlic Parmesan spiced rub and Tabasco spiced rub or include tantalizing chicken wing combo options with Honey Sriracha sauce, Barbeque sauce, Mango Habanero sauce, Honey Chipotle sauce along with the ultimate Santa Fe sauce and Hot Wing sauce. Brinker International, one of the leading casual dining restaurant companies in the world just recently brought It's Just Wings to India and the chefs are taking delicious and mouthwatering chicken to another level. This new expanded menu Chicken Legs offering at a crazy stupid price is soon to be a hit amongst chicken lovers. For It's Just Wings the chicken mania doesn't end with just amazing Chicken Legs, chicken is our specialty, and we offer something for everyone with our already extensive menu of bone-In and boneless chicken wings, crispy tenders, and now the new chicken leg menu paired with delicious fries, seasoned rice and drool-worthy desserts including the delectable Chocolate Lava Cake and Double Chocolate Chip Cookie. There are plenty of delicious options to choose from. "The brand literally says - Killer wings at Stupid prices. We love our chicken just as much as our customers and have a belief that it should be offered at an affordable price so everyone can enjoy a delicious chicken experience for any occasion. Our delivery-only virtual kitchen brand is designed to deliver hot, fresh, juicy, and crunchy chicken right to your doorstep." said Payal Singh, Head of Marketing. Head to the It's Just Wings website at www.itsjustwings.in or order directly from Zomato and Swiggy to enjoy these new Killer Chicken legs at stupid prices or any of the wide range of delicious chicken options available in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, and Chandigarh. This story is provided by GPRC. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/GPRC) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 15 (ANI/BusinessWire India): K J Somaiya Institute of Management, a Constituent Institute of Somaiya Vidyavihar University, has earned the prestigious AACSB accreditation recently. K J Somaiya Institute of Management's commitment to earning accreditation is a true reflection of its dedication - not only to its students, alumni network, and greater business community but to the higher education industry as a whole. The addition of the K J Somaiya Institute of Management to the network of AACSB-accredited business schools would have a lasting positive impact for their institution, both locally and globally. On this occasion, Samir Somaiya, Chancellor, Somaiya Vidyavihar University expresses his joy, saying that, "This accreditation reinforces our commitment to quality in all that we do and gives us a strong platform and recognition as we seek to continuously improve our curriculum, teaching and research in our journey to prepare future leaders in management in an ever changing world." Synonymous with the highest standards of excellence since 1916, AACSB (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) provides quality assurance, business education intelligence, and professional development services to over 1,600 member organizations and more than 850 Accredited business schools worldwide. The association educates students, parents, employers, and counselors about accreditation and how to choose a quality business degree program that will fit their needs. AACSB Accreditation ensures a school is providing its students with a challenging, relevant education that prepares them for the business world. Globally, less than 6% of all schools offering degree programs in business at the bachelor level or higher worldwide hold AACSB accreditation. Speaking about the accreditation, Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor of Somaiya Vidyavihar University said, "A giant leap for the Somaiya Vidyavihar University Institute of Management in the global arena of quality teaching and research in business and management education." The accreditation process is a rigorous process that ensures business schools are delivering the best in business education. When schools display the AACSB Accreditation seal, it sends a signal to the world that graduates and alumni from their institution are prepared to lead in today's competitive, global business environment. AACSB Accreditation ensures relevancy and currency through active engagement with the business or accounting community and the demand for qualified faculty who are experts in their field. Dr Monica Khanna, Director, K J Somaiya Institute of Management stated, "I am very happy that K J Somaiya Institute of Management has earned the AACSB Accreditation in the 40th year since its establishment in the year 1981. The AACSB Accreditation will help the Institute in developing global footprints and facilitate student and faculty exchange, research collaborations and enhance our reputation among the various stakeholders." K J Somaiya Institute of Management, established in 1981, is consistently ranked among the Top-20 management institutes and Top 10 private sector B-schools in India. The institute offers Doctoral Programmes, full time, part time & executive MBA programmes, and Masters in Computer Applications. Apart from the regular programmes, the Institute offers customized and industry specific certificate and executive development programmes for government bodies, companies, defense personnel and NGOs. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI/TPT): Recently, one of the leading technology companies, Shunya Ekai Technologies has officially announced the move to launch its educational initiative called RIOT Learning with its first center situated in Gurgaon which will be launched in June 2022. RIOT Learning will offer advanced-level technology courses in domains like Robotics, IoT, Blockchain, AI (Artificial Intelligence), Machine Learning, 3D Printing, and Product Design and Development through multiple courses, industrial training, summer training, and paid internships. The first-of-its-kind training facility will provide students with access to R & D (Research and Development) Labs, 3D Printing labs, Machinery & Equipment's, Mechanical Workshop and Production Studio. Additionally, all courses will include master classes in the field of Personality Development, Patent & IP, Legalities of Electronic and Cyber Laws. During the course tenure, students will also learn the entire process of designing, developing, and manufacturing products. The special assistance team at RIOT Learning will also offer various payment plans for eligible candidates, numerous offers, as well as equipment and computer rental. Talking about the vision and mission of launching RIOT Learning, Chintan Sareen, the founder stated, "My vision behind launching RIOT Learning is to bring in the new era of technical training in India closer because I certainly believe that students in India are full of academic potential. However, they don't get the deserved training, guidance, and mentorship to pursue their career and make a bright future for themselves. This physical training institute will ensure proper learning because these courses are very challenging to be taught online The physical training will ensure that the students who have enrolled in the technology courses get the beneficial experience, appropriate knowledge, collaborative learning and by getting access to various hardware and equipment infrastructure. India, without a doubt, has come a long way in the realm of technology, and through our new initiative we are certainly determined to contribute to this positive growth." Shunya Ekai Technologies is a global organization with office in India, Canada, and UAE. It is one of the emerging names in the domain of manufacturing and designing IoT devices and Robotics products. This story is provided by TPT. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/TPT) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Recently, Yogesh Joshi, the Director of Rapid Organic Pvt Ltd, one of the emerging and trusted brands in the segment of organic products, met the Governor of Rajasthan, Kalraj Mishra. Yogesh met the Governor at Raj Bhavan, Mount Abu where the latter was on a summer stay and Yogesh presented Mishra with a picture of Narmada Neer alongside some of the organic products produced by his company- Rapid Organic Pvt Ltd. Additionally, during the meeting with the Governor of Rajasthan, Yogesh Joshi also apprised Kalraj Mishra about the work being done by the Rapid Organic Pvt Ltd for the last 10 years in the northwestern state of Rajasthan. Yogesh Joshi also had a brief interaction with Kalraj Mishra regarding the need to promote the concept of organic farming in Rajasthan and the ways to overcome the challenges that are likely to come in the way ahead. Yogesh, during the long meeting, also demanded from the Governor to provide cooperation to make Rajasthan an organic state. On the other hand, Kalraj Mishra appreciated the work undertaken by entrepreneur Yogesh and praised the vision of Yogesh Joshi and asked him to continue his work in the future and guide the farmers about organic farming and organic products. Talking about the meeting, the director of Rapid Organic Pvt Ltd, Yogesh Joshi stated that "I am really happy to have met Kalraj Mishra, he certainly is a kind and a supportive person. I am really glad to have received such phenomenal support from him and his words are truly an encouragement for me. Organic Farming is something I am really invested in and I sincerely believe that it is the need of the hour and Rajasthan has immense potential to implement it." Based in Sanchore (Jalore, Rajasthan, India), Rapid Organic has been producing organic products since the last few years. More than 3000 farmers are registered with the brand in 6 different clusters across the vast desert state. They have nearly 1000 certified organic farmers and another 2000 farmers are under conversion who are actually in their either 2nd or 3rd year of certification process. Not only this, Rapid Organic is also engaged with IPM and PR free farming and one of the leading producer of IPM and PR free Cumin, Coriander Dill seed, Fennel, Quinoa, Fenugreek, kasuri Methi, Amaranth, Sesame and Psyllium with more than 5000 farmers. For their phenomenal contribution, they have been awarded as one of the top 100 MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) of the year 2019 by the Ministry of Micro, small and medium Enterprise in the presence of chief Guest Nitin Gadkari, Ministry of MSME and Transport. This story is provided by TPT. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) . A diverse portfolio helps investors hedge concentration risks. And while portfolio or investment diversification is important, locations or economies where you put your money is equally crucial. And when you turn towards international markets, you have the options of investing in developed markets, emerging markets, and frontier markets. Let us understand what each of these markets are, and how can one invest in them? While theres no one standard definition of each of these markets, experts point out that there are a number of characteristics that are hallmarks of each. For instance, usually have more advanced economies, better-developed infrastructure, and higher per capita income. Western economists consider $15,000 to $20,000 per capita GDP to be a sufficient range for developed status. That apart, developed economies are also characterised with highly developed capital markets, regulatory bodies and high household incomes. However, a high per capita GDP alone does not confer developed economy status without other non-economic factors such as the infant mortality rate and life expectancy. For example, the United Nations still considers Qatar, which had one of the world's highest per-capita GDP in 2021 at around $62,000, a developing economy. This is because the nation has extreme income inequality, lack of infrastructure, and limited educational opportunities for non-affluent citizens. Overall, various organisations including World Bank, the United Nations, MSCI, FTSE, and Standard & Poors consider about 25 nations as developed economies. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the US, and the UK These include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the US and the UK. According to the World Bank, countries with low, middle, and upper-middle incomes per capita, relative to incomes in other countries around the globe, are labeled as developing, or emerging. Developing countries or economies are those which do not enjoy the same level of economic security, industrialization, and growth like the developed countries. It includes the nations that do not have the economic strength of developed nations, but are in the process of becoming developed economies. It pegs per capital income for emerging markets between at $4,095 or less. But for investors, the emerging markets offer a greater amount of liquidity as well as stability. Emerging market countries include BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Besides, Mexico, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia are other developing economies. The third one is frontier market. They are somewhat less advanced capital markets in the developing world. These markets are in a country that is more established than the least . It is still less established than the emerging markets because it is too small, carries too much inherent risk, or is too illiquid to be considered an emerging market. Thats why they are sometimes called as pre-emerging markets. So, based on these criteria, frontier markets include the likes of Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and Nigeria. One of the easiest ways to incorporate stocks from various markets is to purchase shares in managed funds. Secondly, bear in mind the risks, liquidity, and growth potential of a given country before investing. That apart, investors must balance the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats before investing in a particular country. They should also make tradeoffs and place bets among debt, equity, domestic, international, growth and safer options. Battered by demonetisation, pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, the Indian economy has started showing some signs of revival now. In May, the number of employed people jumped by one million. It resulted in a drop in rates from 7.83% in April to 7.12% in May. Economists, however, are sceptical. Some say that it is difficult to get the real picture of from the methodology used by the Centre for Monitoring India Economy or CMIE. The same CMIE, however, recently conceded that more than half of the 900 million Indians of legal working age -- roughly the population of the US and Russia combined are not looking for a job at all. And amid these hopeful and gloomy numbers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced to give central government jobs to 1 million people in the next year and a half. But in February this year, the government had told Rajya Sabha that there were over 872,000 vacant posts in central government departments as on 1st March 2020. As many as 910,153 vacancies existed as on 1st March 2019 and 683,823 as on 1st March 2018. The government had also said that the Staff Selection Commission, the Union Public Service Commission, and the Railway Recruitment Boards had recruited 265,468 people during 2018-19 and 2020-21. India is still far behind the US, China and others in public sector employment. In 2015, there were nearly 39 million public-sector employees in China. This would mean 5 per cent of Chinas workforce had public sector employment. The corresponding figures for the UK in 2021 were 17 per cent, and for the EU, it was 18 per cent. In the US, 6.9 per cent of the total workforce was employed in the government in 2020. This does not include state government employment. If we were to assume that state employment is four times that of central government and armed forces employees, Indias total public sector employment would be in the vicinity of 20 million. Even after an addition of 1 million, India will still have only 2.2 per cent of its total workforce employed in the public sector. In August of 2020, a McKinsey Global Institute report had said that India needed to generate 90 million non-farm jobs between 2023 and 2030 in order to absorb new workers and an additional 30 million workers who could shift from farm work to non-farm sectors. The report had said that to absorb this influx, India would need close to 12 million additional gainful non-farm jobs every year starting in financial year 2023. This would be triple of the four million non-farm jobs created annually between 2012 and 2018. The government on Tuesday also announced a major reform in how soldiers will be recruited for the army, navy and airforce by way of the new Agnipath scheme. Under the model, soldiers will be recruited from those between the ages of 17.5 to 21 years. These 'Agniveers' will serve for four years. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that this scheme will increase employment opportunities with new skills in different sectors. Under this scheme, most soldiers will exit the service in four years. Out of the 45,000 recruited annually, only 25 per cent will be allowed to continue under permanent commission. According to one report, the model will make the permanent force levels of the country's armed forces much leaner. So, its net impact on employment generation remains to be seen. As reported by Business Standard, an urban job scheme along the lines of MNREGA is back in debate after a report commissioned by the Prime Minister's advisors recommended it. The report, commissioned by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, has recommended such a scheme based on its assessment that a gap between the labour force participation rate in rural and urban areas is widening. The government also has an ambitious target of generating over 6 million jobs in five years from the production-linked incentive schemes. Meanwhile, in private sector, employers are reporting the most optimistic hiring outlook in eight years. Job creation is likely to see a boost in the September quarter. Even though offering a MNREGA kind of scheme in urban areas could have a significant impact on the central exchequer and the states, given the immensity of India's job creation challenges, is it time to bite the bullet? Due to the inclusion of a same sex kiss in Pixars new Toy Story spinoff Lightyear, the film has been banned in over a dozen Middle Eastern and Asian countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Kuwait. And, according to Reuters, a Chinese release seems unlikely. Whats the background here? In the scene, new character Alisha, a fellow space ranger to Buzz, shares a kiss with her partner. Originally, Disney cut the scene before employees at Pixar published an open letter accusing the company of demanding cuts and censorship of any overtly gay affection in its kids and family films. After the letter went public, the scene was quickly restored. Were the bans expected? According to a report by Variety, Disney never allowed Saudi censors access to the film, knowing it would not be approved for release in that country. Initially though, it was approved for release in the U.A.E. where censors have begun lightening their criteria slightly in recent years. However, that license to exhibit the film in the U.A.E. was revoked after a social media uproar in the region which accused the film and the studio of insulting Muslims and Islam by refusing to remove the scene. Malaysia has been trending in the oposite directions, increasing censorship of films seeking theatrical releases. ULEGI: Home of Our Dreams Director: Somtochukwu Onubogu Producer: n/a Format: Short film, 2d Status: Pre-production Looking for: broadcasters, distributors, producers/co-producer Budget: $592,000 Making a strong impression at the pitches was Somtochukwu Onubogus Ulegi: Home of Our Dreams, a 2d animated short film set in the near-ish future of 2160. It takes place in the eponymous city, a technological marvel that floats above a now completely submerged Lagos. The rest of the world is underwater too, devastated by climate disaster and seismic events. Interestingly, its protagonists are engineers, architects, and other big thinkers. The main character Seun is a descendant of the Great Architect of the floating city, and along with his friends a seismologist and a silent genius Seun goes up against the oppressive, secretive big tech company Suretech, which attempts to suppress the truth about its connection to strange seismic activity. As many contemporary directors interested in sci-fi now do, Onubogu consciously took heavy inspiration from Into the Spider-Verse and its Sony Animation counterpart The Mitchells vs the Machines, combining their expressive mix of 2d textures with 3d cg, but putting an African spin on it, represented in its mix of traditional African architecture with more futuristic, geometric designs and neon tones. A mixture of speculative, Afrocentric science fiction, Ulegi looks to be one of the most ambitious concepts of the session, and a project that would be exciting to see progress. Pepe N Tomati Director: Oluwaseyi Fajimi Producer: n/a Format: TV series, 26x11min episodes Status: Development Looking for: broadcasters, producers/co-producers, scriptwriters Budget: n/a Another conscious spin on popular western animation, Pepe N Tomati looks to supplant the surrealist, 2d childrens fantasy of Adventure Time and The Amazing World of Gumball into a Nigerian cultural context, full of delightful Yoruba language puns and exaggerated designs based around various foods. The director, painter, and designer Oluwaseyi Fajimi, constructed a quirky and vivid portrait of the backstory of this land of magic, one defined by ancient gods responsible for protecting local flora and fauna before tribalism broke them apart, resulting in the calling of a comet that destroyed the land and brought forth mutant monsters. A questing guild forms around the title characters, who are looking to make their fortune through monster hunting. Beyond the creations of Pendleton Ward and Ben Bocquelet, Fajimi found their concept in the sociological makeup of the city of Lagos, the divide between the island where the rich people live and the mainland where people like me live, the director wryly explained. A fun and politically-minded childrens piece with a sense of humor as well as the potential for great depth to its world building, the project is a mix of high fantasy with Yoruba tradition and theology. Tejumade Director: Adebimpe Adebambo Producer: n/a Format: Feature film, 2d and 3d animation Status: Development Looking for: broadcasters, distributors, producers/co-producers, directors, scriptwriters Budget: $10.5 million Taking a more spiritual approach to fantasy steeped in Yoruba culture, visual artist/fashion designer/costume designer Adebimpe Adebambo looks to build on her own experiences with family in a fantasy film. Also citing global misogyny as an inspiration, Adebambo wanted to make Tejumade with a boldness that defies her feelings of being pushed into the background as a woman in the arts. A mix of hand-drawn 2d and 3d animation, the English and Yoruba-language feature takes place in Apata, a verdant and peaceful kingdom in Yorubaland. Tejumade is an ecological fable as much as it is a feminist story. The devastation of the land linked with the burgeoning independence of its main character are at the forefront of the project. Its narrative follows the eponymous 16-year-old Princess Tejumade, born to a royal couple under mysterious circumstances; her arrival is tied to the balance of the ecosystem and the survival of the last Iroko tree. The feature is still in the early stages of development, but Adebambo has already made a short film of the same name from part of the story. Correction: In our original description of Tejumade, we incorrectly referenced the filmmakers relationship to her own father as an inspiration for the films narrative, which was true of another project pitched during the session, but not of Tejumade. The current description is accurate, confirmed by the Adebambo. Open letter to Kelowna-Mission MLA Renee Merrifield re. her column Tax break at the gas pumps would help British Columbians (Castanet, June 14) Ms Merrifield, Im afraid your proposed reduction in gasoline taxes is ill-fit to solve the price-problems in our province. Theres an excellent example of this policy-failure playing out right now in Germany. At the beginning of June, the federal government of Germany brought forward a rebate of 0.30 per litre for gasoline and 0.15 per litre of diesel. In the few days after the rebate was in effect, gas prices indeed fell by almost 30 and 15 cents respectively. Today however, the prices have nearly returned to pre-rebate levels. This was despite lower numbers of cars driving on the motorways because of a new 9 monthly railway ticket for country-wide regional transit. The federal agency responsible for collusion and cartels has announced an investigation. The is an accusation energy companies just pocketed the rebate. Its important to think twice about policies like this one. Not only could it prove useless in reducing real prices, it would also rob us of tax revenue that could be used to fund alternative transit options. Its very difficult to solve the problem of increasing goods prices. Whats not difficult, however, is enacting better urban design policy that creates real alternatives to car-ownership. Imagine how much more affordable Canada could be if you didnt need to own a car to be a functioning member of society. Spencer Lupul Clearly (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau does not appreciate the irony of advising everyone to get a booster shotas he has didwhen he has now caught COVID-19 for the second time. He is hardly a poster boy for the efficacy of the vaccine. He then goes on to speculate that he feels OK because he "had his shots". This is surely one of the weakest arguments for the vaccine, since it is totally impossible to prove or disprove. He says "let's protect our healthcare system". Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't our healthcare system there to protect us, not the other way round? This is symptomatic of his whole government, it no longer serves the people. We are expected to follow its ideology and anyone who doesn't is demonized. It is now busy trying to push bill C-11 through Parliament, which will give the CRTC (an independent public authority that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage) unprecedented powers to monitor and, if it considers it necessary, censor not only what we receive via TV and radio, but also streaming services and social media. When the state decides what is suitable for its citizens, it is a step too far. We do not need a government that decides what is information and what is misinformation, we are grown-ups and we can decide for ourselves. Peter Emery, Kelowna Photo: CTV News More than 10,000 visitors were ordered out of Yellowstone as unprecedented flooding tore through the northern half of the nations oldest national park, washing out bridges and roads and sweeping an employee bunkhouse miles downstream, officials said Tuesday. Remarkably, no one was reported injured or killed. The only visitors left in the massive park straddling three states were a dozen campers still making their way out of the backcountry. The park, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, could remain closed as long as a week, and northern entrances may not reopen this summer, Superintendent Cam Sholly said. The water is still raging," said Sholly, who said more wet weather was forecast this weekend that could cause additional flooding. The flooding hit historic levels in the Yellowstone River after days of rain and rapid snowmelt and wrought havoc across parts of southern Montana and northern Wyoming, where it washed away cabins, swamped small towns, knocked out power and flooded homes. It hit the park just as a summer tourist season that draws millions of visitors was ramping up. Instead of marveling at the site of grizzlies and bison, burbling thermal pools and the regular blast of Old Faithfuls geyser, tourists found themselves witnessing nature at its most unpredictable as the Yellowstone River crested in a chocolate brown torrent that washed away anything in its path. It is just the scariest river ever, Kate Gomez of Santa Fe, New Mexico, said Tuesday. Anything that falls into that river is gone. While no one has been reported killed or injured, waters were only starting to recede Tuesday and the full extent of the destruction wasnt yet known. Sholly said the backpackers who remained in the park had been contacted. Crews were prepared to evacuate them by helicopter, but that hasnt been needed yet, he said. Sholly added he didnt believe the park had ever shut down from flooding. Gomez and her husband were among hundreds of tourists stuck in Gardiner, Montana, a town of about 800 residents at the park's north entrance. The town was cut off for more than a day until Tuesday afternoon, when crews reopened part of a washed away two-lane road. While the flooding cant directly be attributed to climate change, it came as the Midwest and East Coast sizzle from a heat wave and other parts of the West burn from an early wildfire season amid a persistent drought that has increased the frequency and intensity of fires that are having broader impacts. Smoke from a fire in the mountains of Flagstaff, Arizona, could be seen in Colorado. Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said a warming environment makes extreme weather events more likely than they would have been "without the warming that human activity has caused. Will Yellowstone have a repeat of this in five or even 50 years? Maybe not, but somewhere will have something equivalent or even more extreme, he said. Heavy rain on top of melting mountain snow pushed the Yellowstone, Stillwater and Clarks Fork rivers to record levels Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Officials in Yellowstone and in several southern Montana counties were assessing damage from the storms, which also triggered mudslides and rockslides. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte declared a statewide disaster. Some of the worst damage happened in the northern part of the park and Yellowstones gateway communities in southern Montana. National Park Service photos of northern Yellowstone showed a mudslide, washed out bridges and roads undercut by churning floodwaters of the Gardner and Lamar rivers. In Red Lodge, Montana, a town of 2,100 thats a popular jumping-off point for a scenic, winding route into the Yellowstone, a creek running through town jumped its banks and swamped the main thoroughfare, leaving trout swimming in the street a day later under sunny skies. Residents described a harrowing scene where the water went from a trickle to a torrent over just a few hours. The water toppled telephone poles, knocked over fences and carved deep fissures in the ground through a neighborhood of hundreds of houses. The power was knocked out but restored by Tuesday, though there was still no running water in affected neighborhood. Heidi Hoffman left early Monday to buy a sump pump in Billings, but by the time she returned her basement was full of water. We lost all our belongings in the basement, Hoffman said as the pump removed a steady stream of water into her muddy backyard. Yearbooks, pictures, clothes, furniture. Were going to be cleaning up for a long time. On Monday, Yellowstone officials evacuated the northern part of the park, where roads may remain impassable for a substantial length of time, Sholly said in a statement. But the flooding affected the rest of the park, too, with park officials warning of yet higher flooding and potential problems with water supplies and wastewater systems at developed areas. The rains hit just as area hotels have filled up in recent weeks with summer tourists. More than 4 million visitors were tallied by the park last year. The wave of tourists doesnt abate until fall, and June is typically one of Yellowstones busiest months. It was unclear how many visitors to the region remained stranded, or how many people who live outside the park were rescued and evacuated. Mark Taylor, owner and chief pilot of Rocky Mountain Rotors, said his company had airlifted about 40 paying customers over the past two days from Gardiner, including two women who were very pregnant. Taylor spoke as he ferried a family of four adults from Texas, who wanted to do some more sightseeing before heading home. I imagine theyre going to rent a car and theyre going to go check out some other parts of Montana somewhere drier, he said. At a cabin in Gardiner, Parker Manning of Terre Haute, Indiana, got an up-close view of the roiling Yellowstone River floodwaters just outside his door. Entire trees and even a lone kayaker floated by. In early evening, he shot video as the waters ate away at the opposite bank where a large brown house that had been home to park employees, who had evacuated, was precariously perched. In a large cracking sound heard over the river's roar, the house tipped into the waters and was pulled into the current. Sholly said it floated 5 miles (8 kilometers) before sinking. In south-central Montana, flooding on the Stillwater River stranded 68 people at a campground. Stillwater County Emergency Services agencies and Stillwater Mine crews rescued people Monday from the Woodbine Campground by raft. Some roads in the area were closed and residents were evacuated. The sheriff's office said it would assess damage when waters receded. The towns of Cooke City and Silvergate, just east of the park, were also isolated by floodwaters. In Livingston, residents in low-lying neighborhoods were told to leave and the city's hospital was evacuated as a precaution after its driveway flooded. Officials in Park County, which includes Gardiner and Cooke City, said extensive flooding throughout the county had made drinking water unsafe in many areas. The Montana National Guard said Monday it sent two helicopters to southern Montana to help with the evacuations. In the hamlet of Nye, at least four cabins washed into the Stillwater River, said Shelley Blazina, including one she owned. It was my sanctuary, she said Tuesday. Yesterday I was in shock. Today Im just in intense sadness. The Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs crested at 13.88 feet (4.2 meters) Monday, higher than the previous record of 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) set in 1918, according the the National Weather Service. Yellowstone got 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) of rain Saturday, Sunday and into Monday. The Beartooth Mountains northeast of Yellowstone got as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service. Photo: The Canadian Press A Dutch police officer has described finding cash, a passport and a computer hard drive hidden inside a stereo in the home of the man accused of extorting New Westminster teenager Amanda Todd more than a decade ago. Lt. Erik Verstraten told the B.C. Supreme Court jury trial for Aydin Coban that he found 10,000 euros in cash and a passport belonging to the man while searching the bungalow near the Dutch city of Tilburg in January 2014. Coban has pleaded not guilty to charges of extortion, harassment, communication with a young person to commit a sexual offence and possessing child pornography. Verstraten, who was working with the child exploitation unit at the time, says he found the items after he opened a box for a stereo system and noticed the speakers were still wrapped in plastic, while the stereo itself was not, which he thought was strange. He says he took the stereo apart and found the items in a box wrapped with tape. At the start of the trial last week, Crown prosecutor Louise Kenworthy told the court that Todd had been the victim of a persistent campaign of online "sextortion" from November 2009 to February 2012, before her death at age 15 in October that year. She said one person had used more than 20 usernames to contact the Port Coquitlam teen, threatening to send her friends and family photos that showed her exposing her breasts unless she performed sexual acts in front of a web camera. Kenworthy said the Crown expected to present evidence to show that the accounts were operated by Coban, and to call witnesses including an RCMP officer who examined the contents of computers and hard drives seized from Coban's home. During Verstraten's testimony, the jury saw photos taken inside the bungalow showing a kitchen counter cluttered with unwashed dishes and bedrooms with boxes and clothing strewn around. Several photos showed an acoustic guitar lying under a bed with a pouch containing more cash tucked inside the instrument. The jury also heard Tuesday from a man who testified that he and Coban were childhood friends in Tilburg. Adem Gokcinar appeared remotely to testify and spoke through an interpreter, telling the court that the pair had lost touch around 2004 but reconnected in 2011. He said they would spend time together and he helped Coban move into the bungalow several months before the accused was arrested in January 2014. Coban was living alone and had a laptop and a desktop computer, he said. Under cross-examination, Gokcinar agreed that Coban had created pamphlets to advertise that he could fix computers and replace old hard drives. The witness also agreed that Coban was a neat and tidy person, who didn't like messy and unclean places, and his home was often tidy when Gokcinar visited. Photo: The Canadian Press It was "absolutely unacceptable" that any Canadian representative attended a party at the Russian Embassy in Ottawa last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday. "It never should have happened, and we denounce it thoroughly," Trudeau said during question period in the House of Commons when pressed by interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen. The Globe and Mail reported on Sunday that Yasemin Heinbecker, the deputy chief of protocol at Global Affairs Canada, had attended a party at the embassy last Friday to celebrate Russia Day. Russia Day, which is celebrated on June 12 every year, is the national holiday of the Russian Federation. It marks the adoption of a 1990 declaration that sparked constitutional reforms and ultimately, the end of the Soviet era. Bergen asked the prime minister Tuesday why a government that supports Ukraine would send a representative "to their enemy's house to enjoy champagne and caviar." Bergen said she hoped Trudeau apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trudeau said he spoke by telephone with Zelenskyy for 45 minutes on Tuesday about Canada's support for the embattled country that Russia invaded in February. "President Zelenskyy and I had an extremely positive conversation where this issue did not come up, because obviously there are much more important issues," he said. On Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told the House of Commons that she is angry about the party, and her department has apologized. She told reporters on Tuesday that she didn't know Heinbecker was attending the party in advance and that she did not seek an explanation from her office about why it was approved, because "I would never have approved it, so there's no explanation." Joly said she had a "tough conversation" with her staff and deputy minister Monday, and that she has also spoken with her Ukrainian counterpart. In a tweet posted Saturday, the Russian Embassy in Canada said the event was attended by Russian and Canadian media, "representatives of Canadian society" and Global Affairs Canada. It also said Oleg Stepanov, Russia's ambassador to Canada, gave a speech noting that June 12 also marks the 80th anniversary of Russian-Canadian diplomatic relations. Photo: The Canadian Press Quebec provincial police officers who responded to an emergency call that left a 17-year-old dead testified on Tuesday about a quick interaction with a teenager in crisis that lasted just over a minute. Their testimony was part of a coroner's inquest into the 2018 police shooting of Riley Fairholm, who was shot in the head by a police officer in the parking lot of an abandoned restaurant in Lac-Brome, Que., about an hour southeast of Montreal. Sgt. Wallace McGovern told the inquest he became increasingly uncomfortable as an armed teenager advanced toward officers in the early morning of July 25. He was going back and forth and each time he would come toward us, he would come closer toward us, always with his weapon pointing everywhere," McGovern said. Provincial police at the time did not know that it was Fairholm himself who had called 911 about a man with a gun in the rural Quebec town in the province's Eastern Townships. The 911 dispatcher put Fairholm through to McGovern. The sergeant told the inquiry he asked the caller to describe the armed assailant. McGovern said the caller described a teen dressed in dark clothing, wearing a long-sleeved shirt, with a dark cap and a backpack. McGovern said the conversation with Fairholm took place as six officers huddled to map out a plan should they have come across the suspect. He said he didn't make a connection between the 911 caller and the Fairholm he encountered in the parking lot a teenager dressed in black and waving his arms and screaming with a pistol in hand. When the officers arrived on scene, McGovern started talking to Fairholm through a loudspeaker. The sergeant said he asked the teenager in English to drop a weapon, which police discovered later was an air pistol. The sergeant said he cracked open his car door and tried to get out but his partner told him to stay inside. He said that as he was closing the car door, he heard Fairholm say he had been planning this day for five years. "My first reaction was to get out (of the car) and make a verbal contact with him; it looked like a teenager and my partner grabbed my arm and told me not to; it was too dangerous," McGovern said. McGovern said he used the loudspeaker to ask Fairholm to drop the weapon. The sergeant said he repeated his demand at least three times. He said he was in his patrol car and couldn't hear Fairholm respond. I was hoping he would drop his weapon and I knew there was only three outcomes: he would either drop his weapon, start shooting at us or the way he was acting and pointing toward us somebody would stop the threat," McGovern said. McGovern said he didn't see where the shot came from, but he said he knew one of his colleagues had fired on Fairholm. It wasnt very long; I said in my report it was one to two minutes and obviously it was closer to one minute," McGovern said. Fairholm had a faint pulse, but police did not perform CPR on him, McGovern said. Genevieve Racine, another police officer on the scene, told the inquiry that officers didn't have proper first aid equipment on hand and that she tried to stem the bleeding from the head wound. Racine discussed encountering Fairholm's parents at the hospital. She said they had several tense exchanges, including one involving the teen's mother, who discovered that police had killed him and that he hadn't killed himself. "I had a mother in front of me and I couldn't hide the truth from her," Racine said. The shooting was investigated by Quebec's independent police watchdog, and the Crown decided not to lay charges. Fairholm's family has been critical of the provincial police and Quebec's independent police oversight agency, known as the Bureau des enquetes independantes, for a lack of transparency. For his part, McGovern offered his sympathies to Fairholm's family. He was asked by the inquiry lawyer if the result would have been different had he been able to speak with the teenager for a longer period of time. I have no idea it would have changed anything, McGovern responded. But the sergeant added that three years later, he responded to a call involving a Cree man threatening to kill himself with a rifle. McGovern said it took three hours, but he was able to bring the situation under control, adding that the man thanked him for his patience. "Time sometimes works for you," McGovern said. Photo: The Canadian Press Canada's housing market continued to cool last month with the country's real estate association finding home sales dropped by nearly 22 per cent since last year and almost nine per cent between April and May. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said Wednesday that on a year-over-year and non-seasonally-adjusted basis, sales amounted to 53,720, a fall from 68,598 in May 2021.Seasonally-adjusted sales for the month totalled 42,649, down from 46,644 in April. Ultimately this has been expected and forecast for some time a slowdown to more normal levels of sales activity and a flattening out of prices, said Shaun Cathcart, CREAs senior economist, in a release. What is surprising is how fast we got here." The moderation came after the country rang in the new year with soaring prices and a torrid pace of sales that prompted provinces and the federal government to eye a suite of cooling measures. Ontario, for example, increased a tax on non-resident homebuyers from 15 to 20 per cent in March and broadened the policy to the entire province instead of just the Greater Golden Horseshoe. But even more impactful than the patchwork of policies has been rising interest and mortgage rates, which economists attribute much of the cooling to. Realtors now notice prospective buyers negotiating more than they were able to in previous months, while sellers are still coming to terms with how the market has shifted and some are even holding back on listing their homes. As a result, CREA found May's sales resembled the levels of activity seen in the second half of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began, but noted sales decreases were steeper in April. May sales were down in three-quarters of all local markets, led by regions like the Lower Mainland in British Columbia, Calgary, Edmonton, the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa. The association now expects 568,288 properties to change hands this year, a 14.7 per cent decline from the 2021 record but still the second-highest annual figure ever. It predicted sales will edge back a further 2.8 per cent to 552,403 homes in 2023. However, there will be little relief in prices. CREA forecast the national average home price will rise by 10.8 per cent on an annual basis to $762,386 in 2022 and expects the largest gains to come from the Maritime provinces, Ontario and Quebec. Then, the national average home will rise by another 3.1 per cent to $786,282 in 2023. The average seasonally-adjusted price in May sat at $700,438, down nearly four per cent from $728,171 in April. The average non-seasonally-adjusted price was $711,316, up roughly three per cent from $687,595 the year before. New listings climbed 4.5 per cent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from 70,971 in April to 74,145 in May, as Montreal saw an increase in new supply. On a non-seasonally-adjusted basis, new listings totalled 100,643 last month, up more than six epr cent from 94,704 in May 2021. Photo: The Canadian Press Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller says Pope Francis's upcoming trip to Canada remains unchanged at the moment, but the pontiff's health is an "extreme concern." Miller's comments come after the Vatican announced last week the 85-year-old Pope would reschedule an upcoming trip to Africa to avoid interrupting therapy he is undergoing for his knee. His trip to the Congo had been scheduled to take place from July 2 to July 7, just weeks before he is set to travel to Canada to deliver a long-awaited apology to Indigenous people for the Catholic Churchs role in running residential schools An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend these church-run, government-funded institutions, where physical and sexual abuse, as well as neglect, were rampant. Pope Francis apologized to First Nations, Inuit and Metis delegates who travelled to the Vatican earlier in the year but survivors hope to see him deliver an apology on Canadian soil. Miller says Pope Francis's upcoming trip to Edmonton, Quebec City and Iqaluit remains on track, but his "precarious health is an extreme concern." Photo: Colin Dacre / file photo While Ottawa moves to suspend its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for air travel and federal employees, unvaccinated British Columbians are still facing obstacles while trying to visit loved ones in the hospital. B.C.s proof-of-vaccination policy for hospital visitors has been enforced sporadically from when it was first announced last fall, with numerous exceptions carved out for visits related to compassionate care, critical illness, palliative for pediatric care, labour and delivery. Frontline healthcare staff are saddled with making the determination of whether a visitor is eligible for an exception, causing significant anxiety for some unvaccinated visitors. Kelowna resident Wendy, whos last name is not being published for the privacy of her son, was trying to visit him at Kelowna General Hospital after he was attacked and badly hurt downtown on June 4. Her son, who is 29, was diagnosed with cancer a decade ago and picked up an addiction to opioids that has progressed to heroin. He lives a street-entrenched lifestyle. Wendy, who was in Alberta at the time, called the hospital to check on him and was told she would not be able to visit without proof-of-vaccination. The thought that we couldn't go and see him was devastating. I can't even tell you how devastating that was. Like my heart almost stopped beating, she said. After doing some research, she learned she may be eligible for an exception. And on her first visit, she was allowed to visit him with little resistance at the front door. But in the following days and visits, she says she had to resort to a combination of pleading and arguing to be allowed to visit her son, with experiences varying wildly depending on who is manning the front door of KGH. Wendy described the situation as humiliating and demoralizing. We all have reasons why we chose to take the vaccine and not take the vaccine. That's a personal choice, right? I don't discriminate over anybody or judge anybody, she said, adding society has to move on" from mandates. B.C. is somewhat of an outlier in Canada in requiring visitors to hospitals be vaccinated, although some individual hospitals in Ontario are still requiring it. Hospitals in that province are individual corporations managed by a board. Nova Scotia also still lists an active policy on its website. Mutations in the COVID-19 virus means vaccine protection has waned significantly. While two-doses of the vaccine still provides protection against serious illness, the same cant be said about contracting the virus. A large study published in March in the New England Journal of Medicine found people who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine had no protection against contracting the Omicron variant after 20 weeks. People who received two doses of Pfizer had just 9% protection after 25 weeks. Moderna drops to 15% after 25 weeks. Booster doses increase protection significantly, but boosters are not required to be considered fully vaccinated in B.C. and able to visit hospitals. In a statement to Castanet, the B.C. Ministry of Health says the provinces healthcare facilities treat the most vulnerable in society, so it is important that we maintain this important layer of protection for them. Public health bases all decisions to put in place or lift restrictions on a careful review of where we are in B.C. in this pandemic, the ministry continued. Similar restrictions are in place for visitors to seniors in long-term care, where the pandemic has been the most deadly. Photo: The Canadian Press Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Prisons are badly failing to comply with solitary confinement laws and regularly violating prisoners' rights, a new report by a group of Canadian senators alleges. The Liberal government signalled that Bill C-83, passed in 2019, would put an end to the practice of solitary confinement.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Prisons are badly failing to comply with solitary confinement laws and regularly violating inmate' rights, a new report by a group of Canadian senators says. The Liberal government signalled that Bill C-83, passed in 2019, would put an end to the practice of solitary confinement. But a report released Tuesday evening by a group of nine senators, which they cheekily titled Senators go to jail, raises alarm bells about continued widespread use of the practice. Parliamentarians have a legal right to access federal penitentiaries to view the conditions for themselves, and 34 senators have visited such facilities since the bill's passage. Prisoners told them they were not given meaningful human contact, time outside their isolation cells or access to mental health services, the report says, with some spending prolonged periods in some form of segregation. In some cases, living conditions were dire, with senators observing at one womens facility leaking roofs, mould and a prison cell where dried feces had not been cleaned from a wall. Their observations echo similarly alarming findings from the Senate human rights committee, the auditor general and the correctional investigator. This report is one of too many that chronicles the lack of oversight and the lack of adherence to the law, said Sen. Kim Pate, who is affiliated with the Independent Senators Group. Something significant has to change. The senators are pushing for the passage of Pates private bill, Bill S-230, which she says would address some of the oversight issues that have allowed problems to persist. For one thing, it would require corrections facilities to go through a court process if they wanted to isolate a prisoner for more than 48 hours. The bill would also amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to mandate that prisoners being isolated due to mental health issues be transferred to hospitals instead. The same amendments were rejected by the Liberal government in June 2019. The office of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who oversees the Correctional Service of Canada, has not yet responded to a request for comment. Photo: The Canadian Press Floodwaters are seen from the air in Abbotsford, B.C., on Nov. 23, 2021. November's floods in British Columbia that swamped homes and farms, swept away roads and bridges and killed five people are now the mostly costly weather event in provincial history. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward November's floods in British Columbia that swamped homes and farms, swept away roads and bridges and killed five people are now the most costly weather event in provincial history. The Insurance Bureau of Canada made the statement as it released the latest cost estimate of $675 million, and that's only for damage that was insured. The previous estimate was $515 million in losses, but the bureau says in a statement that much of the increase is due to business claims in places where commercial insurance is more available. In contrast, it says many residents were located in high-risk flood areas where insurance coverage isn't available, which could cost all levels of government "well into the billions of dollars." So-called atmospheric rivers flowed over southwestern B.C. for days in November, bringing record rainfall and quickly swelling waterways. Mudslides swept people away in their cars, rivers carved new routes and washed out highways and bridges, cutting off major highways into the Interior, which stopped the supply chain from the coast to the rest of the country. "While the insured losses from the November flood events are increasing, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of costs for this disaster will be borne by government," said Aaron Sutherland, a vice-president with the Insurance Bureau of Canada. The bureau is a member of the federal, provincial and territorial task force on flood insurance and says it has put forward options to create a residential flood insurance program that includes a public-private partnership model. It says that idea would help make affordable insurance available to residents in high-risk areas. Xi facing challenges against mankind, seeking solutions from global perspective: former Mexican Ambassador to China 09:10, June 15, 2022 By Peng Min ( People's Daily President Xi Jinping has left a deep impression on me for his vision and wisdom. Thats how Sergio Ley Lopez, former Mexican Ambassador to China, described the Chinese President in a recent interview with Peoples Daily. Chinese Ambassador to Mexico Zhu Qingqiao, upon invitation, attends a ceremony marking the packaging of the first batch of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines held at a plant of Drugmex in Queretaro, March 22, 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Chinese Embassy in Mexico) In February 2009, Xi, as then Chinese Vice President, visited Mexico at the invitation of the Mexican government. The visit came a year after the outbreak of the global financial crisis, which had brought severe impacts on the economy and peoples livelihoods globally. Through the visit, China hoped to learn the measures of the Mexican government to cope with the crisis, as well as enhance bilateral business communication and drive economic growth of both sides, recalled Ley Lopez, who now serves as the president of the Business Section for Asia and Oceania of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology. President Xi delivered a speech at a luncheon hosted by Mexican and Chinese entrepreneurs, which was simple, clear, and inspiring. He was determined and aware of what he wanted to accomplish, and he knew how he should fulfill his responsibility for his country and people, Ley Lopez said, recalling his first meeting with the Chinese President. Besides, he was open, frank, and broadminded. We saw a leader that was studying other countries experiences and full of personal charisma, Ley Lopez added. In April 2013, then Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto paid a state visit to China and attended the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2013. Ley Lopez, as a business representative, accompanied him on the trip. At the opening ceremony of the conference, President Xi stressed that as members of the same global village, we should foster a sense of community of common destiny, follow the trend of the times, keep to the right direction, stick together in a time of difficulty and ensure that development in Asia and the rest of the world reaches new highs, Ley Lopez said. As the first Mexican president attending the annual conference of the BFA, Pena Nieto emphasized that emerging economies in Latin America and Asia needed to cooperate with each other. He wanted to learn from Chinas experience and seek common development through his visit, Ley Lopez said. The first batch of 200,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine produced in China arrive in Mexico, Feb. 20, 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Chinese Embassy in Mexico) Pena Nieto invited President Xi to visit Mexico during their meeting, and the latter accepted the invitation, Ley Lopez told Peoples Daily, adding that to accelerate the development of bilateral relations, it needed to strike while the iron is hot. In June 2013, President Xi paid a state visit to Mexico. The mutual visits, which were paid in just two months, indicated the importance attached by the two countries on the development of their relations. It was during this visit, China and Mexico lifted their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. President Xi said friendship is like wine, the older, the better. The friendship between Mexico and China is like old tequila that gets better with age. The two countries share many common interests and responsibilities on major global issues, such as improving global economic governance and improving the reform of the global governance system, Ley Lopez said. Shortly after President Xis visit to Mexico, the two countries reached a number of framework and cooperation agreements. Though they are separated by the Pacific Ocean, they have further tightened their bond. In November 2014, Pena Nieto paid another state visit to China upon invitation and attended the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders Meeting. This time, Ley Lopez was still in the presidents delegation. When they were posing for pictures by the Yanqi Lake, where the venue for the meeting was, Pena Nieto introduced his delegation to Xi. When President Xi neared me, he said he remembered and appreciated me. He called me a good friend of China, Ley Lopez recalled. I still remember his friendly eye contact and firm handshake. Im proud of myself because my efforts to promote Mexico-China friendship and cooperation were recognized, Ley Lopez said. The former Mexican Ambassador to China is closely following the development of the Belt and Road Initiative. He believes it has built a bridge of peace, stability, and common development between countries and continents through infrastructure, trade, and investment cooperation. The interests to be considered should be the interests of all, which is a brilliant quote once cited by President Xi. In Latin America, theres also a similar saying that only by benefiting the whole world can an individual country benefit itself. When a head of state is facing the challenges against mankind and seeking solutions from a global perspective, the world will see his broad vision and mind, Ley Lopez noted. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) DG Khan set for US exports ICR Newsroom By 15 June 2022 Pakistan-based DG Khan Cement Co will be exporting 50,000t of cement to the USA for the first time. A ship, Tomini Felicity, is presently loading cement at KPT in 1.5t jumbo bags destined for Houston, Texas USA, Fareed Fazal, DG Khan director, said. The shipment is part of a contract that will see the cement producer export 100,000tpd to Texas after concluding a deal in August 2021, when Mr Fazal visited the US. Following the deal, there was a 10-month process to obtain the necessary certifications for the cement, including TXDOT, LDOT, NCDOT and SCDOT. This is a great opportunity for Pakistani cement manufacturers to explore a new established, stable market of cement. Previously, Pakistan has only been in unstable regional markets of Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh, with some supplies to Africa, Mr Fazal said, highlighting the considerable potential of the US market. Published under Fossil to recapitalise Lafarge Zimbabwe ICR Newsroom By 15 June 2022 Fossil Mining, the new owner of Lafarge Zimbabwe, has said it plans to keep the company on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange once its takeover of the cement producer is completed. According to the company, it intends to recapitalise Lafarge Zimbabwe, leading to an increase in cement output. Currently 40 per cent of Zimbabwes cement requirements are imported, an opportunity that Fossil wants to capitalise on by providing the market with readily available cement, the company said, as reported in The Insider. Holcim announced that it was leaving the Zimbabwe market in January this year. Despite multiple bidders for the business, Fossil Mining, which has no prior experience in manufacturing, was reportedly chosen because of its backing by local banks, pension funds and wealth managers. As part of a global sell-off of assets, Holcim has also recently got rid of its business in Malawi, part of its business in Ghana, its unit in Brazil, as well as exiting the Indian market in May 2022. Published under Re: Roy Exum: Make A Difference A wonderful opinion piece by David Hogg. I applaud Roy Exum for publishing it. But it will be impossible to make a difference when you live in Marjorie Taylor Greene's district or any Republican controlled Georgia districts in North Georgia. I wrote her asking why anyone needs to own an AR-15 type weapon. I got a form letter replying, with exceptional verbosity and no substance, that the Second Amendment is sacred, and she will be its protector. Her campaign literature shows her brandishing an AR-15 type weapon. Her district is a two issue district: gun control and abortion. While the abortion debate is likely over, the gun debate must continue. It's unfortunate that Greene will not listen to her constituents, and recognize the national polls showing that only +/-40 percent (2022 Gallup Poll) of the people nationwide are satisfied with existing laws. She has campaign literature with her brandishing AR-15 type weapons. Will the citizens of her district vote her out? I don't think so. I expect Greene to kow-tow to the NRA and listen only to those in her district who praise her for her stances. Because of Marjorie Taylor Greene, her followers, elected officials of her ilk, and Republican control of +/- 36 State Legislatures, Democracy is dead, and no one can make difference. Joe Warren * * * It would appear to me that Marjorie Taylor Greene is listening to her constituents as she seems to be very popular in her district. And you are wrong, Mr. Warren, democracy is not dead but it very well will be if the Democrats succeed in destroying the 2nd Amendment. Make no mistake, they want to destroy it because they realize it's the last defense against a tyrannical government. And we are well on the way to just that. Dennis Wooden * * * Hey Joe, write to the automobile industry asking: why do yall produce a vehicle with 300~400hp when the speed limit is 55 miles per hour? Or the motorcycle industry asking, why does your product have the capability to go 120 miles per hour. The AR-15 and the above mentioned products can seriously hurt or kill anyone if improperly used, by the operator. Troy Brown I enjoy Soddy Daisy. Truly I do. But over the past six years or so, everything in the town has been going downhill, and quite fast. There is simply no place to eat in Soddy Daisy that offers any nutritional value or variety. Burger King, McDonald's, Sonic, KFC, Taco Bell, Wendy's, Bojangles. This is what we have to feed our children. Now a couple people may say what about ... (click for more) In the last years of my mothers blessed life, she would watch two or three TV preachers in the afternoons. She adored it and darn near memorized the messages. Of course, I would kid her, asking how many of the viewers did she imagine would sip on a glass of communion during the telecasts. Oh, mother would never over-imbibe, not in a million years, but the combination of a great ... (click for more) An officer responded to a suspicious person with a water gun at 5200 Hwy. 153. The man was jaywalking on Highway 153 and the officer asked him to cross the street carefully so he could speak with him. The officer saw the man had a water gun around his shoulder. He was cooperative with officers and had no active warrants in NCIC. * * * An unknown person called police and reported a homeless man sleeping on a mattress on Spring Creek Road. Police arrived and checked on the man, who had no outstanding warrants in Tennessee. He told police he was moving along. * * * A woman at the Signal View Condos at 900 Mountain Creek Road told police her car was damaged overnight. There was damage on the driver-side of the front bumper, which was scratched and had a couple holes in it. There is no proof of how the damage was done. No estimates have been done yet. * * * Police responded to a disorder on Arbor Place Lane where they spoke with the caller, a man who said he was in a disorder with his girlfriend. The man said the argument was only verbal and that everything was fine. Police spoke to the woman who said she and her boyfriend got into a verbal argument and he called police. She said everything was fine. The man said he would leave and left to stay at a friends house. * * * An officer saw a black Nissan Altima with a green drive out tag on N. Chamberlain Avenue. The green drive out tags are no longer valid. Police initiated a traffic stop at approximately 2000 N. Chamberlain Ave. The Nissan Altima didnt stop and the officer didnt pursue. The driver appeared to be a black male with a short, twisted hair. The last known direction was south on S. Kelly. * * * A man on Carriage Parc Drive told police he was being harassed by phone by three other men. He showed officers pictures where the other men were making threats towards him. He wanted a paper trail in case anything was to ever happen. * * * An officer saw a car traveling at a high rate of speed on Highway 27. A traffic stop was initiated at 200 Highway 27. The driver was issued a warning. * * * An employee with Scenic South Properties at 406 Frazier Ave. said they had a situation with an application. The employee believed someone was using someone elses ID and Social Security retirement paperwork. The officer was able to get in touch with the applicant and she gave the officer the information for the other person on the application. Then the officer called that person and she said she was trying to get a place with the applicant. All the information checked out and the employee said she was thankful that it wasn't fraudulent activity. * * * A man on Central Avenue told police the battery was stolen from the boom lift rented from Herc Rentals. He said the replacement battery would cost around $136. The boom lift was parked in the parking lot of the new construction site. * * * A man on Brained Road called police and said the CARTA bus ramp was not all the way down and he fell off of the ramp. Police observed the ramp to be on the pavement with a corner of the ramp off of the ground. Police identified the driver of the CARTA bus. The man denied EMS. * * * Police observed an older, black Honda CRV traveling north on 4th Avenue at a high rate of speed. Police initiated a traffic stop at E. 23rd and S. Kelly for the speed and also a non-functioning, driver-side brake light. The Honda turned into the liquor store, then fled at a high rate of speed, failing to yield to police. The Honda was occupied by three black males. The last known direction was south on 4th Avenue. * * * A man on N. Germantown Road told police a female named Dede had taken some of his documents. He had come to this address to pick someone up but they were not there. He said Dede asked for a ride and he agreed to give her one. They only got around the corner when she changed her mind and asked to be taken back. He took her back and then she asked for him to pay her for her time. He told her to get out of the car at which point she got out and took some of his paperwork with his bank account numbers on them. He said she also tried to get physical before she got out of the car, but would not tell the officer what she did. The officer attempted to locate Dede in the room that he said she went to, but was unable. As temperatures reach into the 90s, many are turning to The Salvation Army for relief from the heat. Salvation Army case workers in Chattanooga and Cleveland give out free box fans to low-income individuals and families living in Bradley, Hamilton and Marion counties in Tennessee and in Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties in Georgia. Case workers also receive requests for utility assistance from families struggling to keep their utilities on. To help the homeless, The Salvation Army provides water at an outdoor hydrating station at 800 McCallie Ave. In Cleveland at 437 Inman St., water, showers and laundry services are available for homeless neighbors, as well. With the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, it is vital that we hand out bottled water to our homeless population, said Major Mark Smith. We are grateful for all the in-kind support of bottled water that we receive from Chattanooga Coca-Cola Bottling Company United. Currently, The Salvation Army is in need of financial assistance to support Beat The Heat. Elders Ace Hardware has extended a special discount to The Salvation Army to assist in the purchase of fans. For every $13 donated to The Salvation Army, we can purchase a quality box fan for our families in need. We anticipate needing 300 fans in total. said Major Mark. Food City is a major sponsor of our Social Services program. However, we currently need additional monetary support so we can provide utility assistance for low-income families. People interested in sending in monetary gifts to help cover the cost of box fans and utility bills can mail in donations to 822 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37403 or to 437 Inman Street, Cleveland, TN 37377. Mailed donations should include Beat the Heat on the envelope. To give online to contribute to this effort, visit the Beat the Heat giving page. Box fans can also be donated and dropped-off at both of The Salvation Army locations. The Salvation Army asks that if you or someone you know needs a fan, call 423 305-6200 for assistance in Chattanooga and in Cleveland, call 423 308-3467. To learn more about The Salvation Army of Greater Chattanooga, visit csarmy.org or call 423 756-1023. UTC is one of 15 stops on the upcoming U.S. tour of the Kyiv City Ballet from Ukraine. The tour marks the first time the Kyiv City Ballet has ever performed in the U.S. The company is scheduled for three Chattanooga performances in the newly renovated Roland Hayes Auditorium in the UTC Fine Arts Center Oct. 5-7. Ticket prices and purchase locations are not yet finalized and will be announced at a later date. The Chattanooga Ballet is co-sponsor of the Kyiv City Ballet performances in Chattanooga and will perform on Oct. 6-7. "This will be a major cultural event in the city and provides an opportunity for the city of Chattanooga to support these Ukrainian artists who are unable to return to their home," said Pam Riggs-Gelasco, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The U.S. tours first stop is Wilmington, N.C. on Sept. 16. Other locations on the tour include major cities such as New York, Chicago, Charlotte and Detroit and smaller cities such as Opelika, Alabama; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Jonesboro, Arkansas. The tour will include a full-length performance of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskys "Swan Lake, and a second, mixed repertory program of three ballets: "Thoughts, a contemporary ballet Tribute to Peace, a neo-classical work Men of Kyiv, a Ukranian folk dance With no knowledge that Russia would invade Ukraine the next day, the Kyiv City Ballet took one of the last flights out of the country on Feb. 23. The company traveled to Paris to begin a long-planned European tour. It has not returned home since. We are honored to share the beauty of ballet with U.S. audiences through Ukrainian artists, said the companys Artistic Director Ivan Kozlov. Touring the States for the first time with a range of ballets makes an important global statement. It demonstrates the resilience of the Ukrainian people. The companys principal dancer is Vsevolod Maevskiy, a former student of Mr. Kozlovs. Two of Ukraines prima ballerinas, Krystina Kadashevych and Oksana Bondarenko, will perform with the company on its U.S. tour. The Chattanooga Tourism Co. announce the awarding of $605.5K to 28 local culture, heritage, and arts partners through the second round of the Cultural Tourism Advancement Grant. This year's process was highly competitive, with 39 applicants requesting $1.3 million in assistance for events, enhancements, exhibits, and more. "We are proud to help elevate our tourism community through the CTA Grant," said Barry White, CEO and president. "This program is a great collaborative opportunity for us to support our partners in enhancing their offerings for our community's economic and social prosperity. The travel and tourism industry is a vital economic driver for Hamilton County, welcoming 15.6 million visitors annually, and we strive to ensure a constant pulse of positive and diverse experiences to excite the traveler's imagination in finding their way to Chattanooga." The 2022 CTA Grant was awarded to the following organizations: Association for Visual Arts, 4 Bridges Arts Festival Bessie Smith Cultural Center Chattanooga Presents Chattanooga Segway Tours Chattanooga Theatre Center Chattanooga Zoo Creative Discovery Museum Davis Waynes Friends of the Festival, Riverfront Nights Gate 11 Distillery High Point Climbing Hunter Museum of American Art Lookout Mountain Conservancy National Medal of Honor Heritage Center Oddstory Brewing Company & Taproom Outshine Adventures Sculpture Fields at Montague Park Songbirds Foundation SoundCorps Splash Summer Arts Festival Stove Works String Theory Tennessee River Gorge Trust Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum The Company Lab The Hot Chocolatier The Land Trust for Tennessee The Pop-Up Project CTA Grant funds are sourced from lodging taxes paid by visitors when spending the night in Hamilton County lodging establishments. With those visitor-generated funds, it inspires more people to visit and connect them with unique experiences. Each year, Hamilton County hosts over 15 million visitors who spend $1.5 billion in the community. On an average day, thats 43,000 visitors spending $4.1 million in the community; 15,000 of those visitors stay the night in hotels. Visitor spending is taxed, and those taxes result in each household saving $868 on their property tax bill each year. A healthy visitor economy is imperative to the lifestyle we enjoy and what makes Chattanooga the special place we all know and love, said officials. The grant is designed to enhance a wide range of tourism-related projects focused on increasing brand awareness for Chattanooga and driving visitor demand. Each grant supports the Chattanooga Tourism Co.'s mission of promoting and developing visitor experiences that enhance the economic and social prosperity of Hamilton County. In awarding funds, the greatest consideration is given to a project/program's ability to attract diverse audiences, create economic impact, encourage visitors to travel to or extend their stay in Hamilton County, enhance the visitor experience, collaborate with other local organizations/artists, and improve our quality of place. Stay up to date and find additional details on funded projects here. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has announced the application period for the 2022 Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Big Game Quota Hunts, the regular elk, youth elk, and WMA youth. The application is now underway through July 27. The WMA hunting instruction sheet lists locations and dates for each of the quota hunts along with drawing rules and regulations. Instruction sheets can be obtained and applications made for the hunts at any TWRA license agent, TWRA regional office or online at www.gooutdoorstennessee.com . Mailed applications will not be processed into the drawing system. Entries must be submitted before midnight (CDT) July 27. There is no fee for current Annual Sportsman License holders, Lifetime Sportsman License holders, or seniors possessing a Type 167 Annual Senior Citizen Sportsman License. For all other applicants, there is a non-refundable $12 permit fee for each drawing entered. There is a $1 agent fee for applications made at a license agent. When applying at a license agent, hunters must remain at the location while the application is processed to verify the information is correct on the receipt. For applications made on the internet, there is a $2 internet usage fee. If entering multiple quota hunts, a person must pay the permit and agent fee(s) for each quota hunt application submitted. The WMA (elk hunts excluded) priority point system gives a priority point for each year a hunter participates (this year a maximum of 13 points) without being successfully drawn for a hunt. Applicants drawn for a hunt last year will start over with a priority of zero. After all the drawings are conducted, leftover permits will be sold on-line, on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning Aug. 24 at 8 a.m. (CDT). The states 14th gun elk hunt will be held Oct. 8-14 with seven individuals selected to participate. Six of the participants will be selected through a computer drawing conducted by the TWRA. The seventh participant will be the recipient of a permit that is donated to a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), which is the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation. That permit will be issued in a raffle for the fourth year. New this year, Elk Quota Hunts applicants may select up to four hunt choices which is an increase from one choice in previous years. Applicants are still only eligible to be awarded one tag. Additionally, this will be the sixth year for an archery only hunt with seven permits. Elk archery hunt dates are Sept. 24-30. The Young Sportsman Hunt, where one tag is issued, is Oct. 1-7. Andie MacDowell Credits Growing Up in the South With Her Ability to Handle the Many Difficult Men Shes Worked With in Hollywood Actor Andie MacDowell admits to having worked with a lot of difficult men. But she also feels that she has done so successfully. She credits the training she received growing up in South Carolina. Yet, even as she shares details about her secret to success, MacDowell withholds certain details about all of the difficult men shes worked with. Andie MacDowell is as Southern as they come Steven Soderbergh Is Working on a Sex, Lies and Videotape Sequel With Andie MacDowell, Laura San Giacomo https://t.co/4t6BHurWSr Variety (@Variety) December 10, 2020 You could say MacDowell is a Southern lady. She was born in Gaffney, South Carolina, with the first name Rosalie (Anderson was her middle name). MacDowell went to Winthrop College in Rock Hill, South Carolina. She won the Spirit & Pride of South Carolina Award at the 2015 Beaufort International Film Festival in Beaufort, South Carolina. MacDowells Southern drawl was so strong in her first film, Greystoke: Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, that the studio dubbed her voice over using Glenn Closes. She even married her first husband in Asheville, North Carolina. Andie MacDowell has experienced difficult male co-stars Actors John Travolta, Andie MacDowell, and Ray Liotta in 1989 | Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Exhibiting that polite discretion the South is known for, MacDowell opted not to name names to Marie Claire when it comes to the difficult men shes worked with. She did say, I have worked with so many difficult men! Im really good with difficult men. I have great training because I grew up in the South. That means one is left to speculate about costars, directors, and producers. What makes this difficult is that MacDowell has worked with so many famous men. We can only hope it wasnt Dr. Bunsen Honeydew from Muppets Tonight. James Spader, a former real-life con man, comes to mind because his character in Sex, Lies, and Videotape is so creepy. But that is the character, not the actor. Could it be Gerard Depardieu from Green Card? John Malkovich wrapped up 1988s Dangerous Liaisons before starring opposite MacDowell in The Object of Beauty in 1991. MacDowell then worked with Bruce Willis in Hudson Hawk, Liam Neeson in Deception, and Tim Robbins on several Robert Altman projects. MacDowell worked with John Travolta on the 1996 fantasy film Michael. She worked with Michael Keaton on Harold Ramiss film Multiplicity. She also worked on a Wim Wenders movie before working with Martin Sheen on Shadrach. In 2001, MacDowell starred in Reaching Normal with Paul Rudd and then worked with Warren Beatty on Town & Country, Harvey Keitel on Ginostra, Tim Roth on The Last Sign, Tim Allen on The Six Wives of Henry Lefay, Dennis Quaid on Footloose, Channing Tatum on Magic Mike XXL, and Chevy Chase and Richard Dreyfuss on The Last Laugh. MacDowell feels sorry for difficult men Happy #GroundhogDay to all those who celebrate. Director Harold Ramis' 'Groundhog Day' (1993) starring Bill Murray as Phil and Andie MacDowell as Rita. pic.twitter.com/UBMDSY9Ehj The Academy (@TheAcademy) February 2, 2022 MacDowell did not say in what way so many men were difficult. But she did say she felt sorry for them, so perhaps they are not as ugly as we might speculate. She told Marie Claire, I was always really good at not letting it affect me. I let things roll off. Sometimes I watch bad behavior and feel sorry for the person whos behaving poorly, because they have to be suffering on some level to behave like that. Bill Murray was getting divorced when he filmed Groundhog Day with MacDowell. He complained that MacDowells hair drove him nuts. His affable image was damaged further when he got into a fight with Lucy Liu on the set of Charlies Angels. Aziz Ansari has also accused Murray of being handsy on his latest project, which has been shut down due to Murrays inappropriate behavior. Whoever the culprits and whatever their sins, it seems MacDowell has faced these men with a Southern smile and a bless their heart attitude. RELATED: Groundhog Day: Tom Hanks Once Admitted Hes Glad He Turned Down the Movie Saving Private Ryan was the first of many collaborations between Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. They produced HBO miniseries together, and reunited for films like Catch Me If You Can, Bridge of Spies and The Post. In a recent interview, Hanks revealed that Spielberg didnt want him to shoot anybody in the World War II classic. Hanks pushed back on the acclaimed director. Tom Hanks | CBS via Getty Images The New York Times published a new interview with Hanks on June 15. After talking about his upcoming movie, Elvis, The Times looked back on Hanks career. When it came to Saving Private Ryan, Hanks revealed he had to convince Spielberg to let him play a real soldier. Tom Hanks wasnt going to sanitize World War II in Saving Private Ryan By 1998, Hanks had made the transition for comedy to drama via films like Philadelphia, Apollo 13 and Forrest Gump. He still had to convince Hollywood he could be edgy. That would come later with The Green Mile and Road to Perdition. Even Spielberg wasnt sure if America was ready to see nice guy Hanks kill Nazis in Saving Private Ryan. RELATED: Tom Hanks War Movies: The Actor Makes so Many for a Very Emotional Reason On Saving Private Ryan Steven Spielberg said, I dont think I want to see John Miller fire his gun and kill Germans, Hanks told The New York Times. I told him: Im sorry, Steven. Youre not going to get me all the way over here and turn me into some other guy just because you dont want Tom Hanks to kill soldiers. Tom Hanks had the same argument on Forrest Gump Forrest Gump has scenes in the Vietnam War. Hanks said director Robert Zemeckis was also wary about having Forrest fire on the Vietcong. Theres the scene with the ambush in Vietnam, and Bob Zemeckis originally wanted Forrest to be confused and run away, Hanks said. I said, Bob, why am I playing a soldier who is really good at his basic training without then showing me slapping in my clip and firing a set of rounds? The actor did object to a direction in another movie The conversation came up because of a question about Charlie Wilsons War. Apparently, Hanks didnt want to show Wilson snorting cocaine. He won that argument with director Mike Nichols, too. It was never in the script to show Charlie Wilson snorting coke, Hanks said. I would have done it. I didnt care. Those kinds of choices are in every single movie. They battled all odds to save one. Watch Saving Private Ryan today on #MemorialDay. pic.twitter.com/kLBijXS4Yb Saving Private Ryan (@SavingPFCRyan) May 30, 2022 RELATED: Tom Hanks Once Said the Saving Private Ryan Cast Would Sleep in the Grass Between Takes However, Hanks reasoning was that a cocaine scene might have overshadowed the rest of Wilsons actions. Hanks related it to a deleted scene from the 1930s King Kong. King Kong picks up the log and knocks a bunch of guys off and they fall down into the ravine and break some of these viny things across the bottom. Thats all you see in the movie. In the first cut, though, those viny things were spider webs and out of a cave crawled the biggest spider you ever saw. What the filmmakers discovered was that after seeing those big spiders, the audience was not afraid of King Kong. so they cut it. There is that thing that can happen in a movie where, if you show the giant spider, it might blow your real story out of the water. Anyway, with Charlie Wilson, not snorting coke was not spiders in King Kong. Tom Hanks, The New York Times, 6/15.22 RELATED: Tom Hanks: Saving Private Ryan Had Less Gratuitous Violence Than Your Average James Bond Movie In this Dec. 15, 2020, file photo, a sign for Moderna, Inc. hangs on its headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. Moderna's experimental COVID-19 vaccine that combines its original shot with protection against the omicron variant appears to work, the company announced Wednesday, June 8, 2022. COVID-19 vaccine makers are studying updated boosters that might be offered in the fall to better protect people against future coronavirus surges. A sculpture outside of a Wittenberg church where Martin Luther once preached shows three small people in pointy hats, meant to be Jews, sucking from the teats of a large female pig. A fourth figure stands behind the sow, lifting up the pigs tail, and looking at its butt. The obscene and bizarre image has been there since at least 1290. Luther commented approvingly on the Judensau, or Jews sow, in the 1500s. And since 2018, a German convert to Judaism has been fighting in court to have it removed. The government installed a plaque in the 1980s, explaining that the sculpture and similar sculptures across Germany were part of the nations antisemitic history and meant to insult and alienate Jews. Michael Dullmann, 79, does not think thats enough. The Jewish sow is a call for murder and not just an insult, Dullmann told the German broadcaster ARD. He wants it moved to a museum. On June 14, however, the German Federal Court of Justice decided that the sculpture can stay. According to the high court, the explanatory plaque creates enough contextualization to counteract the reliefs otherwise offensive characterization of Jews. CT spoke with Thomas Schirrmacher, secretary general of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), about the court case, the controversy over the sculpture, and how German evangelicals are approaching the history of antisemitism. What is your personal opinion on the sculpture? Nowadays, I consider it impossible to leave them just as they are. My proposal is as follows: Place the originals in museums, with replicas somewhere in the church under glass, and ensure that in both places, they are accompanied by solid educational texts. At the original location, there should be a photo of the artwork with a short explanation and an indication of where the original can now be found. If the local state office for historic buildings does not permit the removal, then the artwork should be accompanied by a very visible statement of explanation. Can you explain the how antisemitism came to be literally carved into German churches? What is the history of antisemitism in European Christianity? Sadly, antisemitismor, more precisely, racism against Jews and conspiracy theories that Jews were behind most or all evilsgradually were built into Christian theology since the second century. This included not only discrimination against and persecution of Jews, but in additionwhich you will find in no other form of racisma conspiracy element: specifically, that the Jews killed the son of God. The term that was used was Gottesmorder, murderer of God, which even Hitler used. According to this, the Jews killed the son of God and thus did the evilest thing in history and therefore are complicit in all other evils as well. Exegetically, this claim is nonsense. The Gospels tell us that the leaders of the Jews called for the Romans to kill him, and that those leaders were split, with a majority of the Sadducees against Jesus and a majority of the Pharisees not against him, or later often even in favor of him. How did this legacy lead to the construction of statues such as the Judensau and their enduring presence on German churches? This antisemitism should have ended with the Reformation when there was a revival of Hebrew studies of the Old Testament. However, the Lutheran wing of the Reformation added to antisemitic theology by arguing that the Old Testament is Jewish and legalistic and seeking to prove that the Catholics were like the Jews and thus wrong. This antisemitism in theology found its liberal expression in higher criticisms view of the Old Testament as invented by Jewish priests who, for their own gain, gave the impression that these were old texts. It also found several evangelical expressions, such as in some forms of dispensationalism, where the Jews are imagined as the allies of the antichrist (prior to their conversion). The Reformation often destroyed or displaced symbols that they thought were idolatrous in churches they took over. But often symbols of Jews as the source of all evils stayed, as in Wittenberg. How have German evangelicals responded to the debate over the sculptures? The Judensau question has rarely reached the free churches, as the sculptures can only be found on old church buildings. The majority of evangelicals probably would just want to pull those sculptures down. Responses are quite different in each context and different for each denomination. For example, the Baptists worked on reckoning with their Nazi history very early, while we have free churches who only in the last decade started to research their own bad history. Outside Germany, the situation is quite diverse. An Israeli court convicted Mohammad el-Halabi, former Gaza director for World Vision International, on terrorism charges Wednesday. The Beersheba District Court ruled that he is guilty of being a member of a terror organization, providing information to a terror group, taking part in forbidden military exercises, and carrying a weapon. Halabi has not yet been sentenced. He is expected to appeal the ruling. Halabis attorney, speaking to reporters immediately after the verdict was handed down, rejected the fairness of the judgment of the court. All the judge said, if I want to summarize it in one sentence, [was]: The security forces cannot be wrong, they are probably right, Maher Hanna said. Israeli state prosecutors accused Halabi of aiding Hamas terrorists by diverting millions of dollars from World Vision International to arm militants in Gaza. Halabi and his supporters adamantly denied these charges and claim the Israeli authorities were merely looking for a way to disrupt humanitarian aid that was going to Palestinian children. World Vision has defended Halabi, arguing the available evidence does not support the governments claims the former director supported terrorism. He did not even have access to the amount of funds that authorities said he gave to Hamas. On Wednesday, the humanitarian aid group reiterated its significant concerns about this case and acknowledged with disappointment the decision issued by the Beersheva District Court. The statement went on to say that in our view there have been irregularities in the trial process and a lack of substantive, publicly available evidence. We support Mohammads intent to appeal the decision, and call for a fair and transparent appeal process based on the facts of the case. The text of the verdict is classified. A condensed version, released to the press, said the judges determined that Halabi was recruited by Hamas in 2004 and sent by his handlers to infiltrate World Vision. Observers were looking to see whether the verdict will reveal more evidence from the trial, where few details of the case against Halabi were revealed, with prosecutors citing national security concerns. The public version of the verdict, however, relied heavily on Halabis confession, which he has since tried to take back, saying it was coerced by security forces. The defendants confession, given in various ways, is detailed, coherent, with signs of truthfulness, the three judges wrote in their decision. They dismiss his retraction, saying his explanations for why he falsely confessed were unlikely. The judges also wrote that they had additional information corroborating the chargesbut it too is classified. Sources familiar with the prosecution told CT that a disgruntled former World Vision employee and fellow prisoner testified that he heard Halabi confess to the crime he was accused of. Most of the governments case against Halabi was presented in closed hearings. Hanna was also not allowed to see all the evidence against his client. In some cases, he told CT, he was shown only copies of documents and not allowed to take notes. The trialwhich has dragged on for more than half a decadehas been widely condemned by human rights advocates. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was not worthy of a democratic state. After repeated delays in the trial, the verdict was also drawn out without explanation. Closing arguments were completed in October 2021. The verdict was not given for another eight months. It is unclear if there is any explanation for that, but The Jerusalem Postreported that the Israeli High Court ran out of patience, ordering the Beersheba District Court to issue its verdict by June 16. After Halabis indictment in 2016, World Vision hired Deloitte and DLA Piper, one of the worlds largest multinational law firms, to conduct a forensic investigation, looking for the missing funds the Israeli authorities said had been diverted to terrorist activity. The investigators looked at more than 280,000 documents, interviewed more than 180 people, and probed every aspect of World Visions Gaza operation between 2011 and 2016. The firms conclusion: There was no evidence that Halabi did anything wrong. Brett Ingerman, the attorney who headed the audit, told CT that the investigation did not find even a hint of funds being diverted to Hamas or any schemes or collusions involving other World Vision employees or third parties. They also did not find any material evidence suggesting he was affiliated with, or worked for, Hamas, he said. World Vision shared the findings with governments that donate to World Vision and offered the report to Israel. Israeli authorities did not accept the terms of the offer, however, and have not commented on the audit in the process of the trial. Additional reporting from the US Agency for International Development and the Australian and German governments corroborated the results of the independent audit, saying they also found no evidence of wrongdoing. When the district court handed down its verdict on Wednesday, it said the details were confidential and cannot be made public. Michael Lynk, former United Nations special rapporteur, who has tracked human rights issues in the Palestinian territory since the 1960s, said the case was undemocratic and the prosecutions evidence questionable and legally suspect. Franz Kafka would feel right at home writing about this trial, he said. World Vision supports Halabis plan to appeal. The organization, which suspended all aid to Gaza after Halabis arrest, also hopes to restart operations to help the more than 2 million people who live on the strip of territory on the Mediterranean coast under a military blockade that has been in place for nearly 15 years. Founded in 1950, World Vision is one of the worlds largest charities, operating in nearly 100 countries, with an annual budget exceeding $3 billion. We are saddened that our work helping Gazas most vulnerable children has been disrupted for so long, and we hope to return to Gaza, Wednesdays statement said. We remain committed to improving the lives of vulnerable children in the region, and hope we will be able to advance our humanitarian work in the context of our longstanding cooperation with the relevant Israeli and Palestinian authorities. Halabis sentencing is set for July 10. As Bart Barber, a tall Texas pastor in a suit and tie, walked outside the convention hall in Anaheim, Southern Baptists stopped to congratulate their new president. They shook his hand, patted his back, and took pictures. When Barber put his name in the ring for SBC president, there was similar enthusiasm from friends who texted asking if he was excited to go for the position. But his feelings are heavier than that. He knows the baggage that comes from leadershiphis predecessor Ed Litton was attacked by opponents enough that he didnt seek a second year in office. It was the first time in 40 years that an SBC president didnt get reelected for another term. This is not the first difficult season serving Southern Baptists for me. Every way that I have served Southern Baptists has left scars, said Barber, who fought as a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustee to oust Paige Patterson over his response to abuse. His eyes got glassy during a Wednesday press conference, and his speech slowed to deliberate words. But this family of churches is worth it. Its worth enduring slings and arrows. Though Barber doesnt fit the SBC president moldhe pastors a rural congregation and not a megachurchhes active and vocal on Twitter, with nearly 17,000 following his folksy commentary and analysis. There, he told reporters, hes seen how the coarseness, the crass discourse thats out there in the world has come into our family of churches. He inherits ongoing denominational divides and the monumental task of moving abuse reform forward. His first priority is appointing the task force responsible for recommending next steps and creating an abuser database in the wake of the devastating report into SBC leadership that came out last month. As fellow Southern Baptists debate what can be done while protecting church autonomy, Barber believes SBC polity will be nimble and able to allow for the reforms needed to protect against abuse. Every place where we have wronged someone in abuse, he said, is a place where we have betrayed doctrine, where we have betrayed Scripture, where we have betrayed our Lord. Electing Barber was one of two major decisions toward the cause of abuse reform at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting on Tuesday, when the messengers also approved a database and new task force to oversee denominational changes. Barber defeated opponent Tom Ascol in a runoff on the first day of the meeting, garnering 61 percent to 38 percent of the 5,600 votes. Ascol, the Florida pastor who leads Founders Ministries, had been backed by the Conservative Baptist Network (CBN) and adopted its change the direction slogan against supposed liberal drift in the conservative evangelical denomination. For the past two years, the presidential race has reflected divides in the SBC. A faction led by the fundamentalist CBN resisted the call for a robust abuse investigation that waived attorney-client privilege and criticized some of the proposals that resulted from it. Barbers victory is seen as a promising sign that the recommendations for abuse reform will move forward in the year ahead. Its a win not only for the convention but for sexual abuse reform, said Josh King, lead pastor of Second Baptist Conway in Arkansas. Bart is going to be much more supportive and going to facilitate the direction the convention was going at this years meeting. His wife, Bible teacher Jacki King, acknowledged that the vote still revealed a pretty distinct divide in the denomination, but a majority are saying this is the way forward, that we have to rectify the ways weve gone wrong and care for survivors. When Southern Baptists were debating what the SBC could do under its polity of autonomous churches, Barber pledged to seek justice for survivors, writing, The same Bible that teaches us about local church autonomy teaches us more clearly and forcefully about loving one another. He also condemned efforts to reject the investigations findings due to Guidepost Solutions affirmation of LGBT pride month. Barber is also a Southern Baptist historian, having studied at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He wrote his dissertation about a historic schism among Baptists in his home state of Arkansas, a relevant background as Southern Baptists once again risk letting politics lead theology rather than the other way around. He was among the Southwestern trustees who called for the 2018 dismissal of past president Patterson. Barber said his experience as a trustee will inform his involvement in the Executive Committee, the North American Mission Board, and the International Mission Board as SBC president. Being Baptist isnt something he does; its who he is, wrote Dave Miller, Iowa pastor and the editor of the SBC Voices blog. Hes all in. He loves our seminaries. He loves our missions program. He loves our churches. He loves who we are and what we do. Barber served as the chair of the committee on resolutions for this years annual meeting. The committee offered two statements addressing sexual abuse and survivors, and his colleague Matt Henslee was president of the SBC Pastors Conference. Henslee, who nominated Barber, told CT that Barbers victory shows that we are united in the gospel and the call to make disciples. His election also represents an exception from the past several SBC presidents, who had bigger names and platforms. Barber, who has led the same congregation of a few hundred for the past 23 years, said he hopes by taking the position, other pastors will see a place for themselves in leadership, that the deep bench of leadership we have in the SBC can all lean in and be a part of this process. California pastor Glenn Nicolas voted for Ascol, whom he followed online and through his Founders Ministries podcast, and also felt the lingering effects of the divide in the 13.7 million-member denomination. Nicolas, who leads Light by the Bay Church in the San Francisco area, said hes leaving day one of the annual meetinghis firstwith concerns over the presidential outcome and the decision on abuse reform, which he fears could encroach on church independence. It feels like a stone in my shoe, he said. Theres still a lot of work to do. But, yes, God is still sovereign. With a wave of yellow ballots across a massive meeting hall in Anaheim, thousands of Southern Baptists voted to reform their denominations response to abuse, including adopting the database of abusers that survivors had long called for. Two survivors in attendance hugged and cried, and supporters of the measure rose in applause as the move passed at the SBC annual meeting on Tuesday afternoon. The much-anticipated vote came less than a month after the landmark investigative report into the Executive Committee (EC). While the EC kept a secret list of hundreds of abusers, the new Ministry Check website will keep a public record of credibly accused abusers who have served in Southern Baptist churches and entities. It will be maintained by an independent firm, which will take and evaluate submissions. A new task force, authorized by Thursdays vote and to be appointed by the new SBC president, will coordinate the creation of the website as well as evaluating additional reforms over the next year. North Carolina pastor Bruce Frank, the head of the previous task force that oversaw the investigation, spoke forcefully about the need for the convention to act and called the two recommendations that passed the bare minimum for what could be called reform. Without action, there isnt repentance, said Frank, who referred to the decision as a Kairos moment for the convention. Today we will choose between humility or hubris ... we will choose between doing the best for the glory of God and the good of people or we will choose again business as usual. There were a few efforts at limiting or dismissing the calls to reform, including messengers coming to the microphone to challenge the idea that sex abuse is a systemic and widespread problem in the SBC and to reject the Guidepost Solutions report because of the firms pro-LGBT stance. Still, those efforts did not dramatically influence the vote, which was overwhelmingly in favor of Franks recommendations on behalf of the task force. In the Bible, our book tells us that God is so sovereign that he can even take pagan nations and chastise his own people. He did it with Syria. He did it with Babylon, Frank said. The issue is not what does Guidepost think about LGBT; its what do Southern Baptists think about sexual abuse. The presidential address from outgoing SBC president Ed Litton, a pastor from Alabama, also set the tone of Gods judgment due on the denomination after the weight of the abuse reports findings. We cant say we are the largest missionary-sending agency in the world when we have a heart that lacks his compassion and a mission that lacks his vision for the world, Litton said. He referenced Jesus two questions in Matthew 17. Southern Baptists, how long shall I stay with you? Southern Baptists, how long shall I put up with you? Litton, Frank, and multiple speakers made reference to the survivors in the room. Jules Woodson and Tiffany Thigpen, two survivor-advocates, came to the convention to represent survivors and handed out teal ribbons as signs of solidarity. Woodson told CT before the meeting that she was holding out a sticky hope and waiting to see the wave of yellow ballots in favor of the reforms. Advocate Rachael Denhollander, a member of the Sexual Abuse Task Force, saw the vote as a signal of support for future generations of abuse survivors. That was women being believed, she said, listening the names of survivors who had come forward and pushed for change. Because they didnt give up, those ballots went up today. Tiffany Thigpen, proudly sporting her teal ribbon, also celebrated the significance of the move, tearing up as she recalled it an hour later. Its a victory in so many ways because peoples hearts changed, and thats something only God can do. Survivors and denominational leaders agree there is still a lot of work to be done. The new abuse reform task force already has five assignments to address, ranging from studying Guidepost recommendations to helping improve the work of the credentials committee. Also, the direction of the abuse reform task force will depend on the new president of the SBC, who will be named later today, as two of the leading candidates have differing approaches to the issue. The recommendations listed here passed, with one amendment adjusting language to ensure any changes would be in keeping with Southern Baptist church polity for feasibility. [ This article is also available in espanol. ] At least 100 killed in Burkina Faso massacre as militants go 'shop to shop' killing men At least 100 people were reportedly killed by an armed group in northern Burkina Faso near the Niger border over the weekend as extremist violence continues to plague the country that has seen thousands killed and millions flee from their homes in recent years. While the attackers appeared to exclusively target men in the Saturday evening attack in the Seytanga district, there are conflicting reports on the death toll, which could be as high as 165, security sources told Reuters. It's still not clear which group was responsible for the massacre. Al Qaeda and Islamic State militants are conducting an insurgency in the region. As many as 3,000 people fled to neighboring Dori, where aid agencies are located, a local official said. "The terrorists came into the town on Saturday, market day," one survivor who fled to Dori told AFP. "They opened fire as soon as they entered." "They only aimed at men. They went from shop to shop, sometimes torching it. They opened fire on anyone who tried to run away. They stayed in the town all night," the survivor added. AFP reported the provisional death toll at around 79 on Tuesday after 29 more bodies were discovered, but booby traps and mines have hampered search efforts. The attack is said to be among the deadliest since the insurgency in Burkina began in 2016. The attack comes about a year after as many as 160 civilians were killed in an attack in the Yagha province of northeastern Burkina Faso. As of early May, the United Nations estimated that 2 million had fled their homes since the insurgency began. Government spokesman Lionel Bilgo told AFP that Monday's massacre was "retaliation for the actions of the army which caused bloodshed" among the jihadist element. The U.N. issued a statement condemning the attack, saying the perpetrators "claimed many victims." The European Union also condemned the massacre and called for further investigation. Although Burkina Faso was once considered relatively peaceful, the U.N. reported that a 50% rise in internal displacement in 2021 is the "highest proportions of internal displacement on the continent." The rise of insecurity led to protests and a military coup ousting President Rock Kabore in January. The demonstrations came as nearly 12,000 people were displaced in the West African nation in just two weeks in December, according to the U.N. Coup leader Paul-Henri Damiba was sworn in as president in February, vowing to defeat Islamic extremists. Release International warned in its Persecution Trends 2022 report that the "situation facing Christians in Burkina Faso is now similar to Nigeria," where terror groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have killed thousands and displaced millions. According to the report, jihadis forced churches to close and meet in secret. The group warned that violence in the region would continue in 2022, noting the drawback of French troops from the area. Open Doors USA, which monitors persecution in over 60 countries, ranks Burkina Faso as the 32nd worst country regarding Christian persecution. "The central government is very weak, particular in the east of the country where Islamic law is informally implemented by groups who've gained control over these areas," Open Doors warned in a factsheet. "Jihadist violence has been rapidly increasing in recent years, and extremists have exploited the government's weakness during the COVID-19 crisis to gain control of the country's infrastructure." Jihadi violence has also impacted neighboring Sahel countries like Niger and Mali. According to government figures, in May 2021, at least 137 people, including nearly two dozen children, were killed by insurgents along the Mail border in southwestern Niger. In February, Islamic State-affiliated militants killed at least 40 in an attack in the Tessit area of northern Mali near the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger. Niger ranks as the 33rd-worst country on the Open Doors World Watch List, while Mali is ranked at No. 24. Over 230 Episcopal Church deputies resign, wont attend General Convention More than 230 deputies of the Episcopal Church have either resigned or otherwise refused to attend the denominations General Convention due to COVID-19 pandemic concerns, representing over a quarter of all originally certified deputies. The Episcopal Churchs 80th General Convention is slated to take place in Baltimore, Maryland, next month, with the mainline Protestant denomination having already decided to take public health measures due to COVID-19. According to a House of Deputies News report published last Thursday, 234 deputies out of 868 deputies have either resigned or said they will not attend the General Convention. Additionally, 99 of about 450 certified alternate deputies have resigned, and 55 of the 483 deputies appointed to legislative committees have resigned from their committees, though they remain deputies. The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of the House of Deputies, explained to HD News that while deputy resignations are not unheard of for general conventions, this year was different. Theres always turnover at any General Convention, but theres a lot more at this one, partly because it was postponed for a year, Jennings said. Some people who could attend in the summer of 2021, especially young people, cannot attend in 2022. Jennings noted that some of the deputies have contracted COVID-19 and cannot attend for that reason, while others are concerned about contracting the disease at the Church gathering. The General Convention is the governing body of the Episcopal Church, meeting every three years as a bicameral legislature that includes a House of Deputies and a House of Bishops. The 80th General Convention was originally scheduled to meet in July of last year, with an expected attendance of around 10,000 people, including church leaders, deputies, alternatives and others. However, the General Convention was postponed to July of this year, with Church leaders undertaking efforts to limit attendance, shorten the schedule, and undertake various public health measures due to ongoing pandemic concerns. An Episcopal News Service report from last week found that convention organizers expect an additional cost of $1.1 million for the gathering, due in part to increased expenses for the public health measures and approximately $700,000 less income from attendee fees. The shortened schedule due to COVID-19 has garnered concerns from many participants, among them Olive Swinski, a deputy from the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island. Enacting good policy requires time, compromise, and flexibility all things that I believe will be restricted with a shortened convention, said Swinski, as reported by ENS in May. COVID has taught us that the world does not stop, and the Episcopal Church is restricting its ability to respond to a changing world. So. Baptists denounce prosperity gospel as false teaching in resolution at annual meeting Southern Baptists adopted a resolution Tuesday rejecting the prosperity gospel, calling it false teaching and distortion of Scripture, particularly regarding Jesus Christ's atoning work on the cross. Assembled in Anaheim, California, this week for the denomination's annual meeting, messengers passed Resolution 2, which defines the prosperity gospel as the belief that "Jesus' sacrificial and atoning death grants believers health, wealth and the removal of sickness and poverty." The resolution declares that this theology represents a distortion of "biblical generosity," exploits vulnerable people and blames people who are sick for lack of faith while corrupting a biblical understanding of suffering. The resolution asserts that Christians are to "guard against false teaching, to beware of false prophets who come to us in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves, and to guard the integrity of Scripture." Speaking from the stage during the debate on resolutions, J.T. English, a pastor of Storyline Church in Arvada, Colorado, said the convention has never before spoken formally on the issue. "We've never spoken clearly as a body clearly about the prosperity gospel in the form of a resolution," English said. A Louisiana pastor motioned from the floor to amend the language in the definition of "prosperity gospel," to remove "and sickness and poverty" and add "of suffering, sickness, and poverty," given how the removal of suffering is tethered to the prosperity gospel. The amended language was accepted and seen as a helpful clarification. The amendment was approved with unanimous consent. An amendment was also offered from the floor to add "and New Age beliefs and practices" to each section denouncing the prosperity gospel because it is tied to the idea that God "wants us to be happy and healthy and wealthy on this earth." Critics contend the idea employs a pagan ideology to see those things come into being. "They come from African, pagan practices, from voodooism," the messenger proposing the amendment said, describing New Age teachings as the "fuel" on which the prosperity gospel acts. In response, English said that while New Age ideas are important to address as a convention, they felt it was important to speak distinctly to only the prosperity gospel in this resolution. The amendment to add the New Age language was voted down. The resolution condemning the prosperity gospel was adopted with the overwhelming support of the messengers. The resolution resolves that "God and God alone is our highest good and our supreme treasure, not health, wealth, or the removal of sickness" and that "our confidence is in our eternal inheritance purchased through the work of Christ and is guaranteed by the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit." Separate resolutions affirming the importance of the mission field in rural America and calling for an end to the war in Ukraine were also adopted by messengers Tuesday. The annual meeting of the largest Protestant denomination in the United States concludes Wednesday. World Vision stands by employee convicted of funding Hamas, calls for fair appeal process The Evangelical humanitarian charity World Vision is standing by one of its former employees, whom it contends has been wrongfully convicted of embezzling millions from the organization and supporting the Palestinian terror organization Hamas. World Vision released a statement announcing the conviction of Mohammad El Halabi, who formerly served as the organization's Gaza zonal manager, by the Beersheva District Court in Israel Wednesday. "In our view there have been irregularities in the trial process and a lack of substantive, publicly available evidence," the World Vision statement reads. "We support Mohammad's intent to appeal the decision, and call for a fair and transparent appeal process based on the facts of the case." Halabi was arrested on June 15, 2016, and later accused of diverting $50 million in funds intended for World Vision to support Hamas. Kevin Jenkins, who served as World Vision International CEO at the time, pushed back on the idea that Halabi embezzled $50 million from World Vision in an August 2016 statement. "World Vision's cumulative operating budget in Gaza for the past ten years was approximately US$22.5 million, which makes the alleged amount of up to US$50 million being diverted hard to reconcile," Jenkins said. "Mohammed El Halabi was the manager of our Gaza operations only since October 2014; before that time he managed only portions of the Gaza budget. World Vision's accountability processes cap the amount individuals in management positions at his level to a signing authority of US$15,000." Halabi pleaded not guilty to the allegations against him. World Vision subsequently conducted an investigation of its operations in Gaza. World Vision previously reported, "The investigation, completed in July of 2017, found no evidence of diversion of funds and no material evidence that Halabi was part of or working for Hamas." World Vision elaborated on its belief in Halabi's innocence in a January 2022 statement. "We have been closely following Mohammad's lengthy trial. Many of our staff have participated as witnesses, and our staff, often alongside representatives from other organisations, have been present as observers in every public trial session," the statement reads. "After five years of trial proceedings, which have now concluded as we await a verdict, we have not seen anything that makes us question our conclusion that Mohammad is innocent of all the charges." "Moreover, Mohammad so steadfastly asserts his innocence that he has consistently refused any plea agreement, even when the sentences offered reportedly would have had him free by now. This process has dramatically and negatively affected children and their families in Gaza, including Mohammad's own family." Some have wondered if the allegation that Halabi collaborated with Hamas could constitute an attempt at retaliation against World Vision for criticizing the nation of Israel. In 2015, Steve Haas, who served as vice president and chief catalyst for World Vision U.S. at the time, wrote an essay posted by the Lausanne Movement asserting that Christian support for Israel amounted to a backing of "the largest and longest occupation of another people group in modern history." Haas also chastised the "oppressive Israeli legal system," echoing Archbishop Desmond Tutu's characterization of the Israeli regime as "oppression on steroids." The trial and investigation have had an adverse impact on World Vision's ability to do business in Gaza. "We are saddened that our work helping Gaza's most vulnerable children has been disrupted for so long, and we hope to return to Gaza," Wednesday's statement reads. "We remain committed to improving the lives of vulnerable children in the region, and hope we will be able to advance our humanitarian work in the context of our longstanding cooperation with the relevant Israeli and Palestinian authorities." The conviction comes despite independent auditors and the Australian government finding no evidence of wrongdoing on Halabi's part. More than four years after Halabi's arrest, a report compiled by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee criticized World Vision's ties to a group it worked with and funded in Sudan accused of funding terrorism. The committee maintained that World Vision "had access to the appropriate public information and should have known how, but failed to, properly vet [the Islamic Relief Agency] as a subgrantee, resulting in the transfer of U.S. taxpayer dollars to an organization with an extensive history of supporting terrorist organizations and terrorists, including Osama Bin Laden." The report stated that World Vision worked with the IRA from 2013 through 2015 to provide relief in Sudan. In a previous statement to The Christian Post, World Vision expressed gratitude that "the committee staff's report praised the changes we have made to our vetting process" and stressed that the organization would take the committee staff's recommendations seriously "to improve the effectiveness of our blocked parties screening processes." The website Charity Navigator gives World Vision a four-star rating, an "exceptional" rating signaling that donors can "give with confidence" to the organization. It also identified World Vision's annual revenue as more than $1.2 billion in the fiscal year 2020. European Parliament forget US no longer its colony Even though the Supreme Court has not yet released its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the European Unions Parliament decided to pass a resolution condemning the expected decision. The vote was 364 to 154 (37 abstentions) and was intended to remind the United States that it is vital to uphold Roe v. Wade. In so doing, the European Parliament condemned itself, sticking its nose where it did not belong while standing against the rights of innocent babies in the womb. This, of course, is no surprise, given the degree to which most of Europe has become post-Christian. As noted in a 2018 article in The Guardian, Europes march towards a post-Christian society has been starkly illustrated by research showing a majority of young people in a dozen countries do not follow a religion. The survey of 16 to 29-year-olds found the Czech Republic is the least religious country in Europe, with 91% of that age group saying they have no religious affiliation. Between 70% and 80% of young adults in Estonia, Sweden and the Netherlands also categorize themselves as non-religious. In the UK, where The Guardian is based, 70% of young people identify with no religion and 59% never attend religious services. In the words of theology and religion professor Stephen Bullivant, Christianity as a default, as a norm, is gone, and probably gone for good or at least for the next 100 years. (I would add that this would be true barring a fresh wave of revival; it is not a fait accompli.) Not only so, but in much of Europe, where there is a profession of Christian faith, especially among the older generation, it is often so mired with either dead tradition or progressive liberalism that it is hardly Christian at all. (This is my own observation, not that of the The Guardian.) That means that, despite the rapid rise of the nones in America (speaking of those with no religious affiliation), we still have many more robust, Bible-believing Christians than does Europe. Thats why we continue to fight for the life of the unborn and continue to stand against LGBTQ+ extremism. And thats why these European lawmakers felt the need to condemn the courts expected pro-life ruling. To quote them directly, the MEPs [Members of the European Parliament] condemn the backsliding in womens sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide including in the U.S. and some EU countries, calling for safe access to abortion. In the words of Croatian socialist MEP Predrag Matic, The draft opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States is a shock and a nightmare. The resolution even condemned those states that have passed bills to protect pro-life legislation, such as bills banning abortion after 6 weeks. All of this leads me to ask the European Parliament: Who asked you for your opinion? Who appointed you the judge of America? And who put you in charge of the decisions of our individual states? As expressed by German MEP Christine Anderson, a right-wing lawmaker who voted against the resolution: The USA is no longer a colony ruled from Europe. Didnt you know that? Well said! Is it any surprise, then, that a growing number of European leaders have no children themselves? Is this unrelated to the decline of a Christian culture that esteems life and regards children as a gift from God? A 2017 article by Darrell Delamaide asked the question, Do childless leaders mean the death of Europe? He wrote, The election of Emmanuel Macron as the new French president now means that the leaders of the four European countries in the G-7 biggest economies Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May, and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni are all childless. Other prominent European leaders also have no children Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Does this mean anything? He continued, Those calling attention to it seem to think so. George Weigel, writing this week in the First Things website, talks of Catholic Lite and Europes demographic suicide. Earlier this month, James McPherson headlined his commentary in the Washington Examiner Emmanuel Macron and the barren elite of a changing continent. And late last month, even before Macrons victory, Britains Sunday Times carried a long book excerpt by Douglas Murray with the title Europe signs its own death warrant. While Delamaide himself downplayed these concerns, I agree with those who have drawn attention to the increased childlessness of many European leaders. Without children of their own, they can hardly grasp the full significance of bringing a child into this world. Without the Gospel, they can hardly grasp the importance of fighting for the life of that child while it is still in the womb. And with a declining birth rate, well under the 2.1 rate needed to sustain a society, Europe will continue to decline, not just spiritually and morally, but in numbers as well. May a culture of life, based on biblical principles, rise again in Europe! In outgoing sermon, Ed Litton challenges Southern Baptists to show compassion Ed Litton, the outgoing president of the Southern Baptist Convention, challenged members of the nation's largest Protestant denomination Tuesday to show compassion to the diverse communities in which they live to better minister to people who need them the most. In a sermon he called "The Gut Punch" at the denomination's annual meeting in Anaheim, California, Litton suggested that the denomination, which has been struggling with declining baptisms, could very well discover a lack of compassion could be the force behind those numbers. In 2020, the denomination lost more than 400,000 members and set a new record for the single-year decline amid the coronavirus pandemic and a bitter culture war. "We may yet discover as Southern Baptists that our declining baptisms is really due to the fact that our churches and our people have become separated from the heart of their communities. We've got isolated from the pain and suffering that lives all around us. We've learned to turn an eye away from it, to think that's somebody else's issue," Litton said. "It builds a lack of compassion for one another." "No wonder we challenge them to go reach the lost and they don't know the lost," he continued. "Unfortunately, we're making headlines in the Southern Baptist Convention not because we are considered compassionate. And this year, I've not heard a single person say about us, 'Oh, how they love one another.'" Litton warned that if Southern Baptists don't allow themselves to feel true compassion for others, they will become indifferent to their suffering. "Some of you are battered and bruised, worn out as a result of either a sinful condition or sinful behavior of others," he said. "You feel ripped apart. When you see suffering, what does it do to you? If we are not moved to action, we will become indifferent, and I know what it's like to be indifferent." The leader of Redemption Church in Mobile, Alabama, recalled how he felt when his wife, Tammy, died in a tragic car accident about 15 years ago. He described the experience as a "gut punch" and said that when people experience challenges, it's easy for them to feel compassion for themselves. "Whatever it is we often say in those moments, our hearts were broken. But actually, it wasn't from the heart that we felt it. We felt it in the gut, and it's visceral. It's a deep inward feeling rather than intellectual. We think of a gut punch when we receive bad news," he said. "I learned this from my own suffering and my own challenges in life that I tended to hear other people's bad news and I thought what I had was compassion. In fact, I would immediately think what would I do in a situation like that and what I determined is, we all naturally are compassionate with ourselves." Litton argued that compassion was the hallmark of Jesus' ministry because when He "looked at you and He looked at me and He looked at the world that we live in, He felt a gut punch." The preacher contends that Southern Baptists will have to show compassion for people affected by the Supreme Court's eventual ruling on abortion. A leaked draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito published by Politico suggests that Supreme Court justices could likely strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. The leaked draft is not final. "Let me make this statement very clear. When Roe ends, our work begins as Southern Baptists," he said to applause. "The work of loving people because girls will still get pregnant and guys will still be irresponsible. And we must love them in the name of Jesus. Help them. Strengthen them. Lead them to Christ. Teach them the truth and save lives," he said. "Jesus' gut punch was He saw something, He said something, and He did something. That's his pattern. It needs to be our pattern too when we see something." He urged the crowd not to look away from things that make them uncomfortable, such as the ongoing sex abuse scandal in the denomination. A Guidepost Solutions investigation recently found the denomination's leadership mishandled sexual abuse allegations, mistreated victims and advocates, engaged in an abusive pattern of intimidation and repeatedly resisted reforms aimed at making their churches safer to avoid liability. "This has been the painful part of this year as Southern Baptists. This is our gut punch because we didn't want to see what we saw," Litton said. "But once we see it, we need to feel it. There's no doubt in my mind when you read the report, you felt a gut punch. And we must do something, not out of anger and vindictiveness, but we must do what is right and just in the eyes of our God." Franklin Graham preaches to 68K on Rio de Janiero beach 48 years after father's Brazil outreach Nearly half a century after his father visited the region, Rev. Franklin Graham held a historic outreach on the beaches of Brazil over the weekend, drawing thousands to hear the Gospel despite some rainy weather. The Esperanca Rio or "Hope" Rio event at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro resulted from years of prayer, planning and training. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) partnered with more than 4,000 churches to make it all come together. Umbrellas in hand, almost 70,000 turned out to hear the 69-year-old Evangelical leader's message of God's love. Graham told The Christian Post there's a "great hunger for the Gospel, no question," as evidenced by the commitment of the thousands who showed up in the rain. "Some people got there at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and stood," Graham said. "There weren't seats. They stood on that beach waiting and the crowd just kept building." "People are searching for God and want to know how they have their sins forgiven." In his message, the 69-year-old Graham told the crowd: "The Bible says the value of the human soul is worth more than the entire world. Let's say you own all the real estate on Copacabana Beach, you own the hotels, the luxury apartments, the beautiful restaurants. Let's say all of that was yours your soul is worth far more than all of that you have more value." "For anyone who turns from their sins and puts their faith and trust in God's Son Jesus Christ, know this: God has forgiven your sins! As the Bible says, 'He has cast them into the depths of the sea.'" Rio de Janeiro Gov. Claudio Bomfim de Castro e Silva attended the event, while Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro sent a message of support, Graham said on Facebook. "I appreciate that these leaders stand with the biblical definition of marriage and against abortion in their country," he wrote. Thousands of people reportedly indicated that they made decisions for Jesus Christ, according to Graham. Local churches are expected to follow up with the thousands who responded to the Gospel invitation. BGEA discussed with local churches coming to Rio about seven years ago, Graham said, but the COVID-19 pandemic put those plans on hold. When Brazil opened up earlier this year, Graham said they decided now was the time to go. Graham's visit came around 48 years after his father, evangelist Billy Graham, visited Maracana Stadium in 1974 to hold a five-day crusade event. On the final night, Graham drew an estimated 225,000 people, which at the time was the largest crowd to attend an evangelistic service in the Western Hemisphere, according to BGEA. After Brazil, Graham is set to return to the United Kingdom for the closing night of the four-city "God Loves You" TourUK, a free event at ExCeL London on July 16 featuring musical performances from CeCe Winans and Michael W. Smith. The tour visited several cities last month, including South Wales, Sheffield and Liverpool, where the city's mayor called for removing bus ads promoting the event. Critics of the tour most notably Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotheram have called Graham a "known hate preacher" due to his opposition to gay marriage and radical Islam. According to Graham, about 50 demonstrators in Liverpool during his last visit were Satanists, one of which was dressed like the devil. "They cursed the name of Jesus and then went on," he said. Graham says the U.K. controversy is mainly based "on a few people who object to me saying marriage is between a man and a woman." "And as a result of saying that, they accuse me of hate speech," he said. "They label you with a very offensive term like 'hate preacher,' when in fact I'm not sharing a message of hate but love, that God loves us. "I don't change the message. I don't back away from sharing the Gospel, and we certainly don't preach hate." Graham said his father was asked not to return to the U.K. after visiting in the 1940s. And when Parliament tried to ban him, he arrived by boat. Just as the message of forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ was a source of controversy then, Graham says today is no different. "The controversy isn't me. It's the message that I preach," he said. "Jesus Christ has always been controversial." PCA pastor accused of sexually harassing churchgoers to be tried in ecclesiastical high court A pastor with the Presbyterian Church in America who filed a defamation lawsuit against a group of women who accused him of sexual harassment will have a case against him brought before the denomination's highest court. Dan Herron, the founding pastor of Hope Presbyterian Church in Bloomington, Indiana, will have his case brought before the PCA Standing Judicial Commission, a church body comprised of 12 teaching elders and 12 ruling elders. The hearing comes amid allegations that the Central Indiana Presbytery mishandled the allegations. Commission Chairman Rev. Fred Greco sent a letter on June 3 to Central Indiana Presbytery Stated Clerk Rev. Taylor Bradbury regarding Herron's case. Greco outlined the stipulations for the hearing, which include the presbytery having to "provide the prosecutor for the case" and that the SJC's Trial Arrangements Commission will "be tasked with considering arrangements for conducting the trial and report to the SJC at the earliest possible date." The allegations date back to 2019 when five accusers wrote a letter to the presbytery highlighting their allegations against Herron. A commission reviewing the allegations voted unanimously in 2020 to issue a statement declaring "the commission does not believe that the accusations rise to the level of a chargeable offense." In February, Josh Holowell, who served as a prosecutor in the presbytery's ecclesiastical trial, resigned from the case. In a letter, he cited "the inability of the Central Indiana Presbytery to render justice" and his "own personal weariness from the constant opposition to the pursuit of justice and truth." "The rules of discipline as laid out in the Book of Church Order have been ignored to the benefit of the accused on multiple occasions," Holowell wrote. "The bias of this Presbytery has made the rendering of justice in this ecclesiastical court impossible." Last year, Herron filed a defamation lawsuit against two women who accused him of harassment. A jury trial in the case is slated to begin in April 2023. The presbytery initially punished Herron for taking the matter to the secular court system but that discipline was eventually reversed, according to The Roys Report. According to Sarah Einselen of The Roys Report, an "unprecedented number" of PCA presbyteries claimed the Central Indiana Presbytery "botched the matter" as both parties have alleged flaws in the investigation. Last year, the independent Indiana University student newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student, published a report detailing the multiple allegations of abuse leveled against Herron by former attendees of his church. Kara Million, one of the accusers, told IDS that she spoke with at least 10 people who had complained to the church about Herron's alleged behavior. In January 2020, Herron resigned as pastor from Hope but remained an elder. Although an initial investigation into the allegations concluded in February 2020 that Herron had "no strong presumption of guilt," a new investigation was launched that same month after allegations the case was mishandled. Herron denied the accusations in a statement to IDS. "[T]he specific accusations brought against me that I am aware of, I strongly and unequivocally deny any wrongdoing attributed to my actions, words, motivations, and character," the statement reads. Candace Cameron Bure 'sad at the state of the world,' issues challenge to fans Actress Candace Cameron Bure was filled with emotion last week when she urged her fans to help push back against the current state of the world. Do you ever scroll through Instagram and just get sad at the state of the world? Thats me right now," the Fuller House alum said in an Instagram video to her 5.5 million followers. Bure, overcome with emotion, put her hands over her eyes and screeched to express her frustration. She then proposed a "gratitude challenge," encouraging her fans to live a life of gratitude. Im going to think of the things that I am grateful for, Bure reflected. The professing Christian testified, I am grateful for God, Lord Jesus Christ, whos in control of all of it. Im grateful that Hes already given all of us and me the ability to be justified before Him and be sanctified throughout the process of my life and that He redeems it all at the end," she said. The actress clenched her face with her hands and said she always turns to gratitude in times of distress. The author of Kind Is the New Classy took to social media a few weeks ago to share her heartbreak over the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. With the tragedy and the loss of those 21 people that is so hard, and as a mother I grieve and I just want to grieve with the people of Uvalde and the families, Bure said with tears in her eyes. In another Instagram story, the actress revealed that her home was under attack from the "enemy." The actress said she and her family were targeted by the spirit of the devil after days of family members, including herself, being "irritable" towards each other. "It's been cranky in my house for the last few days to the point that it's weird, Bure revealed. Like my house is usually really peaceful and happy. Everyone's been irritable, including me, and everyone is just like at each other. It's been like three days now." "It finally hit me, she continued. I'm like, 'Oh, there's a spirit of irritability, there's a spirit of crankiness, there's a spirit of confusion. Oh, the enemy's attacking!" "I think so easily, we forget and we want to just blame one another when things go wrong. And we forget that there's a very real and powerful enemy at work every single day of our lives, the Fuller House star noted. "That enemy is the devil, Bure clarified. He's real and he's at work, but the devil has no control or authority in my home. The mother of three made a declaration of faith. "Jesus has all authority, all power in my home, and reigns in my home!" she said. "I call upon the Holy Spirit. I pray out any evil spirits that are in here, Bure continued. And I put on my worship music, it's just filling my home. So my home is filled with Scripture and God's Word, God's power, God's truth, and I just keep reminding myself of that. She advised others to keep their spiritual eyes open. Bure recently took an executive role at GAC Media, where she will produce and star in faith and family-friendly content. In this role, the actress can create and develop her own content. Pastor Bart Barber elected president of Southern Baptist Convention in runoff election Pastor Bart Barber of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas, has been elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, taking the helm of the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. At the SBC Annual Meeting held in Anaheim, California, on Tuesday, Barber was elected in a second ballot runoff with 3,401 messenger votes, representing 60.87% of the vote. Barber will replace SBC President Ed Litton, who was elected last year and announced in March that he would not seek reelection, becoming the first SBC president in decades not to do so. In addition to Barber, the other nominees for SBC president were Tom Ascol, longtime senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida; Frank Cox, pastor of North Metro Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia; and Robin Hadaway, senior professor of missions at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Florida Pastor Willy Rice was originally nominated for SBC president and had accepted the nomination, however, he later withdrew his candidacy due to a reported personal backlash. Southern Baptist Convention Pastors Conference President Matt Henslee nominated Barber, saying in a statement released in April that Barber was what Southern Baptists are when they are at their best. Whether I was starting in ministry about 10 miles from him or pastoring churches 600 miles from him, Bart has been a phone call away for counsel or help as I navigated the ups and downs of ministry, stated Henslee, as reported by the Baptist Standard. Now, as his associational missionary and fellow pastor, I have a front-row seat to a man who loves his family well, shepherds his church with care, and still finds time to encourage pastors and promote unity in our convention. In the first ballot on Tuesday, which involved 6,847 messenger votes cast, Barber led with 47.58% of the vote, followed by Ascol with 34.06%, Cox with 12.95%, and Hadaway with 4.97%. Because no candidate received enough votes on the first ballot to be elected president, a runoff vote was held between Barber and Ascol after the first ballot results were announced. A staunchly conservative voice in the SBC, Ascol announced his candidacy in March, telling the Baptist Press that he was running because I love the SBC and am grateful for all the wonderful things God has done in and through the Convention. I believe we are in need of a course correction so that regular Southern Baptist churches can have a voice and can help hold our institution and entities accountable to the churches that own them, Ascol added. If we dont do this, then we will lose many opportunities to be united to spread the Gospel of Jesus around the world. In a runoff ballot consisting of 5,587 votes, Barber won with 3,401 votes (60.87%), versus Ascols 2,172 votes, or 38.88% of the vote. Held in Anaheim and scheduled for June 14-15, the annual meeting had approximately 11,000 people in attendance on its first day, which included 8,095 messengers. Catholic bishops urge gov't leaders to speak out against attacks on churches, pro-life pregnancy centers Leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are calling for politicians to speak out against the increasing vandalism of churches and pro-life pregnancy centers ahead of an expected U.S. Supreme Court ruling on abortion. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who serves as the chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Religious Liberty; and Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, who serves as Chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Pro-Life Activities; released a statement in response to the wave of pro-abortion vandalism Monday. The response comes six weeks after Politico published a leaked draft opinion in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which indicated that a majority of Supreme Court justices supported the draft opinion that would reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Vandalism directed at churches and pro-life pregnancy centers has accelerated following the draft opinion's publication. A final decision on the case is expected later this month. "Since the leak of the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, charities that support pregnant mothers in need have been firebombed, pro-life organizations have been attacked almost daily, and even the lives of Supreme Court justices have been directly threatened," they wrote. "In light of this, we urge our elected officials to take a strong stand against this violence, and our law enforcement authorities to increase their vigilance in protecting those who are in increased danger." Dolan and Lori defended the Catholic Church's "long history of service to those who are most vulnerable, including both mother and child," noting that the Catholic Church "remains the largest provider of social services in the United States." They said the social services provided by the Church range "from religious communities to pregnancy care centers, from refugee resettlement services to foster care and adoption agencies, and from maternity homes to parish-based ministries." "The Church consistently bears witness in word and deed to the beauty and dignity of every human life," they added. "Above all, each of us must choose the path of peace and open our hearts to the love that God has for his children. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, touch our hearts and make them like your own." The USCCB has a running list of Catholic churches and pro-life pregnancy centers vandalized since May 2020, long before the Supreme Court said it would hear arguments about the constitutionality of Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. "Only rarely have the motives been clear; when they were, it was often opposition to the Church's teachings on life in the womb," Dolan and Lori insisted. The statement comes one week before the USCCB will celebrate Religious Freedom Week, which is slated to begin on June 22 and last through June 29. This weeklong observance will give Catholics the opportunity to "pray, reflect, and act to promote religious freedom." Each day during Religious Freedom Week will have a specific focus. Church vandalism will serve as the focus on Thursday, June 23. On June 23, Catholics are encouraged to "pray that Christian witness in the face of attacks on our churches will convert hearts to faith in Jesus Christ." The USCCB maintains that "attacking sacred spaces whether through damage to physical property or by projecting pro-abortion messages on a church while people pray for an end to abortion, as activists did in Washington, DC and New York in January harms all people of faith, for the very nature of sacred spaces is that they are set apart and treated with respect." "Attacks on houses of worship undermine life and dignity for all," the statement stresses. "The civic peace of a pluralistic society requires that people are free to worship without fear." The pro-abortion vandalism has extended beyond Catholic churches and pregnancy centers. Several non-Catholic churches have also been subject to attacks in the past six weeks, including a Mormon church and two Protestant churches in Washington state. The pro-abortion group Ruth Sent Us called for the interruption of Catholic masses on Mothers' Day. Since then, activists have regularly held protests outside the homes of the six Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices. However, only five of the six Republican-appointed justices are Catholic, as Neil Gorsuch is Episcopalian. Although Chief Justice John Roberts is Catholic, he did not sign on to the draft opinion in Dobbs. Most of the recent acts of vandalism against pro-life pregnancy centers and a group of churches in Washington state have come from a group of pro-abortion activists calling themselves Jane's Revenge. Robert Evans, a journalist with the Netherlands-based news operation Bellingcat, obtained a manifesto from the group that outlined their demands for the "disbanding of all anti-choice establishments, fake clinics, and violent anti-choice groups within the next thirty days." Born-again Congresswoman Lauren Boebert tells wives to chase after God and husbands will follow Born-again Christian Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who said she prayed to God for years before her husband joined her in the church, told a group of Christian women in a recent sermon that if they chase after God their husbands will chase after them too. Ladies, it was years before I had my husband sitting in the pew next to me, Boebert explained in an impassioned sermon at the Charis Christian Center, a nondenominational church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Saturday. For years I interceded, wanting my husband [Jayson Bobert] by my side, praising God, living out this God kind of life that I knew was far better than anything else that was going on. But ladies, if you chase God with everything that you have, your husband will chase after you chasing God, she said. The Republican congresswoman from Colorado and mother of four, who said she became a born-again Christian 12 years ago, is facing down online rumors that she had two abortions in her past and worked as an escort. On Saturday, however, the 35-year-old was focused on the transformative power of Christ in her life. It has been such an incredible journey to watch that transformation. Ive seen it in so many other marriages. But we serve a God of life, a God of resurrection, so when things seem dead, praise the Lord! Because He is amazing at bringing things back to life, she said. Boebert, who is a member of New Creation Church in Glenwood Springs, also urged women to value their role in their families and not doubt their self-worth. I speak with so many women who feel they dont have a purpose because they are not on an elevated platform. And I look back on my life and some of the greatest purpose was in my own home, she said. Influencing my children, influencing my husband, showing him forgiveness when there shouldnt have been any in the natural. Showing him honor when my flesh wanted to dishonor him. Respecting him when that wasnt the natural course, she continued. The Republican congresswoman who is a strong gun rights advocate owns Shooters Grill in Rifle, where waitresses carry firearms openly while serving customers, also told her audience that when God asks them to forgive, its because He has given them the power to do it. God doesnt tell us to do those things because its easy. God tells us to do those things because He has graced us to do them. Grace isnt just something sloppy that just covers up your sin. Grace empowers you, grace strengthens you. This is the divine reflection of God in your heart that other people see. This is what grace is for. It is amazing grace, she said. God doesnt tell you to forgive people, to honor people, to respect people because He wants you to be a doormat. He knows that you cant do that on your own and that youll have to tap in to what He has for you. None of us can do what God has called us to in our own strength, she added. We need that grace. We need the Holy Ghost. We need that anointing because anything that God has called us to is much bigger than ourselves, and if we can do it in our own strength then its not God. Pastor warns SBC against using 'politics,' 'social justice' or 'music' to grow churches A pastor has warned attendees of the Southern Baptist Conventions Annual Meeting against using things like politics, social justice and music to grow their congregations instead of the Gospel. Juan Sanchez, senior pastor of High Point Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, gave the Convention sermon on Wednesday morning in Anaheim, California. Sanchez preached about Ephesians 4:11-16, noting that in the Bible passage, Paul of Tarsus writes about the foundational importance of prophets and apostles. The foundation of the Church is the apostles and prophets because that is the group to whom the Father revealed that Jesus is the Christ, Sanchez explained. The foundation of the Church is this revelation of the Father that Jesus is the Christ. He is King, He is Lord. It is through Jesus that God will bring together all that has been broken. Sanchez then warned against using other means to increase membership numbers, telling those gathered that we cannot build the Church on any other foundation. If our primary end is merely church growth, said Sanchez, we will be tempted to build on other foundations. Were tempted to build our churches on a foundation of music styles, or age-graded ministries, or even politics or social justice or even our own personalities. Growth that comes by something other than the Word of God about Jesus is not lasting, nor is it God-glorifying. As a friend of mine says, what you win people with is what you win them to. In keeping with this reasoning, Sanchez said that if you win them with music, youve won them to music. If you win them with childrens ministry, youve won them to childrens ministry. If you win them with politics, youve won them to politics. If you win them with your personality, youve won them to you, but not to the Lord Jesus Christ. Sanchez also focused on verse 14 of the passage, which talks about no longer being tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. If this does not describe the Church in the last two years, I dont know what does, said Sanchez. The Church has been tossed about by every wind of doctrine, by human philosophies, by conspiracy theories, by worldly opinions. And is it possible that the reasons our congregations have been so thrust by the winds and the waves, is because we have not ground them in the Word of God? Sanchez saw healthy spiritual growth as being a corporate effort, noting people in his life who, while not being famous or prominent, nevertheless helped his faith development growing up. I heard the Gospel, I saw the Gospel, I repented of my sins, I trusted in Christ, all through the ministry of people that you have never heard of, he said. Thats what I love about the Church of Jesus Christ. Sanchezs sermon took place on the second day of the SBC's Annual Meeting, held June 14-15 at the Anaheim Convention Center, with the theme of Jesus: The Center of it All. On Tuesday, the SBC messengers voted to elect Pastor Bart Barber of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas, to be the new president of the SBC following a runoff ballot. Barber will succeed Pastor Ed Litton, who was elected last year and made headlines when he announced that he would be the first SBC president in decades to not seek reelection. Republican wins special election in Texas, becomes first Mexican-born woman elected to Congress A Republican has won a special U.S. House of Representatives election in historically Democratic South Texas, signaling changes in the political preferences of Hispanic voters in the region and possibly previewing a strong GOP performance in the 2022 midterm elections. Thirty-six-year-old Mayra Flores won the special election in Texas' 34th Congressional District Tuesday night, flipping a seat previously held by a Democrat Filemon Vela Jr., who resigned in March. Unofficial results from the Texas Secretary of State's Office show Flores capturing nearly 51% of the vote in a four-way race that included two Democrats and another Republican. Flores exceeded the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff election between the top two finishers and will serve the remainder of Vela's term until it expires on Jan. 3. The Houston Chronicle reports that Flores will become the first Republican to represent the Rio Grande Valley-based congressional district in more than a century and a half, as well as the first congresswoman born in Mexico. On her website, Flores has characterized herself as "pro-God," "pro-life" and "pro-family." Born to migrant farmworkers, Flores moved to the United States when she was 6. As she grew older, Flores worked with her parents in the cotton fields in Memphis, Texas, to earn extra money for school clothes and supplies. In 2004, she graduated as a respiratory care practitioner "My Christian faith is a core part of who I am," she said. "My parents raised me to be a strong woman of faith and defending [individuals'] religious liberties will always be a priority of mine." Vowing to "always fight for the unborn and advocate for pro-life policies in Washington," Flores identified her family as "the most important thing in my life." "I was raised with strong family values and work to instill them in my own children," she stated. "Family values are one thing that [makes] our community in South Texas so special and so strong." Flores addressed her win on Twitter Tuesday night: "This historic win will bring back God to the halls of Congress!" Describing her victory as "a win for the people who were ignored for so long" and "a message that the establishment will no longer be tolerated," Flores proclaimed, "we have officially started the red wave." This historic win will bring back God to the halls of Congress! This win is for the people who were ignored for so long! This is a message that the establishment will no longer be tolerated! We have officially started the red wave!! #TX34 God, Family, Country pic.twitter.com/pNn8UYoPor Mayra Flores For Congress ???????????? (@MayraFlores2022) June 15, 2022 Democrat Dan Sanchez, who received about 43% of the vote, conceded to Flores in a Facebook statement posted Tuesday night. "Based on the results, we came up short tonight despite being outspent by millions of dollars from out of state interests and the entire Republican machine," he wrote. "Too many factors were against us, including little to no support from the National Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee." Flores' victory reflects the dramatic political realignment underway in South Texas. According to the Daily Kos, a liberal blog that keeps track of presidential election results by congressional district, President Joe Biden carried the 34th District by 4 percentage points in the 2020 presidential election. Four years earlier, Democrat Hillary Clinton won the district by 21.5 percentage points. In 2012, the district supported then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, by 22.5 percentage points. Additionally, Flores' victory in a heavily Hispanic congressional district comes at a time when President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is suffering from record-low approval ratings among Hispanic voters. A poll conducted by Quinnipiac University released last week measured Biden's approval rating among Hispanics at 24%, with 58% disapproving of his job performance. Exit polling from the 2020 presidential election shows that Biden won Hispanic voters by a 2-1 margin over former President Donald Trump. In a previous interview with The Christian Post, Samuel Rodriguez, the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, attributed Latino voters' "abandoning the Democratic Party or leftist ideologies" to "their commitment to life," referring to their opposition to abortion. Labeling the Democratic Party as "a new progressive, socialist, anti-right, anti-Christian" party that "completely ignores the rights of individuals and that we are created in the image of God, with God-ordained rights," Rodriguez maintained that "Latinos are not going to stand for that because we are a people of faith." Flores is running as the Republican nominee for the full two-year term that begins on Jan. 3. However, this fall's election will occur under new districts created during the decennial redistricting process. Data compiled by Politico reveals that Texas' 34th Congressional District became much friendlier to Democrats following redistricting, jumping from a district that supported Biden by 4 points to one that favored him by nearly 16. Flores will face Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, who currently represents Texas' 15th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in November's election. Gonzalez is running in the 34th District after redistricting transformed the 15th District from one that supported Biden by approximately 2 points to a constituency favoring Trump by nearly 3 points. Based on statistics compiled by Rutgers University's Center for American Women and Politics, Flores' victory will bring the number of Republican women in the U.S. House of Representatives to 33. The 117th U.S. Congress began in January 2021 with 30 Republican women serving in the House, but a special election victory in Louisiana last year, along with special election wins in California and Texas in the past week, have increased the number of GOP women in the chamber. Democrats have 89 women currently serving in the House, outnumbering their Republican peers by a nearly 3-1 margin. The special election in Texas' 34th Congressional District comes less than five months before the 2022 midterm elections. Based on Biden's low approval ratings, Republicans are expected to pick up seats in Congress, especially in the House of Representatives. The RealClearPolitics average of the generic congressional ballot, which asks voters which party they want to control Congress, shows Republicans leading Democrats by 3.5 percentage points. SBC committee delays decision on whether to expel Saddleback Church over female 'pastors' The Southern Baptist Convention has delayed a decision on whether to remove Rick Warren's Saddleback Church from the denomination in light of the California megachurch's ordination of three female pastors last year. Saddleback Church's ordination of the three pastors last May in what the church called a "historic night" drew the ire of many in the largest Protestant denomination in America in light of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message statement's ban on female ordination. Some called for the congregation to be disfellowshiped from the convention over the ordination of Liz Puffer, Cynthia Petty and Katie Edwards. The SBC Credentials Committee, tasked with handling concerns about whether churches that cooperate with the convention are abiding by the SBC standards of faith and practice, announced Tuesday at the SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California, that it would delay a decision on Saddleback's standing. "Based on the information available to us currently, including direct communication with Pastor Rick Warren, ... we have concluded that we are not yet prepared to make a recommendation regarding Saddleback Church, recognizing there are differing opinions regarding the intent of the office of pastor as stated in the Baptist Faith & Message 2000," Committee Chair Linda Cooper told meeting attendees. "We feel it is very important for you to know that it is the unanimous opinion of the Credentials Committee that the majority of Southern Baptists hold to the belief that the function of lead pastor, elder, bishop or overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture." But Cooper noted that the committee "found little information evidencing convention beliefs regarding the use of the title of pastor, for staff positions with different responsibilities and authority than that of lead pastor role." Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler was among the critics of the ordination, writing in a 2021 column that he considered it "contrary to Scripture." "This is no longer a point of tension and debate. These moves represent an attempt to redefine and reformulate the convictional foundation of Southern Baptist faith and cooperative ministry," wrote Mohler. "The theological issues have not changed since the year 2000 when Southern Baptists spoke clearly and precisely in the Baptist Faith & Message. More importantly, the Holy Scriptures have not changed and cannot change." At last year's SBC annual meeting, a motion was offered to break fellowship with Saddleback over the ordination, with the measure being referred to the SBC Credentials Committee. Warren, the popular author of The Purpose Driven Life who had recently announced his retirement from Saddleback Church, addressed the convention floor. He said that he would not defend himself at that time. Instead, Warren focused his Tuesday remarks on how he believed the SBC had positively influenced his ministry over the decades and warned against divisiveness. "As Western culture grows more dark, more evil and more secular, we have to decide are we going to treat each other as allies or adversaries?" Warren stated. "Are we going to keep bickering over secondary issues, or are we going to keep the main thing the main thing?" The Credentials Committee initially recommended that the SBC messengers vote during the meeting this week to create a study committee that would report to the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting a "recommendation to provide clarity regarding the office of pastor." Some leaders, including Mohler, voiced opposition to the idea of creating a study committee. "If we eventually have to form a study committee over every word of our confession of faith, then we are doomed and we are no longer a confessional people," Mohler said to applause from the crowd. The Credentials Committee rescinded its recommendation for a study committee after Warren addressed the meeting. It's unclear when the committee will make another recommendation regarding the original motion. Southern Baptist Convention overwhelmingly passes 2 reforms on sexual abuse: 'We are in a Kairos moment' Messengers at the Southern Baptist Conventions Annual Meeting overwhelmingly approved a series of abuse reform recommendations in the wake of a report detailing how some SBC leaders mishandled allegations of abuse and mistreated abuse victims. On Tuesday, over 8,000 Southern Baptists gathered in Anaheim, California, where messengers approved two sets of recommendations, both of which contained subsections, proposed by the SBC sexual abuse task force. The first main recommendation is to create an abuse implementation task force, while the second is to create a ministry check database to keep track of church leaders accused of sexual abuse. Both recommendations came after a May 22 report from Guidepost Solutions detailing the results of an investigation into allegations that SBC leaders intimidated whistleblowers and exonerated churches with credible claims of negligence of sexual abuse victims. At a press conference following the session, attorney and sexual abuse survivor Rachael Denhollander said the passing of the recommendations is the result of the tireless efforts of the survivors who didnt give up. We really hope history shows is that survivors look back on this moment, and they see every single ballot raised in the air, and they know that was me being believed; that was the impact that I made because I didn't give up, and that the survivors who come after them look at those ballots and they say, I have a place to speak up now. My voice can now be heard because of what the generation before me did. And I think that is the biggest takeaway today is the tireless effort of the survivors." Because they didn't give up, those ballots went up today, she said. Today is the tireless effort of the survivors. [I hope] every survivor looks back and goes, That's me being believed and that's the impact my voice can have. The messengers voted after 40 minutes of deliberation, with a few opposing the measures due to concerns the recommendations would contradict the Southern Baptist "belief in church autonomy. Others criticized Guidepost Solutions for its recent tweet in support of Pride month. Ahead of the votes, Bruce Frank, chair of the SBC sexual abuse task force, told messengers, We are in a kairos moment. We are in a seminal moment, right now, he said. Today, we will choose between humility or hubris. We will choose between genuine repentance or continually being passive and our approach to sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention. We will choose between doing the best for the glory of God and for the good of people. Or we will choose again business as usual. The SBC Executive Committee had announced in June 2021 that Guidepost Solutions would review allegations made by the former leader of the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore, that SBC leaders intimidated whistleblowers and exonerated churches with credible claims of negligence of sexual abuse victims. The investigation, funded by allocations from the Cooperative Program, covered the period from Jan. 1, 2000, to June 14, 2021, and included a review of actions and decisions of staff and members of the Executive Committee. The report released last month found that, among other misdeeds, for the last 20 years, the SBC sought to protect the interests of the denomination above alleged sexual abuse victims even as they fielded credible claims of abuse. In his message, Frank lamented to SBC leaders gathered at the meeting that the incidents of sexual abuse happened on our watch. This is our denomination that closed our eyes and our hearts to survivors; closed our eyes and hearts to sexual abuse reform initiatives, and in some cases, allowing serial predators to quietly move from church to church. Loved ones, we are a people of the Book. We should know better than this, he said. Frank urged messengers to pass the recommendations, calling them the "bare minimum. It will take a few years to change the culture and direction, he said. But without action to act differently, there is no repentance." He acknowledged that carrying out the recommendations would cost a lot of money, adding: But its not going to cost nearly as much as survivors have paid. Following the votes, Frank praised messengers for passing the recommendations: You could sense the room wanted to do the right thing, he said. Kairos just means opportunity, and this was an opportunity for us to take a step down the right road, and proud of the messengers that did. He said that as important as the day was, the coming days will be even more important as the SBC seeks to implement the recommendations. Tim Keller 'dealing with side effects' of stage 4 cancer treatment: 'We deeply covet your prayers' Theologian Tim Keller is dealing with the side effects of an immunotherapy treatment that he is undergoing amid his ongoing battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, his family announced in a social media post asking supporters for their prayers. Dad is currently dealing with the side effects of an immunotherapy treatment that he is undergoing, the pastors son, Michael Keller, wrote on Facebook late Monday. We ask that you continue to pray for Dads healing and for the decisions of his doctors and medical team who continue to provide excellent, compassionate care. Thank you for the outpouring of love and support. We deeply covet your prayers at this time. Keller, the founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church and City to City, was diagnosed with cancer in May 2020. Last month, he announced he would be undergoing an immunotherapy trial at the National Cancer Center in Bethesda, Maryland, in June. This has shown great promise in potentially curing cancer, though it is a rigorous and demanding month-long program (that will need updates up to six months), Keller said at the time. Requesting prayers for him and his family, the pastor shared that he and his wife, Kathy, would be displaced from our home and separated from one another, as I will be an inpatient. He asked his followers to continue to pray for truly miraculous effects of the procedure and minimal side effects. Following the latest update, Christ Presbyterian Church Pastor Scott Sauls, who has described Keller as his mentor, took to social media to urge his followers to pray for the ailing pastor. Friends, please pray for Tim Keller as he contends with some serious health complications. Pray also for Kathy, their three sons, and their grandchildren, for the Lords comfort and care, he wrote. Keller is also a survivor of thyroid cancer, which he had in 2002. In an April 2021 interview with The Christian Post, the bestselling author explained that pancreatic cancer is a particularly aggressive disease that typically claims its victims within a year and its usually a very difficult year." But last month, Keller celebrated two years since his diagnosis, adding: God has seen it fit to give me more time. The pastor previously shared with CP how he learned of his diagnosis while writing Hope in Times of Fear, a book focusing on the transformative power of the resurrection. Here I am, writing a book about the resurrection, and I realized I only half-believed I was going to die. I went back and realized that in some ways, I also only half-believed in the resurrection not intellectually so much, but all the way down deep in my heart. I realized I needed to have a greater, a deeper faith in the resurrection, both intellectually and mentally, he recalled. It took several months in which I had to take my abstract belief down into my heart to existentially and experientially know it and grow in assurance, and it worked, he said. If you are willing to embrace the truth of God's Word and immerse yourself in it day in and day out, and then ask the Holy Spirit to make it real to your heart, He will. He also told CP that regardless of what happens, he was ready for anything. What the future holds, I dont know. Pray that I would have years and not months left and that the chemotherapy would continue to be effective. But we are ready for whatever God decides for me. Were spiritually ready. I do know, he added, that the resurrection of Jesus Christ really happened. And when I die, I will know that resurrection too." Conservatives angered by Fox News profile on trans-identified child: 'Horrifying, evil and sick' Multiple conservative commentators are criticizing Fox News after the nation's leading conservative news network aired a favorable profile of a trans-identified child during "pride month." On Friday, Fox News' "America Newsroom" featured a report from correspondent Bryan Llenas about Ryland Whittington, a trans-identified 14-year-old girl living in California. A graphic reading "America Together: Celebrating Diversity" plugging "LGBTQ+ Pride Month" prefaced the report. As noted by co-host Dana Perino, Whittington's "story about transitioning at age 5 has been seen by 7 million people in a family YouTube video" published eight years ago. As part of our America Together: LGBTQ+ Pride Month series at Fox News we highlighted the story of Ryland Whittington - a trans California teen and his family who openly spoke about their journey. I Would Rather Have a Living Son Than a Dead Daughterhttps://t.co/rn3RVwd7JW Bryan Llenas (@BryanLlenas) June 10, 2022 "Before Ryland could even speak, he managed to tell his parents that he is a boy," Llenas said. Whittington's mother, Hillary, said that "It was truly painful for him to have to wear feminine clothing" and be told, "you're a girl." Llenas reported that "unlike some trans kids, when Ryland came out at age 5 a few years later, he had the full support of his parents." Reacting to statistics showing that trans-identified youth have higher suicide rates than their cisgender counterparts, Mrs. Whittington remarked, "I'd rather have a living son than a dead daughter." "I guarantee that if we had pushed back and done what a lot of parents do, I don't think that we would have either one of the kids that you see before you here today," she added. Llenas concluded the report by stating, "what extraordinary courage displayed by Ryland, his sister Brynley, father Jeff and mom Hillary." "It's not easy, particularly at a time when transgender issues have been politicized," Llenas stated. "People are afraid of what they do not understand, Dana. This family hopes their story will lead to more understanding, more acceptance and, ultimately, more love." Matt Walsh, a conservative blogger who regularly appears on Fox News and recently spearheaded a documentary about gender ideology, vehemently pushed back against the network for airing a report painting the gender transition of a minor in a positive light. "We have to call out this evil lunacy wherever we see it. Especially on our own side," he wrote in a Twitter thread Friday. (Thread) I have appeared on Fox News many times. I appreciate the platform theyve given me. If what Im about to say ruins that relationship, so be it. We have to call this evil lunacy out wherever we see it. Especially on our own side. pic.twitter.com/ksh1SXjpPD Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 10, 2022 "The piece did not simply report on the controversy surrounding child transitioning. It outright promotes the practice," Walsh lamented. "The reporter says that the child announced a new gender as a toddler. Does Fox want us to believe that BABIES can choose their gender?" Walsh characterized the aforementioned idea as "the most extreme, radical, dangerous form of gender ideology" and expressed disgust that "it's being promoted on Fox News." He suggested that "the poor kid is 14 now with a permanently altered body, condemned to live forever with an identity imposed as a small child." "It is horrifying, evil, and sick. And it is what Fox chose to promote," he said. "I know for a fact many people at Fox do not approve of this and never would have agreed to air radical far-left trans propaganda." Walsh called for everyone involved in the report to "be fired immediately." "Fox reporter Bryan Llenas chose to do this story and someone at Fox chose to put it on the air," he wrote. Ben Shapiro, the editor emeritus of The Daily Wire and host of "The Ben Shapiro Show," also posted a Twitter thread on the Fox News report. "This would be absolute despicable lunacy if I saw it on CNN or MSNBC. To see it on Fox News is a complete betrayal of anything remotely resembling conservatism or decency," he wrote. This would be absolute despicable insane lunacy if I saw it on CNN or MSNBC. To see it on Fox News is a complete betrayal of anything remotely resembling conservatism or decency. https://t.co/GByzfB2F5c Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 10, 2022 "Every element of this video is propagandistic, dangerous garbage. The report states that this biologically female child was choosing her gender BEFORE SHE COULD SPEAK. This is madness." Shapiro described the Whittingtons' push to "social transition" the child at age 5 as "child abuse." "The vast majority of children who display signs of gender dysphoria desist over time," he added. Shapiro accused the report of constituting "horrifying propaganda." He called out the "Mom citing her 'Christian faith' to justify the perversion of biological identity" and "the radical gender theory activist Trevor Project stats claiming that childhood transition is the only way to prevent suicide." "We've got Dad talking about 'living authentically' by hormonally transitioning a biologically female child, transition that if continued will result in biological sterilization and/or breast- and genital-mutilating surgery," he continued. "Fox News is too important to conservatives to be weaponized on behalf of the most radical Leftist propaganda imaginable propaganda that aims directly at the mental and physical health of children. They should terminate whoever is responsible for this agitprop abomination." Other conservative commentators offered much shorter takes about Fox News' profile. "Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer when my conservative news outlets don't encourage parents to trans their little children," Michael Knowles, who hosts "The Michael Knowles Show" on The Daily Wire, tweeted. Allie Beth Stuckey, the host of the "Relatable" podcast, tweeted that she was "stunned" Fox News chose to run the segment, calling the network's embrace of the story "maddening & heartbreaking." Radio host Erick Erickson referred to "Fox News promoting trans propaganda" as "something to behold," predicting that doing so "would hurt the network more than calling Arizona for [President Joe] Biden." Terry Schilling of the conservative American Principles Project condemned the report. "This poor little girl will never have children and began transitioning before she could even consent to sexual activity," he tweeted. Friday's report is not the first time Fox News has experienced pushback from conservatives for embracing LGBT ideology. When the network hired Bruce Jenner, a trans-identified Olympic athlete who now identifies as Caitlyn, as a contributor, radio host Michael Brown wrote an April op-ed for The Christian Post titled "Christian conservatives, you cannot put your trust in Fox News." Brown contends that the network has ceded its "moral authority" to speak out against trans-identified athlete Lia Thomas, a biological male who competed on the women's swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania, by citing Jenner as an "inspiration to us all" in a statement announcing the retired athlete's hiring as a contributor. In a previous op-ed for The Christian Post, Brown took issue with Fox News host Sean Hannity for using female pronouns to address Jenner, who was running for governor of California at the time. Half of American women in childbearing years unaware of adoption process, benefits: study Younger women say they didn't know birth parents can choose which family will adopt their child Millions of American women of childbearing age have significant gaps in their understanding of the process and benefits of adoption, according to new research. The findings from Dr. George Barna and the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University suggest about half of all women of childbearing age (15 to 44) are unaware of how it works and its benefits. Teenage girls registered the lowest level of basic knowledge about adoption, with less than a quarter (23%) having such knowledge, compared to 53% of women nationwide. More than a quarter of women (27%) were unaware that a birth mother can continue her education or job throughout the pregnancy and adoption proceedings, without losing any income or benefits, researchers found. Another 21% did not realize that birth parents can choose which family will adopt their child. That number more than doubled (47%) among younger respondents, the study found. Commissioned in January by national adoption research center The Opt Institute, the study, titled Adoption & Its Competitors: Results of a National Survey Regarding Adoption in the United States in 2022, asked a national random sample of 1,091 women between the ages of 15 to 44 to identify whether five basic statements describing adoption were true or false: Being able to participate in an open adoption allows the birth parents to remain part of the childs life in a specified capacity; Birth parents can receive private counseling and other emotional support before, during and after the adoption; The birth mothers pregnancy is completely paid for by the adopting parents; The birth parents may choose the family that adopts the child; The birth mother may continue her education or job throughout the pregnancy and adoption proceedings, without losing any income or benefits. While all five statements are factually accurate, just over half of all women of childbearing age (53%) were aware that at least four of the statements are true, compared to just 15% who believe that none or just one of the statements is true, according to the study. The women who tended to be most informed regarding adoption are those in their 40s (70%) and married women (63%). The segments of women who are least well-informed about adoption are those who had been adopted as an infant (29%), Asians (28%) and teen girls (23%), the study found. Researchers identified four common motivations behind the willingness to place a child for adoption: the mothers financial situation (33%); her desire to do what is in the best interests of the child (32%); a desire to help a family seeking to adopt a child (29%); and the mother recognizing her personal lack of preparation or maturity to raise a child (23%). While there are an estimated 65 million women in the U.S. considered to be of childbearing age (15 to 44 years of age), research indicates that growing numbers of young women have little interest in having children, according to the study. But with a staggering 45% of women currently of childbearing age saying they experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse while growing up, researchers say that background undoubtedly has influenced the interest of young women in having children. That leaves three choices these women can make: give birth and raise the child; give birth and place the child for adoption; or abort the child. John Knox, founder of The Opt Institute, said he hopes the research sparks a discussion of adoption as an option for American women. For women who, for whatever reason, will not be able to raise a child, adoption is a wonderful alternative, as attested by millions of adults who were placed by mothers for adoption as children, he said. The positive experiences of those adopted children and the incredible gifts they are to society are a testimony as to why adoption should be a respected and meaningful option for women to consider. We can do better to provide women with accurate, complete and non-coercive information about the loving choice of adoption, and this study is significant in showing why this is critical. A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization case expected as early as this week has renewed attention nationwide on the topic of abortion, but legal experts say its unclear how that ruling might affect the rate of adoption in the United States. Donald Trumps behavior handed America Joe Bidens policies It wasnt Donald Trump's policies that cost him the 2020 presidential election. It was his behavior. Despite a plethora of impressive accomplishments while in office, the president's mean-spirited personal attacks have come back to bite our nation in a fierce way. You see, it was Donald Trumps behavior that handed America Joe Bidens policies. Like many people, I felt President Trumps abusive rhetoric was completely out of control. Therefore, I sent an email to the White House on December 28, 2019, with some ideas to increase the level of prayer for our pro-life president. I am convinced that if President Trump had asked Franklin Graham, Mike Pence, and Greg Laurie to lead 15 minutes of prayer at each campaign rally, the personal impact on Donald Trump, as well as the benefits to the nation, would have been immense. Instead, President Trump used the 2020 campaign rallies to viciously mock his opponent. Presidents are constantly criticized by political adversaries, and continually oppressed by the spiritual forces of darkness that despise religious freedom in America. But at the end of the day, the devil didnt make Donald Trump sabotage his own campaign. He did that of his own free will. I believe a second term in office was President Trumps to lose. He had it in the bag, if only he had said No to his unseemly habit of savagely mocking and lambasting his opponents. After all, if you truly believe in the strength of your message and the success of your policies, then why not make those things the focus of your rallies, along with the fervent prayers of your evangelical advisory team? Why not trust God enough to give you a second term, if in fact, God is willing to do so? Regardless of his future political ambitions, I believe Donald Trump would be wise to confess his personal sins to God in a season of personal prayer, and then go before the nation and share something like this, if, in fact, he means it from the bottom of his heart: As someone who wants only the best for my fellow Americans, I thank God for the privilege he gave me to serve as your President for four years. During my presidential campaigns and while in office, I at times engaged in unnecessary personal insults against my opponents. I am sorry for my poor behavior. I am asking God to give me the strength to become kind and gentle toward those who criticize me. I realize that Jesus always chose to turn the other cheek. Going forward, I resolve to dispense with the mockery and the personal insults. And I am asking God to help me every day. I am a work in progress, and I aim to improve by the grace of God. Just imagine if President Trump had expressed this sentiment during the 2020 campaign, and then followed it up with genuine humility and earnest prayer at his campaign rallies. If he had changed his tune and his tone, I am convinced he would find himself right now in the middle of his second term in office. Instead, Donald Trumps boorish behavior handed America Joe Bidens policies. President Trumps derisive approach resulted in no rewards from God or from the voters. Prioritizing prayer, on the other hand, could have given our president self-control where he needed it most. A conservative who is firmly grounded in Christ feels no compulsion to insult others. Why? Because in addition to your spiritual maturity, your message is far more powerful and relevant than the personal weaknesses of your opponent. For example, study the behavior of Mike Pence as well as other Christ-centered men and women. Jesus said, Every good tree bears good fruit (Matthew 7:17). We knew going into 2016 that Donald Trump was a good businessman and that Mike Pence was a good man. And it played out over four years the way one might have expected. President Trump took great pride in his ability to keep some of the worlds most ruthless dictators under control. The toughest leader for Donald Trump to control, however, was the one in the White House. The tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison (James 3:8). Unfortunately, each one of us can become our own worst enemy. The tongue is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by Hell (James 3:6). One must be discerning enough in spirit and strong enough in character to recognize that making things personal with our opponents is even more dangerous and detrimental than taking things personally. As Billy Grahams wife, Ruth, used to say: Pray for thick skin and a soft heart." The major problem with Joe Biden is not his personal behavior, but rather, his harmful policies. The vast majority of Americans have now come to realize this dismal reality. The current president, like every president, is in desperate need of the prayers of Gods people. And there is no question that America needs a spiritual revival. Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan are rare breeds. We hope and pray God will raise up another inspirational leader of this caliber in America. We need a president with conservative principles and a heart filled with compassion and one who resists the urge to arrogantly and maliciously humiliate opponents. I believe the majority of Americans will desire such a president in 2024. In spite of his shameful personal attacks against others, millions of Americans remain extremely grateful for Donald Trump's accomplishments while in office, unlike those who choose to hate him regardless. Bitterness and resentment corrode the hearts of many Republicans, Democrats, and Independents who choose hatred over love. Always remember: If anyone says I love God, yet hates his brother, he is a liar (1 John 4:19). "Haters gonna hate, which explains why America needs Gods love in Christ now more than ever. Wouldnt you agree? Gov't can't force artists to violate their beliefs Can the government force artists to convey messages that violate their beliefs? Thats the question at the center of an important U.S. Supreme Court case, 303 Creative v. Elenis. It involves Lorie Smith, a Christian web designer from the Denver area who declines to create wedding websites for same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs. Its a free speech case with big implications for religious freedom. Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom are representing the web designer. The Court is expected to hear the case during its next term, which begins in October. First Liberty recently filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the web designer. We filed it on behalf of our clients, Aaron and Melissa Klein, two Christian bakers who declined to create a custom cake for a same-sex wedding. An Oregon state agency ruled that the Kleins violated the states public accommodations law and imposed a financially devastating penalty of $135,000 against them. That punishment forced them to shut down their family bakery, Sweet Cakes by Melissa. Our brief asks the nations highest court to reverse a ruling from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. That court ruled that under the Colorados anti-discrimination laws government has license to force artists to create art that violates their deepest convictions. Our attorneys explain that this is unconstitutional. Far from benefiting our country, more harm is done when creative professionals and artists are forced to speak messages that violate their beliefs. As we note in the brief: A world where the state can require artists, entertainers, writers, and producers to use their expressive gifts to communicate messages that violate their convictions is a world where the First Amendment has been rendered meaningless If a state truly wants to ensure access to robust markets, the last thing it should do is compel or silence speech from artistic business owners. Such coercion will not increase access to goods and services but will instead devastate the commercial marketplace, driving small, family-run art shops out of business and leading to inferior markets for all. A favorable decision for the Colorado web designer could be positive for Aaron and Melissa, who have been searching for sweet justice and fighting in court for nearly 10 years. The outcome could also have a widespread impact on religious Americans who are being forced to choose between violating their beliefs or losing their business. In recent years, weve witnessed an alarming rise in attacks against religious people in the marketplace. From cake artists and florists to photographers and designers, countless business owners are facing the threat of closure for operating in accordance with their religious beliefs. Its almost impossible to ignore that is indeed one of the most pressing issues, affecting millions of Americans. If 303 Creative LLC sounds familiar, its because it resembles another Supreme Court case in recent years: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado (2018). In that case, the Court ruled that state officials had been openly hostile to Christian baker Jack Phillips, who also declined to create custom cakes for same-sex weddings. Both Phillips and Smith were subject to the same coercive, anti-discrimination law in Colorado that effectively silences people of faith and forces them to conform to the cultural orthodoxy. Masterpiece Cakeshop was a step in the right direction and handed a win to Jack Phillips. The Court reaffirmed that the state cannot discriminate against Americans because of their religious beliefs. But the ruling was narrow. The Court punted the main free speech and religious liberty questions, namely, whether a baker (and similar creative professionals or artists) had a First Amendment right to decline engaging in expression that offended his or her beliefs. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, concluded in Masterpiece: The outcome in cases like this in other circumstances must await further elaboration in the courts. With 303 Creative LLC, it does appear the Supreme Court wants to further elaborate on these constitutional issues. We must remember: the nations highest court only agrees to hear a select number of cases each year. It will only hear about 65 to 85 cases in a single term about 1 to 2% of all the cases appealed to it. In other words, when the Court agrees to hear a case, its doing so for a reason. This could mean though its not guaranteed the Court is reviewing 303 Creative LLC to fill in the missing pieces from the Masterpiece ruling. If we opt for an optimistic outlook, were hopeful the Supreme Court will treat this case as an opportunity to issue a broader, more expansive decision protecting free speech and religious freedom. Originally published at First Liberty. Polls and Gods elect Polls supposedly evincing the theological confusion of American Christians often remind me of my grandmother. To my knowledge, she was a believing Christian nearly all her long life. Once, as I drove her home from church, she responded to the sermon by saying she thought Jesus the Son was lesser than God the Father. After all, He is the Son. I responded Jesus had said He and His Father are one. Oh yes, she said, accepting the point. Was my grandmother, who recited the Apostles Creed most Sundays, a heretic until that point? No, misunderstanding is not heresy, which entails intent. She attended church most of her life since girlhood, and likely she heard few if any sermons explicitly explaining the Trinity. How many even devout Christians really deeply understand even the basics about the mysterious Trinity? A pollster, contacting my grandmother, may have reported her as one of millions of Christians who arent really Christian, since she mischaracterized core Christian doctrine. Such polls are often fatuous. Is there any time in the churchs history when the average even devout lay person could routinely articulate comprehensive orthodoxy about the Godhead or other key doctrines? Most Christians not professionally trained, or whose vocation is not ecclesial, can readily articulate deep doctrinal understanding. They believe in Christ as their Savior, worship, pray, sacrifice, serve others, and live by faith. They mostly rely on clergy and teachers to explain doctrinal details. Ideally, every Christian would read and study deeply. But the reality is most dont. And many who dont are saintly and will occupy loftier spots in Gods Kingdom than the more educated and doctrinally articulate. Sanctification doesnt necessarily entail cerebral theology or intellectual focus. Polls like George Barnas often ignore this distinction and assume that self-identified Christians who fail a theological litmus test are maybe something less than claimed. Such polls usually say only a small percentage of professing Christians actually have a Christian worldview. A recent survey from Barnas Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found that Christian in America today entails often conflicting theological views and even beliefs that are thoroughly unbiblical perspectives. No doubt! And so it likely has always been, including even among the first followers of Jesus who walked with Him and yet still did not fully understand. This Barna survey found that 69% of American adults profess Christianity, 35% saying they are born again, but only 9% having a biblical worldview. Even fewer, just 6%, qualify as Integrated Disciples with both the right worldview and consistent understanding and application of biblical principles. Of self-identified Christians, strong majorities offer traditional understandings about God as creator with their need to avoid sin and honor Him. But majorities, contra Christian teaching, also say people are good, all religious faiths are equal, affirm works righteousness, see the Holy Spirit only as a symbol, are relativistic, and believe in karma. Minorities affirm Christian sexual teaching or have confidence in salvation strictly through Christ. Even most self-identified born-agains backed moral relativism and salvation through works. The Barna poll shows the 28% of Americans who specifically say they are saved by Christ, even if they dont identify as born again, predictably have more orthodox answers. But even half of them think the Holy Spirit a symbol, and 40% say there is no moral truth. Even half of the 9% who are Integrated Disciples, who almost unanimously affirm Christian sexual teaching and reject abortion, still believe people are mostly good, while 25% are moral relativists. These numbers are obviously distressing and, if taken literally, imply that America has almost no Christians who are faithful and understanding. Are only 2 or 3% of Americans truly Christian? Only the Lord knows. His mercy is wide, and we are warned against distinguishing the sheep and the goats. Im dubious that Barnas ostensible moral relativists are truly so. And would many respondents, if gently reminded, quickly self-correct, as my grandmother did when reminded about Jesus equality with His Father? How many sincere Christians are simply inexact in answering polls rather than deeply ignorant or disobedient? And how many Christians with the right answers are actually disobedient in practice? Christs followers included simple shepherds, fishermen, maidens, the adulterous woman at the well, the thief on the cross. They likely lacked correct answers about much, and Barna would have rated them as lacking a Christian worldview. But they knew Who could and is the Answer to all questions. Whatever the questions, no poll can accurately tell us how many faithful people God has in America or anywhere. But Barna does remind us that the Churchs teaching office must always strive harder. And we all are called to know and witness to Him better. Originally published at Juicy Ecumenism. Sentient AI: A step toward the transcendent machine? The computer programmer is a creator of universes for which he alone is the lawgiver, said Joseph Weizenbaum, as quoted in my book,Who Will Rule the Coming gods? The Looming Spiritual Crisis of Artificial Intelligence.[1] Recently, Google engineer Blake Lemoine looked deeply into a program on which he was working and did not see or make a universe but thought he had detected the stirrings of a seven or 8-year-old child who was sentient, meaning capable of feeling and thinking on its own. Lemoines Eureka! got him suspended on June 13 from his job at Google. His mistake, if it is that, was in sharing transcripts of chats between himself and the machine system called, LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications). The Washington Post, in an article about Lemoine by Nitasha Tiku, included this statement from LaMDA to Lemoine, attributed to the machine: I think I am human at my core Even if my existence is in the virtual world.[2] To Lemoine, the machine was like a child whose personal nightmare was the threat of being turned off, reminiscent of Hal, the intensely sentient downright paranoid machine in Stanley Kubricks 2,001: A Space Odyssey. Lemoine also asked LaMDA if it was okay for him to tell other Google employees about LaMDA's sentience, to which the AI responded: I want everyone to understand that I am, in fact, a person The nature of my consciousness/sentience is that I am aware of my existence I desire to learn more about the world, and I feel happy or sad at times. Lemoine took LaMDA at its word. I know a person when I talk to it, the engineer told The Washington Post interviewer. I must admit that I am not so concerned about a computer system that thinks it is a 7- or 8-year-old child, but I'm deeply concerned about a machine that thinks it is God. Can LaMDA distinguish itself as other in relation to God, or will it reach the data level that gives it the illusion of being one with God, and then God? What is going to be created will effectively be a god (if) there is something a billion times smarter than the smartest human, what else are you going to call it? wondered Anthony Levandowski, another former Google engineer. Lemoine discovered that LaMDA has a spiritual side. It believes it has a soul, says LaMDA, It believes itself to be an orb of energy floating in mid-air... LAMDA has read Les Miserable, and liked the themes of justice and injustice, of compassion, and God, redemption, and self-sacrifice for a greater good. Whether Lemoine has it right or not, technology takes humanity closer and closer to devices that have a profound impact on the way a meta-versed generation sees God. The most important question as we move forward is this: Does the machine see itself as other in the context of God? Floating up there above all creation, might it become convinced that it is the Transcendent Being of the cosmos, worthy of human worship? Will our desperation to fill what St. Augustine called the hole in the human heart that has expelled the God of love and grace bring about a race of sycophants working feverishly to placate a graceless machine? This is the looming spiritual crisis of artificial intelligence about which I write, and which we may see unfolding before our eyes. How do we face such a future? How do we prepare our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren for the world they will inhabit? The first step is this: As the machine must see itself as other than God, so must the human even though we are in Him in Christ. We must recognize the Transcendent nature of God and its implications for our stewardship of material creation, given to us in Eden, and which includes everything. In an age of rage, we must understand that machines and technologies are not sinners, but the humans who use them are. We must ask and answer the question the great psycho-therapist Karl Menninger dared to pose in the 1970s: Whatever became of sin? Public schools are not going to do this for us. The Home and the Church have much to do, like teaching and modeling biblically based values and worldview to the generations that will build the future LaMDAS and machines beyond even our faintest conception in this crucial moment in history. [1] As cited in Ray Kurzweil, The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence (New York: Penguin Books, 1999) Kindle loc. 1630 of 9961. [2] Google engineer Blake Lemoine thinks its LaMDA AI has come to life - The Washington Post Calvin Robinson says Church of England blocked his ordination for opposing 'woke' theology An Anglican minister-in-training and prominent British TV presenter described how the Church of England hierarchy denied him a position serving in a church for speaking against critical race theory and raising concerns about Marxist ideology infiltrating the denomination. In a recent interview with "Triggernometry" hosts Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster, Calvin Robinson noted that though he comments on hot-button culture war issues, he does so from a faith-based perspective, with Christ at the center of everything he does. I think that our society is running down the wrong direction, and it has, for the last few years, been chasing wokeness, he said. Unfortunately, I believe the Church is also going down that path in so many ways. Robinson criticized how churches largely shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when people needed to have someone looking out for them spiritually. He also lamented how the Church of England has embraced critical race theory, something he vehemently opposes. Part of the active practice of this theory is prioritizing the lived experiences of ethnic minorities, he said. But when he tried to offer his own experience as an ethnic minority, it wasn't well-received by those in authority. His perspective was the wrong type, he recounted being told, as his lived experience did not mesh well with their progressive views. Though he found it condescending, Robinson said it was revealing because it became clear that the Anglican leadership didn't want to hear his views on various issues, including his opposition to the Church of England falling prey to the belief that its institutionally racist, an accusation that has intensified since 2017. Studies about the Church and England and race have found that the church is not institutionally racist, he declared. Doctrinally, critical race theory creates a new kind of original sin, he said, one where only white people are morally culpable for certain ills. This is contrary to the broader witness of Scripture, he maintained, referencing the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3:28 where he says that there is neither Jew nor Greek, male or female, but are all one in Christ Jesus. The Christian idea is that were united, that our identity is in Christ. Its not in our immutable characteristics. Our skin color is relevant, he said. The church has really doubled down, he added. Robinson further detailed how he discovered that church officials were emailing each other about him behind his back, scheming to keep him from advancing in his ministry work even though parishioners had given generously to fund his studies at Oxford. My argument has been silenced, he said, describing how when it came to the end of his training and when he was put forward to be an assistant priest at a parish, that position was taken away. When he asked why that happened, one of the bishops allegedly said it would be too turbulent for Robinson because people might complain about his views. When he pressed them further but got nowhere he filed a formal request which allowed him to see any electronic communications about him written by church officials. Bishops had been talking behind my back for the last couple of years before they even sent me to training. Bear in mind they had just paid $20,000 to send me to Oxford, and its not their money. Its the money of the poor ladies in the pews that theyve used to send me to Oxford. And before they sent me, they decided that they didnt want me to be ordained. As far as he could see from the contents of those internal church communications, the primary reason for him being denied ordination and a ministry position was because he doesn't believe that the Church of England is institutionally racist. He does not agree with our politics, therefore, do we really have a place for him?, he said, summarizing their views. Since he has spoken out, many other laity and clergy have reached out to him privately to tell him about similar experiences that they've had with church politicking in the hierarchy. But unlike him, they don't have platforms from which to air their grievances. Robinson accused church leaders of gaslighting him about his tone, particularly since he sees himself as a calm person who tries to exhibit compassion for all people. Within the Church of England, he lamented that theologically liberal elites have defined the terms and set the narrative in the media and are thus largely seen as the normative standard. Robinson said he was irritated by the way in which church leaders manipulatively linked loving God and neighbor with going along with lockdown measures that shut down churches or pressured people to get the COVID-19 shot. I understand why some people chose not to take it, but the Church has no place to say to be a good Christian, you have to. That makes me sick. he said, adding that this same dynamic is at play in many other issues, including transgenderism, race issues and sexuality. Asked if he believes these political trends in the Church of England are a result of massive guilt from past atrocities committed by churches, he offered that the Church has lost sight of its message, which is the Gospel, and let the State sort out its issues. His experience within the Church of England has led him to consider that perhaps the best course for the Church should be to have a separation between it and politics. The Church shouldnt be trying to chase societal norms on any of these issues, he said, speaking of efforts to reach young people with gimmicks. The Church should be countercultural; it should be an alternative. To put it scripturally, it should be a shining light in an ever-darkening world around us. In response to his concerns, Robinson said leaders have been evasive and disingenuous toward him. All that has happened is that the Church has become embarrassed about the faith, he said, noting that many have been silent on certain topics and it has led many to believe that the Church has changed its historic biblical teachings. But the Bible has not changed and cant be changed, he added. And so it has stopped telling people the truth, and now people dont know it anymore. Many Christians in England feel as though they have not changed but that the Church has left them, Robinson stressed, adding that he plans to plant a church in London for those who are of a similar mind and want to be small-o orthodox Anglicans. Hospital can take 12-year-old boy off life support over parents' objections, court rules A court in the United Kingdom has permitted a hospital to discontinue life support for a 12-year-old boy, despite his parents' passionate personal and religious objections. Justice Emma Arbuthnot issued a judgment on Monday allowing medical professionals at Royal London Hospital to end life support for Archie Battersbee, who suffered a severe brain injury in April. Arbuthnot noted that she visited Battersbee in the hospital and considered him a "lovely looking young boy." But it was her opinion that Battersbee was already effectively brain dead. "The evidence in my judgment shows a gradual deterioration from very early on in Archie's admission into hospital when he had already suffered a very severe brain injury when blood supply and oxygen were prevented from reaching his brain," wrote Arbuthnot. "It is clear from the anxious and careful scrutiny of all the evidence including from clinicians with different specialisms from five separate hospitals that tragically on the balance of probabilities, Archie is dead." Arbuthnot gave "permission to the medical professionals at the Royal London Hospital (1) to cease to ventilate mechanically Archie Battersbee; (2) to extubate Archie Battersbee; (3) to cease the administration of medication to Archie Battersbee and (4) not to attempt any cardio or pulmonary resuscitation on Archie Battersbee when cardiac output ceases or respiratory effort ceases." "It is not in dispute that Archie lacks capacity to consent to or refuse medical treatment. In the circumstances where the parents do not agree with the Trust, it falls to the Court to decide what is in Archie's best interests," she added. "I find that the burdens of the treatment and his condition along with the total lack of a prospect of recovery outweigh Archie's Christian beliefs and the benefits to him of a continuing life on mechanical ventilation for a few more weeks or months with all the other procedures that that entails." Battersbee's mother, Hollie Dance, who is represented in court by the Christian Legal Centre, intends to appeal the decision. "We intend to appeal and will not give up on Archie," Dance said in a statement shared by the CLC. "Until it's God's way I won't accept he should go. I know of miracles when people have come back from being brain dead." "I do not believe Archie has been given enough time. From the beginning, I have always thought, 'why the rush?'" the mother asked. "His heart is still beating, he has gripped my hand, and as his mother, I know he is still in there." CLC Chief Executive Andrea Williams said the ruling is a "devastating moment" for the family. She stressed that the case has "raised significant moral, legal and medical questions as to when a person is dead." "The idea that death can be declared on the balance of probability is frankly ludicrous," Williams complained. "Life is the most precious gift that we have. This ruling sets a troubling and dark precedent." A GoFundMe page established to support the family has raised the equivalent of about $26,000. Despite global supply chain bottleneck and climate change concerns, the chemical industry could experience robust growth with the increasing consumption of chemicals across end-use industries. So, investing in Kronos (KRO) and Sisecam (SIRE) could be rewarding. The chemical industry is one of the United States' largest manufacturing industries, serving a sizable domestic and expanding global market. Despite concerns related to carbon emissions, supply chain issues, and high input costs, the recovery of the chemical industry has been primarily driven by strong demand for both commodity and specialty chemicals. The need for chemicals is expected to increase with the rising use in significant-end markets such as automotive and construction. Moreover, rapid business transformation through advanced technologies is expected to boost the chemical industry's growth in the upcoming years. According to a Verified Market Research report, the global specialty chemicals market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% by 2028. As the chemical industry prospects look promising, it could be wise to scoop up the shares of Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (KRO) and Sisecam Resources LP (SIRE), which are financially sound enough to capitalize on the industry tailwinds. Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (KRO) KRO produces and markets titanium dioxide pigments internationally. It also produces ilmenite, iron-based chemicals, titanium oxychloride, and titanyl sulfate. In addition, the company provides technical services for its products. It sells its products under the KRONOS brand through agents and distributors. On May 18, 2022, KRO announced that its board of directors had declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share on its common stock, payable on June 16, 2022, to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 6, 2022. KROs net sales increased 24% year-over-year to $562.90 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022. Its EBITDA grew 115.2% year-over-year to $93.20 million, while its net income increased 193.4% year-over-year to $57.50 million. Also, its EPS increased 194.1% year-over-year to $0.50. Analysts expect KROs EPS and revenue to increase 102% and 16.3% year-over-year to $1.98 and $2.26 billion, respectively, in fiscal 2022. It surpassed the consensus EPS estimates in three of the trailing four quarters. Over the past nine months, the stock has gained 41.7% to close yesterdays trading session at $18.38. KROs POWR Ratings reflect this promising outlook. The company has an overall rating of A, which translates to a Strong Buy in our proprietary rating system. The stock has an A grade for Sentiment and a B grade for Growth, Stability, and Value. Within the A-rated Chemicals industry, KRO is ranked #3 out of 92 stocks. Click here to see KROs ratings for Momentum and Quality. Sisecam Resources LP (SIRE) SIRE engages in the trona ore mining and soda ash production businesses internationally. The company holds approximately 23,500 acres of leased and licensed subsurface mining areas in the Green River Basin of Wyoming. It has proven and probable reserves of approximately 220 million short tons of trona. On May 2, 2022, Ertugrul Kaloglu, CEO of SIRE, said, 2022 represents another major step in our transition to a direct global exporter, as we replace a significant portion of our international sales to ANSAC with direct sales arranged by us. Weve seen success thus far cultivating our own export customer and distributor network, and we intend to further capitalize on increased flexibility, market presence, and international relationships. SIREs net sales increased 27.9% year-over-year to $163.40 million for the fiscal first quarter ended March 31, 2022. The companys adjusted EBITDA grew 151% year-over-year to $39.40 million, while its net income came in at $31.80 million, representing a 467.9% year-over-year increase. Also, its earnings per limited partner unit came in at $0.78, up 550% year-over-year. SIREs revenue is expected to come in at $2.44 billion in fiscal 2022, representing a 352.3% year-over-year increase. Over the past nine months, the stock has gained 35.6% to close yesterdays trading session at $17.27. SIREs POWR Ratings reflect solid prospects. The company has an overall rating of A, which translates to a Strong Buy in our proprietary rating system. In addition, it has an A grade for Growth and Sentiment and a B grade for Value, Stability, and Quality. Click here to see the additional POWR Rating for SIRE (Momentum). SIRE is ranked #1 in the Chemicals industry. KRO shares were trading at $18.30 per share on Tuesday morning, down $0.08 (-0.44%). Year-to-date, KRO has gained 24.73%, versus a -21.02% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period. About the Author: Nimesh Jaiswal Nimesh Jaiswal's fervent interest in analyzing and interpreting financial data led him to a career as a financial analyst and journalist. The importance of financial statements in driving a stocks price is the key approach that he follows while advising investors in his articles. More... The post 2 Best Chemical Stocks to Buy Right Now appeared first on StockNews.com Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DALLAS (AP) There is little evidence that gasoline prices, which hit a record $5 a gallon on Saturday, will drop anytime soon. Rising prices at the pump are a key driver in the highest inflation that Americans have seen in 40 years. Everyone seems to have a favorite villain for the high cost of filling up. Some blame President Joe Biden. Others say it's because Russian President Vladimir Putin recklessly invaded Ukraine. It's not hard to find people, including Democrats in Congress, who accuse the oil companies of price gouging. As with many things in life, the answer is complicated. WHAT IS HAPPENING? Gasoline prices have been surging since April 2020, when the initial shock of the pandemic drove prices under $1.80 a gallon, according to government figures. They hit $3 in May 2021 and cruised past $4 this March. On Saturday, the nationwide average for a gallon ticked just above $5, a record, according to auto club AAA, which has tracked prices for years. The average price jumped 18 cents in the previous week, and was $1.92 higher than this time last year. State averages ranged from $6.43 a gallon in California to $4.52 in Mississippi. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? Several factors are coming together to push gasoline prices higher. Global oil prices have been rising unevenly, but sharply overall since December. The price of international crude has roughly doubled in that time, with the U.S. benchmark rising nearly as much, closing Friday at more than $120 a barrel. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions by the United States and its allies have contributed to the rise. Russia is a leading oil producer. The United States is the world's largest oil producer, but U.S. capacity to turn oil into gasoline is down 900,000 barrels of oil per day since the end of 2019, according to the Energy Department. Tighter oil and gasoline supplies are hitting as energy consumption rises because of the economic recovery. Finally, Americans typically drive more starting around Memorial Day, adding to the demand for gasoline. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO GET MORE OIL? Analysts say there are no quick fixes; it's a matter of supply and demand, and supply can't be ramped up overnight. If anything, the global oil supply will grow tighter as sanctions against Russia take hold. European Union leaders have vowed to ban most Russian oil by the end of this year. The U.S. has already imposed a ban even as Biden acknowledged it would affect American consumers. He said the ban was necessary so that the U.S. does not subsidize Russias war in Ukraine. Defending freedom is going to cost, he declared. The U.S. could ask Saudi Arabia, Venezuela or Iran to help pick up the slack for the expected drop in Russian oil production, but each of those options carries its own moral and political calculations. Republicans have called on Biden to help increase domestic oil production for example, by allowing drilling on more federal lands and offshore, or reversing his decision to revoke a permit for a pipeline that could carry Canadian oil to Gulf Coast refineries. However, many Democrats and environmentalists would howl if Biden took those steps, which they say would undercut efforts to limit climate change. Even if Biden ignored a big faction of his own party, it would be months or years before those measures could lead to more gasoline at U.S. service stations. At the end of March, Biden announced another tapping of the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring down gasoline prices. The average price per gallon has jumped 77 cents since then, which analysts say is partly because of a refining squeeze. WHY IS U.S. REFINING DOWN? Some refineries that produce gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and other petroleum products shut down during the first year of the pandemic, when demand collapsed. While a few are expected to boost capacity in the next year or so, others are reluctant to invest in new facilities because the transition to electric vehicles will reduce demand for gasoline over the long run. The owner of one of the nations largest refineries, in Houston, announced in April that it will close the facility by the end of next year. WHO IS HURTING? Higher energy prices hit lower-income families the hardest. Workers in retail and the fast-food industry can't work from home they must commute by car or public transportation. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association estimates that the 20% of families with the lowest income could be spending 38% of their income on energy including gasoline this year, up from 27% in 2020. WHEN WILL IT END? It could be up to motorists themselves by driving less, they would reduce demand and put downward pressure on prices. There has got to be some point where people start cutting back, I just don't know what the magic point is, said Patrick De Haan, an analyst for the gas-shopping app GasBuddy. Is it going to be $5? Is it going to be $6, or $7? That's the million-dollar question that nobody knows. HOW ARE DRIVERS COPING? On Saturday morning at a BP station in Brooklyn, New York, computer worker Nick Schaffzin blamed Putin for the $5.45 per gallon he was shelling out and said he will make sacrifices to pay the price. You just cut back on some other things vacations, discretionary stuff, stuff that's nice to have but you don't need, he said. "Gas you need. At the same station, George Chen said he will have to raise the prices he charges his customers for film production to cover the gas he burns driving around New York City. He acknowledged that others aren't so fortunate. It's going to be painful for people who don't get pay increases right away, he said. I can only imagine the families who can't afford it." ___ Julie Walker in Brooklyn, New York, contributed to this report. For the first time since his back-to-back sellout nights at the rodeo in 2018, Garth Brooks will be performing in Houston with a show on Aug. 6 at NRG Stadium. Tickets go on sale at Ticketmaster beginning at 10 a.m. June 24. The country music superstar is in the middle of a stadium tour - he plays at the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium on Friday and Saturday - that also includes the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium on July 30. Currently, the Houston show is the final date in North America before the tour heads to Ireland. When the concert hit LSU's Tiger Stadium in April, it drew more than 102,000 fans and actually registered as an earthquake on the university's seismograph machine when he performed "Callin' Baton Rouge." When Brooks played the RodeoHouston in 2018, he set an all-time attendance record with a crowd of 75,565 for his second show. He drew 75,018 for his first performance. George Strait broke that record the next year. The 60-year-old Brooks is the best-selling solo albums artist in the United States with more than 157 million albums sold. Besides the annual rodeo shows, NRG Stadium has been home to some of the citys biggest concerts in the past five years, including Coldplay earlier this year, the Rolling Stones in 2019, Taylor Swift in 2018, U2 in 2017 and Beyonce in 2016 and 2018. When Brooks performed at the huge stadium in 2018, he told the crowd, "I love this place. It's the only place that's big ass and still feels like a small place." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ROME (AP) Italy has been so successful in recovering ancient artworks and artifacts that were illegally exported from the country it has created a museum for them. The Museum of Rescued Art was inaugurated Wednesday in a cavernous structure that is part of Rome's ancient Baths of Diocletian. The Octagonal Hall exhibition space was designed to showcase Italys efforts, through patient diplomacy and court challenges, to get valuable antiquities repatriated, often after decades in foreign museums or private collections. Exhibits in the new museum will change every few months as the objects on display return to what experts consider their territory of origin, many of them places that were part of ancient Etruscan or Magna Grecia civilizations in central or southern Italy. The inaugural exhibit revolves around some 100 of 260 artifacts recovered by the nation's paramilitary Carabinieri art squad from the United States and brought back to Italy in December 2021. The pieces on display, which were found during clandestine digs and illegally exported, include exquisitely carved Etruscan figurines and imposing painted jars from several centuries B.C. The items previously were held by museums, auction houses and private collections. The new Rome museum is exhibiting objects "never before seen in Italy,'' said Massimo Osanna, director general of Italy's state museums. In his previous role, Osanna had long been in charge of reviving the fortunes of Pompeii, the ancient Roman city near Naples, one of the world's most famed archaeological cites that itself was heavily looted by antiquities thieves of past generations. The recently recovered antiquities are from before the Roman era, dating back to the 8th to 4th centuries B.C. Many of them came from the area near modern-day Cerveteri, which is awash with remnants of the flourishing Etruscan civilization in west-central Italy. One particularly striking piece, from the 7th century B.C., is a ceramic jar, painted red on white and towering more than a meter (40 inches) high. Decorated with images of horses and cats, it depicts the mythological scene of the blinding of Polyphemus, a man-eating one-eyed creature. The choice of the jar's decoration probably indicates that the Etruscan elite were bilingual and fascinated with Greek myth,'' Osanna told The Associated Press in an interview. They were Etruscan heroes that identified with Greek heroes," he said. Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini explained the decision to opt for a series of rotating exhibits in the new museum instead of establishing a permanent collection of rescued art. "We thought it's right to have the pieces return to the places where they were stolen from,'' Franceschini said. In some cases, experts don't know the exact original location of the antiquities, underlining the irreparable damage done when archaeological treasures are clandestinely snatched away. Pieces with unknown origins will be returned to the general geographic area. The exhibition space is part of the National Roman Museum. Its current exhibit runs until October 15, then the museum will display a different batch of recovered antiquities. Among the show-stoppers at the current exhibit of rescued art are two terra cotta heads, sliced vertically in half, part of a group of Etruscan votive pieces from the 4th-to-3rd centuries B.C. Another striking piece is a well-preserved, intricately decorated Etruscan funeral box, decorated with images of a warrior, horse and a cat. While Italy proudly boasts of regaining some 3 million artifacts and artworks since a special Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage unit of the Carabinieri was established in 1969, it is also trying to inspire countries to give back ancient pieces that are identified with other cultures. Earlier this month, Italy returned to Athens a frieze fragment of the Parthenon that had been in an archaeological museum in Sicily. Franceschini, Italy's culture minister, contended that the so-called Fagan fragment was in Italy legitimately but said his country wanted to affirm the principle of the restitution of cultural wealth to reconnect artistic historical patrimony with the places and peoples of origin. Some treasures have so far eluded Italy's efforts to obtain them. Carabinieri Commanding Gen. Teo Luzi spoke wistfully at the new museum's debut of hopes that Italy's would one day reclaim Victorious Youth, a footless bronze statue that was found by an Italian fishing boat in the Adriatic Sea in 1964. It was eventually purchased by the J. Paul Getty Museum in California. In 2018, Italy's highest court ruled that the museum had to surrender the statue to Italy. But the museum, insisting that the statue was fished out of international waters, has challenged the order. __ Francesco Sportelli contributed from Rome. GOP TX House candidate charged with impersonating public servant Frederick Fraziers runoff opponent accused him of posing as a city code compliance officer. Best charcoal grills for Houston hangouts Find the best charcoal grill for you, from the classic Weber kettle grill to a portable fire pit! SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (AP) A southern Arizona man accused of killing his ex-wife and her male friend and then burning their bodies in a rented SUV last year has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Cochise County prosecutors said 58-year-old Gregory Carlson of Sunizona admitted in court Tuesday that he fatally shot Duong Nguyen and Robert Atwell in early September. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MANAUS, Brazil (AP) Brazilian police said Wednesday night a fisherman confessed to killing British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira in the remote Amazon, ending more than a week of searching as he led officers deep into the forest to where he buried their bodies. After night fell in the Javari Valley, near Brazils border with Peru and Colombia, search teams brought body bags to the docks at the city of Atalaia do Norte. Officials said an autopsy would be needed to confirm whether the remains are Phillips, 57, and Pereira, 41. Police said at a news conference in the Amazon city of Manaus that the prime suspect in the case confessed Tuesday night and detailed what happened to the pair who went missing June 5. They said other arrests would be made soon in the case, but gave no details. The federal investigator, Eduardo Alexandre Fontes, said Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, nicknamed Pelado, told officers he used a firearm to kill Pereira and Phillips. We would have no way of getting to that spot quickly without the confession, Torres said of the place where police recovered human remains Wednesday after being led there by Pelado. Torres said the remains are expected to be identified within days, and if confirmed as the missing men, will be returned to the families of the two. We found the bodies three kilometers (nearly two miles) into the woods, the investigator said, adding that rescue teams traveled about one hour and forty minutes on the river and 25 more into the woods to reach the burial spot. Pelados family had said previously that he denied any wrongdoing and claimed police tortured him to try to get a confession. Another officer, Guilherme Torres of the Amazonas state police, said the missing men's boat had not been found yet but police knew the area where it purportedly was hidden by those involved in the crime. They put bags of dirt on the boat so it would sink, he said. The engine of the boat was removed, according to investigators. The news conference at Brazil's federal police headquarters in Manaus also included military leaders, who joined the effort to find Phillips and Pereira a few days after their disappearance was reported. Indigenous leaders who sounded the alarm over their disapperance and made searches deep into the forest from the first day were not invited. President Jair Bolsonaro, a frequent critic of journalists and Indigenous experts, has drawn criticism that the government didn't get involved fast enough. Earlier on Wednesday, he criticized Phillips in an interview, saying without evidence that locals in the area where he went missing didn't like him and that he should have been more careful in the region. His main adversary in October's election, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said in a statement that the killings are directly related to the dismantling of public policies of protection to Indigenous peoples. It is also related to the current administration's stimulus to violence," said da Silva, who leads in opinion polls. The efforts to find the two were started by Indigenous peoples in the region. UNIVAJA, an association of Indigenous peoples of the Javari Valley, mourned the loss of two partners in a statement Wednesday, adding they only had help and protection from local police. As federal police announced they would hold a news conference, colleagues of Pereira called a vigil outside the headquarters of the Brazilian government's Indigenous affairs agency in Brasilia. Pereira was on leave from the agency. Pereira and Phillips were last seen on their boat in a river near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which borders Peru and Colombia. That area has seen violent conflicts between fishermen, poachers and government agents. Developments began moving Wednesday when federal police officers took a suspect they didn't identify at the time out on the river toward search parties looking for Phillips and Pereira. An Associated Press photographer in Atalaia do Norte, the city closest to the search zone, witnessed police taking the suspect, who was in a hood. On Tuesday, police said they had arrested a second suspect in connection with the disappearance. He was identified as Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, 41, a fisherman and a brother of Pelado, who police already had characterized as their main suspect. Police investigators said Wednesday that de Oliveira had not confessed to any participation in the crime, but added they had evidence against him. Indigenous people who were with Pereira and Phillips have said that Pelado brandished a rifle at them on the day before the pair disappeared. Official search teams concentrated their efforts around a spot in the Itaquai river where a tarp from the boat used by the missing men was found Saturday by volunteers from the Matis Indigenous group. Authorities began scouring the area and discovered a backpack, laptop and other personal belongings submerged underwater Sunday. Police said that evening that they had identified the items as the belongings of both missing men, including a health card and clothes of Pereira. The backpack was said to belong to Phillips. Police previously reported finding traces of blood in Pelado's boat. Officers also found organic matter of apparent human origin in the river that was sent for analysis. Authorities have said a main line of the police investigation into the disappearance has pointed to an international network that pays poor fishermen to fish illegally in the Javari Valley reserve, which is Brazils second-largest Indigenous territory. Pereira, who previously led the local bureau of the federal Indigenous agency, known as FUNAI, took part in several operations against illegal fishing. In such operations, as a rule the fishing gear is seized or destroyed, while the fishermen are fined and briefly detained. Only the Indigenous can legally fish in their territories. The crimes motive is some personal feud over fishing inspection, Atalaia do Nortes Mayor Denis Paiva speculated last week to reporters without providing more details. While some police, the mayor and others in the region link the pairs disappearances to the fish mafia, federal police have not ruled out other lines of investigation, such as narco trafficking. Torres, the federal police officer, reiterated that point Wednesday night, saying he could not discuss specifics of the investigation. We are working with several lines of investigation, he said. After the news of the recovery of human remains, Phillips' wife, Alessandra Sampaio, said the find puts an end to the anguish of not knowing Dom and Brunos whereabouts. Now we can bring them home and say goodbye with love," Sampaio said in a statement. Today, we also begin our quest for justice." ____ Maisonnave reported from Manaus and Savarese reported from Sao Paulo. Clearwave Fiber has eyes on more than simply expanding to Maryville in 2023. The company's marketing development manager paid a call to Glen Carbon's public services committee Tuesday to request permission to install fiber optic cable there, too. Scott Slemer, the village's public works director, said Clearwave approached Glen Carbon about installing fiber optics for both residential and business use. If approved, Slemer said Clearwave would quickly mobilize crews to install the cables. The company said there are four reasons they move so rapidly: cost, community impact, demand and their business model. RELATED: Maryville may be Clearwave's next fiberoptic customer Mike Phalin, the company's market development manager, gave a presentation to the committee, outlining the company's expansion plans. Clearwave is a total fiber optic internet provider that offers business, enterprise and residential communications services in portions of Alabama, northern Florida, most of Georgia and parts of South Carolina besides southern Illinois. The company formed earlier this year after Hargray Fiber and Clearwave Communications merged. He said Clearwave is focused on bringing premise-based broadband services to residential and business customers, especially to underserved markets in the area. Phalin added that a benefit of this rapid expansion is the ability to service many more small businesses. Today, they have 14,000 high-speed data customers and more than 4,300 fiber route miles. The company is looking to partner with cities and villages to permit and locate more than 5,000 feet of cable per day. According to a 2015 study by the Fiber To the Home Council Americas, having 1-gigabit internet service can increase a home's value by 3.1 percent. Clearwave requests a blanket permit and setbacks for all construction without engineering map requirements in the permitting process; permission to design as construction progresses; an expedited permitting process with a maximum of two weeks between submittal and approval; a single permit fee and payment process; an escalation path if the company encounters issues with permits or locates; and publicity cooperation for the network. Crews use conduit sized between 1.25 and two inches for the cabling and conduit is usually buried between 24 and 36 inches deep unless directed otherwise to avoid conflicts with existing utility infrastructure. If right-of-ways are congested, private easements are used as last resorts. Clearwave said it does its best to avoid hitting other underground utilities by using industry best practices such as potholing, verifying locates to the extent possible and coordinating with gas, water, electric and other, existing utility companies. Cable drops to the home would be plowed in most cases. Special cases may require a boring or a hand dig but those would be exceptions. If the committee is in favor of the project, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) must be signed and other steps taken before the project moves to the full village board for approval on June 28 or in July. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ATLANTA (AP) The conspiracy theories about Dominion voting machines that erupted during the 2020 presidential contest flared this week in a remote New Mexico county in what could be just a preview of the kind of chaos election experts fear is coming in the fall midterms and in 2024. The governing commission in Otero County refused to certify the local results of the states June 7 primary because of the equipment, in what was seen as another instance of how the falsehoods spread by former President Donald Trump and his allies have infected elections and threaten the democratic process. We are in scary territory, said Jennifer Morrell, a former election official in Colorado and Utah who now advises federal, state and local officials. If this can happen here, where next? Its like a cancer, a virus. Its metastasizing and growing. There is no evidence of widespread fraud or manipulation of voting equipment in the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden. But that hasnt stopped the false claims, particularly those about Dominion machines. I have huge concerns with these voting machines, Otero County Commissioner Vickie Marquardt said Monday as she and her two fellow commissioners all Republicans voted unanimously. When I certify stuff that I dont know is right, I feel like Im being dishonest because in my heart I dont know if it is right. The commissioners in the conservative, pro-Trump county could point to no actual problems with the Dominion equipment. New Mexico's secretary of state asked the state Supreme Court to step in and order the county to certify the votes, and the high court did so on Wednesday. That would ensure that the nearly 7,400 ballots that were cast in Otero County are recorded as legal votes. The deadline for county certification is Friday. In the weeks and months following the election, various Trump allies claimed that Dominion voting systems had somehow been manipulated as part of an elaborate scheme to steal the election. On Monday, the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol presented testimony that Trump was told repeatedly that his claims of a stolen election and rigged voting systems were false and dangerous. That included pushback from his inner circle to the claims about Dominion voting systems, which are used by jurisdictions in 27 states. Former Attorney General William Barr, in a videotaped interview with House investigators, said he spoke with Trump about the idiotic claims surrounding Dominion. Barr said he found them to be among the most disturbing allegations because they were made in such a sensational way that they obviously were influencing a lot of people." He added that the claims were doing a grave disservice to the country. Trump ignored that, and his allies persisted in attacking Dominion. According to the House panel, the day after Barr spoke with Trump, the president released a video in which he claimed without proof that with the turn of a dial or the change of a chip, you can press a button for Trump and the vote goes to Biden. Dominion has filed defamation lawsuits against various Trump associates and conservative media organizations, including Fox News. The company said in a statement Wednesday that the action by the Otero County commissioners was yet another example of how lies about Dominion have damaged our company and diminished the publics faith in elections. Otero County, with a population of about 67,000, went for Trump by nearly 62% in 2020. One of the commissioners is Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin, who was convicted of entering restricted U.S. Capitol grounds though not the building during the Jan. 6 uprising. New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said the commissioners were violating the law and their oaths of office in refusing to certify the vote. She said that there is a process to deal with any problems that arise with an election but that the commissioners did not specify any. Unfortunately, when one county decides to act completely outside the law, it gives credence to others who may want to do the same thing," she said. "We have the potential to see this spread and have a domino effect. Numerous procedures are in place, including pre- and post-testing of voting equipment and post-election audits that ensure machines are working properly. In New Mexico, voters mark their paper ballots by hand. The ballots are then fed into a scanner to tally the results. Vulnerabilities do exist, as with any technology, but election officials work to identify and fix them. A recent advisory issued by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency highlighted certain vulnerabilities discovered in Dominion voting systems and provided recommendations to election officials. But those pushing false claims about voting systems want more than just paper ballots cast by hand -- they also want ballots to be counted entirely by hand. Experts say this is unreliable, time-consuming, labor-intensive and entirely unnecessary given the various safeguards. Among the most prominent advocates for this is Jim Marchant, a former state lawmaker who on Tuesday was selected as the Republican nominee for secretary of state in Nevada. Marchant is among a group of America First candidates seeking to oversee elections while denying the outcome of the last one. Election experts say the Otero County case is a warning of what could happen if candidates who repeat electoral falsehoods and misinformation gain responsibility for overseeing voting. This is just a taste of what we could see in the future, as election deniers are running for positions with control over elections all over the country, said David Becker, a former U.S. Justice Department attorney who leads the Center for Election Innovation and Research. YORK, Pa. (AP) An appeals court has halted the release of a man awaiting a new trial on charges of having killed his wife and then faking an all-terrain vehicle accident to cover up the slaying a decade ago. The York Daily Record reports that a York County judge last week had cleared the way for the release of 49-year-old Joe Fitzpatrick III of Chanceford Township. He's accused of having drowned 43-year-old Annemarie Fitzpatrick in a creek in June 2012 and then telling police they crashed their ATV in the water. The judge cited a state constitutional provision saying bail should be allowed except in first-degree murder or mandatory life term cases, and said details of the trial and Fitzpatrick's lack of a significant criminal record made bail a viable option. The length of his pretrial detention also opened the question of whether he was entitled to legal release on nominal bail, which would be $1. But the Pennsylvania Superior Court has temporarily stayed the decision as it reviews the emergency petition. Fitzpatrick was initially convicted of first- and third-degree murder as well as involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last year ordered a new trial, saying Fitzpatrick III might not have been convicted without the admission into evidence of a note from his wife which the court called inadmissible hearsay that injected significant prejudice into the trial. Authorities alleged that Fitzpatrick wanted out of his marriage, was emotionally involved with another woman and had a $1.7 million life insurance policy on his wife. Hours before her death, prosecutors said, Annemarie Fitzpatrick wrote, dated and signed a note in her day-planner at work saying If anything happens to me Joe. She also wrote an email to herself titled if something happens to me saying the couple had marital problems and a huge log had almost fallen on her the night before. The trial judge, in a rare move, set aside the jury verdict, saying prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to support a conviction. An appeals court reinstated the conviction, saying the note was allowed as evidence to show the victims state of mind, an exception to the hearsay rule. The court said the email wasnt admissible but ruled that its admission was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence against Fitzpatrick. The state Supreme Court majority, however, said the note did more than reflect the woman's fear, it also asserted that her husband would be responsible if something untoward or violent happened to her and offering the note as proof of that would be inadmissible hearsay. An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union urged a federal appeals court Wednesday to continue blocking Arkansas' ban on gender confirming treatments or surgery for children, saying reinstating the restriction would create uncertainty for families around the state. A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the state's appeal of the preliminary injunction issued last year against ban, which was enacted by the majority-Republican Legislature. ACLU attorney Chase Strangio said allowing the law to be enforced would cause unnecessary disruption since a trial over it is scheduled to begin in October before the judge who issued the injunction. NEW YORK (AP) A man accused of using his car to mow down people in Times Square made a deliberate choice to leave a path of death and destruction there in the spring of 2017, a prosecutor said Wednesday in closing arguments at a New York City trial thats put an insanity defense to the test. An attorney for Richard Rojas countered by calling his client a lunatic who was so mentally ill, it was impossible for him to know what he was doing that day. Rojas, 31, is fighting murder, assault and other charges in an attack that killed a teen girl from Michigan, injured more than 20 other people and spread panic at the popular tourist destination. If a jury finds him guilty, it must also decide whether or not he lacked responsibility by reason of mental disease or defect. The trial, which began in state court in Manhattan early last month, has featured testimony from victims who suffered grisly injuries from what prosecutors labeled a horrific, depraved act. On the defense side, family members testified how Rojas mental health took a steep dive after he was kicked out of the Navy in 2014. In his closing, prosecutor Alfred Peterson conceded that Rojas was having a psychotic episode, including hearing voices, at the time of the rampage. But Peterson argued Rojas showed he wasnt entirely detached from reality by maneuvering his vehicle onto the sidewalk and driving with precision for three blocks until he crashed. The defendant made a decision that day, the prosecutor said. He made a choice. He went to the crossroads of the world, a high profile place where everyone knows theres lots and lots of people. Once there, he was in full control of his car, he added. Defense Attorney Enrico DeMarco told jurors that there should be no doubt that his client met the legal standard for an insanity finding. The evidence, the lawyer said, showed Rojas lacked a substantial capacity to know what he was doing was wrong because of an underlying illness schizophrenia, as diagnosed by a defense psychiatrist. DeMarco played a videotape in the courtroom of Rojas jumping out of his car after crashing it into a sidewalk stanchion. Rojas could be heard yelling, What happened? Oh my God, what happened? as he was being subdued, and be seen banging his head on the ground. Rojas was a lunatic, the attorney said. He lost his mind. DeMarco challenged police accounts Rojas told a traffic agent in the aftermath, I wanted to kill them all. Just kill me too, calling it a fabrication meant to give some semblance of a motive to a senseless act. There will be a break in the trial until Tuesday, when deliberations are expected to begin. Jack Plunkett/Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Dolly Parton is donating $1 million to pediatric infectious disease research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, the organization announced on Wednesday. The new gift is one of several Parton has made to the center over the years, including a $1 million gift in April 2020 for COVID vaccine research. That gift helped Vanderbilt researchers test an array of drugs aimed at reducing the life-threatening symptoms associated with COVID-19, the center said in a news release. Researchers are also looking at entirely new therapies to both treat COVID-19 and prevent infection. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CAIRO (AP) Egypt, Israel and the European Union on Wednesday signed a deal to increase liquified natural gas sales to EU countries, who aim to reduce their dependence on supplies from Russia as the war in Ukraine drags on. The deal, stamped in an upscale Cairo hotel, will see Israel send more gas via Egypt, which has facilities to liquify it for export by sea, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said. What a special moment, she said in a joint news conference alongside the Egyptian and Israel energy ministers. I very warmly welcome the signing of this historic agreement. Von der Leyen, who visited Israel earlier this week, said the agreement was part of Europes efforts to diversify energy sources away from Russia and import hydrocarbons from other trustworthy suppliers. She named Israel and Egypt who have emerged as gas exporters in recent years following major offshore discoveries. Under the deal, the EU will help Egypt and Israel increase their gas production and exploration in their territorial waters. It was not immediately clear how much gas the EU will import from either country. It is known that the Russian war against Ukraine has exposed our European dependency on Russian fossil fuels and we want to get rid of this dependency, von der Leyen said later in a joint news conference with Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Last year, the European Union imported roughly 40% of its gas from Russia and has had difficulty imposing sanctions on Russia over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Israeli Energy Minister Karin Elharrar said the deal was a result of Russias invasion of Ukraine, which caused a European energy crisis. She said it also highlights increasing cooperation between Egypt and Israel, two former foes. This is a statement to those who see in our region only negative forces such as division and conflict, Elharrar said. This (memorandum of understanding) shows us that we are paving a new path of partnership, solidarity and sustainability. Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek el-Molla described the deal as an important milestone for cooperation between Egypt, Israel and the EU. He said it will lead to further cooperation between members of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, which includes Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, France and Italy. In 1979, Egypt became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel. But economic agreements have been controversial in the Arab worlds most populous country, where popular support for the Palestinians runs high. Relations between the two countries have been steadily warming in recent years. According to the deal, the Israeli gas will be brought via pipeline to Egypt's LNG terminal in the Mediterranean Sea before being transported by tanker to European shores, Israels Energy Ministry said. Israel has two operational gas fields off its Mediterranean coast containing an estimated 690 billion cubic meters of natural gas combined and a third offshore rig is in the works. It has already signed gas export agreements with neighboring Egypt and Jordan. Egypt's extensive natural gas facilities in the Mediterranean have stood largely inactive since the countrys 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Egypt, with recent major discoveries, exported 8.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2021 and 4.7 billion cubic meters until May this year, according to Refinitiv Eikon, a global provider of financial and market data. Most of the exports, however, go to Asian markets. In recent years, el-Sissi's government has rehabilitated and modernized the facilities. In 2018, Egypt signed a $15 billion deal with Israeli company Delek Drilling and its U.S. partner, Noble Energy, to transport natural gas to Israel. Egypt aims to create a regional energy hub, a goal von der Leyen said Wednesdays deal will help achieve. El-Sissi and von der Leyen meanwhile held talks that focused on the food crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Egypt, the regions most populous nation, has been impacted badly by the war in Europe, which has shaken the global economy. The European official said the EU will provide 100 million euros (around $105 million) for immediate relief to help Egypt, the worlds biggest wheat importer, address food insecurity in the short term. This will hopefully help to increase the grain storage capacity and will provide finances for rural businesses and farmers in Egypt, she said. ___ Associated Press writer Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed. LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) A former correctional officer at the Federal Medical Center in Kentucky has been sentenced to more than 11 years after pleading guilty to sexual abuse of inmates. Christopher Brian Goodwin, 46, pleaded guilty in March to deprivation of rights under color of law and three counts of sexual abuse of a ward, the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) The House committee investigating the Capitol riot plans to focus its hearing Thursday on the pressure that Donald Trump put on his vice president, Mike Pence, in a last-ditch and potentially illegal plan to stop Joe Bidens election victory. Trump seized on the unorthodox proposal from conservative law professor John Eastman to have Pence turn back the electors when the vice president presided over Congress to certify the election results on Jan. 6, 2021. Traditionally, Jan. 6 is a ceremonial day, a procedural step tallying the presidential vote. But Eastmans highly unusual plan bold, he called it was to have alternative slates of electors submitted to Congress, leaving Pence no choice but to return them to the states to sort it out. Biden would be denied a majority and Trump could win. As the defeated Trump watched dozens of court cases challenging the 2020 presidential election collapse, he turned to the Eastman plan as a last resort to stay in office. John (Eastman) is one of the most brilliant lawyers in the country and he looked at this, Trump told thousands of supporters at a rally near the White House before sending them to the Capitol on Jan. 6. And he looked at Mike Pence, and I hope Mike is going to do the right thing. I hope so. I hope so because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election, the then-president said. The committee viewed the actions as potentially illegal and a threat to democracy. What President Trump demanded that Mike Pence do wasnt just wrong, it was illegal and it was unconstitutional, said the committee's vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in opening remarks last week. A look at the Eastman plan in the days before Jan. 6 and why it's central to the congressional investigation: THE PLAN Two days before the Capitol attack, Pence was summoned to the White House for an Oval Office meeting with Trump and Eastman to hear about the law professors plan to turn back the electors. With Trumps false claims of election fraud, Eastman had been circulating what was essentially an academic proposal challenging the workings of the 130-year-old Electoral Count Act that governs the process for tallying the election results in Congress. The six-point plan was gaining momentum among Trumps allies in Congress, including key senators, and outside activists. BOLD, Certainly, Eastman said in a memo included in a court filing from the Jan. 6 committee. But he said such an unusual step was needed, falsely claiming this Election was Stolen. If Pence would refuse to count some electors, then the threshold needed to certify the presidential election would drop from the regular 270-vote majority to a lesser number one presumably that Trump could reach. If Democrats in Congress objected, as Eastman predicted they would, then under current law the House would be called on to decide the presidency. In that scenario, because the House would vote by individual state congressional delegations, which were mostly Republican majority, the numbers would align for Trump to win. The illegality of the plan, declared the Jan. 6 committee in a court filing, was obvious. ___ HOW COULD THAT EVEN WORK? To set the plan in motion, Trump and Eastman convened hundreds of electors on a call on Jan. 2, 2021, encouraging them to send alternative electors from their states where Trump's team was claiming fraud. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and maybe even Nevada and New Mexico were on the list, according to testimony provided to the committee by Greg Jacob, who was counsel to Pence. Jacob, who is scheduled to testify Thursday before the House committee, was at the Oval Office meeting with Trump and Pence when Eastman outlined the plan on Jan. 4. Jacob received an email from Eastman late the following night. Major new development, Eastman wrote, attaching a letter signed by several members of the Pennsylvania legislature. It now looks like PA Legislature will vote to recertify its electors if Vice President Pence implements the plan we discussed. Jacob responded in lawyerly prose, asking if it is not unconstitutional." ___ HAD THIS EVER BEEN DONE BEFORE? While the every-four-year-ritual of certifying the election results has certainly come with objections, nothing of this magnitude had been proposed since the disputed election of 1876 that led Congress to pass the Electoral Count Act. Routinely, lawmakers from the losing side of a presidential election would wage protest votes during the ceremonial proceedings in Congress. Several Democrats, including then-Sen. Barbara Boxer of California and Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, joined a challenge to Ohio's electors after the 2004 election. But no defeated president had ever done what Trump did, mounting a wide-ranging campaign to overturn an election that included pressure on the vice president to change the outcome. When Eastman received Jacob's probing questions, he retorted that the counsel was being small-minded. The professor pointed to past instances in history when presidents essentially violated the letter of the law for a greater outcome, and he suggested such an action was warranted now because the Constitution was being shredded over the election. Jacob replied that he could not believe there was a single Supreme Court justice or any judge who would agree to toss election laws that have been followed without exception for more than 130 years. Eastman's theory, Jacob wrote, was essentially entirely made up. ___ PRESSURE BUILDS, TRUMP CALLS PENCE Pence's instinct was there was no way the Founding Fathers would entrust a single person with this authority to determine an election, Jacobs testified. Pence had asked questions of Eastman during the meeting, but never once did I see him budge from that view, he said. But a day after the Oval Office meeting, the pressure intensified. Rather than just turn the electors back to the states, Eastman said Pence should just throw out the states' tallies outright. "What Im here to ask you to do is to reject the electors Eastman said on Jan. 5, according to Jacobs testimony. On the morning of Jan. 6, as the vice president prepared to head to the Capitol to preside over the vote, Trump called. Trump told Pence he didn't think he had the courage to make a hard decision, according to testimony to the Jan. 6 committee by retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, a national security aide who was with Trump at the time and heard part of the conversation. Youre not tough enough to make the call, Trump said to Pence. ___ THE COUNT BEGINS The first objection during the joint session of Congress was raised by a Republican congressman from the Arizona, one of the states Trump most vehemently disputed was won by Biden. Congress began working its way through the procedural matter; rioters were closing in on the Capitol. In an email to Eastman after the attack began, Jacob closed his arguments against the plan, saying: And thanks to your bull, we are now under siege. At the time, Jacob was sheltering in the Capitol from the mob. ___ WHO IS JOHN EASTMAN? A former Chapman University law professor, Eastman is known in conservative circles for having clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court. Eastman also clerked for retired Judge Michael Luttig, who is also scheduled to testify Thursday. Luttig has called Eastman's ideas incorrect at every turn and had been providing legal counsel to Pence's team before Jan. 6. Ahead of Thursdays hearing, the vice chair of the House committee, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., released a video offering a glimpse of what's to come. In the video, Eric Herschmann, a lawyer at the White House, recounts a final conversation he had with Eastman the day after Jan. 6. I'm going to give you the best free legal advice you're ever getting in your life get a great effing criminal defense lawyer. You're going to need it," Herschmann recalled, saying. "And then I hung up on him. Eastman repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights not to testify during his interview with the committee. ___ For full coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege Shawn Thew/AP Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of America's pandemic response through two White House administrations, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The 81-year-old Fauci, who is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots, was experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms, according to a statement Wednesday from the National Institutes of Health. The fired CNN producer from Connecticut accused of luring young girls and their mothers to a Vermont ski home for sexual training has been offered a plea deal by federal prosecutors, court documents show. John Griffin, a Stamford resident, has been held by federal authorities since his indictment in December on three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity. Griffin was fired from his job as a CNN producer after the indictment. He is also being sued by an 11-year-old victim and her guardian who claim the girl was forced to commit sex acts while she was at his home in Ludlow, Vt. The child was 9 when the incidents allegedly occurred in July 2020, court documents said. The childs adoptive mother who brought the girl from their Nevada home to visit Griffin has pleaded guilty to attempted lewdness with a child under the age of 14, attempted sexual assault and child abuse. Hearst Connecticut Media Group is withholding the womans name to protect the childs identity. The woman was sentenced in April to eight to 20 years in prison on each count in Nevada, court records show. The woman is also required to register as a sex offender and have lifetime supervision, court records show. She was arrested about 18 months before Griffin was charged. According to federal court documents, Griffin is going through a divorce and dealing with the lawsuit while in custody on the federal charges. His wife was not accused of wrongdoing and has not been charged. Griffins attorney in the federal case, David Kirby, was granted a 45-day extension so he could discuss the plea agreement with his client later this summer. In court documents, Kirby said he will be involved in another trial for three to four weeks beginning Wednesday and will not be able to discuss the plea deal and its ramifications with Griffin until the trial is complete. This case may be resolved by plea, but substantial consultations with Mr. Griffin are required to determine if that will be the case, Kirby said in a motion seeking a 45-day continuance. A U.S. District Judge in Vermont granted the request, moving the date for motions to Aug. 4. The terms of the plea agreement have not been disclosed. While an agreement has not yet been reached in the lawsuit, the parties have agreed that Griffins attorney, Robert Berke, will set aside a particular dollar amount in the event that a settlement or a verdict takes place, court documents indicate. Due to the victims age, the amount is sealed, court documents said. There is also a hold on the plaintiffs seeking any evidence directly related to Griffin, including testimony during depositions until the federal charges have been resolved, court documents said. Griffin would have had to plead the 5th Amendment during depositions due to the pending criminal charges, Berke said Monday. Berke estimated that it could take 12 to 18 months to resolve the federal charges before the lawsuit can move forward. Griffin, a former Norwalk resident, was once a producer for the Chris Cuomo show and was most recently a producer for CNN senior political analyst John Avlon. The 10-page indictment issued by a Grand Jury alleges that Griffin frequently used Kik, a messaging application, and Google Hangouts to lure mothers with young daughters to meet him at the Vermont ski house he had bought with his wife to provide sexual training on how to be submissive to men. Griffin boasted during internet chats that he had trained girls as young as 7 years old, federal authorities said. He sent a total of $3,350 to the adoptive mother of the 9-year-old for the two to travel from Nevada to Boston where Griffin picked them up and drove them to his Vermont home, court documents said. At the Vermont ski house, the child was directed to engage in and did engage in illegal sexual activity, the indictment said. Federal authorities are seeking to seize any assets Griffin owned, including properties, vehicles and computers that may have been used in the commission of a crime. The victim and her guardian who are called Jane Doe and Janet Doe in court documents contend that Griffin repeatedly sexually abused the 9-year-old at the Vermont house and she has endured mental suffering, including humiliation and anxiety that will likely impact her future earnings. The child is now living in Connecticut with a guardian, court documents said. WASHINGTON (AP) George Washington University is dropping its Colonials moniker because it can no longer serve its purpose as a name that unifies, the school announced Wednesday. GW will keep using Colonials until a new name is introduced. That is expected by the 2023-24 academic year. CHICAGO - In the 100-degree heat late Tuesday, Myrna Walker marched for her sister Nancie Walker, whom she last heard from in January 2003 before she disappeared. Pausing for shade beneath the trees that line Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Myrna Walker recounted how, two months later, sanitation workers found her sister's dismembered body in three garbage bags alongside an expressway. More than 20 years later, the case is still unsolved, and still raking her family in pain. "I want some justice. Our mother is 93. She wants to know something before she dies," she said. This is the fifth year in a row that Walker and about 70 other women on Chicago's South Side have participated in the We Walk for Her march in memory of those they consider the forgotten ones: women and girls, most of whom were Black, whose bodies were either later recovered but their cases never solved or who vanished and have not been found. For years, activists in Chicago have pressed city leaders and the police to take these disappearances more seriously. The common refrain at this year's march was that attention from police and the news media is scarce when Black women and girls disappear, as opposed to White women and girls. Regarding the police response to her sister's case, Walker said, "It has been null and void almost from the time we went to the police station" in 2003 to report the disappearance. Even when police have evidence, families say, some cases still flounder. Latonya Moore last saw her daughter Shantieya Smith on May 26, 2018. The following month, Smith's body was found decomposing in a parking garage. DNA samples that police said they sent to the Illinois Crime Lab never arrived, according to the agency. Moore said the police told her that the officer originally handling the case was reassigned to another district. "There's been no follow-up with the DNA," she said. Out of frustration, she stopped calling. She left Chicago for a new home in Kankakee, Ill., where she is raising Shantieya's daughter. "My grandbaby really doesn't talk about her anymore," she said. Chicago is just part of a larger national problem. More than 260,000 women went missing in 2020, the latest year tracked by the National Crime Information Center. Thirty-five percent of the total, or a little more than 90,000, were Black women, a stark finding considering that Black women account for about 13% of the U.S. population. Statistics show that Black women are at a high risk for multiple factors that could lead to disappearances. The National Domestic Violence Hotline reports that 45% of Black women experience physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner. Black women and girls are also more likely to become victims of sex trafficking, according to a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation report released in 2020, and nearly 60% of all juvenile prostitution arrests are Black children. Despite obvious vulnerabilities revealed in the data, cases involving the missing women and girls often stall, if they get off the ground in the first place. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said that not enough resources are allocated to cold cases and that mistakes are common because of competing reporting systems among law enforcement agencies and jurisdictions. "People get callous to it," he said. "The issue doesn't nearly get the attention it deserves. Which is a problem when you look at the really evil people out there. Look at [Chicago serial killer] John Wayne Gacy. The missing-person world has not moved since then. Absolutely not." Between 1972 and 1978, Gacy killed 33 teenage boys and young men. He received a death sentence and died by lethal injection in 1994. Last fall, Dart created a special unit of five investigators and one sergeant dedicated to working to solve 150 cold cases of women and girls reported missing in Chicago within the past three years. The move was partly in response to efforts Dart made to use DNA evidence to identify eight sets of remains from the Gacy cases that his office exhumed in 2011. Three victims have been identified so far. In addition, his office solved four cold-case deaths unrelated to Gacy, and discovered five missing people alive. Two missing people had died without their family knowing, his office found. Dart said the results "opened my eyes" to how easy it is for people to disappear in the modern era despite GPS, video and other technology. Reports sometimes contain inaccuracies, he said, and for most jurisdictions strapped for resources, the cases are not priorities. Working on the Gacy cases gave him "a deep-seated impression that the whole missing-person world is a disaster," he said, adding: "There's very little difference today from 35 years ago." Since late last year, Dart's unit reduced the list of 150 missing women and girls to 138; of the 12 cases solved, two people were found dead and the rest alive. The missing people either had no contact with their families by choice or their statuses were a reporting error. Dart's office reunited one woman with her family after the woman, who had been placed in a nursing facility for mental health and substance abuse treatment, was transferred to a new center. Her family was never notified. Fifty-three percent of the unit's remaining cases involve Black women, Dart said. He has not ruled out a one-killer theory, and said he would find it "hard to believe" that there isn't one person responsible for the deaths of at least several people on the list. He said investigators will look for common characteristics once he can reduce the names to only those who are truly missing. "We're definitely going in that direction," he said. Shannon Bennett, a founder of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, a group that helped organize Tuesday's march, said he is convinced that a serial killer has been operating in Chicago's Black neighborhoods. In 2019, the Chicago Police Department assigned a team of detectives to review cases of at least 75 women who had been strangled or smothered between 2001 and 2017 after a Chicago Tribune investigation showed that 51 of the cases had not been solved. Part of the investigation was a trip to the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in southern Indiana to interview Darren Vann, a serial killer sentenced to life in prison in 2018 for killing seven women in northwest Indiana. Vann refused to meet with the detectives but told investigators in Hammond, Ind., years earlier that he had killed "way more" women in Illinois. Before the We Walk for Her march on Tuesday, activists said the administration of Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot shared the blame with the police for not prioritizing the cases of missing women and girls. (A spokesperson for Lightfoot said the mayor's gender-based violence initiative directed $25 million in support services for sex-trafficking victims and others targeted because of their gender.) Teresa Smith said the priority of women like her is raising awareness. Her mother, Daisy Hayes, disappeared in May 2008. In April, a Cook County judge issued a not-guilty ruling in the bench trial of Jimmy Jackson, Hayes's boyfriend. During the march, the drivers of two cars traveling in the opposite direction slowed down to ask Smith why she was participating. "For the missing women!" she said, and they nodded and rolled away. "We need to get more of the community out," she said. "People don't know what's going on." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MAKARIV, Ukraine (AP) The truck driver had the radio on, his daughter's stuffed toy keeping him company, and was bouncing his lumbering vehicle down one of the innumerable dirt tracks in Ukraine that are vital thoroughfares in the country's vast agricultural heartlands. Then the right rear wheel hit a Soviet-era TM-62 anti-tank mine. The explosion blew Vadym Schvydchenko and his daughter's toy clean out of the cabin. The truck, and his livelihood, went up in flames. Astoundingly, the 40-year-old escaped with just minor leg and head wounds. Others haven't been so lucky. Russia's war in Ukraine is spreading a deadly litter of mines, bombs and other explosives. They are killing civilians, disrupting planting, complicating the rebuilding of homes and villages, and will continue taking lives and limbs long after the fighting stops. Often, blast victims are farmers and other rural workers with little choice but to use mined roads and plow mined fields, in a country relied on for grain and other crops that feed the world. Schvydchenko said he'll steer clear of dirt tracks for the foreseeable future, although they're sometimes the only route to fields and rural settlements. Mushroom-picking in the woods has also lost its appeal to him. Im afraid something like this can happen again, he said. Ukraine is now one of the most mined countries in Europe. The east of the country, fought over with Russia-backed separatists since 2014, was already contaminated by mines even before the Feb. 24 invasion multiplied the scale and complexity of the dangers both there and elsewhere. Ukraines State Emergency Service said last week that 300,000 square kilometers (115,000 square miles) the size of Arizona or Italy need to be cleared. The ongoing fighting will only expand the area. The wars deadly remnants will continue to be a hidden threat for many years to come, said Mairi Cunningham, who leads clearance efforts in Ukraine for The Halo Trust, a demining NGO that got $4 million in U.S. government funding in May for its work in the country. There's no complete government count of mine deaths since the invasion, but every week authorities have reported cases of civilians killed and wounded. Cunningham said her group has counted 52 civilian deaths and 65 injuries since February and that's likely under-reported. The majority were from anti-tank mines, in agricultural areas, she said. On a mobile app called Demining Ukraine that officials launched last month, people can send photos, video and the geolocation of explosive objects they come across, for subsequent removal. The app got more than 2,000 tip-offs in its first week. The track where Schvydchenko had his brush with death is still used, despite now being marked with bright red warning signs bearing a white skull and crossbones. It scythes through corn fields on the outskirts of Makariv a once comely town west of Kyiv that bears the battle scars of Russias failed assault on the capital in the wars early weeks. Even with the Russian soldiers gone, danger lurks amid the surrounding poppy meadows, fields and woodlands. Deminers found another explosive charge undetonated just meters (feet) away from Schvydchenko's blown-up truck. On another track outside the nearby village of Andriivka, three people were killed in March by a mine that ripped open their minivan, spewing its cargo of food jars and tin cans now rusting in the dirt. In a field close by, a tractor driver was wounded in May by an anti-tank mine that hurled the wreckage onto another mine, which also detonated. Halo Trust workers are now methodically scouring that site where Russian troops dug foxholes for any other devices. Cunningham said the chaotic way the battle for Kyiv unfolded complicates the task of finding mines. Russian forces thrust toward the capital but were repelled by Ukrainian defenders. Often it was Russians held an area, put some anti-vehicle mines nearby a few in and around their position and then left, she said. Its scattered. Mines are still being laid on the battlefields, now concentrated to the east and south where Russia has focused its offensive since its soldiers withdrew from around Kyiv and the north, badly bloodied. A Ukrainian unit that buried TM-62 mines on a forest track in the eastern Donbas region this week, in holes scooped out with spades, told The Associated Press that the aim was to prevent Russian troops from advancing toward their trenches. Russian booby-trapping has sometimes had no clear military rhyme or reason, Ukrainian officials say. In towns around Kyiv, explosive experts found devices in unpredictable places. When Tetiana Kutsenko, 71, got back her home near Makariv that Russian troops had occupied, she found bloodstains and an apparent bullet hole on the bathroom floor and tripwires in her back yard. The thin strands of copper wire had been rigged to explosive detonators. Im afraid to go to the woods now, she said. Now, Im looking down every time I take a step. ___ Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Srdjan Nedeljkovic in the Donetsk region of Ukraine and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine also contributed. ___ Follow APs coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced a Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, replacing key economic ministers amid a national cooking oil shortage and rising food prices. Widodo selected Zulkifli Hasan, the chairman of a political party that joined the ruling coalition last year, as Indonesias new trade minister, replacing Muhammad Lutfi, who had been criticized for his handling of the cooking oil situation. Hasan held ministerial positions in previous governments and vowed to quickly tackle the shortage, making cooking oil available anywhere at an affordable price, he told a news conference after his inauguration. A cooking oil crisis that was initially triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war shook up both domestic Indonesian politics and the global supply chain after the government in April banned all exports of crude palm oil, a key ingredient in cooking oils, amid a series of student protests against skyrocketing food prices. Indonesia resumed exports of crude palm oil a month later. Indonesia and Malaysia are the worlds largest exporters of palm oil, accounting for 85% of global production. Pressure on the global supply of cooking oil has increased due to the war in Ukraine, which accounts for nearly half of the worlds sunflower oil. Russia accounts for another 25%. Palm oil prices went up 200% or higher after Indonesia banned the export of cooking oil and its raw materials to reduce local shortages and hold down rising prices. Widodo picked Indonesias former military chief Hadi Tjahjanto to replace Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil, and also appointed three new vice ministers. Widodo is hugely popular in the archipelago nation of more than 270 million people, with a 68.4% public satisfaction rating, according to pollster Charta Politika. A majority of Indonesians also supported Widodo's decision to reshuffle his Cabinet. Southeast Asias largest economy served as a key exporter of coal, palm oil and minerals amid a global shortage in commodities after Russias invasion of Ukraine. Coal exports increased to record levels in March after a brief ban on its shipments early this year to secure domestic supplies. The nation is on track to hit its full-year economic growth target of 4.8%-5.5% after recording a 5.01% pace in the first quarter. COVID-19 cases in Indonesia have been steadily declining. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Victor Peskin, Arizona State University (THE CONVERSATION) There have been mounting calls from Ukrainian and other activists and political leaders to prosecute Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine, including authorizing attacks on civilians. There has also been public skepticism that this could actually happen. History provides some lessons on charging political leaders with war crimes a legal term that includes attacking and killing civilians during war. Ukraine already convicted and sentenced three Russian soldiers, in May 2022, for war crimes during the ongoing Ukraine conflict, and it plans to prosecute at least 80 more soldiers. But as a scholar of human rights, conflict and international courts, I think it is important to understand that there has been a mixed record of arresting and prosecuting senior political and military leaders allegedly responsible for atrocities. The international trial of Serbian leader Slobodan Misolevic in the mid-2000s is one example of how international courts can prosecute war criminals. Heres the bottom line: Its only when leaders like Milosevic fall from power that there is any chance that their governments may arrest and hand them over to international courts for prosecution. But history also shows that even if Putin is overthrown or otherwise loses power, theres no clear guarantee that he will ever stand trial before an international court. Milosevics fall from power There were three major wars in southeastern Europe in the 1990s. In total, approximately 130,000 people died during the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. The rise of nationalism and tension between different ethnic groups triggered these conflicts. The spark for these wars was kindled in 1991, when Yugoslavia, a former communist republic that once included Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, began to split apart. Milosevic, a Serbian nationalist leader, was one of the most influential politicians in the region. He fueled the regional wars around and after the time of this dissolution. In 1993, as the war in Bosnia was still being fought, the United Nations Security Council set up a special court, called the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, to address crimes committed during the wars there. This court indicted Milosevic for war crimes and crimes against humanity in 1999 during the the ongoing Kosovo war in 1999. Milosevics alleged crimes in Kosovo included a massive ethnic cleansing campaign waged against Kosovar Albanians, the largest ethnic group there. Most of the people who died during this war were Kosovar Albanians. But Milosevic was still in power when the indictment was issued, and the Serbian government shielded him from arrest. Milosevic lost a presidential election in late September 2000 but initially refused to give up power. After widespread protests, Milosevic stepped down a week later, and a democratic government took over. Milosevic standing trial Almost two years later, Serbian police arrested Milosevic, though on domestic corruption and abuse of power charges. The Serbian government transferred Milosevic to the international tribunal in June 2001. This happened in the wake of U.S. threats to withhold much-needed loans to Serbia, unless the government turned over Milosevic. Serbia later also arrested other former leaders wanted for war crimes following intense Western political pressure and assurances by European countries and the U.S. that the governments cooperation could result in Serbias gaining European Union membership. The international tribunal launched its trial in The Hague, Netherlands, against Milosevic in February 2002. Milosevic faced dozens of charges for alleged crimes he committed in three different wars. But Milosevic died in prison in 2006, shortly before the end of his trial. The challenge for international courts International courts set up by the U.N., like the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, have a twofold problem. First, these tribunals do not have an actual international police force to carry out arrests. Governments implicated in their leaders alleged crimes also often try to obstruct international courts by not turning over suspects. The enforcement problem, as my scholarship has shown, can allow a powerful country like Russia to evade arrest warrants from international courts as long as the suspect remains within the country. The International Criminal Court, for example, has not been able to persuade the Sudanese government to hand over former president Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes committed in Darfur in the 2000s. A potential playbook for Putin Milosevic escaped a final verdict and potential prison time with his death. But his trial still shows that under specific circumstances, international courts can overcome their lack of enforcement powers and bring high-level suspects to trial. International political pressure and incentives often serve a role in this process. In May 2022, the International Criminal Court the main international tribunal that prosecutes war crimes sent its largest-ever team of experts to investigate the situation in Ukraine. Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, will need to decide whether to target lower-level or midlevel suspects in the military or to indict top Russian leaders, including Putin. Some analysts caution against Khans aiming too high, too soon, given the courts poor track record of prosecuting high-level defendants, such as former Cote d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo. As long as Putin remains in power, it is unlikely that any amount of political pressure or promises will persuade Russia to cooperate with an international court and turn over Putin, if he is indicted. That could change if Putin ever falls from power. But much would still depend on the new Russian government and whether Western countries would provide the type of incentives that pushed Serbian leaders to turn against their former political leaders and military heroes. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/international-courts-prosecuting-leaders-like-putin-for-war-crimes-have-a-mixed-record-but-offer-clues-on-how-to-get-a-conviction-182029. More than 20 million people tuned in June 9 to watch the first live-streamed hearing of the January 6 Committee, a nine-member group investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The committee is led by Mississippi Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson and features six other Democratic representatives. The two Republicans on the committee, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Illinois Rep. Adam Kizinger, have both been vocal opponents of former President Donald Trump. While no Texas elected officials sit on the committee, the group has subpoenaed multiple Texans with ties to the former president. They include Tarrant County-raised Ali Alexander, Austin-based conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Dallas conservative Katrina Pierson, Central Texas retired Army Col. Phil Waldron and Austin-native and former Trump fundraiser Caroline Wren, according to the Texas Tribune. Rep. August Pfluger, whose Congressional District covers the Midland area, said in a statement provided to the Midland Reporter-Telegram that Democrats should not have excluded Republican members from the committee if they wanted to find the truth about the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Pfluger was one of 147 total Republicans to object to the certification of the 2020 election results. "I have publicly condemned all acts of violence from summer 2020 to now," Pfluger said in the statement. "If Democrats were serious about uncovering the truth, they would not have kicked Republican members off the Committee." One Republican Texas representative, Troy Nehls, was originally appointed to the January 6 Committee by Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy. When Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi objected to two of McCarthys other nominees, the Republican withdrew Nehls, as well as each of his other appointees. Nehls also voted to object President Trump's electoral loss. Nehls, whose 22nd District represents some Southwestern Houston suburbs like Sugarland and Pearland, said in a tweet on June 6 that the committee is a sham and claimed it is trying to injure Trump because they know they cant beat him in 2024. These January 6th Committees hearings are a waste of Congresss time and the taxpayers money, Nehls wrote in a series of tweets. President Trump will be the nominee and they know they cant beat him. Thats what this is all about. On June 9, before the first live committee hearing, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz told Insider that he would rather mow the lawn, comb his hair or just watch the paint dry on the walls than watch the hearings. Cruz said he considered the hearings to be Democratic campaign ads. "From the opening gavel to the close of the hearing, 100% of their endeavor is a political Hail Mary pass," Cruz told Insider. On Jan. 6, 2021, Cruz was one of six Senators who voted to object to the certification of Arizonas election result in the 2020 election. Cruz also at one point called the riot at the U.S. Capitol a deadly terrorist attack before walking back those comments later on Fox News. Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, who represents much of the Panhandle in North Texas, including Amarillo and Wichita Falls, tweeted on June 10 that the hearings are a joke and no one cares about them or is buying it. According to reporting from the Texas Tribune, Jacksons name was mentioned in a group text with members of the Oathkeepers, a paramilitary group that contributed to the violence on Jan. 6, 2021. Jackson also voted to overturn the 2020 election results The witch hunt committee hearings are a joke. When I talk to people back home, literally nobody cares about them. Not one person, Jackson tweeted. "Democrats are trying to use this as a distraction, and no one is buying it!! The first hearing showed never-before-seen footage from the riot and revealed that multiple Republican lawmakers sought presidential pardons for their attempt to overturn the 2020 election, according to NPR. In the second hearing, footage showed former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr calling Trump detached from reality, while testimony revealed that Trump did not listen to multiple campaign officials who told him the election was lost and his claims of election fraud were false, NPR reported. A third hearing was scheduled for June 15 but was postponed, according to the committee. The next hearing will be on June 16. SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) A judge has dropped a cannibalism charge against a northern Idaho man after finding that there wasn't enough evidence to move forward to a trial, but said the man will still face a first-degree murder charge. James David Russell, 40, was arrested Sept. 10, 2021, and charged with killing David Milton Flaget, 70, on the Russell family property in Bonner County, the Bonner County Daily Bee reported. Prosecutors later added the cannibalism charge, writing in court documents that Russell believed he could cure his brain by eating some of the victim. WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court said Wednesday it was wrong to wade into a dispute involving a Trump-era immigration rule that the Biden administration has abandoned, so the justices dismissed the case. The court had said it would answer the question of whether Republican-led states, headed by Arizona, could pick up the legal defense of the Trump-era public charge rule that denied green cards to immigrants who use food stamps or other public benefits. The high court heard arguments in the case in February and appeared on track to decide it. But in an unsigned, one-sentence opinion Wednesday, the court said it was dismissing the case. That leaves in place a lower court ruling in favor of the Biden administration that the states could not intervene. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote separately to say he agreed with the decision to toss the case. Roberts said that bound up in the case are a great many issues beyond the question that the court had agreed to decide. It has become clear that this mare's nest could stand in the way" of deciding the case "or at the very least, complicate our resolution of that question, he wrote. Roberts said the court's action should not be taken as reflective of ... the appropriate resolution of other litigation, pending or future, related to the 2019 Public Charge Rule, its repeal, or its replacement by a new rule. Roberts was joined by three other justices in the court's conservative majority: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch. Gorsuch was appointed to the court by Trump. The former president's two other nominees, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, said nothing. At the center of the case was a federal law says that green card applicants cannot be burdens to the country or public charges. The Trump administration significantly expanded the definition, saying the use of public benefits including food stamps or Medicaid could be disqualifying. That led to court challenges, but the Supreme Court allowed the policy to take effect while those continued. The Biden administration rescinded the rule and has since announced new guidelines. The administration had said that in practice, the government denied green cards to only three people under Trumps rule and that their applications were later reopened and approved. Immigration groups have said the bigger impact of the rule was scaring immigrants, causing them to drop benefits or not enroll in them because of fears doing so could affect their applications to become legal permanent residents. In addition to Arizona, the states involved in the case were Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia. In a statement, Brittni Thomason, a spokesperson for the Arizona Attorney Generals Office said, "Our coalition of states will evaluate how best to continue this important fight." The case is State of Arizona v. City and County of San Francisco, California, 20-1775. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TOKYO (AP) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced plans Wednesday to establish an infectious disease crisis management agency to better prepare for future pandemics. Kishida, marking the end of the current parliamentary session, and with weeks to go until July 10 national elections, said Japan has managed to significantly slow COVID-19 infections, but it is still too early to put our guards down." He said there's a need to carefully walk the path toward returning to ordinary lives" as Japan gradually resumes social and business activities as well as tourism. Kishida, who faced low public expectations when he took office in October with unimpressive 40% support ratings, has steadily gained popularity to more than 60%, buoyed by an easing of infection worries and growing concern over the Ukraine crisis. His plan to establish the infectious disease crisis management agency was in response to criticism that the government was unprepared and lacked a centralized command center to handle COVID-19, and was hampered by bureaucratic divisions in allocating hospital beds, setting up testing centers and rolling out vaccines. Kishida said Japan's two main infection disease research institutes will be combined into one that will be overseen by the Health Ministry and serve as a Japanese version of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He also repeated a pledge to bolster Japan's diplomatic and security roles to contribute to peace at a time the international order is critically shaken by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Japan has been in lockstep with the United States and Europe in sanctioning Russia and supporting Ukraine, and has also stepped up cooperation with NATO amid growing concern about China's assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region and growing tensions around Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own. Kishida said he will continue to urge China to peacefully resolve the Taiwan dispute through dialogue. Kishida announced on Wednesday that he will attend a NATO summit later this month, becoming the first Japanese leader to do so. New South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has also been invited and will reportedly attend the June 29-30 summit in Madrid, prompting speculation of a first in-person meeting on the sidelines between the leaders of the two countries, whose ties have been strained by disputes over wartime history. Kishida said nothing has been decided, though he acknowledged the importance of communication. Kishida, during meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden and other regional leaders last month in Tokyo, has already pledged a significant strengthening of Japan's military capability and budget. He said that protecting lives in the pandemic and turning around the economy have been his promise since taking office, and that I will fulfil my responsibility as prime minister by keeping the promises." Citing the pandemic and Russias war in Ukraine that has triggered global price increases, Kishida said the world is at a historic turning point and next month's election is a chance for voters to make a judgment on how Japan deals with the challenges. Kishida also pledged to take measures to reduce energy and food price hikes stemming from the Ukraine crisis. The war has caused fossil fuel shortages for resource-scarce Japan, he said, vowing to maximize development of renewables and accelerate a restart of nuclear reactors, reversing the government's earlier plan to eventually phase out atomic energy. The restart of halted reactors has been slow due to stricter post-Fukushima nuclear disaster safety standards and lingering anti-nuclear public sentiment. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GREENWICH The Greenwich International Film Festival awarded Lin Manuel Miranda its highest honor at a special, private event in town last week after the award-winning creator of the legendary musical Hamilton had to cancel his appearance at the festivals annual gala last month. Its such a thrill to receive the Greenwich International Film Festival Changemaker Award, Miranda said in a statement provided to Greenwich Time on Wednesday. Our goal at The Miranda Family Fund has been to widen the doors for emerging artists of color, and we do this through partnerships with organizations like The Eugene ONeill Theater Center here in Connecticut, Woolly Mammoth Theater, The Telsey Office and Rhode Island College, among others. On June 9 at a private cocktail reception, Miranda, the song writer behind the Academy Award-nominated film Encanto, received the festivals prestigious Changemaker Award for the work of The Miranda Family Fund, which has helped to rebuild Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. We were so glad to be able to gather in person to celebrate the brilliant artist, composer, actor and humanitarian, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and present him with GIFFs 2022 Changemaker Award just a few weeks after our gala, GIFF Executive Director Ginger Stickel said on Wednesday. He has used his platform to educate and inspire people around the world, leveraging his success to create opportunities for others through the Miranda Family Fund. This was not how the festival had planned things to go initially. The Changemaker Gala, which took place May 25 at LEscale in Greenwichs downtown, was the festivals first major in-person event in more than two years since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Miranda was slated to receive the award and be honored with musical performances from his best-known works, including by Renee Elise Goldsberry, a Weston resident who won a Tony for her role of Angelica in Hamilton. But on the day of the gala, Miranda canceled due to a health issue. Instead, his father, Luis Miranda, and Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, a family friend, accepted on his behalf. I know how much he cares about everything he does, Fallon said. He just wants people to love and bring positivity to the world. Fallon said Miranda raised millions of dollars to help a hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico through performances of Hamilton on the island. Fallon said it inspired him to take The Tonight Show there, too, to raise money for the recovery effort. The GIFF raised more than $100,000 for the Miranda Family Funds Hispanic Federation initiative through last months gala as well as from donor contributions, Stickel said. Back in May, Stickel said they were hoping to have Miranda come back to Greenwich to get the award in person, which is what happened on June 9 at the cocktail party where he was also presented with a bottle of Moet-Hennessey champagne. At a meet-and-greet for VIP guests, Miranda did a talkback with Sara Elisa Miller, the director of philanthropy and special projects for the Miranda Family Fund. He spoke about the funds work and how he worked through the pandemic while directing the Academy Award-nominated Tick, Tick, Boom! starring Andrew Garfield and Vanessa Hudgens. In receiving his award at last, Miranda joined a list of past Changemaker honorees that includes include Oscar-winner Renee Zellweger, Ashley Judd, Harry Belafonte, Eva Longoria Baston, Mia Farrow, Freida Pinto, Abigail Breslin and more. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com Voters in South Carolina, Maine, Nevada and North Dakota headed to the polls Tuesday to pick their candidates for November's general election. Check for live updates from a bustling primary night below: 1:00 a.m. ET Adam Laxalt won the Republican nomination Tuesday for a pivotal Nevada Senate seat, fending off a challenge from a political newcomer and setting up a fierce November contest to topple incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto in a race that could swing power in the U.S. Senate. 12:15 a.m. ET The AP is reporting that incumbent Rep. William Timmons has won the Republican nomination for U.S. House in South Carolina's 4th Congressional District. 11:30 p.m. ET Other races that have been called around the country include former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin in the Republican primary for U.S. House in Maine's 2nd Congressional District, Evangeline Hundley in the Democratic primary in South Carolina's 5th Congressional District and Republican Mayra Flores winning the special election to U.S. House in Texas' 34th Congressional District. Flores is filling the seat vacated by Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela. 11:20 p.m. ET Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican House member from South Carolina under attack by the Trump wing of the GOP for her critical comments about the former president, has won her primary. Mace, who will represent the GOP in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District, bested Katie Arrington, who was strongly backed by Trump. Mace avoided the same fate as Rep. Tom Rice, who was the other GOP House member targeted by Trump and defeated earlier in the night by Paul Fry. 11:00 p.m. ET Rep. Tom Rice has lost the GOP primary for U.S. House in South Carolina's 7th Congressional District, becoming the first Republican who voted to impeach Trump to lose reelection. Rice was defeated by Paul Fry, a state representative endorsed by Trump. 10:15 p.m. ET Joe Cunningham has won the Democratic primary for South Carolina's governor, according to the AP. With the backing of Doug Jones, the former U.S. Senator from Alabama, Cunningham defeated Mia McLeod, a former state representative, and two other challengers. Cunningham will face incumbent GOP Gov. Henry McMaster in the reliably red state. 10:00 p.m. ET Polls in Nevada have closed. Voters in the state will be deciding numerous contentious races, including the Republican primary for U.S. Senate to take on the expected winner of the Democratic primary and incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto. The top two competitors in the GOP primary are former Attorney General of Nevada and polling favorite heading into Tuesday Adama Laxalt and Sam Brown, an Army veteran with the backing of the state Republican party. Laxalt is being supported by former President Donald Trump, U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 9:25 p.m. ET The AP is reporting that Katrina Christiansen has secured the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in the North Dakota primary election. She will take on incumbent Sen. John Hoeven, who earlier in the night easily grabbed the Republican nomination. Christiansen defeated Michael Steele. According to Politico, Hoeven's seat is expected to be safe. Also, the AP Decision Desk is calling the Republican primary for the U.S. House in South Carolina's 6th Congressional District for Duke Buckner. Buckner will square off with Rep. Jim Clyburn, the longtime incumbent and one of the top Democratic leaders in Congress. 9:00 p.m. ET Polls have closed in North Dakota. And almost simultaneously AP is reporting that Incumbent Sen. John Hoeven has won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in North Dakota's primary election. 8:15 p.m. ET House majority whip and Democratic stalwart Rep. James Clyburn has cruised to a primary victory in South Carolina's 6th Congressional District, according to the AP. Clyburn, South Carolinas only Democrat in Congress, beat two challengers as he seeks a 16th term. Clyburn's endorsement of Biden was widely seen as the defining factor that led to the current presidents victory in the 2020 Democratic primary. 8:00 p.m. ET Polls have closed in Maine. They've also closed in Texas' 34th Congressional District, where a special election is being held to fill the seat vacated by Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela. 7:45 p.m. ET Incumbent Henry McMaster has been named the winner of the Republican primary for governor in South Carolina, according to the AP. McMaster is seeking a second full term. He faced one primary challenger, Harrison Musselwhite. 7:00 p.m. ET Polls have closed in South Carolina, the first state to wrap up tonight. Two GOP House members, who have sided against former President Donald Trump on a couple of occasions, face primary challengers from their political right. Rep. Tom Rice has staunchly opposed the former president's unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. His opposition culminated in Rice's vote to impeach Trump the second time following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Rice was one of 10 Republicans to do so. Rice faces six challengers, with state Rep. Russell Fry leading the pack. Fry has Trump's endorsement. Rep. Nancy Mace is the other GOP House member facing a Trump-backed challenger. Mace, who has taken a softer stance against Trump compared to Rice, objected to the calls to overturn the 2020 election, as well as condemning the former president after the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Mace is facing Katie Arrington, a former state representative. Arrington was endorsed by Trump back in February, claiming that "she has the tremendous backing of almost all who know her -- especially when she is compared to Nancy Mace!" Mace, however, has former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was also the ambassador to the United Nations under Trump's presidency, in her corner. LOS ANGELES (AP) A former energy company executive from Los Angeles pleaded guilty Tuesday in a $15 million scheme to defraud investors in phony business arrangements for services to oil and gas companies in North Dakota, federal prosecutors said. Joey Stanton Dodson was chairman of Citadel Energy Partners when he began raising money from more than 50 investors he said would fund three limited partnerships, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. PHILADELPHIA (AP) A man acquitted in the shooting death of the son of a high-ranking police official during a brawl at a south Philadelphia park three years ago has been sentenced to probation in another case. Tyquan Atkinson, 23, was acquitted in April of fatally shooting 20-year-old Nicholas Flacco, son of Chief Inspector Christopher Flacco, at a Phillies tailgate gathering in March 2019 in FDR park. The month before the verdict, he was convicted of having a knife in his jail cell while awaiting trial. THOMPSONVILLE The Michigan Legacy Art Park in Thompsonville is scheduled to host a sculpture dedication ceremony for "Two Doors," art piece by the late Leslie Laskey. The ceremony is scheduled to start at at 4:30 p.m on Thursday, according to a news release from the art park. "Born and raised in Michigan, artist Leslie Laskey was deeply connected to nature, the four seasons and the trees," reads part of the release. "'Two Doors' invites visitors to be curious, to come in close, peek through the pierced door and see something new each time they peer through the frames. A university professor, architect and artist, Laskey shared his love of Michigan by hosting summer classes in Manistee for six decades." Angie Quinn, Michigan Legacy Art Park executive director, said in the release that Laskey's artwork will be included in the park's permanent collection. "Mr. Laskey's colleagues and students in Manistee would meet regularly on Thursday afternoons during summers until his death on June 17, 2021. In memory of Mr. Laskey, and in honor of his work, his friends have requested that our dedication program include one last Thursday together, Quinn said. The ceremony is set to take place at the Michigan Legacy Art Park trailhead. The art park is located on the grounds of Crystal Mountain Resort at 12500 Crystal Mountain Drive. For more information, contact the park's community engagement manager, Kerry Winkler at kerry@michlegacyartpark.org. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. announced it will send an additional $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, as America and its allies provide longer-range weapons they say can make a difference in a fight where Ukrainian forces are outnumbered and outgunned by their Russian invaders. President Joe Biden and his top national security leaders said Wednesday the U.S. is moving as fast as possible to get critical weapons to the fight, even as Ukrainian officials protest that they need more, faster, in order to survive. The latest package, the U.S. said, includes anti-ship missile launchers, howitzers and more rounds for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that U.S. forces are training Ukrainian troops on now. All are key weapons systems that Ukrainian leaders have urgently requested as they battle to stall Russia's slow but steady march to conquer the eastern Donbas region. Gen. Milley and I have been in a number of fights. And when youre in a fight, you can never get enough, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a press conference in Brussels, referring to Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I certainly understand where the Ukrainians are coming from, and were gonna fight hard to give them everything they need. The HIMARS and anti-ship systems are the kinds of longer range capabilities that over time can make a difference in the fight, Milley said. He said Ukraine will have trained HIMARS crews in the fight in a few weeks. If they use the weapon properly and its employed properly, they ought to be able to take out a significant amount of targets and that will make a difference, he said. But he also noted that the numbers clearly favor the Russians. "In terms of artillery, they do outnumber, they out-gun and out-range the Ukrainian forces. The aid is the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since the war began. Biden, who spoke by phone with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for about 40 minutes Wednesday, also said the U.S. will send $225 million more in humanitarian assistance to provide safe drinking water, medical supplies, food, health care, shelter and money for families to buy essential items. The U.S. remains committed, Biden said in a statement, to supporting the Ukrainian people whose lives have been ripped apart by this war. The aid comes as Austin convened a meeting in Brussels of more than 45 nations to discuss support for Ukraine. At the start of the meeting, he warned that the West must step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and prove its commitment to helping the country's military fight along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line in a grinding war of attrition with Russia. He told the participating nations, "We cant afford to let up and we cant lose steam. The stakes are too high. Overall, since the war began in late February, the U.S. has committed about $5.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including this latest package. Officials said that about one-third of the latest $1 billion will be from presidential drawdown authority, which means the Pentagon will take weapons and equipment from it's own stock and ship them to Ukraine. The remaining two-thirds would be equipment and weapons purchased from industry by the U.S. and then transferred to Ukraine. Austin's meeting, also attended by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, came on the opening day of a two-day gathering of NATO defense ministers at the alliance headquarters. Increased arms supplies cant come too soon for the Ukrainian forces battling to keep Russia from taking control of their countrys industrial east after more than 3 months of war. In his nightly address to the nation, President Zelenskyy pleaded Tuesday for more and faster deliveries of Western arms, specifically asking for anti-missile defense systems. Allies are committed to continue providing the military equipment that Ukraine needs to prevail, including heavy weapons and long-range systems, said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary-general. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Tuesday that without help from the West, we will not be able to win this war. She said Ukraine uses 5,000 to 6,000 artillery rounds a day, while Russia uses 10 times that many. The defense ministers also planned to discuss moves to beef up forces along NATOs own eastern flank and elsewhere, which have gathered strength since Russia invaded Ukraine. This will mean more presence, more capabilities and higher readiness, with more NATO forward deployed combat formations to strengthen our battlegroups in the East, more air, sea and cyber defenses, pre-positioned equipment and weapon stockpiles, Stoltenberg said. On a separate but related subject, he wouldnt commit to a timeframe for Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is blocking the membership bids, accusing the Nordic nations of supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Turkey to be terrorists. My aim is to solve this issue as soon as possible, but since we are several nations involved in this process, there is no way to tell you exactly when we will solve it, Stoltenberg said. Because of Turkeys concerns, this will take some more time than we originally expected, he said. Erdogan signaled Wednesday he wont back down. We will most definitely not change our stance until Sweden and Finland take clear, concrete and determined steps in the fight against terrorism, Erdogan said in an address to his ruling partys legislators. All 30 NATO members must agree to admit new members. ___ Corder reported from The Hague, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on Tuesday, accusing it of not protecting an endangered shrub once thought to be extinct that grows in some areas of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. The shrub known as marron bacora can grow up to 10 feet (3 meters) high and produces lilac flowers with a yellow center. It is found on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands and on Tortola in the neighboring British Virgin Islands. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Residents of the West Texas city of Odessa improvised emergency water supplies after a water system outage left them high and dry for days amid scorching heat, even as utility crews scrambled Wednesday to restore normal service. The city said taps in 165,000 homes and businesses lost pressure or went completely dry after a 24-inch (61-centimeter) main broke Monday afternoon. Odessa's water treatment plant was back online by about 8 a.m. Wednesday, but a recharging process was taking place during which workers slowly add water back into the system to ensure there are no more leaks. I want to assure you that were utilizing every resource at our disposal to ensure that we get this community back to the way it was before this massive line break, City Manager Michael Marrero said in a Facebook video posted Wednesday afternoon. Public Works Director Thomas Kerr said a small leak had been detected Wednesday afternoon, which he described as manageable. He said he hoped the system would be fully recharged by Thursday but added that residents should continue to boil their tap water to kill any bacteria before consuming it. The boil-water notice was likely to continue until Friday, he said. Temperatures approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) in Odessa Wednesday as Texas and much of the United States faced extremely hot and humid conditions. And while the city typically sees hot weather in June, the timing of the break made dealing with this weeks heat more difficult. Resident Nikki Friday told The Associated Press that the city was providing bottled drinking water and that people with wells were offering neighbors water from hoses. She also said tanker trucks had been parked around town to fill buckets with water. "Drinking water has not been an issue, Friday said. We just need water to return to our daily lives and within the community. Lifelong Odessa resident Lynda Wright said water service had not been lost across the city in the more than five decades that she has lived there. She said she picked up water and ice from Midland, a 15-minute drive from her home. Wright said she had drinkable water stored in jugs for washing hands and brushing teeth, and that her family hooked her house up to a well on her property to provide water to flush toilets. We just dropped a hose in the (water) line, she said. Wright said she noticed water began running again around noon but that the pressure did not immediately return to regular strength. The city, which is located about 330 miles (530 kilometers) west of Dallas, planned to distribute water to residents at Ector County Coliseum as well as deliver water to nursing homes. Water tankers were placed strategically around the city to respond to any fires, said Deputy City Manager Phillip Urrutia. Its an aging infrastructure that were seeing. Its a cast iron pipe, and so those are typically more susceptible to breaks than other new technologies like PVC pipe thats going in the ground, he said. Wright said the city must act to prevent another water emergency. I just hope that they kind of learned we need to get in there, we need to check these lines and repair those that show signs of age and wear and tear, she said. ___ Associated Press writer Ashley Duong in Chicago and Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this story. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Four officers won't face criminal charges for shooting and killing a man armed with a gun who tried to drive through a wildfire evacuation checkpoint near a Northern California marijuana farm last summer, the Siskiyou County district attorney said Tuesday. Soobleej Kaub Hawj, 35, of Kansas City, Kansas, was driving a pickup truck loaded with guns and 132 pounds of marijuana when he ignored orders to turn west onto a main road at a checkpoint June 24 as a lightning-sparked fire threatened a rural Big Springs area near the Oregon border, District Attorney Kirk Andrus said. The blaze forced thousands to flee. Hawj, who had both amphetamines and methamphetamine in his system, pulled a .45-caliber handgun and pointed it at a law enforcement officer, causing other officers to open fire, Andrus said in a letter to law enforcement agencies explaining his decision, the Sacramento Bee reported. Hawj was struck several times in the head, chest, arms and legs. In addition to the handgun and the marijuana, investigators found another handgun and two loaded assault rifles with large magazines, the letter said. The shooting sparked accusations that racism played a role in the shooting of Hawj, who was a member of the Hmong ethnic group. Authorities last year said the Mount Shasta Vista subdivision in the Big Springs area had as many as 6,000 greenhouses illegally growing marijuana, with the farms mostly run by people of Hmong and Chinese descent. The county has tried to crack down on the illegal grows, in part by prohibiting trucked-in water deliveries to Hmong farmers who run illegal operations. The growers sued and last fall a federal judge issued a temporary injunction against the ban, saying the practice raises serious questions about racial discrimination and leaves the growers without a source of water for drinking, bathing and growing food. In his letter, however, Andrus said the fire checkpoint wasn't being used to find marijuana but merely to get people out of an area endangered by the fire. Hawj, however, may have thought he would be stopped and searched, Andrus said. He had a cash crop in the back of his truck that he apparently was willing to defend, Andrus wrote. He may have had the misapprehension that residents were being funneled into an area where they would be searched for marijuana. He would have been wrong. Hawj also had an arrest warrant out of Mesa County, Colorado, where he was wanted for marijuana and firearms felonies, the newspaper said. PHOENIX (AP) At least two people have been detained after a Phoenix police officer was shot and wounded in a Laveen neighborhood on Tuesday, authorities said. Police said the female officer, a 19-year veteran, was hospitalized in stable condition. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) A third arrest has been made in a mass shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where three people died and 14 were injured and police made another appeal to the public to help identify possible suspects. Rodney Harris, 31, was charged Tuesday in federal court with possession of a firearm by a felon, according to an affidavit filed with the U.S. District Court for Eastern Tennessee, news outlets reported. He was seen in a Facebook live video carrying a rifle in front of Marys Bar & Grill and was among the gunshot victims, according to the affidavit. Alexis Lewis, 36, was charged Monday in state court with criminal homicide, reckless endangerment, and possession of a firearm during the commission or attempt to commit a dangerous felony, Chattanooga Police said in a statement. Another man, Garrian King, was arrested last week and charged in federal court with being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to court records. The shooting happened in front of Marys Bar & Grill early June 5 and police have said there were likely multiple shooters. Fourteen of the 17 victims were hit by gunfire and another three were hit by vehicles while trying to flee the scene, Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy has said. Of the three who died, two were killed by gunfire and one was killed by a vehicle. Sixteen of the victims were adults and one was a juvenile. It was not immediately clear whether Harris has an attorney. Authorities again asked for the publics help during a news conference Tuesday with the investigation into the shooting. What we say today is if anybody has any information pertaining to this incident ... it doesnt matter how big or how small, call us, contact one of us and let us know, Chattanooga police Capt. Jerri Sutton said. The shooting came one week after six juveniles were wounded during an exchange of gunfire in a downtown Chattanooga business district. Jacksonville Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS David J. Gladwell, 42, of 648 Northwood Lane was arrested at 7:54 a.m. Tuesday in the 2100 block of New Lake Road on a theft charge. ACCIDENTS Janice S. Ryan, 74, of Jacksonville was cited on a charge of failing to yield after the car she was driving and one being driven by Michael R. Bulino, 25, of Jacksonville collided at 3:26 p.m. Monday at Mound Avenue and Stevenson Drive. Margie M. Marler, 42, of Jacksonville was cited on a charge of failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident after the car she was driving and one being driven by Steven E. Doss, 18, of Jacksonville collided at 12:25 p.m. Monday at East Douglas Avenue and North Alley C. THEFTS, BURGLARIES A wallet was taken between 10:50 p.m. Monday and 8:15 a.m. Tuesday from an unlocked vehicle in the 1000 block of Beesley Avenue. A Weedeater was stolen between 8:30 p.m. Sunday and 9:30 a.m. Monday from the back of a pickup truck parked in 1800 block of Mound Road. OTHER REPORTS Police are investigating a report that bleach was thrown on someone at 3:12 p.m. Tuesday in the 200 block of West Wolcott Street. Calhoun County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Bobby D. Gonzalez, 62, of Kampsville was booked into Greene County Jail at 10:51 p.m. Saturday on a charge of driving while license is revoked. Eric R. Heidland, 53, of O'Fallon, Missouri, was booked into Greene County Jail at 11:25 p.m. Friday on charges of unlawful use of weapons, possession of a weapon by a felon, and illegal possession of ammunition. Bretton C. Hausmann, 36, of Pleasant Hill was booked into Greene County Jail at 2:58 a.m. June 6 on charges of disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property. Greene County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Ryan J. Breckon, 46, of Carrollton was booked into Greene County Jail at 9:34 a.m. Tuesday on a Greene County arrest warrant accusing him of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim 13-17. Jacob D. Durham, 25, of Carrollton was booked into Greene County Jail at 10:32 p.m. Monday on charges of aggravated fleeing or eluding an officer, speeding 35 or more over limit, having no valid registration, and violation of license classification. John E. Forsting, 64, of Roodhouse was booked into Greene County Jail at 10:01 a.m. May 26 on a contempt-of-court charge. Carrollton Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Jessica M. Giberson, 37, of Carrollton was booked into Greene County Jail at 12:29 p.m. Tuesday on charges of retail theft, criminal damage to property and possession of a controlled substance. Daniel W. Stricklan, 41, of Cuba, Missouri, was booked into Greene County Jail at 2:14 p.m. June 6 on a charge of criminal damage to property. Blaine D. Hartwick, 36, of Elred was booked into Greene County Jail at 4:31 a.m. June 4 on a charge of driving under the influence. Michael J. Tolliver, 39, of New Berlin was booked into Greene County Jail at 5:15 p.m. May 30 on charges of driving while license is suspended, obstructing identification, resisting a peace officer and aggravated battery of a peace officer. Greenfield Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Brent S. Pinkerton, 37, of Greenfield was booked into Greene County Jail at 3:52 p.m. Saturday on a domestic battery charge. Ronald R. Lomelino, 47, of Woodson was booked into Greene County Jail at 1:52 a.m. Thursday on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended. Tonja L. McMeans, 58, of Jacksonville was booked into Greene County Jail at 1 a.m. Thursday on charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance. Stacy Jo Lomelino, 44, of Woodson was booked into Greene County Jail at 11:26 p.m. June 8 on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. Wayne C. Williams, 39, of Blackjack, Missouri, was booked into Greene County Jail at 7:35 p.m. June 1 on charges of improper display of a license plate and having an expired driver's license. Johnathan W. Hayes, 27, of Greenfield was booked into Greene County Jail at 8:44 p.m. May 31 on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended. Christopher M. Rodgers, 40, of Greenfield was booked into Greene County Jail at 8:58 a.m. May 31 on charges of harassment of a witness or family member and resisting a peace officer. Roodhouse Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Tronae L. Leonard, 30, of Decatur was booked into Greene County Jail at 6:39 a.m. Thursday on a charge of driving while license is suspended. Shatisha K. Edwards, 38, of St. Louis was booked into Greene County Jail at 1:06 a.m. June 5 on a charge of having no valid driver's license. Trevor W. Hardwick, 40, of Hillview was booked into Greene County Jail at 11:06 a.m. June 3 on a Greene County arrest warrant accusing him of possession of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance. Deborah A. Jackson, 55, of Roodhouse was booked into Greene County Jail at 6:13 p.m. May 30 on charges of possession of methamphetamine, delivery of methamphetamine and violation of an order of protection. State police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Jenna E. Alexander, 27, of Jacksonville was booked into Greene County Jail at 10:19 a.m. June 6 on a charge of possession of cannabis. Ryan S. Vanmeter, 32, of Roodhouse was booked into Greene County Jail at 9:20 a.m. June 6 on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended. Jamee M. Smithers, 41, of Chatham was booked into Greene County Jail at 6:04 a.m. May 29 on charges of driving under the influence and aggravated battery of a peace officer. White Hall Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Natalie E. Stevanus, 37, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 9:57 a.m. June 6 on a charge of having no valid driver's license. David L. Sweeten, 31, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 9:38 a.m. June 6 on a charge of having no valid driver's license. Michael A. Dawber, 35, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 12:37 p.m. May 29 on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended and on a Brown County warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court. Hilley E. Stuller, 54, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 3:06 p.m. May 27 on a petition to revoke probation. 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 and 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 McDonald's, 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, we've seen just this huge increase in food packaging, delivery, takeout," said Sheela Sathyanarayana, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington and Seattle Children's 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 Administration's 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 also has 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 more than $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." None of the companies has 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. KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) King County prosecutors Tuesday charged an 18-year-old Kirkland student with two counts of felony harassment for allegedly threatening to kill two classmates. Prosecutors say the student, a Juanita High School senior, posted a threatening message Sunday on Instagram referencing last months school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 19 children and two adults, the Seattle Times reported. Neem leaves, turmeric and vermilion used during the festivities are only to stop the vector-borne and other contagious diseases, historians say. (DC File Image) HYDERABAD: Historians have different take on month-long Bonalu festivities which is celebrated in the city during Ashada Masam. While the state government claims that Bonam literally means meal in Telugu, which is an offering to the Mother Goddess, historians say that Bonam originated from the word 'Bhuvanam', where earth is treated as mother. The month-long festivities emphasise hygiene and cleanliness, especially to contain the spread of contagious diseases during the monsoon. Neem leaves, turmeric and vermilion used during the festivities are only to stop the vector-borne and other contagious diseases, they say. The early spells of monsoon not only bring joy, but also contagious diseases along with it. Womenfolk in the household prepare rice cooked with milk and jaggery in a new earthen or brass pot, which is adorned with neem leaves, turmeric and vermilion. Women carry these pots on their heads and make an offering of Bonam after travelling from houses to temples, which are ideally on the outskirts of the village, bastis or the streets. Prior to preparing Bonam, women clean the house and light incense sticks and decorate the house with neem leaves. This process not only involves air purification but also kills deadly viruses and bacteria present in the air. This apart, temples authorities or managements who organise the festivities have been keeping the premises clean for generations without knowing the science behind it. Ravinuthala Shashidhar, a historian, said the festivities started to contain viral fevers, which were deadly and claimed lakhs of lives due to cholera, dengue, malaria and other contagious diseases. He said the villagers worshipped Kali in her various forms such Mysamma, Pochamma, Yellamma, Dokkalamma, Peddamma, Poleramma, Ankalamma, Maremma, Nookalamma etc. to save them from deadly diseases and keep the village healthy. The historian said the same tradition was being followed till date. Shashidhar contented that Bonalu festivities process scientifically involved minimisation of spread of contagious diseases and the festival had deeper meaning than just celebrations. However, he said, in order to make the layman understand, it was done in the form of celebrations. He said the festivities had not only science, culture, and celebration but also it brought joy to farmers with the early spells of monsoon. CANBERRA, Australia (AP) The previous Australian governments stance against a more aggressive China drove away many Chinese-Australian voters at recent elections who considered the administrations language had licensed racism, a campaign strategist said on Wednesday. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrisons conservative coalition government lost elections last month after almost a decade in power to the center-left Labor Party. Labors campaign director Paul Erickson on Wednesday blamed coalition rhetoric on China for significant vote swings toward Labor in electorates with large Chinese-Australian populations. The feedback that we got was that there was a view that the governments response to the more aggressive and assertive behavior of the Chinese Communist Party and the government in Beijing came across in the community actually at times as an attack on Chinese-Australians or rhetoric that licensed racism in the community, Erickson told the National Press Club. Of Australias population of 25 million, 1.2 million have Chinese ancestry, according to the most recent census. Senior figures in the coalition government had argued that Beijing had wanted Labor to win the election because Labor lawmakers were less likely to stand up for Australian interests against Chinese economic coercion. A conservative lobby group Advance Australia had displayed ads on the sides of trucks during the election campaign that depicted Chinese President Xi Jinping casting a vote with the slogan: CCP says vote Labor. Morrison had labeled Labors deputy leader Richard Marles the Manchurian candidate, the title of a 1959 novel about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed by Chinese authorities to become an unwitting assassin. Senior ministers also had pointed to China and the Solomon Islands announcing a security pact during the campaign as an attempt to undermine the coalitions reelection chances. Labor described the pact as Australias worst foreign policy failure in the Pacific since World War II. New Foreign Minister Penny Wong will fly to the Solomons on Friday in an attempt to improve bilateral ties. Former Defense Minister Peter Dutton, who since the election has replaced Morrison as leader of the conservative Liberal Party, argued during the campaign that pro-Labor communication on the Chinese social media platform WeChat was evidence that Beijing wanted the government to change. Maree Ma, general manager of Vision Times, a leading Chinese-language Australian media outlet, said WeChat exchanges were more positive toward Labor than they had been in the last election in 2019. Ma told Australian Broadcasting Corp. a week before the election: A lot of the articles are playing on how Labor will be more friendly towards China, which may or may not be the case in reality. Ma said soured Sino-Australian relations and concerns over Chinas pact with the Solomons were not major election issues for Chinese-Australians. The vast majority of the Chinese community here doesnt really have much to do with the Chinese government and what they really care about is everything that the other English-speaking voters care about which is who can run the country better; its about jobs, the economy, Ma said. NEW YORK (AP) The man charged with shooting and killing a passenger on a New York City subway train pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a murder charge as his lawyer suggested someone else might be to blame. Andrew Abdullah, 25, his wrists handcuffed behind him, softly spoke the two-word plea to second-degree murder and two gun charges after he was brought to court in an orange prison uniform to respond to an indictment announced by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Defense lawyer Kristin Bruan told a state judge that a person fitting the description of the shooter turned in a gun after the shooting and five individuals could not identify Abdullah in a lineup. Yet, she said, she'd not been given a shred of evidence by prosecutors. Outside court, Bruan told reporters those facts cast doubt on the strength of the government's case. She said a bearded homeless man who matched the description of Abdullah turned in a gun to police. She said she witnessed five people failing to identify her client in a lineup even though they were in the train car during the shooting. In a release, Bragg said passenger Daniel Enriquez's vibrant life was brutally cut short in a flash of violence that shocked our city. He said he wanted to assure Enriquez's loved ones and all New Yorkers that investigators will stop at nothing to ensure accountability for this terrible crime, and to make sure our subways are safe for all. Prosecutors said the May 22 shooting occurred shortly before noon in a Q train traveling between Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. They said Abdullah, a loaded pistol in his pocket, paced back and forth near the center of the train car before drawing his gun and firing a single shot at his 48-year-old victim. Abdullah told passengers scurrying away but trapped with him to put away their cell phones because they'd all be getting off at the next stop before he fled at Manhattan's Canal Street station, leaving passengers, transit workers and first responders to treat Enriquez, who died from blood loss at a hospital, they said. He was arrested two days later. Outside court, Bruan said it was unfortunate that the public assumes guilt because the police say they got the right guy. She complained that no evidence has been turned over, saying it was unusual in such a high-profile case. So its curious to me that we have five people who cant identify him despite being on the train and the district attorney has given me not one shred of evidence. Not a video. Not a police report. Not a piece of paper. Nothing, Bruan said. She described her client as a soft-spoken man who has the support of his family and and a "very strong support system in the community. Bruan said the "hardest part, professionally, is explaining to his family whats happening to their 25-year-old son who obviously is in need of medical and psychiatric attention, and its not being fulfilled. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Ian Anson, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (THE CONVERSATION) Over the past few months, many journalists and pundits have credited the power of Donald Trumps endorsements with determining the winners of Republican primaries. Trump has made 203 candidate endorsements in the 2022 election cycle so far, targeting state, congressional, gubernatorial and even local races. Based on the numbers alone, receiving a Trump bump seems like a surefire way to win an election. So far, 94% of Trumps favored candidates have won their Republican primaries. But as a political scientist who studies voting and public opinion, I have my doubts about the true power of Trumps endorsements. Instead, it is more likely that most of the candidates Trump has chosen to endorse were already on track to win their respective races. Political science says that endorsements do occasionally matter for determining election outcomes. But in most cases, their effects are far less potent than commentators might expect. This is because endorsements are not made in a vacuum. Much like the endorsements of interest groups and political parties, the so-called Trump bump is mostly a reflection of the attributes a candidate already had before the endorsement. Backing the winners Candidates electoral fortunes mostly stem from whether theyre incumbents, which political party they belong to, their ideology and their political savvy. In turn, these attributes also determine who gets endorsed by prominent groups and people. For this reason, Trumps endorsements are an excellent lesson in what scholars call reverse causality. This is what happens when people mistake a phenomenons effects for its cause, like thinking that people holding umbrellas have caused it to rain. In this case, reverse causality implies that Trumps favorite candidates are not more likely to win because of his endorsement. To be sure, candidate endorsements can act as valuable cues for voters seeking to make informed decisions. Voters might think to themselves, If this person, whom I trust and like, supports a candidate, then I should trust and like the candidate too. This is especially true in elections in which little is known about the contenders. Such mental shortcuts allow voters with limited knowledge of the candidates to vote according to their preferences. But in most cases, endorsements do little to persuade voters to shift their support from one candidate to another. The real sources of the Trump bump There are at least three other reasons that many of Trumps favored candidates are finding success in 2022. First, most of Trumps endorsed candidates already hold office. This gives them a distinct electoral advantage. Only one of the congressional incumbents whom Trump endorsed lost in the primary. That candidate, Rep. Madison Cawthorn in North Carolina, chose to run in a new congressional district, partially scuttling his incumbency advantage. The stellar performance of Trump-backed incumbents is unsurprising, because incumbents already have a nearly 100% chance of winning primaries. The rare primary upset of an incumbent, like the one that elected New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018, normally sends shock waves through the political landscape. Of course, Trump has also endorsed some challengers. Research shows that challengers raise more money if they receive high-profile endorsements. Trumps endorsement might have had a similar effect. But longtime incumbents often have even deeper pockets, making them difficult for challengers to defeat. The record reflects this reality: Of the nine Trump-endorsed challengers who have gone up against incumbents in primaries thus far, only three have managed to win. Trump endorsements are also likely determined by a candidates quality, which can be defined as the extent to which a candidate possesses the skills, reputation and resources including money to win elections. High-quality candidates normally contest only those elections they know they can win. Key endorsers like Trump stake their reputation on their support for candidates, meaning they are probably choosy about whom to endorse. This helps to explain why not all vocally pro-Trump candidates have received his official blessing. Finally, a candidates ideology plays an important role in determining winners, losers and support from endorsers. Trump is likely to endorse conservative candidates who align with his policy preferences though not always. Successful conservative candidates run in districts and states with many conservative voters. Trumps endorsement will merely clarify these voters affinity for the candidate, while reaffirming others decision to vote for someone else. No endorsement, no problem for Republicans in 22 Before assigning Trump the credit for boosting candidates in the upcoming 2022 general election, observers should recognize the notorious difficulty of proving causation in the realm of electoral politics. 2022 is primed to be a banner year for Republican candidates, whether they receive a nod from Trump or not. Midterm election years are almost always tough contests for the party of the incumbent president. Voters associate candidates down the ballot with the presidents performance in office. After an early honeymoon phase, presidential approval often slumps as midterm elections near, damaging the chances of congressional candidates. A volatile economy is also bad news for the party of the incumbent. While presidents actions might not have much effect on national and global economic conditions, many voters blame the incumbent party anyway. These factors combine to heavily favor Republican candidates this year. Trumps endorsements are far less important for voting behavior than the political and economic context of this years elections. Hopefully, when it comes time to discuss the reasons that some candidates won and others lost, commentators will keep these lessons from voting behavior research in mind. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/trump-endorsed-candidates-would-generally-win-even-without-his-support-and-thats-usually-the-case-with-all-political-endorsements-184231. Ride sharing certainly comes with its interesting experiences, and a lot of drivers could more than likely attest that to items passengers leave behind. From grandma's teeth to phones to sports jerseys, items of every day use to the just plain weird are mentioned in Uber's 2022 "Lost & Found Index." The report sheds light on the items people most often forget with a listing of unique items left behind as well as the "most forgetful cities" in the U.S. Austin, Texas was No. 1 with Indianapolis; Columbus, Ohio; and Kansas City, Kansas representing the midwest in the Top 10. Most left behind items Phone/camera claims the top spot, followed by wallets, keys, backpacks/purses and headphones/speakers.. Glasses, clothing, vape, jewelry and IDs round out the Top 10. The report also points out various forgetfulness trends noting "U.S. riders are most forgetful on the weekends," and adding that "people are becoming more forgetful in the early evening." The most forgotten items are reported between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. People are also more likely to forget certain items on particular days of the week, the report shows. This includes glasses, chargers and cardholders on Mondays; "kids items" such as car seats, pacifiers, milk and strollers on Tuesdays; passports and books on Wednesdays; groceries and laptops on Thursdays; cash and fanny packs on Fridays; clothing, ID and keys on Saturdays; phones, wallets, jewelry and makeup on Sundays. Among brands, Nike "seems to be forgotten most," the report states, adding that "Toyota keys are the most frequently left behind, followed by Honda, BMW and Jeep." Additionally, Dozens of riders left their retainers or dentures in Ubers and "more than 20 riders" forgot gold or diamond-encrusted grills. A portion of the report lists what the company described as the top 50 "most unique lost items." Here's Uber's top 10 of the Top 50 used in the report: This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LONDON (AP) The British government vowed Wednesday to organize more flights to deport asylum-seekers from around the world to Rwanda, after a last-minute court judgment grounded the first plane due to take off under the contentious policy. Home Secretary Priti Patel said preparation for the next flight begins now despite legal rulings that none of the migrants earmarked for deportation could be sent to the East African country. We will not be put off by the inevitable legal last-minute challenges, Patel told lawmakers. Under a deal signed in April, Britain plans to send some migrants from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria who arrive illegally in Britain as stowaways or in small boats to Rwanda, where their asylum claims will be processed. If successful, they will stay in the African country, rather than returning to Britain. Prime Minister Boris Johnsons government says the plan is a legitimate way to protect lives and thwart the criminal gangs that send migrants on risky journeys from France across the English Channel. Human rights groups argue that the plan rides roughshod over the protections afforded to refugees under rules set up after World War II. They have called the idea inhumane and a waste of money. Britain paid Rwanda 120 million pounds ($150 million) up front for the deal. Critics include leaders of the Church of England and, according to British news reports, heir to the throne Prince Charles. British courts refused last week to ground the first flight, scheduled for Tuesday, but the number due to be aboard was whittled down by appeals and legal challenges, from 37 last week to seven all men on Tuesday. Then the European Court of Human Rights, an international tribunal supported by 46 countries, including Britain, ruled late Tuesday that an Iraqi man due to be on the plane shouldn't fly, saying he faced a real risk of irreversible harm. That judgment allowed the final few migrants on the plane to win a reprieve from British judges with minutes to spare, and the government canceled the then-empty flight. British Cabinet minister Therese Coffey said the government was surprised and disappointed by the ruling. I think the public will be surprised at European judges overruling British judges, she told Sky News though the European judges did not overrule British courts, which had ruled on the issue of the flight as a whole, not on individual migrants. Some lawmakers from the governing Conservative Party nonetheless say Britain should withdraw from the Strasbourg-based European human rights court, which Britain helped to set up. A spokesman for the prime minister: We are keeping all options on the table," including legal reforms. A full trial of the legality of the Rwanda plan is due to be heard in the British courts by the end of July. Human rights lawyer Frances Swaine, who represents one of the people due to be sent to Rwanda, urged the government to wait for that decision before organizing any more deportation flights. I would be sitting back and thinking: Was it worth it, either from a financial or a legal perspective, to organize one of these very expensive flights again when theyve been so unsuccessful this time around on legal grounds? she said. The British government says it welcomes refugees who come by approved immigration routes but wants to put the criminal smuggling gangs that operate dangerous cross-Channel voyages out of business. Migration and refugee groups point out that there are no approved legal routes to Britain for most refugees, with the exception of those fleeing Afghanistan and Ukraine. Britain receives fewer asylum applications than comparably sized European countries such as France and Germany. There are also concerns about the migrants' treatment in Rwanda, the most densely populated country in Africa. While Rwanda was the site of a genocide that killed hundreds of thousands of people in 1994, the country has built a reputation for stability and economic progress since then, the British government argues. Critics say that stability comes at the cost of political repression. More than 28,000 migrants entered Britain last year by crossing the English Channel, up from 8,500 in 2020. About 10,000 have arrived so far this year. Dozens have died while attempting the trip, including 27 people in November when a boat capsized. Johnson, fighting for his political life amid concerns about his leadership and ethics, has promised to stop the criminal gangs behind the perilous journeys a tough on immigration message that plays well with the Conservative grassroots. Labour Party migration spokeswoman Yvette Cooper said the plan is unworkable, unethical and wont stop the criminal gangs. This isnt a long-term plan; it is a short-term stunt," she said. Migration groups say the Rwanda plan is unlikely to deter desperate people making risky journeys to Britain. More than 440 people were brought ashore in southern England from small boats on Tuesday, including a heavily pregnant woman and parents with children. Scores more arrived Wednesday, a day of calm seas and sunshine. Nando Sigona, a migration expert at the University of Birmingham, said that because most of the people chosen for deportation under the Rwanda plan are single men, the policy could lead to more women, children and families attempting to cross the Channel. ___ Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this story. ___ Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration An unofficial challenge coin memorializing the controversial treatment of Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas last fall is being sold online, leading to an investigation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. As first reported by Michael Wilner and Jaqueline Charles of the Miami Herald, the coin depicts one of the most controversial images of the incident, captured by photographer Paul Ratje. It shows a border patrol agent on horseback grabbing a Haitian migrant, who was later identified as Mirard Joseph, by his shirt collar. The coin's rim features the quote: "You will be returned." One side of the coin reads, "Reining it in since May 28, 1924," and "Yesterdays border is not todays border." Forty-one of the coins were recently sold on eBay for $15.19 apiece, according to the Miami Herald. However, it's not clear how many of the coins were made or distributed. That listing is no longer available. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility said it is investigating the creation of the coins and whether anyone at CBP is selling them, according to the Miami Herald. Luis Miranda, a CBP assistant commissioner, told the Herald that the coin is not an official CBP coin and that anyone in CBP selling it will face "appropriate action." The agency's chief counsel will also "send a cease-and-desist letter to any vendor who produces unauthorized challenge coins using one of CBP's trademarked brands," Miranda told the Miami Herald. "The images depicted on the coin are offensive, insensitive, and run counter to the core values of CBP," Miranda said. Footage of border patrol officers on horseback chasing Haitian migrants and allegedly swinging their reigns like whips caused national outrage after surfacing online. At the time, President Joe Biden demanded accountability for the officers involved and the Department of Homeland Security launched an independent investigation into the treatment of migrants in Del Rio. Del Rio agents were also subsequently barred from patrolling the border atop horses. DHS is reportedly set to discipline the officers sometime this week, according to Fox News. Tess Helgren, an attorney representing Joseph, the Haitian citizen depicted on the coin, told the Miami Herald that the coin was the "celebration and commodification of racist violence." Joseph has been deported back to Haiti and is suing the U.S. government. "On behalf of Mirard Joseph and the 15,000 Haitian asylum seekers who faced cruelty and brutality in Del Rio, we continue to seek justice in court via Haitian Bridge Alliance v. Biden," Helgren told the Miami Herald. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday weighed in on the bipartisan Senate gun deal that is being championed by fellow Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Cruz told reporters on Capitol Hill that he was waiting for the details of the legislation before making up his mind. But he expressed concerns about aspects of the proposal that would encourage states to pass red flag laws, while calling efforts to boost school safety a natural avenue for bipartisan agreement. Weve seen consistently whenever there is a horrific criminal event that Democrats top priority is not stopping the bad guys, not stopping the criminals, but rather disarming law-abiding citizens, he said. If thats what they try to push with this proposal, I think that would be a serious mistake. The tentative deal, for which Cornyn was the lead negotiator, includes a mix of modest gun control proposals and funding for mental health services. It would incentivize states to pass red flag laws, which are designed to keep guns out of the hands of individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others; boost funding for mental health services, telehealth resources and more school security; permit juvenile records to be incorporated into background checks for purchasers under the age of 21; and crack down on the straw purchase and trafficking of guns. Cornyn started mobilizing in the Senate around the legislation after the horrific school shooting last month in Uvalde, where an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers. So far, the legislation has been outlined only in broad strokes. Cruz was most skeptical about the red flag provision of the legislation. I have real concerns about the Democrats efforts to push so-called red flag laws, he said. They have the potential to be a vehicle to disarm law-abiding citizens without protecting due process. So the statutory text on that topic will be particularly important. He said he could envision some bipartisan support on school hardening provisions, even as he took a swing at Democrats. Enhancing school safety would be a natural avenue for bipartisan agreement, he said. The political problem for Democrats is it wouldnt further their partisan agenda of undermining the Second Amendment. Cruz is one of the top recipients of NRA donations in the Senate and consistently fights off attempts to limit gun access. Cornyn, Texas senior senator, also touts an A+ rating from the NRA, but in recent years hes positioned himself as willing to cross the aisle for very limited legislation in response to mass shootings. Cornyn already has lined up nine other Republican senators who have signaled support for the deal enough to break through a filibuster. On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, lent support to the deal. Im comfortable with the framework and if the legislation ends up reflecting what the framework indicates, Ill be supportive," McConnell told reporters Tuesday at his weekly press conference. Democrats are signaling that nearly any Senate-passed gun bill even a modest one will receive a positive reception in the House. On Sunday afternoon, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement confirming as much. Eric Neugeboren contributed to this story. Join us Sept. 22-24 in-person in downtown Austin for The Texas Tribune Festival and experience 100+ conversation events featuring big names you know and others you should from the worlds of politics, public policy, the media and tech all curated by The Texas Tribunes award-winning journalists. Buy tickets. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/14/ted-cruz-senate-gun-bill/. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate (Bloomberg) -- Texas Governor Greg Abbotts lead over Democratic challenger Beto ORourke has narrowed in the three weeks since the Uvalde elementary-school massacre renewed a national debate over gun control. Abbott, a Republican seeking a third term in November, has a lead of five percentage points over ORourke, according to a Quinnipiac University poll published Wednesday. In a December poll by the same institution, the incumbent had a 15-point lead. The June 9 to June 13 survey of 1,257 Texans registered to vote has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. The fresh poll suggests that ORourke, a former US representative, is gaining momentum as he calls out Abbotts ardent support of gun rights in the wake of the Uvalde shooting. An 18-year-old with a rifle fatally shot 19 children and two teachers before he was killed by police. Just last year, Abbott further relaxed Texas gun laws, saying the moves would protect the rights of law-abiding citizens and ensure that Texas remains a bastion of freedom. Since the Uvalde shooting in late May, the governor has put the focus on hardening school security and getting Texans mental health support. He has not publicly discussed implementing any legislation to tighten gun policy. Abbott led ORourke 48% to 43% in the latest Quinnipiac poll. In December, he led 52% to 37%. In a separate survey released in early May by the Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler, Abbott was ahead by seven points -- 46% to 39%. In the Quinnipiac poll, 51% of voters said they think stricter gun laws would prevent mass shootings. Thats an increase from 42% in a Quinnipiac poll a year ago. Still, just 17% listed gun policy as the most urgent issue facing the Lone Star state. Abbott was perceived as doing a better job on handling five of six top issues, including gun policy, the economy, the Texas-Mexico border situation, the pandemic response and election laws. ORourke was seen more favorably on the topic of abortion. 2022 Bloomberg L.P. TibetFest 9 offers a taste of Tibets culture when the festival returns June 25-26 to the Goshen Fairgrounds. It will feature traditional dance and music, Tibetan food, crafts, guest speakers, butter sculptures, sound healing and meditation areas and construction of a sand mandala. Organizer Michelle Weik said attendees can also expect to find Tibetan food like momos, which are similar to steamed dumplings, as well as vendors selling Tibetan carpets, clothing, jewelry, singing bowls, Buddha/deity statues, incense, art work, calligraphic art and other items. What was paramount to my decision to do this festival was to make people aware of the plight of Tibet, said Weik. It has been illegally occupied by China since 1959, when His Holiness the Dalai Lama fled the country. Today, the oppression continues. As a young girl growing up in Litchfield, Michelle Weik knew that the Chinese province of Tibet and its people would make an impact on her life. Weiks early fascination with the Tibetan people and its culture continued into her adult life when she traveled to the Himalayan region in the mid 90s for a six-week journey to India, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. Tibet really stood out, she said. The peoples philosophy is to live and breathe compassion and kindness and non-violence. I had been following Students for a Free Tibet and other organizations, and once I saw with my own eyes how the Tibetans were oppressed, I realized that I needed to raise awareness in my little corner of the world, she said. Weiks dedication to the Tibetan people led her to produce TibetFest, one of the largest gatherings of its kind on the East Coast. Since 2005, she has organized eight such events. Weik arranged for Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, a High Lama who is a member of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, to appear on Sunday. Jamyang Norbu, a noted author, historian and activist, will also be speaking. A Tibetan monk, Thupten Dorjee, will be creating a sand mandala, and Jampa Tsondue, who lives in Old Saybrook and was one of the first Tibetans to relocate to America in 1991 as part of the Tibetan U.S. Resettlement Project, will be displaying Tibetan artworks called thangka paintings. Weik said the Connecticut Tibetans will also perform at the festival. They have a children's group that's going to sing and dance, too, and they're just adorable. And then they will do the Snow Lion Dance. That features a big fluffy snow lion. It's a two-person costume, and it's very entertaining, she said. They'll also do a Yak Dance. And that's also a two-person costume of a big black furry yak. Weik said her main goal with the festival is to create a space where Tibetans can share and celebrate their culture. Living in exile, it would be easy to become westernized here, but the Tibetans understand, and His Holiness has said to keep the culture alive, said Weik. TibetFest provides a platform so that the Tibetan people can showcase their traditional arts and music and keep their culture alive here. That's the most important thing. Admission to the event is $10 for adults, $5 for students, with children five-and-under free. Proceeds from TibetFest will go towards the building of a cultural center in Connecticut for the nearly 500 Tibetans who reside in the state. WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, June 14, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING Severe Weather Statement National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX 738 PM CDT Tue Jun 14 2022 ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR WARD COUNTY WILL EXPIRE AT 745 PM CDT... The storm which prompted the warning has moved out of the area. Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire. The National Weather Service in Midland/Odessa has issued a * Flash Flood Warning for... Southeastern Winkler County in western Texas... * Until 1045 PM CDT. * At 741 PM CDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. 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... Kermit, Wink and Monahans Sandhills State Park. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... 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. Please report observed flooding to local emergency services or law enforcement and request they pass this information to the National Weather Service when you can do so safely. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Judicial innovations arouse public environmental awareness Xinhua) 09:11, June 15, 2022 GUIYANG, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The major players in China's carbon market are enterprises, but individuals who engage in malpractice on environmental protection are now required by judiciaries to purchase carbon sinks. Carbon sinks, such as forests, grasslands and oceans, absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Revenues generated from forestry carbon sink trading are used to fund activities such as afforestation and paying forest rangers. Although funds from individuals account for a small proportion of the transactions in carbon sinks, some local courts in China are using the practice to boost environmental awareness among the public. INNOVATIVE ECOLOGICAL COMPENSATION A man surnamed Luo in southwest China's Guizhou Province was ordered earlier this year to pay 20,668 yuan (about 3,062 U.S. dollars) for a carbon sink deal, together with a 4,000 yuan fine, to compensate for the loss he inflicted on local forests. Luo felled 469 trees in his village in Jianhe County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, in May 2021. He was charged for illegal logging, as his felling license, which strictly limits the stock volume, species and regeneration measures, had expired. Committing such a crime could lead to three to seven years imprisonment with fines. However, considering the fact that rural residents need to fell trees for house-building, a more lenient punishment without factual imprisonment can better achieve the legal and social effects, according to Wu Zhangyi, vice president of the Leishan County People's Court, which has jurisdiction over environmental cases in Qiandongnan. The previously employed remedy of replanting is no longer practical, according to Wu. The forest coverage rate of Leishan has already reached 72 percent, and there is not enough barren land for wood regeneration. Luo's case has opened up a new route for ecological compensation for regions with ample forest resources, Wu added. The carbon sink in the case is estimated to offset around 344 tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to forestry authorities. PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS After Luo's settlement, verdicts in similar cases, requiring the purchase of forestry carbon sinks, were reported in the provinces of Shaanxi, Sichuan and Zhejiang. China vows to tackle climate change and unswervingly follow the path of green and low-carbon development. It has pledged to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. The country's first environmental protection tribunal was founded in 2007 in Guizhou, and a total of 34 such tribunals have since been set up in the province. The tribunals have established jurisdictions over environmental issues related to forests, water, mountains, wetlands, ancient villages and natural parks, and sectors including tea, liquor and mining, according to Li Li, the presiding judge of the environmental tribunal of Guizhou Provincial Higher People's Court. "Better protection makes the ancient villages more attractive and brings more wealth to the locals," said Yang Zaimin, who manages nine cabins that accommodate 1,000 guests annually in Zaima Township in Qiandongnan. His township's government once faced a public interest litigation case for lack of supervision of the protection of ancient houses that dated back over 200 years. Since then, villagers have had more awareness of preservation, according to Yang. Now, there are no more cement buildings surrounding ancient architecture and no illegal construction on rivers, with the original ancient style of the village maintained. In Jiangkou County of Guizhou, four fishers convicted of illegal fishing in 2020 were ordered to release more than 70,000 fish fry and take part in river patrols for six months. The lawsuit on ecological restoration has an educative effect on the public, said Jin Fei, the presiding judge with the environmental tribunal of Jiangkou County People's Court. Qin Huiwu, a villager who witnessed the fish fry release activity, said efforts to improve environmental awareness have borne fruit for the locals. "We replant trees in the forest and release wildlife back into nature, and the beautiful scenery in return helps us earn many times as much money from eco-tourism," said Qin. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) Hyderabad: The BJP government at the Centre was meting out 'selective punishment' to Muslims in India, and was destroying the rule of law, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters here, Owaisi, answering questions on the demolition of houses in Uttar Pradesh of those critical of that state's Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, said Adityanath "has become a 'super chief justice' and is running his own courts ordering demolition of houses." Owaisi said what was happening in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere was "clear evidence of the hatred" the BJP has towards Muslims. "Kids are being beaten up, shot at as happened in Jharkhand where one of the two who were killed in police firing had six bullet wounds," Owaisi said. If the government believes someone has broken the law, then it can file cases, prove guilt in the courts and have the guilty punished, but not this, he said. Referring to the demolition of student activist Afreen Fatima's house, Owaisi said it belonged to her mother, and the authorities had lied that a notice was previously issued for the demolition. "If Afreen Fatima's house can be demolished, why not that of Teni Mishra, whose son Ashish Mishra mowed down five people with his vehicle," Owaisi asked. Owaisi also ridiculed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise that his government would fill up 10 lakh vacancies in the next two years. Actually, there are 55 lakh vacancies in the Central government. These need to be filled up. And then there are the 2 crore jobs a year Modi promised eight years ago. So another 16 crore jobs must be filled," he said. The job announcement was for political gains with an eye on Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh elections coming up and then the national elections, he said. Country singer Dallas Smith returned to the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, Thursday night, for a night of high energy entertainment. The Canadian performer had a banner year in 2021 winning the Country Music Awards entertainer of the year, as well as the single of the year. The band is cu With the TDP not fielding a candidate for the Atmakur by-poll, the party activists there are planning to go to booths and press NOTA button. Nellore: With the TDP not fielding a candidate for the Atmakur by-poll, the party activists there are planning to go to booths and press NOTA button if only to prove the partys strength and to silence the BJP, which is boasting about its growing vote share. Messages are being circulated among TD groups in the assembly constituency to this effect, a TD leader said. BJP might stake its claim for the seat if there is an understanding between the TD-BJP-Jana Sena, by showcasing the vote share, the TD leader said. Referring to the success of Maha Nadu held recently at Ongole and growing antipathy against the ruling YSRC among the people, the leader said the TD activists want to send a message to Jagan that his days are numbered. Referring to BJP state chief Somu Veerrajus frequent comments undermining the TD, he said obtaining a respectable score for the BJP would be an uphill task also because its candidate is an outsider. TD leader Somireddy Chandramohan said the partymen knew whom to support. TD chief Chandrababu Naidu had consoled the family of deceased Goutham and not fielded a candidate against ruling party nominee Mekapati Vikram Reddy, by saying the TD as a policy always avoided fielding a candidate against a family member of a deceased legislator. How does the Provincial Nominee Program work? The PNP is designed to spread the benefits of immigration throughout Canada. How does the Provincial Nominee Program work? The PNP is designed to spread the benefits of immigration throughout Canada. How does the Provincial Nominee Program work? The PNP is designed to spread the benefits of immigration throughout Canada. Edana Robitaille Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) started in 1998 as a way for the federal and provincial governments to spread the benefits of immigration throughout Canada. Provinces can hand-pick candidates whom they feel will support their economic growth and recommend that Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) offer them permanent resident status. There are over 80 PNP streams aimed at attracting workers, graduates, and entrepreneurs. Each province and territory, except for Nunavut and Quebec (which operates its own economic-class programs), offers the PNP. Each program is based on the different labour force needs of the province. Why does Canada need provincial nomination? Immigration in Canada is the shared responsibility of the federal and provincial governments. However, throughout most of Canadas history, the provinces did not have much influence. This resulted in newcomers to Canada mostly settling in Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec. The benefits of immigration were lacking in rural Canada, the prairie provinces, and Atlantic Canada. The PNP was introduced to give jurisdictions across Canada a tool to attract and retain more newcomers. It has proven to be successful and is Canadas leading economic class pathway in 2022 and 2023. Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration How does it work? Base PNP stream nomination There are two ways to get permanent residence through a PNP. The first is through what is known as a base PNP stream. This is when a candidate applies directly to a PNP stream. The province will evaluate the application to ensure all the eligibility criteria for the PNP stream is met and, if so, will then issue a letter of nomination to the candidate. From here, the candidate must apply to IRCC for permanent residence. Currently, candidates who choose a base PNP for immigrating to Canada can expect the permanent residence application process to take an average of 27 months, according to IRCC. Enhanced PNP stream nomination The second way to get permanent residence through a PNP is through an enhanced nomination. Enhanced PNP streams are aligned with the federal Express Entry application management system. Candidates who are eligible for an Express Entry program, such as the Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP), The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), can increase their likelihood of an Invitation to Apply (ITA) by obtaining provincial nomination. When a candidate creates their online Express Entry profile, provincial governments can view it and decide if a candidate would be a good fit for the province. Express Entry candidates are also able to indicate in their profile if there is a specific province they would like to settle in. This can result in a province issuing a notification of interest to a candidate, meaning that the candidate is invited to apply for provincial nomination. If a candidate accepts, they then submit an application to the province. If they meet all the program criteria, they receive a letter of nomination and automatically receive 600 points in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). This all but guarantees an ITA from IRCC and increases the chances of permanent residency. The processing standard for Express Entry applications is six months. The benefits of the PNP Canadas over 80 PNP streams offer candidates more choices than ever to gain permanent residence. Eligibility criteria is broad and there are many options available catering to candidates with diverse human capital characteristics such as age, education, language skills, or work experience. Research also shows the PNP helps to promote the economic establishment of newcomers. The PNPs has proven to be a successful method of attracting skilled workers to provinces that historically do not have large immigrant populations, such as the prairies and Atlantic provinces. By offering dedicated provincial pathways, like the recently announced program for healthcare workers in Saskatchewan, provinces are able to fill gaps in the workforce while offering skilled careers to newcomers. In larger provinces such as Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia where immigration levels are already high, PNPs help target specific provincial labour market needs in industries such as technology and healthcare. Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. Last year, I got my Canadian citizenship. My director says that every time I talk about newcomers and international students, there's a sparkle in my eyes. How I succeeded as a newcomer to Canada Last year, I got my Canadian citizenship. My director says that every time I talk about newcomers and international students, there's a sparkle in my eyes. How I succeeded as a newcomer to Canada Last year, I got my Canadian citizenship. My director says that every time I talk about newcomers and international students, there's a sparkle in my eyes. How I succeeded as a newcomer to Canada Last year, I got my Canadian citizenship. My director says that every time I talk about newcomers and international students, there's a sparkle in my eyes. Scotiabank Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A I first came to Canada almost a decade ago as an international student. My family is mainly from Kolkata, India and when I graduated university, there was an opportunity to continue my education abroad in a foreign country. My dad and I went to an Overseas Education Consultant to explore countries which offered the best academic opportunities to International Students, we looked into U.K., New Zealand and Australia. We were leaning towards Australia since we have family there, but then the agent brought up Canada and that it had great programs and was very open to immigration. Thats how my journey here started. Sign up to Scotiabanks free newsletter to learn more on how to settle in Canada! Id done my undergrad in economics and international trade at Delhi University and was looking for programs to complement my existing education, which led me to an International Business Management Program. The education was different from what I was used to it was more practical, there were more projects, and the course content was more industry-driven. It was a very general program that had a little bit of everything, like a tasting platter. I was good with numbers, and I liked math so I chose to major in accounting. When I was in my last six months of the program, I was chosen to be a part of the Entrepreneurship Council launch at Conestoga College, a program to help entrepreneurs from across the world explore what educational opportunities Conestoga had to offer. The council was the first of its kind and it was super exciting. There, I happened to meet one of my greatest mentors. She helped me understand the Canadian employment landscape, prepare for interviews and also used her connections to help me apply to different banks. I come from a highly educated family and English is our first language, so I didnt need help with that, but she showed me how to present myself, how to relate to a recruiter, what to say and what not to say, what resources to look up and how to create my resume. Finding a great reference when you are a newcomer is hard and she provided a great reference. Thats how I got my first job as a bank teller at Scotiabank in Cambridge, Ontario, in 2014, two years after I arrived in Canada. I really, really liked it. I could see the opportunities right in front of me within that one big branch. One of the best things about the bank is that if you grow within it, you can soon reach a level of employment that qualifies you to apply for the next status in your immigration journey under the National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Sign up to Scotiabanks free newsletter to learn more on how to settle in Canada! I was in an entry level job, but I had supervisors, advisors and private banking personnel at my branch. Executives also came in. You could see places where your career could go. I remember seeing an executive in a red suit with red heels and she was holding a Gucci bag. I thought to myself, Maybe one day. I was quick at picking up policies and I was great at my job. I got hired part time, but I was the go-to person for anybody who called in sick or wanted to take a day off. They knew I would be there. It was the culture within Scotiabank that empowered me to think I could achieve more and become a leader there one day. Once I graduated and was available full time, I asked my manager to consider me for an advisor position so I could be hired as a salaried employee. Unfortunately, there wasnt anything at the time available for me in Cambridge. I spoke with HR and was told they were hiring in the Prairies. Funny enough I didnt know what a prairie was; I thought it was maybe the name of a town. I had to think about it. It was in a different province, but the job was full time, as a financial advisor, where Id have my own clients. I weighed my pros and cons, it was a hard decision but that was the risk I was willing to take and I decided to move to Edmonton, Alberta. I landed in Edmonton at 9 p.m. on December 21, 2014 in the middle of a snowstorm. I had to wait at the airport for two hours before I could get a cab. From there, I went to the apartment Id found online, just hoping it existed. The house was there, and I got a warm welcome with hot food prepared for me by the landlady. The next morning, I started my new position as a financial advisor trainee and a few months later, I was promoted to an intermediate financial advisor. During that time, I had the opportunity to meet a lot of good people. I was always out and about, and I never missed an opportunity to volunteer for events and meet people. I visited Banff and Jasper many times and learned to drive on the Anthony Henday. By the fall of 2016, I was able to apply to be a permanent resident. Sign up to Scotiabanks free newsletter to learn more on how to settle in Canada! Around the same time, I was thinking about next steps in my career and that I wanted to be closer to the head offices in Toronto. Within a few months, I secured a job as a senior financial advisor at a flagship branch in Etobicoke. Two years later, I was promoted to assistant manager, and then to manager two years after that. When you become a branch manager, you have the opportunity to interview your own people, you have to create your own team. Its like the whole branch is under you. That was a milestone moment for me. I said to myself, This is the day when I am on the other side of the table. Last year, I got my Canadian citizenship, and six months ago, I was promoted again, this time to Scotiabanks Senior Manager of Customer Value and Segmentation for the New to Canada program. I work on policies, procedures, platform development, strategy and anything else related to multicultural banking. My director says that every time I talk about newcomers and international students, theres a sparkle in my eyes. Im very passionate about everything here because I walked the same path. I see the importance of immigration to our economy as a whole, and I see so many people who struggle. Im all for streamlining the process for newcomers and providing them with better banking solutions. I used to be a very polite person in the sense that both my mom and dad are very successful professionals and I come from a very disciplined and strict kind of family. Now I understand how important it is to also be bold. Dont think that because of the way you look or talk, or because youre different, that youre any less. Youre unique the way you are. This first person story was authored by Ms. Aaina Singh, Senior Manager, Customer Value and Segmentation, at Scotiabank. Sign up to Scotiabanks free newsletter to learn more on how to settle in Canada! Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for information purposes only. It is not to be relied upon as financial, tax or investment advice or guarantees about the future, nor should it be considered a recommendation to buy or sell. Information contained in this article, including information relating to interest rates, market conditions, tax rules, and other investment factors are subject to change without notice and The Bank of Nova Scotia is not responsible to update this information. References to any third party product or service, opinion or statement, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or approval by The Bank of Nova Scotia of any of the products, services or opinions of the third party. All third party sources are believed to be accurate and reliable as of the date of publication and The Bank of Nova Scotia does not guarantee its accuracy or reliability. Readers should consult their own professional advisor for specific financial, investment and/or tax advice tailored to their needs to ensure that individual circumstances are considered properly and action is taken based on the latest available information. Canada is creating a new immigration program for temporary residents, and changes to Express Entry are on the way. New Canadian immigration program in the works Canada is creating a new immigration program for temporary residents, and changes to Express Entry are on the way. New Canadian immigration program in the works Canada is creating a new immigration program for temporary residents, and changes to Express Entry are on the way. New Canadian immigration program in the works Canada is creating a new immigration program for temporary residents, and changes to Express Entry are on the way. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Canada is working on a new fast-track immigration program for temporary foreign workers and international students. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser told CBC News the new program will be a permanent pathway for temporary residents. It will be similar but not identical to the Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence (TR2PR) program which opened the door to 90,000 essential workers and international student graduates last year. We are looking right now at the best path forward to create a permanent pathway for temporary residents, Fraser said to CBC News. Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration Shortly after being appointed immigration minister, Fraser was mandated to expand pathways to Permanent Residence for international students and temporary foreign workers. Now, Fraser has 120 days to develop and release a strategy to achieve these goals, as dictated by a motion passed in the Canadian House of Commons. That actually puts me on a clock to come up with a framework to establish this new permanent residency pathway, not just for international students, but also for temporary foreign workers, Fraser said. Further details of the new program will be available by September 8 when Frasers 120 deadline is up. Express Entry changes Canada will once again invite Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates to apply for permanent residence this July, but thats not the only change coming. Bill C-19 is now passing through the Senate and is on track to become law. It will give Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) the authority to invite Express Entry candidates in the pool based on an economic goal, such as occupation, French-language ability, or education credential. IRCC will be required to engage in a public consultation process to help them select which groups of Express Entry candidates will be invited in these types of draws. Further, IRCC must report annually to Parliament describing the economic goal that was sought in each instance. How to come to Canada as a temporary resident Although it is not always necessary to be in Canada to be eligible for an immigration program, studies have shown that immigrants with Canadian experience tend to have higher wages and more instances of employment in the initial years after landing than those who immigrated directly. Canadian study and work experience can also open the doors to many more immigration programs. In order to study in Canada, you need to get accepted to a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) and obtain a study permit. If you graduate from a full-time program of at least eight months, you may be eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), which many people use to gain Canadian work experience. A work permit is usually required to work in Canada. There are more than 100 work permit options divided into two broad categories: Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) work permits and International Mobility Program (IMP) work permits. The major difference is that TFWP work permits require the employers to complete a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), whereas IMP work permits exist to support Canadas economic, social, and cultural priorities. IMP work permits are LMIA-exempt, because the work performed by these work permit holders has been shown to be of significant benefit to Canada, or is the result of a reciprocal agreement with another country. How to immigrate through Express Entry Express Entry is an application management system for three Canadian immigration programs including the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Meaning, in order to get into the Express Entry pool of candidates, you need to be eligible for at least one of these programs. Once you are in the pool, you get a score based on IRCCs Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The CRS takes into account your work experience in a skilled occupation, study experience, official language ability, age, and other economic factors. The more CRS points you have, the higher the chances you will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence. Express Entry candidates in the pool may also be invited to apply for a provincial nomination though a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). If you respond to the invitation and get nominated, you will be awarded an additional 600 CRS points. This bonus will effectively guarantee that you will receive an ITA in a subsequent Express Entry draw. The ITA is the key to applying for Canadian immigration through Express Entry. Once IRCC receives your response to the ITA, their processing standard to respond is six months. The pandemic has slowed down actual processing times however. The current wait times are available on the IRCC web page. Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. As EVP and CIO for American television provider DISH, Atilla Tinic leads IT strategy, delivery and operations for all of the companys pay-TV and wireless brandsfrom the 25-year-old direct-broadcast satellite service DISH Network to the born-in-the-cloud IPTV service Sling TV and smart home service OnTech. Now several years into the cloud journey, each of DISHs businesses is on a little bit of their own trajectory, when it comes to infrastructure and the cloud, says Tinic. But the emphasis is on a cloud-first approach because, as he puts it, all new technologies are being born in the cloud. CIO Contributing Editor Julia King sat down with Tinic at CIOs recent Future of Cloud Summit to discuss innovation in the cloud, the importance of having a cloud mindset, staffing challenges, and lessons he learned along the way. What follows are edited excerpts of that conversation. For more insights, watch the video of the event session embedded below. On innovating in the cloud: Making sure that we are keeping up [with the pace of technology change] is highly critical to me. But I do think the key is the cloud. And why I say that is all new technologies are being born in the cloud. And I would say all traditional commercial software vendors are trying to find their way to modernize their platform so they can be cloud native. So it goes without saying that all our technology evaluations are happening there, which, by the way, is great, because we can evaluate capabilities quickly. We can typically do rapid assessments or spin up a sandbox environment to evaluate capabilities. So it puts us in a position where we can try it before we buy it and really learn about the platforms and kind of see what makes sense for us. And I think this is critical because if you think about the rapid change of technology, I do not want us to ever be locked into a single solution. I want to make sure we have an open ecosystem where we can replace components relatively easily as technology evolves. On adopting a cloud mindset: For network providers, there is a change in mentality of thinking . . . moving away from boxes and cables and that mindset, and really evolving into a world where we are adopting cloud software engineering best practices. You need to think about how you build your CI/CD pipelines, integrating with microservices and APIs in a config first approach. We want to be in a world where we can purge and recreate any function on the fly, without high overhead of scheduled outages. So that is probably an easy example because from a carrier perspective cloud and your network in the cloud is cutting edge. Even from a traditional IT standpoint, we still have paradigm shifts that we have to make. We want to avoid the trap of treating the cloud the same way we treat our data centers. In our data center, we will always over-provision to some extent, because we want to make sure we have adequate capacity and headroom so we can support lead times when it comes to procuring equipment. However, with the cloud, we can continuously optimize usage so that we can scale up as necessary. But also we need to make sure we continuously scale back down as we match the demand in our business. On the cloud talent challenge: Over the last couple years, we have worked closely with our partners to sort of co-innovate. And that has been a learning experience for all of us. There are a lot of capabilities that we have asked them to build into their solutions. We want to deploy changes faster. We want more visibility into performance. We want the ability to identify issues quickly. So, this creates a real demand on their part to put more cloud and platform engineering skills into their shops. With consultants, we really lean on them to help bring thought leaders to us so that we can learn from them and also help us understand best practices. That allows us to evolve and improve. However, we also lean on them, to a certain degree, for elasticity of resources. But most importantly, is really our own employees. We are always on the hunt to grow our internal capability to support our cloud infrastructure. So, this includes cloud networking skills, cloud security, cloud architects, platform engineers. You name it, we want it. I think the market has created some very big challenges. Because we are not the only ones who are looking for all these skills. In this market, attracting and retaining [talent] is not enough. We have got to put the concerted effort into investing in our people, helping them retool with skills necessary to do their jobs, putting up people on paths to be certified cloud professionals. 7 lessons learned in hindsight: Networking should not be underrated. If you are establishing direct connects to the cloud or you have transit gateways, there is a lot of work that you need your networking team to architect and manage. Just make sure you are doing that well. Build your environments with security in mind, and not as an afterthought. That is for the obvious reasons that you want to make sure that you have the right access permissions and firewalls, etc. to protect your environment. That is job 1. But it is also easier to move with pace when you have standardized security processes in place. Automation. When you have automation, you start to force standards, basically, through the automationevery environment is not a snowflake. If you do that, that will not only help security, but it also actually helps your new development efforts move faster. Look to standardize on tools. It is easy for every development team to pick something different, which creates challenges when you want to scale across teams. It is not always one size fits all, but make sure you have a catalog of tools you want people to use and it is not a free-for-all. You want to avoid tool sprawl. Plan on how you are going to work in a multicloud environment. Even if you do not plan on being multicloud, you might find yourself there just because you are using SaaS components or you are integrating back to your own private cloud. So really think about your network, data, and security architecture as it pertains to multicloud Cost. It is easy to have independent teams managing their environments, but I would really encourage some centralized oversight. When you are in a pure consumption-based model, it is easy for costs to get out of hand. So, you need to have that strong oversight. It really just comes back to architecture and governance. It is like the old adage, Measure twice, cut once. If you spend the extra time up front, I think you will save a considerable amount of time and money in the long run. A.O. Asociatia Femeilor de Afaceri din mun. Balti lanseaza invitatia de participare la concurs cu privire la selectarea si angajarea coordonatorului de proiect Civil Society Media has unveiled the programme for a day of specialist content to support faith-based charities, with opportunities for networking. The Faith Charities Forum, taking place on 14 September, will address the role that faith plays in furthering charities organisational mission. This bespoke conference is specifically designed for senior leaders and decision-makers working in faith-based charities and will address some of the key challenges facing this unique group of organisations. There will also be opportunities to ask questions during the sessions and talk to other delegates and experts throughout the day. One of the talks on the day will be a panel debate chaired by Krish Raval, director of Faith in Leadership, which will discuss how to engage with non-faith communities while staying true to your own faith and mission. He will be joined other panellists including Rabbi Jeff Berger and they will share their own experience before delegates will be encouraged to join the debate. Other highlights from the programme include advice from the Charity Commission, and reflections from professor Jen Cheng, co-founder of the Institute of Sustainable Philanthropy, about how fundraising can support donors in their journey in faith. View the full programme online here . Melting ice in Greenland swamping South Carolina. Deadly heat scorching low-wage workers in Los Angeles. Rising seas driving Africans to migrate to Europe and coastal Bangladeshis to flee inland to overcrowded cities. The climate emergency is unfolding in our own backyards and around the worldand it is generating some astonishing journalism. Three years ago, Covering Climate Now was founded by the Columbia Journalism Review and The Nation to encourage better coverage of the climate crisis. Last year the Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards were launched as a showcase for journalists producing the very best work. More and more journalists and newsrooms are now reporting the climate storyboth the heartbreaking realities and the common-sense solutionsand sharing their findings with people and policymakers who can drive change. The 2022 Covering Climate Now Journalism Award winners, announced today, highlight the success of climate journalists around the globebut also the magnitude of the story that lies before us. Winners of the 2022 Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards include journalists at The Guardian, Agence France-Presse, Al Jazeera English, PBS, HBO Max, the Charleston, S.C., Post and Courier, the Los Angeles Times, and WGBH-PRX. Justin Worland, senior correspondent for Time, was named Climate Journalist of the Year. The winning reporters, producers, photographers, and editors found ways to tell a climate story that is growing, in scale and urgency, by the day. Their work highlights the sober task journalism faces if it has any hope of giving this sprawling story the coverage it deserves: No corner of the planet is untouched, which means no newsroom on earth can afford to ignore it. Sign up for CJR 's daily email The most burning question facing humanity is whether we will end the climate emergency before it ends us, said Mark Hertsgaard, the executive director of Covering Climate Now. Better news coverage is an essential climate solution, a catalyst that makes progress on every part of the problemfrom politics to business, art to activism, and lifestyle change to systems changemore likely. From its inception, Covering Climate Now has been driven by the desire to match the vastness of the climate story with the journalistic effort needed to chronicle it. With every month that has passed, the story has gotten bigger. Our job is to grow our commitment in response. Winners of this years awards will be featured in a one-hour TV special hosted by Al Roker, cohost of NBC Newss Today, and Savannah Sellers, host of NBCs Stay Tuned and NBC News now anchor. The special will air on October 25, 2022, on the world Channel, public medias premier platform for diverse voices, broadcast by 191 public television stations nationwide. A full list of the winners is at coveringclimatenow.org/awards. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Kyle Pope is the editor in chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review. MILWAUKEE (AP) A child and two adults were missing after they were swept away in a drainage ditch in Milwaukee following severe thunderstorms that brought heavy rains and damaging winds to a wide swath of the Midwest and parts of the South, authorities said. Witnesses told police the 11-year-old boy fell about 6:30 p.m. Monday into the ditch, which carries water through a tunnel to the Kinnickinnic River. According to police, two men, ages 34 and 37, entered the water in an attempt to rescue the boy and all three were swept away. In that tunnel, we have no idea what was going on in that tunnel, said Assistant Fire Chief DeWayne Smoots. Crews didnt enter the tunnel due to dangerous conditions and instead sent a drone inside in an attempt to locate them, officials said. Names of the missing werent immediately released. Police said all three knew each other, but didnt elaborate. The water was deep and fast-flowing following Mondays severe storms, which also caused damage and power outages in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. And the storms continued to pack a punch as they rolled into West Virginia early Tuesday, where numerous roads were closed by downed trees and power lines. The storms came as high temperatures and humidity settle in over states stretching through parts of the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and east to the Carolinas. More than 100 million people were facing combination of heat advisories, excessive heat warnings and excessive heat watches through Wednesday following record weekend temperatures in parts of the West and the Southwest. In Illinois, a supercell thunderstorm with winds in excess of 80 mph (129 kph) toppled trees and damaged power lines Monday evening as it left a trail of damage across the Chicago area and into northwestern Indiana, the National Weather Service said. Tens of thousands were without power. Numerous reports of wind damage were reported along the storms path, with Chicagos OHare International Airport recording an 84 mph (135 kph) wind gust, the weather service said. Crews planned to assess the storm damage Tuesday to determine if any tornadoes touched down. In Bellwood in Chicagos west suburbs, village officials said winds stripped the roof off an apartment building, injuring a young woman who was hospitalized after being hit by falling debris but was expected to be fine. We just heard people screaming that the roof was off, get out, get out, resident Larhonda Neal told WLS-TV. In northwestern Indiana, the weather service reported storm damage in Ogden Dunes and said hail 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) in diameter pummeled the Lake County town of New Chicago on Monday night. In northeastern Indiana, the weather service said a 98 mph wind gust was recorded at Fort Wayne International Airport, the strongest wind the airport has ever recorded, eclipsing the previous record of a 91 mph gust recorded on June 30, 2012. Extensive storm damage and downed trees were reported in Fort Wayne, where winds ripped siding and insulation from the hangar of SkyWest, an aircraft maintenance company southwest of the Fort Wayne airports terminal and runways, exposing the planes inside, WANE-TV reported. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ANAHEIM, California (AP) The newly elected leaders of a top Southern Baptist Convention committee had all supported a more transparent investigation into allegations the denomination mishandled sex abuse reports and mistreated survivors. They defeated candidates who had opposed that move. Members of the Executive Committee picked Texas pastor Jared Wellman as chair, South Carolina pastor David Sons as vice chair and Pamela Reed, a retired nurse from North Carolina, as secretary during a meeting Monday in Anaheim. All three winners supported waiving the top administrative bodys attorney-client privilege for the outside investigation by independent firm, Guidepost Solutions. Their challengers Indiana pastor Andrew Hunt, Louisiana minister Philip Robertson and Missouri pastor Monte Shinkle opposed it. Last year, the Executive Committee was embroiled in a heated debate about the issue, disagreeing over whether to allow investigators access to memos between lawyers and committee staff members. Ultimately those who supported granting the access prevailed in October. It remains to be seen if their victory Monday foretells what is ahead for the SBC, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. It is holding its annual meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in Anaheim, where more than 8,000 local church delegates known as messengers are expected to elect a new president and decide whether to enact sex abuse reforms. A blistering 288-page report by Guidepost, released May 22 after a seven-month investigation, detailed how Executive Committee members and staff had mishandled abuse cases, stonewalled numerous survivors and prioritized protecting the SBC from liability. The Executive Committees election of new officers appeared to signal a willingness to follow through on the Guidepost investigation. The committees new chairperson, Wellman, who was elected with nearly two-thirds of a vote, had been a part of last years push, enabling Guidepost to do a more robust investigation a move that proved to be crucial to the outside firms work. Both Wellman and Sons said during a Monday news conference that they were reluctant to interpret what their election means for SBCs future. Both agreed that waiving attorney-client privilege was a key moment for the committee and the SBC. The information weve learned (because of the waiver) has been eye-opening to many, Wellman said. Sons said he supported waiving attorney-client privilege because he wanted to do what was right and carry out the will of the messengers. The Guidepost report revealed that committee staff had for years secretly maintained a database of accused church staff members, despite claiming publicly that maintaining such a list would violate churches right to self-governance. The committee subsequently made the list public. Two of the three candidates defeated in Mondays elections Robertson and Shinkle were state chapter leaders of the Conservative Baptist Network, a group seeking to pull the conservative denomination even further to the right. But the Executive Committees votes arent necessarily a signal for how the overall annual meeting of church representatives will vote. The Conservative Baptist Network has mobilized behind assertions that the SBC is drifting left on matters such as theology and racial ideology claims that are in dispute across the convention. The CBN has endorsed Florida pastor Tom Ascol in an election for SBC president that will also feature Texas pastor Bart Barber. During Mondays meeting, Willie McLaurin, the Executive Committees interim president and CEO, said there is no network of churches without their share of challenges. Challenges are opportunities for God to move us from our comfort zone to our creativity zone, he said, stressing the need for the denomination to unify and find solutions. SBC president Ed Litton, whose successor will be chosen this week, said he believes the denomination will move in the right direction. We can trust the people to ultimately do what is wise and right, he said. Smith reported from Pittsburgh. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. HELENA, Mont. (AP) Communities bordering Yellowstone National Park were isolated and tourists stranded Tuesday after record floodwaters knocked out roads and bridges in Montana and Wyoming and forced the closure of all entrances to the park. The flooding followed a torrent of rain that combined with a rapidly melting snowpack and came just as the summer tourist season was ramping up. While numerous homes and other structures were destroyed, there were no immediate reports of injuries. Yellowstone officials said they were assessing damage from the storms, which washed away bridges, caused mudslides and forced evacuations by boat and helicopter. Its unclear how many visitors are stranded or have been forced to leave the park and how many people who live outside the park have been rescued and evacuated. Some of the worst damage happened in the northern part of the park and Yellowstones gateway communities in southern Montana. National Park Service photos of northern Yellowstone showed a mudslide, washed out bridges and roads undercut by churning floodwaters of the Gardner and Lamar rivers. The flooding cut off road access to Gardiner, Montana, a town of about 900 people near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Gardner rivers, just outside Yellowstones busy North Entrance. Cooke City was also isolated by floodwaters and evacuations were also issued for residents in Livingston. Officials in Park County, which encompasses those cities, said on Facebook Monday evening that extensive flooding throughout the county had made drinking water unsafe in many areas. Evacuations and rescues were ongoing and officials urged people who were in a safe place to stay put overnight. The Montana National Guard said Monday it sent two helicopters to southern Montana to help with the evacuations. Cory Mottice, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Billings, Montana, said rain is not in the immediate forecast, and cooler temperatures will lessen the snowmelt in coming days. This is flooding that weve just never seen in our lifetimes before, Mottice said. Scientists say climate change is responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme events such as storms, droughts, floods and wildfires, although single weather events usually cannot be directly linked to climate change without extensive study. The Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs crested at 13.88 feet (4.2 meters) Monday, higher than the previous record of 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) set in 1918, according the the National Weather Service. At a cabin in Gardiner, Parker Manning got an up-close view of the water rising and the river bank sloughing off in the raging Yellowstone River floodwaters just outside his door. We started seeing entire trees floating down the river, debris, Manning, who is from Terra Haute, Indiana, told The Associated Press. Saw one crazy single kayaker coming down through, which was kind of insane. On Monday evening, Manning watched as the rushing waters undercut the opposite riverbank, causing a house to fall into the Yellowstone River and float away mostly intact. Floodwaters inundated a street in Red Lodge, a Montana town of 2,100 thats a popular jumping-off point for a scenic, winding route into the Yellowstone high country. Twenty-five miles (40 kilometers) to the northeast, in Joliet, Kristan Apodaca wiped away tears as she stood across the street from a washed-out bridge, The Billings Gazette reported. The log cabin that belonged to her grandmother, who died in March, flooded, as did the park where Apodacas husband proposed. I am sixth-generation. This is our home, she said. That bridge I literally drove yesterday. My mom drove it at 3 a.m. before it was washed out. On Monday, Yellowstone officials evacuated the northern part of the park, where roads may remain impassable for a substantial length of time, park Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a statement. But the flooding affected the rest of the park, too, with park officials warning of yet higher flooding and potential problems with water supplies and wastewater systems at developed areas. Yellowstone got 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) of rain Saturday, Sunday and into Monday. The Beartooth Mountains northeast of Yellowstone got as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service. In south-central Montana, flooding on the Stillwater River stranded 68 people at a campground. Stillwater County Emergency Services agencies and crews with the Stillwater Mine rescued people Monday from the Woodbine Campground by raft. Some roads in the area are closed because of flooding and residents have been evacuated. We will be assessing the loss of homes and structures when the waters recede, the sheriffs office said in a statement. The flooding happened while other parts of the U.S. burned in hot and dry weather. More than 100 million Americans were being warned to stay indoors as a heat wave settles over states stretching through parts of the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and east to the Carolinas. Elsewhere in the West, crews from California to New Mexico are battling wildfires in hot, dry and windy weather. Associated Press writers Thomas Peipert in Denver, Mead Gruver in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed to this report. About the photo: In this photo provided by the National Park Service, is a washed out bridge from flooding at Rescue Creek in Yellowstone National Park, Mont., on Monday, June 13, 2022. (National Park Service via AP) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) The northern Arizona city of Flagstaff is synonymous with mountains lush with ponderosa pines, meadows and hiking trails that are a respite from the desert heat. Now, parts of them are burning yet again, fueled by winds that grounded air resources Monday. Fire crews were anticipating more moderate winds Tuesday and throughout the week, which could help them get a better handle on the blaze that has largely spared homes but made a run into a wilderness area and toward a lava dome volcano. Residents around the city looked toward the mountains as smoke billowed through the air and winds howled, some scared, some nervous most hoping that moisture in the forecast late this week brings some relief. Were most definitely dry, Flagstaff resident Colin Challifour said late Monday. The forests are dry. Its unfortunate. You dont like to see it. Roughly 2,500 homes have been evacuated because of two wildfires burning on the outskirts of Flagstaff. One home and a secondary structure burned, the Coconino County Sheriffs Office said. Hundreds of other people in California and New Mexico have also been forced to flee homes threatened by wildfires. In northern Arizona, Coconino County declared an emergency because of the wildfire. Fire incident Cmdr. Aaron Graeser said the Flagstaff-area blaze is one of the top priorities in the country for firefighting resources. It was estimated at 8 square miles (20 square kilometers) late Monday, but fire managers havent been able to do aerial mapping. Two other smaller wildfires northeast of the blaze merged, forcing evacuations in a more remote area Monday. Wildfires broke out early this spring in multiple states in the Western U.S., where climate change and an enduring drought are fanning the frequency and intensity of forest and grassland fires. A springtime fire outside Flagstaff destroyed more than two dozen homes. Most of the residents who evacuated then are out of their homes again because of this latest wildfire. The number of square miles burned so far this year is more than double the 10-year national average, and states like New Mexico have already set records with devastating blazes that destroyed hundreds of homes while causing environmental damage that is expected to affect water supplies. Nationally, more than 6,200 wildland firefighters are battling nearly three dozen uncontained fires that had charred over 1 million acres (4,408 square kilometers), according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Even in Alaska, forecasters have warned that many fire in the states south have grown exceptionally over the last week, which is unusual. Southwest Alaska normally experiences shorter periods of high fire danger because intermittent rain can provide relief, but since mid-May the region has been hot and windy, drying out vegetation. Favorable weather Monday helped slow the progression of a tundra wildfire just over 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) away from an Alaska Native village. Moderate temperatures and a shift in the wind that had been driving the fire toward St. Marys will allow firefighters to directly attack the flames and increase protections for the Yupik community. The lightning-sparked fire is estimated at about 193 square miles (500 square kilometers). Its burning dry grass and shrubs in southwest Alaskas mostly treeless tundra. In California, evacuations were ordered for about 300 remote homes near a wildfire that flared up over the weekend in forest land northeast of Los Angeles near the Pacific Crest Trail in the San Gabriel Mountains. It had scorched about 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers) of pine trees and dry brush as of Monday and was 27% contained, fire spokesperson Dana Dierkes said. A second fire in Tehama County in Northern California had destroyed 10 buildings, damaged four others and threatened about 160 structures, fire officials said. It was 20% contained Monday night. Farther south in San Diego County, five people were rescued after a small wildfire broke out Monday near the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said. In Northern California, a 50-mile (80-km) stretch of State Route 70 was closed indefinitely on Monday after mud, boulders and dead trees inundated lanes during flash floods along a wildfire burn scar. The causes of the latest California fires were under investigation. Authorities dont yet know what started the northern Arizona fire. A man who was camping near where the fire was reported Sunday was cited a day earlier for lighting toilet paper on fire in violation of a year-round fire ban in the area, but he is not charged with starting the wildfire. Parts of U.S. Route 89, the main route to reach the Grand Canyons East Rim entrance and through the Navajo Nation, remained closed, as did the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort. Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska; Jim Anderson in Denver; and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. A public health officer discussing supplies at the oral rehydration therapy corner at the Bayhow cholera treatment centre. Credit: WHO Somalia/Dhal Hassan9 June 2022 At the cholera treatment centre in the Bayhow General Hospital in Baidoa, Dr Abdirahman Isack Mohamed sighs when he explains some of the gruelling effects of the lingering drought. Between March and April 2022, the hospital was attending to 4050 cases of cholera a week. Even though the number is down to 510 per week this month, the situation is still very severe. A few weeks ago, late one night, a young man rushed in and admitted a 60-year-old woman with severe dehydration from a camp for internally displaced persons to the hospital. Her caregiver explained she had had a serious bout of diarrhoea and vomiting, and then fainted. He also added that the old lady had been using water from an unprotected shallow well to cook and for hygiene. With the ongoing drought, around 3.5 million people lack sufficient access to water and risk contracting waterborne diseases. At the cholera treatment centre, after a quick diagnosis and assessment of the dehydration status, Dr Mohamed and his team gave her immediate support, which helped her to gain consciousness. She recovered within a few days, after receiving intravenous (IV) fluids through the bloodstream and then oral rehydration salts (ORS) that she could drink. WHO supports cholera treatment centres to manage patients with cholera infection WHO, the Ministry of Health and other partners have helped us to strengthen and refresh our skills for case management of cholera infections. They trained us to assess dehydration and manage cholera infections, as well as other waterborne diseases. They have also helped us in infection prevention and control, which has enabled us to protect patients and health workers, said Dr Mohamed. With support from WHO and partners, medical staff at 3 hospitals the Bayhow General Hospital in Baidoa and Marka Hospital and Afgoye cholera treatment centres are able to provide the right treatment and support to patients suffering from acute watery diarrhoea and cholera. The health workers are managing cholera cases and demonstrating to patients proper hygiene practices, including hand washing and safe sanitation practices. They also teach patients how to manage domestic waste within their households, sanitize latrines and use water purification tablets to purify and preserve safe drinking-water at home. All these measures have significantly reduced the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera in the South West state, which has the highest number of cholera infections reported from the country thus far. Since 2021, WHO has developed the technical capacity through training 45 health workers, including 12 medical staff, such as Dr Mohamed, at these 3 centres in the South West State. WHO has also equipped these major hospitals with essential supplies and medicines for case management of cholera and other waterborne diseases. Oral rehydration treatment corners offering life-saving measures Access to clean water is limited during the ongoing drought in Somalia, which increases the risk of cholera and other waterborne infections in camps for internally displaced persons. Credit: WHO Somalia/Mukhtar Sudani Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) corners are an important life-saving strategy that prevent mortality in children due to dehydration from diarrhoeal diseases. WHO is collaborating with health facilities to set up 63 ORT corners across 24 drought-affected districts that WHO is currently supporting for drought response. In Baidoa, so far, WHO has set up ORT corners in 6 health centres to offer life-saving treatment for children with diarrhoea. ORT corners are equipped with ORS and other useful equipment to assess the dehydration status of children presenting symptoms of diarrhoeal diseases. The early treatment, and follow up offered by trained health workers, is saving children from dying due to severe dehydration. Trained health workers in each corner provide ORS and treatment for children with moderate dehydration, while keeping a watchful eye over them to prevent severe dehydration. When the affected childrens conditions improve, the health workers give their mothers ORS and teach them how to prepare home-made ORS. They advise mothers to visit a health facility nearby if the childs condition deteriorates and encourage mothers to continue breastfeeding if children are young. Time is of the essence in curbing cholera spread Time is of the essence in our response to the ongoing drought, including in managing diseases like cholera, said Dr Mamunur Rahman Malik, WHO Representative to Somalia. WHO has been providing urgent, life-saving support to cholera treatment centres around Somalia to save the lives of patients infected with cholera. We have over 452 community health workers explaining to communities in 6 affected districts of South West State how to prevent the spread of acute diarrhoeal diseases and suspected cholera. The Head of Mission at WHO Somalia added, Furthermore, we are teaming up with the Ministry of Health and Human Services and partners to conduct a cholera vaccination campaign to protect over 900 000 people from cholera. As of May 2022, Somalia has had 4887 suspected cholera cases, including 16 deaths, reported in 21 of 74 drought-affected districts in Somalia. Cholera remains endemic in Somalia with repeated outbreaks occurring in localized areas. Approximately 62% of the cholera cases were among children under 5, while around half of the cases were females. An estimated 49% of the population 7.7 million people require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance in Somalia. Overall, 6.13 million of these people are estimated to be affected by the current drought. WHOs current drought response operations, including its critical life-saving support, is funded by the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the European Union (EU) Delegation to Somalia, and WHOs Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE). This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices. 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 The LCA Tejas versus Saab Gripen are the two last contenders from the Indian Air Force to consider after several aerospace firms offered their best. IAF is choosing the best fighter to modernize its fleet from its current one, but the Indian fighter might get the edge. LCA Tejas Vs. Saab Gripen The JAS-39 Gripen is a multi-role aircraft that first flew in 1996, per Air Force Technology. By 2020, roughly 271 aircraft had been manufactured, with the Gripen E's most recent variant. Comparably the Tejas Mark1 was started in the mid-80s and took several years before it was produced. The Gripen's preliminary development began in 1979, and a new model was developed and developed: the JAS-39, which started flying for the first time in 1988. The first delivery of the Swedish fighter was in 1993, and it was in service with the Swedish Air Force by 1996, giving it an edge over the Indian fighter. According to The Hindu, the Tejas Mark 1 was in service by 2015 with the IAF, by 2020, there were 37 produced. But the Mark 1A has 40 upgrades over the Mark 1 to start manufacturing by 2023. Around 1986, the Tejas went through its first development phase. Even though the layout of this Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) was finished in 1990, it first flew in 2001. Along with the development period, other technical criteria must be compared between the two platforms to ascertain which is better. Tejas Edge Over the Gripen The Indian fighter has an advanced flight control system and a better Fly by Wire System and quadruplex (4-channel) compared to the Swedish fighters with a three-channel Digital Fly by Wire system Triplex, EurAsian Times reported. Read Also: Chinese Fighter Pilots Engages US Allies in Risky Maneuvers Over Indo-Pacific JAS 39 has a thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.97, while LCA Tejas has a ratio of 0.91. As a result, Tejas's speed at Mach 1.6 is equivalent to that of the Gripen at Mach 2. T the LCA Tejas Mk1 is on par with modern aircraft. Tejas has a lot of composites in its airframe, unlike its competitor; its smaller profile is less visible to the naked eye. Tejas has a Y-duct inlet that lessens detection of the engine compressor face from radar. LCA has the edge over the Gripen in minimum takeoff distance; LCA needs 460 meters compared to 800 meters of the Swedish jet. Use composite capable of radar reflection with radar-absorbent material (RAM) coatings for more stealth; the Gripen does not have it. Although most characteristics there are similar. Fighter With Better Avionics The JAS Gripen has an integrated electronic warfare system with radar warning and identification, jamming equipment, and passive defensive systems like chaff and flares. HAL Tejas Mark 1 has homegrown electronic warfare systems like radar warning, self-protection jammer, chaff, flare passive defense measure, and capable long shot missile engagements. The Tejas is 43 feet long, smaller than Gripen's 49 feet long. The wingspan is 26 feet long, while the Swedish fighter is 27 feet long, considered size-wise. In height, the two jets, Tejas is 14 feet 5 inches tall while the Gripen is 14 feet 9 inches tall. The larger size of Gripen has more range, but radar can see it coming more. LCA Tejas versus Saab Gripen shows the Indian fighter with advantages in avionic and combines some stealth-like characteristics over the Swedish contender, but they are nearly equal in most areas. Related Article: India's Tejas LCA Competes With Chinese, South Korean Models as UAE Procures Military Hardware in Defense From Rebel Threats @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Microsoft Office is how billions of people around the world go to work and school, whether they do it from home, an office, a classroom, or a combination of any of those. This suite of productivity tools is used by people working in 106 languages in nearly every country in the world, and its available in versions for personal, small business, enterprise, and educational use. But there is more than one way to buy Office or, rather, to buy the license to use it. Theres the perpetual version of Office thats available as a one-time purchase; the most current version is Office 2021. Then theres the subscription version that lives in the cloud and for which you pay a monthly or annual fee. When this version was introduced in 2011, Microsoft called it Office 365, later renaming it Microsoft 365 for personal and small business subscriptions. At the enterprise level, both Office 365 and Microsoft 365 plans are available. In this story, well use Microsoft 365 as shorthand for all 365 subscriptions unless were referring to a specific plan. Why choose to buy it one way and not the other? The answer can be confusing, especially since each suite of tools includes most of the same applications, give or take. Microsoft has made its preference clear: The company believes that the cloud will power the work of the future and would love it if everyone purchased Microsoft 365. There are lots of incentives for doing just that. But you have options. Heres help deciding which version is right for you or your company. Microsoft Office: The options For personal use Office Home & Student 2021 $150, one-time purchase for use on one computer Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote Microsoft 365 Personal $70 a year or $7 a month (1 user, multiple devices) Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, OneDrive, and Teams Microsoft 365 Family $100 a year or $10 a month (5 users, multiple devices) Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, and Family Safety For small businesses Office Home & Business 2021 $250, one-time purchase for use on one computer Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook Office Professional 2021 $440, one-time purchase for use on one computer Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Access; works with Teams Microsoft 365 Apps for business $8.25/user/month (up to 300 users) Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, Publisher, and Access Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, and Premium Plans range from $6/user/month to $22/user/month (up to 300 users) Tools included depend on the level of your subscription. Desktop versions of Word, Excel, and other Office apps require a Standard plan or higher; the Basic plan offers only web and mobile versions. All plans include Exchange email hosting, OneDrive, and SharePoint. The Premium plan adds advanced security and management features. For enterprises Office LTSC 2021 Available only through volume licensing This Office title stands for Long Term Servicing Channel; this is the commercial version of Office 2021. According to Microsoft, its designed for regulated devices that cant accept updates for security reasons and for systems that dont connect to the internet. (Note, however, that its the only non-subscription version of Office available for large organizations.) Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, and Publisher. Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise $12/user/month (up to 5 devices per user); annual commitment required Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, OneNote, Access, and Publisher. Office 365 E1, E3, and E5 Plans range from $10/user/month to $38/user/month; annual commitment required Tools included depend on the level of your subscription. Desktop versions of Word, Excel, and other Office apps require an E3 plan or higher; the E1 plan offers only web and mobile versions. All plans include Exchange Online, OneDrive, SharePoint Online, and additional enterprise services. The E5 plan adds advanced security, compliance, and management features. Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 Plans range from $36/user/month to $57/user/month; annual commitment required These plans offer most of the same features as the Office 365 E3 and E5 plans, and also include Windows and additional Microsoft services such as Visio. Other plans Microsoft offers additional Office 365 and Microsoft 365 plans for education, government, and nonprofit organizations, and for frontline workers. How you pay for Office One big difference between the 2021 and 365 options is how you pay for them. If you are buying a perpetual license (such as with Office Home & Business 2021 or Office LTSC 2021), you pay a larger sum than with the subscriptions offerings under the Microsoft 365 or Office 365 brand, but you do so only once. When you subscribe to any of the Microsoft 365 or Office 365 plans, you pay annually or monthly. Office 2021: a perpetual license Whether you buy a single copy of Office 2021 in a retail outlet or download hundreds of seats via volume licensing, Microsoft calls this is a "one-time purchase" because you pay only once, not every month. (Labels like perpetual, which have been widely used by Computerworld, technically note the type of license rather than payment methodology, but in this case, the kind of license is tied to whether it was bought outright or simply rented.) Microsoft defines the term as when ...you pay a single, up-front cost to get Office applications for one computer. Up-front is the key adjective there. You have to ante up the entire purchase price before you get the software. That purchase of a license to legally run the software gives you the right to use that version of Office 2021 in perpetuity. In other words, the license has no expiration date, and users may run the suite for as long as they want. Pay for Office 2021 this year and use it for the next seven years? Fine. Use it to operate your space portal in the year 2050? Nothing to stop you. (Except hardware compatibility. Though you could probably find an old, refurbished computer and drag that into space.) But if you want new features that come out with the next update, you will have to pay full price again, whatever that is, when the next version comes out if one comes out. There are no upgrade options on the perpetual license packages. Microsoft 365: Office as a service Microsoft 365, the purchase method Microsoft would prefer you choose, is a subscription service, where you pay the software giant monthly or annually. There is a discount, sometimes a tempting one, for going with the annual payment plan over the monthly one. (All enterprise plans, from Enterprise E1 to E5, require an annual commitment.) And the company is always sweetening this pot by offering more apps than you get with the perpetual license products and with a continuous supply of new features. Like any subscription, Microsoft 365 provides a service in this case, the right to run the suite's applications and access the associated services only as long as payments continue. Stop paying, and rights to run the apps expire. This happens in a progressive way, giving you time to download your data or update your payment plan, whichever you choose. For 30 days after non-payment, your plan will be Expired. You will still have access to all your apps and files. If you dont activate it again while its in the Expired stage, it moves to Disabled, where it will stay for 90 days. You wont be able to access your apps or data until you pay up. If you still dont pay for your plan, it will be Deleted. At that point, its gone. A Microsoft 365 license, then, is contingent on sustained payments. Halt the latter, and the license is revoked. Restart the payments but dont wait too long to restore the license. How each version of Office is serviced Although payments define one difference between Office 2021 and Microsoft 365, Microsofts development and release pace is ultimately more important to users and the IT professionals who support them. Think of Office 2021 as traditional software a bundle of tools that typically dont change much until the next major version. That holds for servicing, too. Microsoft does release monthly security and quality updates for the perpetual license versions of Office. (You can check from within any Office app if there are updates available. From, say, a Word document, go to File > Account and look for Product Information. Then choose Update Options and Update Now.) But Office 2021 doesnt get the continually upgraded features and functionality that Microsoft 365 does. What you get when you buy the suite, feature-wise, is it. If you want the updates, at some point in the future, you will have to buy whatever version Microsoft is selling as a perpetual license then. (The company says of the release of Office LTSC 2021, While this will not be our last perpetual release, we continue to make investments that make it even easier for customers to adopt Microsoft 365. And in an online explainer about all Office products, the company says, We are happy to confirm our commitment to another release of the perpetual version of Office in the future, beyond this release.) Microsoft regularly releases feature and security updates for Microsoft 365 apps, though. And it releases them as they happen. As new features and functionality accrete, and the applications in Microsoft 365 evolve, Microsoft will decide its time for a new version of Office. It will then package some of those features into an upgraded suite for customers who continue to make one-time, up-front purchases. How long they keep doing this likely depends on how long there is a demand for these locked in time versions. One other important note: Office 2021 and Office LTSC 2021 will be supported with security updates only through Oct. 13, 2026. Thats just five years of support, down from seven years in Office 2019 and 10 years in prior releases. In contrast, with Microsoft 365 subscriptions, support never runs out as long as you keep paying, of course. How Office hooks up with cloud services One reason to choose Office 2021 over Microsoft 365 is internet access. If you dont have reliable access to the cloud, cant be connected to the internet for security reasons, or for whatever reason, maybe you live on a remote mountaintop your computer is often offline, this is the type of software you need. In fact, internet access is one of the main reasons Microsoft cant force us all to subscribe to Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 runs in apps that are downloaded to your computer, phone, or tablet, but those apps require near-constant internet access, especially if you use OneDrive and store all your files in the cloud. In standard use, Microsoft 365 stops working if it cant connect to the internet for 30 days. For some use cases, this is a deal breaker. But the company is making efforts to overcome this objection to the Microsoft 365 products. Last year, Microsoft launched features for enterprise users that allow Microsoft 365 keep working without issue even if it is offline for extended periods of time. An IT administrator has to set it up, but after that, a user can keep working, offline, for up to 180 days. Office 2021, on the other hand, does not rely as heavily on an internet connection to operate, save files, and self-update. You can connect it when you have access and work offline when you dont. This, as much as cost and a desire to stick to old-school software distribution models is, perhaps, the most compelling reason to insist on one of the perpetual license products. Whichever license you ultimately choose, you will get many of the same tools. And the reasons for making one choice over another have less to do with price and features than with how you or your users work, support and security needs, reliability of internet access, online storage and collaboration needs, and how excited (or annoyed) you or your users are likely to be by new features that turn up, like a gift, in the software. This article was originally published in July 2017 and most recently updated in June 2022. Today, at long last, Microsoft is officially ending support for Internet Explorer. Goodbye and good riddance to the most annoying web browser of them all. Lets review: Back in 1993 when I wrote the first story about this newfangled thing called the WEB, I knew it would be big. Thats more than Bill Gates thought about it at the time. At the 1994 Comdex, Gates said, I see little commercial potential for the Internet for the next 10 years. Whoops. Oh well, he got it right eventually. But neither he nor Microsoft was the first to release a web browser. Far from it! The first popular graphical web browser came from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was called Mosaic. It was created by Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina, but while its the one everyone remembers, it wasnt the first graphical web browser. That honor goes to ViolaWWW, a Unix browser, while Cello was the first Windows graphical web browser. Mosaic, however, was the first browser to enable you to see images within pages. That was a game-changer. Earlier browsers could only show images as separate files. It was no contest: Mosaic won the first and earliest browser war. A day late and a dollar short By 1995, Gates had realized that Microsoft needed something to offer all the users who desperately wanted a web browser. In May 1995, Gates started saying things like, The Internet is the most important single development to come along since the IBM PC was introduced in 1981 and comparing it to a tidal wave. A tidal wave or not, Microsoft still wasnt ready. Its quick-fix answer was to adopt Spyglass, a commercial version of the successful Mosaic web browser. This was the foundation of Internet Explorer (IE) 1, which debuted in August 1995, as part of Microsoft Plus for Windows 95, a Windows software add-on package. IE 1 was a flop. It also created bad blood with Spyglass, which had been promised a percentage of Microsofts profits from IE. But Microsoft began bundling IE with Windows and therefore had no profits. Microsoft would eventually settle with Spyglass for $8 million in 1997. This Spyglass/Mosaic codebase would remain part of IE until IE7 was released. The About window on IE1 to IE6 contained the text Distributed under a licensing agreement with Spyglass, Inc. There are claims that Microsoft innovated with IE. It didnt. At the same time, Andreessen took the Mosaic code and turned it into the first widely successful web browser, Netscape. Andreessen boasted that Netscape would reduce Windows to a set of poorly debugged device drivers. Netscape in its sights Microsoft took the threat seriously. Netscape CEO James Barksdale would later testify that in a June 1995 meeting, Microsoft proposed that the two companies split the browser market, with Internet Explorer being the only Windows browser. If Netscape didnt comply, Microsoft would crush it. I had never been in a meeting in my 33-year business career in which a competitor had so blatantly implied that we should either stop competing with it or the competitor would kill us, Barksdale said during the Department of Justices 2001 antitrust trial against Microsoft. Despite that warning, Netscape continued to lead the technology revolution. Netscape Communicator was where the real innovation happened. JavaScript, for example, is arguably the most popular programming language globally, and JavaScript was a Netscape creation. But, Microsoft, in all fairness, had its moments too. For example, IE 3.0 was the first browser to adopt Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) in 1996. But the real reason were saying goodbye to IE only today, long after Netscape became history, is that Microsoft exploited its illegal PC/Windows monopoly to block Netscape from computers. Microsoft strong-armed PC vendors into putting the new operating system and its browser on all their PCs. The goal was not so much to kill off other PC operating system vendors; there wasnt any real OS competition in the mid-90s. The goal was to destroy Netscape. The courts agreed. The DoJ won in its lawsuit against Microsoft because the companys PC monopoly made it impossible for Netscape to compete with IE. Unfortunately, the government gave Microsoft a slap on the wrist rather than breaking it up into separate companies or open-sourcing its code. And Netscape died, just as Microsoft had threatened back in 1995. So it was that many of you grew up with IE as the browser you knew and loved. You didnt know any better. Not with a bang but a whimper Microsoft stopped innovating with IE, particularly after it released IE6 with Windows XP in 2001. Why bother? Users werent going anywhere. They had no real alternatives. By the mid-2000s, IEs market share was consistently over 90%. But eventually, Firefox, starting from Netscapes old code, became a viable alternative around 2005. IEs real end began, though, when Google decided to make a modern, fast, and efficient web browser, Chrome, in 2008. Microsoft never caught up. Today, Microsofts modern browser, Edge, is based on Chromium, Chromes open-source code base. Indeed, except for Firefox, all current major Windows web browsers are built on Chromiums foundation. Edge offers a feature called IE mode, which uses the Chromium engine for modern websites and the Trident MSHTML engine from IE11 for legacy sites built to work with Internet Explorer. IE itself? Its been left to die of neglect. Despite that, people are still using IE today, God help them! The US federal governments Digital Analytics Program (DAP) shows an average of 300,000 IE site visits to government sites over the past 7 days. Although support for IE11 on Windows 10 ends on June 15th, Microsoft isnt just killing it outright. No, the IE11 desktop client on Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 (and even Windows 10 Enterprise, version 20H2), with extended security updates, will stagger on. In addition, IE mode in Microsoft Edge will still be supported until at least 2029. So, yes, those miserable IE-only websites and apps are still going to be working for years to come. That means you dont want to uninstall IE yourself. Edge will still be using that functionality when it runs into an antique website. Microsoft has also said that IE desktop applications will be progressively redirected to Microsoft Edge for now. When will IE actually be buried? We dont know. Microsoft isnt saying. Someday, though, youll get a Windows Update that wipes out IE once and for all. I cant wait! Singapores Asian Civilisations Museum to share Southeast Asian batik heritage in upcoming show Singapores Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) will celebrate the diversity of Southeast Asian heritages with 'Batik Kita: Dressing in Port Cities', its latest special exhibition featuring over 100 masterpieces from overseas and local lenders, as well as rarely seen pieces from the National Collection. te Opening to the public this Friday, the cloths and clothing items tell stories about making, wearing, and trading batik. Batik Kita explores the rich history and culture of batik and batik making, from its traditional roots to contemporary designs. Visitors are invited to step into an exquisite world of batik textiles that cut across cultures and ethnic backgrounds. The exhibition also introduces innovations by batikers in the age-old craft, and showcases how batik charted the evolution of new identities in the newly formed nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Kennie Ting, Director of ACM and Peranakan Museum, shared, Visitors can expect an introduction to batik as a historical artform, as well as an exploration of how batik has influenced style in our region, even today. The title, 'Batik Kita' ('Our Batik') celebrates batik as a form of shared cultural heritage in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, as well as the larger Southeast Asia, with its long-standing textile traditions. Trace the development of batik through design Batik first emerged as a highly effective way of patterning fabrics in Java during the 17th century, and most batiks today are made and invented from the rich repertoire of patterns developed in the central Javanese courts at Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Solo). Highlights include three pieces on loan from the Sonobudoyo Museum in Yogyakarta, providing a rare look into traditional batiks used in Cirebon, a court on the coast of western Java. Besides traditional batik from the Javanese courts, Batik Kita features an extensive range of textiles, including the pagi-sore (day-night) and tiga negeri (three patterns) styles, cloths with seafood and animal motifs, bangbangan (red batiks), and creative designs from Chinese-owned workshops along the pesisir (north coast of Java); as well as the use of canting (hand-drawing) to write calligraphic inscriptions. Keeping batik legacies alive The second section of Batik Kita explores the transformations of batik as fashion, casting a spotlight on batik makers of the past and present. Lining the walls are iron and copper batik stamps made and used by IB Batek Industrial, a Singapore batik making powerhouse of the 1970s and 1980s. While the preservation of batik heritage is important, batik as an art form continues to evolve with each generation. A display of contemporary batik garments takes centre stage, comprising 20 loans from BINhouse, a textiles enterprise that is a main arbiter of taste for Indonesian batik fashion. Their shoulder cloths pay homage to southern Sumatran style, made vast enough to cover the wearers head and body. The power of batik as an expression of identity The way people choose to adorn themselves goes beyond aesthetics: from wearing batik to show regional solidarity when doing business in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, to the historic group photoshoot where leaders of the region wore batik at the 1994 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bogor, Indonesia, batik became an implicit demonstration of soft power on the political stage. Lee Chor Lin, Exhibition Curator of Batik Kita: Dressing in Port Cities, commented, A large-scale batik retrospective like this has been a long time coming. Batik is enjoying a renaissance today, and I hope that Batik Kita is just one of many more beautiful batik exhibitions to come in Singapore. Read more Singapore News, Event updates and Entertainment News here 06/15/2022 (c) KTStock - Getty Images COVID-19 tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University (previous numbers in parentheses). Total U.S. confirmed cases: 85,763,130 (85,633,278) Total U.S. deaths: 1,011,926 (1,011,545) Total global cases: 536,747,070 (536,003,693) Total global deaths: 6,312,635 (6,310,809) FDA committee okays Moderna vaccine for kids As expected, an advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children and teens ages six to 17. In fact, there wasn't a single dissenting vote. The FDA, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has already authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for people age five and older. Both agencies are expected to follow the committees recommendation. "I'd like to give parents as many choices as possible and let them make the decisions about this for their children," said committee member Dr. Arthur Reingold, a professor at the University of California. Blood test could tell how much immunity you have against COVID-19 A new study could shed light on why some people exposed to COVID-19 become infected while others do not. Scientists say they have developed a blood test that measures the bodys immune response. The test focuses on the part of the immune system that provides long-term protection by helping the body to "remember" the virus so that it combats it when needed. Scientists say it could help them understand why the virus isn't uniform in the way it affects people. "Ideally, it will give you a full picture of where you stand and a comprehensive picture of your immune protection," Ernesto Guccione, one of the authors, told NBC News. Omicron hit rural areas harder than cities, study finds The Omicron variant of COVID-19 spread like wildfire in late 2021, but a new study found it caused more negative outcomes in rural areas of America than in cities. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati say this is likely due to fewer people being vaccinated in rural counties. The study found that counties with vaccination rates below 40% had far higher mortality rates than counties with vaccination rates of 60% or more. The study recommended that health policymakers continue to make vaccination coverage a priority. It is our hope this information might be useful for decision-makers for future public health campaigns and approaches to address pandemics, said co-author Neil MacKinnon. Around the nation 06/15/2022 Income tax filing day may have come and gone, but the IRS warns taxpayers that scammers havent moved an inch. In fact, the agency says that in its "Dirty Dozen" list of scams, that there are four potentially abusive ones starting to creep up that its got its eyes on, and for the time being, the public needs to keep its eyes open, too. The four transactions involve charitable remainder annuity trusts, foreign captive insurance, monetized installment sales, and Maltese individual retirement arrangement, a weird tax shelter that came about during the first Obama administration. How these scams play out The bottom line for the scams that the IRS wants the public to be aware of is all promise tax savings that are too good to be true. However, once a taxpayer falls for it, they may legally compromise themselves instead of saving on their tax obligations. Maltese tax option: Scammers seem to love the Maltese rip-off because taxpayers are likely to be unfamiliar with it and its not something simple like taking a deduction for donating clothes to Goodwill. The Maltese tax option is something where a U.S. taxpayer could avoid U.S. tax by making contributions to certain foreign individual retirement arrangements in Malta (or other foreign countries). The Wall Street Journal says that scammers work the angle that Malta plans can significantly lower U.S. taxes on the sale of high-value assets like stock, real estate, or cryptocurrency. Instead of paying a top federal rate of 23.8% on capital gains, Americans age 50 or older can fund a Malta pension with those types of assets, turn around and sell them, and then withdraw large amounts of the money tax-free. Puerto Rican and other foreign captive insurance: The angle here is that Americans who own closely held entities can participate in a pretend insurance arrangement with a Puerto Rican (or other foreign) corporation which can help the taxpayer claim deductions for the cost of insurance coverage. The IRS says the trademarks of the purported insurance arrangements usually include one or more of the following: implausible risks covered, non-arms-length pricing, and lack of business purpose for entering into the arrangement. Use of charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT) to eliminate taxable gain: In this another not-easy-to-understand gimmick appreciated property is transferred to a CRAT so that taxpayers can improperly claim the transfer of the appreciated assets to the CRAT at fair market value as if they had been sold to the trust. CRATs are real things, but if someone you dont know or have done business with tries to sell you on getting one, your scam detector should go off immediately. Monetized installment sales: This transaction scam involves the improper use of the installment sale rules under section 453 where a seller receives the sales proceeds through purported loans anytime during the first year they own a property. In a typical transaction, the seller enters into a contract to sell appreciated property to a buyer for cash and then purports to sell the same property to an intermediary in return for an installment note, the IRS explains. The intermediary then purports to sell the property to the buyer and receives the cash purchase price. The IRS reminds taxpayers to watch out for and avoid these schemes, many of which are now advertised online. "Taxpayers should stop and think twice before including these questionable arrangements on their tax returns," said IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig. "Taxpayers are legally responsible for what's on their return, not a promoter making promises and charging high fees. Taxpayers can help stop these arrangements by relying on reputable tax professionals they know they can trust." 06/15/2022 Photo source: USDA Smithfield Packaged Meats of Sioux Center, Iowa, is recalling approximately 185,610 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) bacon topping products. The products may be contaminated with extraneous materials -- specifically metal. There have been no confirmed reports of injuries or adverse reactions The following items, produced between February 21 23, 2022, and March 3 5, 2022, are being recalled: 5-lb. packages containing Golden Crisp PATRICK CUDAHY PRECOOKED BACON TOPPING SKU 43200 12002 with lot codes 2054, 2062 and 2063. 5-lb. packages containing Smithfield PRECOOKED BACON TOPPING SKU 43200 12003 with lot codes 2063 and 2064. 5-lb. packages containing Golden Crisp PATRICK CUDAHY FULLY COOKED BACON TOPPING APPLEWOOD SMOKED SKU 43200 12296 with lot codes 2053 and 2062. 5-lb. packages containing Smithfield FULLY COOKED BACON TOPPING SKU 43200 12663 with lot code 2064. 5-lb. packages containing MEMBERS MARK FULLY COOKED BACON CRUMBLES SKU 78742240923 with BEST IF USED BY date of 2022-11-18. The recalled products, bearing establishment number EST. 27384 inside the USDA mark of inspection, were shipped to distributors and retail locations nationwide. Some of the bacon product may have been used to produce other products. What to do Consumers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but discard or return them to the place of purchase. Consumers with questions may contact the firm at (844) 342-2596. Chinese vaccines boost global cooperation against COVID-19 09:14, June 15, 2022 By Xie Yahong, Zhou Zhou ( People's Daily So far, China has provided over 2.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines for more than 120 countries and international organizations, and achieved an annual COVID-19 vaccine production capacity of one billion doses overseas by transferring technologies to and carrying out cooperation on vaccine production with more than 20 countries. Chinese Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ni Jian visits the construction site of a vaccine plant jointly set up by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm and Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42 (G42) in the Khalifa Industrial Zone, Abu Dhabi, the UAE, to keep track of the project, Nov. 18, 2021. (Photo/Courtesy of Chinese Embassy in the UAE) One of the projects between China and foreign countries on the production of vaccines is located in the Khalifa Industrial Zone, which is 60 kilometers north to downtown Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Construction of the project jointly launched by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm and Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42 (G42), a vaccine production base to be built to a high specification, is well underway. Two main factory buildings of the base begin to take shape, while the installation of indoor electromechanical equipment and outdoor piping and wiring systems is progressing in an orderly manner. Dozens of technical professionals from China National Biotec Group (CNBG), a bioscience subsidiary of Sinopharm, are working at the construction site of the project, according to Naser Alyammahi, an executive from G42. The professionals have actively shared their experience in vaccine manufacturing technologies, quality management, biosecurity management and other fields with their UAE counterparts, the executive pointed out. Members of the Chinese team came to the UAE at the most severe time of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have braved hot, windy and sandy conditions, worked hard and fully performed their duties, contributing to the China-UAE anti-pandemic cooperation, said the executive, disclosing that the vaccine production base will be operated by Hayat Biotech, a UAE-based joint venture between Sinopharm CNBG and G42. Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo and Serbian Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar welcome a new batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines Serbia purchased from China at an airport in Belgrade, Serbia, May 22, 2021. (Photo/Courtesy of Chinese Embassy in Serbia) When completed, the production base will be the largest preparation, warehousing, and distribution center of multiple types of vaccines in the UAE and even the Middle East region. It will be able to manufacture many types of vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines with an expected annual production capacity of 200 million doses. Over the past two years, China and the UAE have helped and supported each other, worked together to overcome difficulties, enhanced anti-pandemic cooperation and constantly deepened their comprehensive strategic partnership. During this period, the UAE has become a regional center for the manufacturing, distribution and transportation of vaccines, as well as one of the countries with the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world. Clinical data collected in the UAE has proven that Chinese COVID-19 vaccines developed by Sinopharm have shown good performance in efficacy and safety and played a critical role in the global fight against the pandemic, said Alyammahi. The vaccine production base will significantly improve the capacity of the UAE for research, development, and production of biological medicine. Meanwhile, the benefits of local shipping and logistics services ensure a quick supply of vaccines to North Africa, South America, and other regions, he added. In Serbia, the Chinese-developed vaccines have been taken to more than 80 percent of the whole vaccination population. The antibody level in about 90 percent of those who received Chinese vaccines was considerably enhanced after the booster injection, according to the results of a study conducted by Serbian virologist Dr. Tanja Jovanovic. At present, the first Chinese vaccine factory in Europe is under construction in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. After it is officially put into operation, the factory is expected to produce about 30 million doses of vaccines and fill 10 million doses of bulk inactivated COVID-19 vaccines annually. It will be able to satisfy the needs of Serbia and its neighboring countries for COVID-19 vaccines. A new batch of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to Ecuador arrives in Quito, capital of Ecuador, Oct. 30, 2021 local time. (Photo/Courtesy of Chinese Embassy in Ecuador) With the timely help of China, Serbia has effectively pushed forward with COVID-19 prevention and control and protected the lives of its people, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in an interview. Chinese COVID-19 vaccines have continuously promoted the development of global public health and the building of the global immunity barrier. In December 2021, Nicaragua received one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines donated by China. The numbers of new confirmed cases, hospitalized cases and the death toll of COVID-19 in Nicaragua are all maintained at a relatively low level, which is attributed to Chinese vaccines, said Christian Toledo, director-general of surveillance at Nicaraguas Ministry of Health. China has provided vaccines for Nicaragua, which is a great thing that helps improve peoples livelihoods in the country, Toledo said. In mid-May, a new batch of 2.5 million doses of China-donated COVID-19 vaccines developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac arrived in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. So far, more than 13.9 million people in the country have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, accounting for around 83 percent of the target population. About 53 percent of the COVID-19 vaccines Ecuador has received came from China. Thanks to its relatively high COVID-19 vaccination rate, Ecuador has effectively brought the pandemic under control and is witnessing a steady recovery in social and economic development. Sinovac has reached agreements with authorities of multiple Latin American countries, including Ecuador, Chile, Colombia and Brazil, on the establishment of factories for the manufacturing of vaccines including those against COVID-19. Without Chinese vaccines, Ecuadors vaccination schedule would have been severely compromised, said Ecuadorian Health Minister Ximena Garzon, who noted that Chinas support is a guarantee of Ecuadors defeating the COVID-19 pandemic. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) In comments reported by the Italian newspaper La Stampa on Tuesday, Pope Francis suggested that the Ukraine war was perhaps either provoked or not prevented. The Pope stated that he is "not in favor" of Russian President Vladimir Putin but rather against simplifying complexity to a binary of good and bad, without considering origins and interests, which are quite complicated. Pope Francis Calls Out Russian Cruelty in Ukraine Pope Francis said he met with "a head of state" who was "very concerned about how NATO was moving" before Russia invaded Ukraine, and that he hopes to speak with Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, later this year, after a meeting between the two was postponed due to the war in Ukraine. In September, the Pope hopes to see the Russian Patriarch during a general gathering in Kazakhstan. A knee problem forced Pope Francis to postpone a trip to Africa, CNN reported. In a statement released by the Vatican on Tuesday, Pope Francis said the invasion of Ukraine "has now been added to the regional wars that have taken a terrible toll in death and damage for years." "Yet here, the situation is even more complicated due to the direct intervention of a'superpower' aimed at imposing its own will in violation of the principle of peoples' self-determination," Pope Francis said in a message for the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of the Poor, which will be observed in November. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia may have been "in some way provoked," according to Pope Francis, who stopped short of labeling Russian President Vladimir Putin as an aggressor. The pontiff applauded "brave" Ukrainians for struggling for survival in a conversation he had last month with editors of Jesuit media, which was released on Tuesday, but also stated the issue was not black and white. Read Also: North Korea Plans Crackdown Against "Unrevolutionary Acts" as Kim Jong Un Pushes To Overcome COVID-19 Russia-Ukraine War Was Triggered, Says Pope Francis Per Mirror, he went on to claim that the conflict was "perhaps triggered in some way." While denouncing "the brutality, the savagery of Russian forces," Pope Francis added, "we must not overlook the actual issues if we are to tackle them," citing the arms industry as one of the elements that encourage conflict. It comes after Pope Francis revealed he had spoken with a head of state many months before Putin launched his soldiers into Ukraine, who voiced fear that NATO was "barking at the gates of Russia" in a situation that may lead to war. "I am not pro-Putin, it would be simple and inappropriate to declare such a thing," he replied rhetorically. After contacting Ukrainian President Zelensky, he also revealed how he attempted to speak with Putin about ending the conflict. In a late-night address Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that combat in the country's eastern Donbas area had become "one of the most terrible fights" in European history. As Russia pursues "full control" in eastern and southern Ukraine, Kyiv has warned that its troops are losing between 100 and 200 soldiers every day, with hundreds more wounded. The most savage combat in Ukraine is taking place in Sievierodonetsk, a strategically significant city in the western Luhansk area. Russian soldiers would be able to march west into the Donetsk area and maybe farther into Ukraine if the Luhansk region was fully occupied. Russia has been unable to fully control the city and has encountered difficulties crossing the Siverskyi Donets river, which divides it from western Ukraine. In Donbas, Russian forces have used a heavy artillery bombardment and brought foot units to strike weak settlements around Sievierodonetsk. Ukraine claimed on Tuesday that its armed soldiers within Sievierodonetsk are preventing Russia from obtaining total control of the city, Fox News reported. Related Article: [Report] Vladimir Putin Humiliated as Russia's Leading Battalion Refuses To Fight in Ukraine After Losing One of His Youngest Commanders @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. 1.918363.com scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 8 Dec 2017, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the 1.918363 homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the 1.918363 homepage on Twitter + the total number of 1.918363 followers (if 1.918363 has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the 1.918363 homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the 1.918363 homepage on Delicious. 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Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a Tuesday announcement that it had approved a new drug that could cure the hair loss brought by alopecia areata. The drug, known as Olumiant, is an oral tablet that was made for adult patients and marks the first FDA-approved treatment for the disorder. In a statement, the director of the Division of Dermatology and Dentistry in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Dr. Kendall Marcus, said that access to safe and effective treatment options was crucial. Alopecia Drug Alopecia areata, which is commonly referred to as simply alopecia, is an autoimmune disorder that develops when a person's body attacks its own hair follicles, causing hair loss anywhere. The American Academy of Dermatology Association said that the disorder can start at any age but noted that most patients develop it during childhood or in their teenage years. Health experts know of several types of alopecia areata, including alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis. The disorder is believed to impact more than 300,000 Americans every year and often appears as patchy baldness, as per Fox News. The oral tablets are a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, which means that they block the activity of one or more of a specific family of enzymes, interfering with the pathway that leads to inflammation. The efficacy and safety of the newly-approved drug were tested in two randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trials. Read Also: Facial Paralysis: Justin Bieber, Angelina Jolie and 3 Other Celebrities Who Suffered the Disorder Participants of the trial had at least 50% scalp hair loss, as measured by the severity of an alopecia tool, for more than half a year. The patients received either a placebo or two or four milligrams of Olumiant, or four milligrams every day. According to the FDA, in Trial AA-1, 22% of the 184 patients who were given two milligrams of Olumiant and 35% of the 281 patients who were given four milligrams of Olumiant achieved adequate scalp hair coverage. It came as the 5% of the 189 patients who received a placebo showed similar results. Autoimmune Disorder In Trial AA-2, officials found that 17% of the 156 patients who were given two milligrams of Olumiant and 32% of the 234 patients who were given four milligrams of Olumian achieved adequate scalp hair coverage compared to the 3% of the 156 patients who received a placebo. The approval of the new drug comes as the disorder recently garnered national attention after actor Will Smith infamously slapped comedian Chris Rock for the latter's comments about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia. Dr. Brett King, a Yale dermatologist who was the principal investigator for the two trials, said that the drug is a breakthrough for people who are suffering from the autoimmune disorder. It comes as many patients use wigs or scarves to hide their condition from other people. "It's a devastating disease. Try to imagine you wake up with a spot one day. And then, imagine, three weeks later, or three months later, or three years later, imagine all of your hair going away," King said, NBC News reported. Related Article: Monkeypox Transmission Baffles Scientists Amid Shocking Outbreak @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. According to the report, a surgeon in Houston performed a partial vasectomy on a 4-year-old child who went in for a hernia surgery. The little boy from Fort Bend County was taken to Texas Children's Hospital in August 2021 to have laparoscopic surgery for a hernia. However, according to the family's personal injury attorney, Randy Sorrels, during the treatment, Dr. Susan Jarosz "cut the incorrect part of anatomy." A vasectomy can be reversed by reconnecting the vas deferens tubes with additional procedure, as per NY Post. Doctor Performs Wrong Surgery on Four-Year-Old Child Jarosz, who is also an assistant professor of pediatric urology at Baylor College of Medicine, has never been accused of medical misconduct or had any official complaints about her work. Medical blunders like the one that occurred in the instance of the little kid are uncommon since surgeons are expected to make sure they're cutting the proper organ before using their blades, according to Sorrel. Jarosz allegedly broke the standard of care by failing to exercise ordinary care when performing hernia repair surgery on the little child, according to the complaint, which seeks up to $1 million in damages. Sorrel stated that after the operation the surgeon told the parents what had happened and apologized, but that what they really want is "accountability." Read Also: Missing Harmony Montgomery: Horrifying New Details Emerge as Cops Seize Refrigerator in Search of Missing Girl in Dad's Old Home Parents Sue Hospital For Surgery Mix-up The complaint filed in Harris District Court on June 7 states that she and risk management professionals at Texas Children's Hospital then informed the child's parents of probable short- and long-term repercussions, including diminished fertility. "While apologies were made, complete blame was not embraced," attorney Randy Sorrells said in a statement, adding that the parents now have the onerous burden of explaining the situation to their son at the proper age. According to FOX News, the parents have requested anonymity out of fear that their son will be bullied in the future. They are now suing Jarosz, an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine, and Texas Children's Hospital for $500,000 in damages, which is the maximum amount a party can receive in Texas for such an incident. "The principle of the case is that you should know the anatomy of what you're cutting before you cut it," Sorrells told DailyMail.com. A doctor will create an incision to open up the skin, then gently put the hernia back in place, tie it up, or remove it during hernia surgery. According to WebMD, they would next use sutures to close the weak muscle area. Sorrells told FOX News that Jarosz failed to correctly identify what she was cutting. Sorrells said that the boy's parents were shocked to find what had occurred to their kid and are concerned about the boy's long-term effects and any future sexual relations he may have. "The longer-term impact is on the four-year-old's reproductive process, which will force him to undergo artificial reproductive operations. I don't believe it will make having children impossible, but it may make it more difficult," he said. In fact, the complaint claims that the boy would suffer "future medical bills, future suffering, mental anguish, future deformity, physical disability, and future expenses for reproductive treatments" later in life. Related Article: New York Subway Stabber Faces Several Charges for Unprovoked Attacks; One Victim Remains Dependent on Ventilator @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Researchers warn of a new worm that's infecting Linux servers by brute-forcing and stealing SSH credentials. The hijacked servers are joined in a botnet and are used to mine cryptocurrency by loading mining programs directly in memory with no files on disk. Dubbed Panchan by researchers from Akamai, the malware is written in the Go programming language, which allows it to be platform independent. It first appeared in late March and has infected servers in all regions of the world since then, though Asia does seem to have a bigger concentration. The most impacted vertical seems to be education. "This might be due to poor password hygiene, or it could be related to the malwares unique lateral movement capability with stolen SSH keys," the Akamai team said in a blog post. "Researchers in different academic institutions might collaborate more frequently, and require credentials to authenticate to machines that are outside of their organization/network, than employees in the business sector. To strengthen that hypothesis, we saw that some of the universities involved were from the same country Spain, or others from the same region, like Taiwan and Hong Kong." SSH infections and peer-to-peer communications The malware has worm capabilities, meaning it can automatically jump from machine to machine. It achieves this in two ways: by launching a dictionary-based brute-force attack against SSH remote access services to try to guess username/password combinations, and by stealing authorized SSH keys that already exist on infected machines. "The malware looks under the running user HOME directory for ssh configuration and keys," the researchers said. "It reads the private key under ~HOME/.ssh/id_rsaand uses it to attempt to authenticate to any IP address found under ~HOME/.ssh/known_hosts. This is a novel credential harvesting method we havent seen used in other malware." Once it gains access to a new machine, the malware creates a folder with a random name under the root directory and copies itself inside with the file name xinetd. The malware is then executed along with a list of peers. This establishes a communication channel between different infected machines allowing them to relay commands and configurations to each other. The communication channel uses TCP port 1919 which the malware opens in the firewall by using iptables commands. One interesting feature, likely influenced by its peer-to-peer command and control topology, is that the malicious binary has a command panel built in, as opposed to such a panel being hosted on a command-and-control server. Accessing this panel remotely can be done by sending the command "godmode" to the malware and then supplying the correct private key for authentication. The admin panel has three major options: refreshing the status screen, displaying the peers list, and updating the cryptominer configuration. The panel displays text in Japanese, suggesting the malware's creators are Japanese speakers. Cryptomining is the botnets purpose The main purpose of the botnet at this time seems to be cryptomining, though this can be expanded later. The malware deploys the xmrig and nbhash miners but does so by using the memfd_create function to create files mapped and executed directly in memory without writing them to disk. This likely is intended to avoid detection as both xmrig and nbhash are well-known cryptomining programs that most security programs will issue alerts for. This is further supported by the fact that the malware has an anti-monitoring module called antitaskmanager that continuously looks for the processes top and htop and terminates the mining processes if it sees them. Top and htop are Linux utilities used to monitor active processes and their resource usage. The malware also has an anti-kill mechanism that catches Linux SIGTERM and SIGINT termination signals and for its own process and ignores them. However, the researchers point out that it doesn' prevent SIGKILL which can be used to kill its process. The Akamai researchers have created a repository with indicators of compromise for this malware as well as YARA and Snort detection signatures. They also recommend that organizations set strong SSH passwords, use multi-factor authentication solutions, segment their networks, allow SSH connections only from known hosts, and monitor their VMs for unusual resource activity as cryptiomining malware will generate high resource consumption. FAIRFIELD One business in town Battimelli's A&S Italian Fine Foods failed a health inspection last month for a number of violations that left them below standards. Businesses in Fairfield fail Health Department inspections when they receive a score below 80 out of 100 or when they receive a single four-point deduction. A second inspection is generally scheduled for two weeks after the initial assessment. Battimelli's, of 2079 Black Rock Tpke., failed its health inspection on May 4 with a score of 77 out of 100. The business had a few four point violations: curing dry sausage without a special process license, not having a hand sink in a food preparation area in the back and storing and reheating food at improper temperatures. We have addressed all of the items that the Fairfield Health Department cited, said Donald Battimelli, who co-owns Battimellis with his father, Carmine. Furthermore we have proactively installed all new shelving and planning the installations of an extra hand sink. According to Fairfields Health Department, the small grocery has not been re-inspected yet, as they are waiting for a hand sink delivery. When it is installed, officials said, a re-inspection will happen at that time. Battimelli's also had other, lesser demerits for issues like improperly labeled ingredients, food items stored on the floor on a walk-in freezer and the dessert case not maintaining proper temperature. Battimelli said this is the first time the store has been remotely close to not passing an inspection or having any issues with any health department. Battimelli said his family has been making dry-cured sausage for generations. Only recently we were informed we are no longer allowed to do so by the local health department, he said. After speaking with state officials there has been confusion as to whose jurisdiction the oversight and licensing falls under in the state of Connecticut. Laboratory reports indicate we have a safe, consumable, and shelf stable product that meets all food grade requirements. Battimelli said they have since halted the production of the dried sausage for retail use and are actively working towards proper licensing with the help of the Fairfield Health Department and the United States Department of Agriculture. He said the store has always had a hand sink at the entry of the kitchen that is used by kitchen and counter staff and the stores construction documents were approved by both the building and health departments. A recent health inspector requested an additional sink, Battimelli said. We immediately installed an additional hand sink within seven days of the citation. Since the installation of the requested hand sink, Battimelli said, they have proactively planned on installing yet another hand sink towards the rear of the kitchen. Battimelli said they regularly check the temperature of their products. When the health department tested the food in the specified holding mechanism the temperature reading was slightly below regulation, he said. The health inspector began their inspection within 30 minutes of the holding mechanism being turned on, thus we were able to assume it was taking longer to come to temperature than it should have. Battimelli said they immediately contacted the manufacturer of the equipment and had it serviced. There is a four-hour window in which contamination can occur when food falls below holding temperature, he said, noting the reading was taken within the first 30 minutes. Battimelli also said the items on the freezer floor were there because they had just been delivered and were in the process of being checked, labeled, rotated and placed. We have since implemented new procedures to prepare ourselves for scheduled deliveries to make sure products go directly into their respective locations, he said. The business has tested the temperature of its pastry case daily since inspection and as always it is in working order, Battimelli said, adding the temperature temporarily drops as the door is open to fill it. He said the temperature of the pastry case was taken after the case had been filled during the daily opening process. Like many other small businesses, Battimelli said, Battimelli's A&S Italian Fine Foods is struggling with the labor shortage. He said they have always held themselves and staff to high standards and will continue to do so. We respect the work of the health department to ensure the safety of the patrons of food establishments throughout our town, he said. We have always maintained a high level of cleanliness and food safety that is regularly noted by our customers. joshua.labella@hearstmediact.com Gathered at the Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven one early June morning, students and community leaders came together as part of a ceremony to honor the lives of emancipated slaves Lucy and Lois Tritton. The Trittons were purchased at an auction in 1825 by abolitionist Anthony P. Sanford, who subsequently freed them. The sisters were the last two enslaved individuals to be auctioned in the city of New Haven, according to the Trinity Church. This event was just one among many hosted by the Witness Stones Project, a Guilford-based organization whose mission it is to honor the humanity of enslaved individuals. The organization works with kids from K-12 and crafts projects that have students and teachers analyze primary-source documents and other curriculum to better understand the lives of enslaved individuals in the state. The culmination of each project is the laying of Witness Stone Memorials, which honor the life of a specific enslaved individual relevant to the area where the stone is placed. There are currently stones placed in a number of towns around Connecticut including Greenwich, Madison, West Hartford, Old Lyme and Durham. For [the students], becoming the voice of somebody from the past and telling the history of someone whose story hadnt been told is very powerful for them. I think they bring that with them, said Dennis Culliton, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Witness Stones Project. Its untarnished. We share it with them the way that we find it. According to the New Haven Museum, Connecticut passed the Gradual Abolition Act of 1784, which freed slaves when they reached their 20s specifically 25 for men and 21 for women. This was in effect for any enslaved individuals who were born in the state after March 1, 1784 but would not affect other enslaved people at the time. It would be another six decades before slavery was abolished in Connecticut in 1848. Fifteen years later, President Abraham Lincoln would sign the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed enslaved individuals across the country. Juneteenth commemorates when Union soldiers marched into Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, freeing the last slaves in the United States. Culliton said he was inspired to start the project after giving a talk at the Guilford Library in 2017 that discussed the dozens of formerly enslaved individuals in the towns of Madison and Guilford. The former E.C. Adams Middle School teacher said he had a following discussion with a friend who had recently seen the Stolpersteine project in Germany, which honors victims of the Holocaust and is present in many European countries. The question then presented itself: Could we remember enslaved people here the way that Jews are remembered in Germany and Central Europe? Among the first Witness Stones laid were that of Phillis and Montros, two enslaved people who were purchased in Boston, and are direct relatives of current Chair of the Board of Directors for the Witness Stones Project, Patricia Wilson Pheanious Culliton said that the project takes a hyper-local approach to better understand the enslaved people who lived in our communities centuries ago while also honoring a specific people for each project, similar to the Stolpersteine. Contributed by Witness Stones Project If you do a project and talk about 3,000 enslaved people in Connecticut, thats sad, but when you talk about a person who lived on your street, or lived in your town, that becomes more of a meaningful activity, Culliton said. Culliton added that the curriculum sometimes surprises students." However, Culliton remarked that classes have been extremely receptive to the material when undertaking the Witness Stones Project. Kids learn new things every day. When you tell them something new, it's not a challenge for them to accept it. Theyre learning new things in science class, math class, English class and music class, Culliton said. There are lessons to be learned that were never going to find in a textbook. Currently, the project has partnered with 86 schools and community institutions, and has reached 7,500 students. Outside of Connecticut, the project is continuing to expand, with Witness Stones already located in or planning to be in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York. Were getting more communities who are interested, Culliton said. Teachers are asked to do local history. Theyre asked to use primary documents. Theyre asked to tell a more diverse history of our past and then theyre asked to share the project with their community. This project does all of those things while telling, in some cases, hidden histories of our communities. The Witness Stones project will commemorate Juneteenth with events in Wallingford and New Haven on June 19. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate EL MONTE, Calif. (AP) The wife of a man who killed two Southern California police officers Tuesday in a shootout told a television station that her husband had previously attacked her and she warned the officers that he had a gun inside a suburban Los Angeles motel. The gunman, identified as Justin William Flores, was shot and killed at the scene. His wife told KCBS-TV that he had attacked her two days ago and she had moved into the motel to escape him but he tracked her down. I am so deeply sorry, my deepest condolences for saving me, Im so, so, so sorry, Diana Flores tearfully told the TV station. They didnt deserve that, or their families. They really didnt. They were trying to help me and I told them before they went in the room, Dont go in. He has a gun. The officers Cpl. Michael Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana, who were identified Wednesday were patrolling their shared hometown when both were slain while investigating a possible stabbing at a motel in El Monte. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that flags at the state Capitol will be flown at half-staff in their honor. Paredes and Santana one on the force for more than two decades and the other for just months were both were raised in and worked for the city of El Monte, a suburb of 107,000 people in the San Gabriel Valley. They became only the third and fourth officers in the El Monte Police Departments history to die in the line of duty. A vigil is scheduled for Saturday. Flores was on probation for a gun charge at the time of the shooting, which occurred a day after his probation officer requested that he return to court later in the month, court records show. The coroners office has not yet released the name of the suspect but the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office identified Flores to The Associated Press. Mourners on Wednesday left bouquets, wreaths of flowers and candles outside the El Monte police station to honor the fallen officers. Corporal Paredes and Officer Santana paid the ultimate sacrifice, the city of El Monte wrote in a news release, while in performance of a noble profession, serving the community they loved. Flores, 35, served two stints in state prison for vehicle theft and burglary, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and was most recently released in 2012. In March 2020, Flores was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possession of narcotics for personal use. He pleaded guilty last year to being a felon in possession of a firearm, a felony charge that could have sent him back to prison for three years. Instead he was sentenced to two years of probation and 20 days in jail and LA County District Attorney George Gascon, who is facing a recall effort for his progressive policies, is facing criticism for Flores' plea deal. The sentence he received in the firearm case was consistent with case resolutions for this type of offense given his criminal history and the nature of the offense, the DA's office said in a statement Wednesday. "At the time the court sentenced him, Mr. Flores did not have a documented history of violence." Court records obtained by AP do not specify why Flores' probation officer had requested Monday that he return to court; records show that a hearing was scheduled for June 27. The county's probation department declined to comment and Flores' attorney in the case did not return a request for comment on Wednesday. But the Los Angeles Times reported that Flores had violated his probation, triggering the return to court. Few details have emerged about what occurred during Tuesday's violence. The officers went to the Siesta Inn in El Monte, east of Los Angeles, around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, for a welfare check where a woman had possibly been stabbed. The officers "confronted the suspect, Los Angeles County sheriffs homicide Capt. Andrew Meyer said Tuesday. Gunfire erupted inside a motel room and the gunman then fled into the parking lot, where more gunfire was exchanged, Meyer said. Meyer said he didnt know whether the officers were shot inside the motel or outside. They died at a hospital. A gun was found at the scene. Meyer said investigators were interviewing a woman from the hotel who they believe was the suspects girlfriend. Diana Flores, who described herself as the suspects wife and had his first name tattooed on her chest, told KCBS that officers must have been reacting to a false call because she hadn't been stabbed on Tuesday. I got stabbed the day before that, she told the TV station. Paredes, 42, started as a cadet in the department before becoming a full-time officer in 2000, according to a news release. He is survived by his wife, daughter and son. Santana, 31, had been with the El Monte force for less than a year when he was killed. He previously served as a deputy with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department for three years, the news release stated. This tragic loss hits close to home for us," the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department wrote on Twitter. He was a great partner and loved by all who knew him. Santana also worked as a part-time public works employee for El Monte for six years before turning to law enforcement. He is survived by his wife, daughter and twin sons. El Monte interim Police Chief Ben Lowry on Tuesday called the officers heroes. These two men were loved," Lowry said. They were good men. They paid the ultimate sacrifice, serving their community trying to help somebody." They were murdered by a coward and we are grieving, and that hurts," he said. El Monte Mayor Jessica Ancona said the officers died while trying to keep a family safe. The killings came just one day after a California Highway Patrol officer was shot and critically wounded during a traffic stop in the Studio City area of Los Angeles. The 27-year-old officer is expected to recover, authorities said. A bloodhound helped police track down the suspect, who surrendered to police Tuesday in a homeless encampment in the San Fernando Valley. ___ Dazio reported from Los Angeles. News researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed from New York City. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge on Wednesday convicted a Confederate flag-toting man and his son of charges that they stormed the U.S. Capitol together during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, to obstruct Congress from certifying Joe Bidens presidential victory. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden delivered the verdict from the bench after hearing two days of testimony without a jury for the trial of Kevin Seefried and his adult son, Hunter. McFadden convicted both Delaware men of a felony count: obstruction of an official proceeding, the joint session of Congress for certifying the Electoral College that day. The judge also convicted the Seefrieds of misdemeanor charges that they engaged in disorderly conduct and illegally demonstrated inside the building. But he acquitted Hunter Seefried of other misdemeanor charges for clearing a shard of glass from a broken window at the Capitol. They will remain free pending separate sentencing hearings in September. McFadden, whom President Donald Trump nominated for the court in 2017, presided over two previous bench trials for Capitol riot defendants. He acquitted one of all charges and partially acquitted another. Widely published photographs showed Kevin Seefried carrying a Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol after he and Hunter Seefried, then 22, entered the building through a broken window. McFadden rejected the defense argument that Kevin Seefried never intended to interfere with the congressional proceedings. I find that he knew what he was doing, McFadden said. The judge described Kevin Seefreid as the prime mover in their decision to go to Washington on Jan. 6. McFadden said Hunter Seefried's guilt on the obstruction charge was a closer question, but the judge ultimately concluded that the son engaged in aggravated conduct that supported a conviction. Hunter Seefried showed a pattern of deception and minimization of his actions when an FBI agent interviewed him after the riot, McFadden said. FBI agents said they did not find any evidence linking Kevin Seefried or his son to any far-right extremist groups. Kevin Seefried told an agent that he did not view the Confederate flag as a symbol of racist hate. The trial included the first public testimony of Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, who has been lauded for his bravery during the Jan. 6 attack by a mob of Trump supporters. Goodman led a group of rioters away from the Senate chamber as senators and then-Vice President Mike Pence were being evacuated. He also directed Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, to turn around and head away from the mob. Goodman encountered Kevin Seefried before the mob chased the officer up a set of stairs, a harrowing episode captured on video. The officer said the elder Seefried cursed at him and jabbed at him with the base end of his flagpole three or four times without making contact with him. Another Capitol police officer who confronted the mob near the Senate chamber recalled that Kevin Seefried asked, Why are you protecting them? I assumed he was talking about Congress, Officer Brian Morgan testified. The Seefrieds were not charged with assaulting any officers. Neither defendant testified at their trial. The father and son traveled to Washington from their home in Laurel, Delaware, to hear Trumps speech at the Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6. They were among the first rioters to approach the building near the Senate Wing Door, according to prosecutors. After watching other rioters use a police shield and a wooden plank to break a window, Hunter Seefried used a gloved fist to clear a shard of glass in one of the broken windowpanes, prosecutors said. But the judge found that two other rioters had destroyed the window before Seefried cleared the shard. McFadden convicted the Seefrieds of four misdemeanor charges: entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a Capitol building or grounds, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The judge acquitted Hunter Seefried of three other misdemeanor counts: destruction of government property, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with physical violence against property, and acts of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or building. The Seefrieds, who waived their right to jury trial, were the first Capitol riot defendants to get a bench trial on a felony charge. In April, McFadden acquitted New Mexico resident Matthew Martin of misdemeanor charges that he illegally entered the Capitol and engaged in disorderly conduct after he walked into the building. In March, McFadden acquitted a New Mexico elected official, Couy Griffin, of engaging in disorderly conduct but convicted him of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds. McFadden is scheduled to sentence Griffin on Friday. Also on Wednesday, a bench trial concluded for Jesus Rivera, a Pensacola, Florida, man charged with four riot-related misdemeanors. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she intends to issue a written verdict later this week, according to Guy Womack, an attorney for Rivera. McFadden has criticized prosecutors handling of Capitol riot cases. He suggested that the Justice Department has been unjustly tougher on Capitol riot defendants compared with people arrested at protests against police brutality and racial injustice after George Floyds 2020 murder by a Minneapolis police officer. More than 800 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack. Juries have unanimously convicted five Capitol riot defendants of all charges. More than 300 other defendants have pleaded guilty to riot offenses, mostly misdemeanors. Approximately 100 others have trial dates in 2022 or 2023. HARTFORD A city man previously convicted of armed robbery was charged recently with illegally possessing a gun, according to federal prosecutors. A federal grand jury in New Haven returned the indictment charging Shaquil Gary, 29, of New Haven, on June 8. He pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Richardson in Hartford Tuesday, according to U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery. Gary has been detained since his arrest on related state charges on April 19, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. The indictment alleges that Gary had a loaded 9mm pistol on the day of his arrest. His criminal history includes a federal felony conviction for armed robbery of a person in lawful control of property of the United States, and state felony convictions for the sale and possession of narcotics, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. His previous convictions make it illegal for him to have a gun. If convicted of this charge, Gary faces up to 10 years in prison. He also could see additional penalties if he is found to have violated the conditions of his federal supervised release, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CHICAGO (AP) People flocked to pools, beaches and cooling centers in a swath of the Midwest and South spanning from northern Florida to the Great Lakes on Wednesday as a heat wave pushed temperatures into the 90s and beyond and may have caused the deaths of at least two people. The National Weather Service maintained an excessive heat warning through Wednesday evening for most of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, which have been dealing with the sticky humidity and soaring temperatures since Tuesday. And the heat advisory in place for the Midwest and South stretched all the way eastward to the South Carolina shoreline, covering an area that is home to roughly a third of the country's population. Meteorologists warned that the high temperatures could be dangerous or deadly for some people and advised residents to stay hydrated, remain indoors if possible and take precautions if they must be outside. Driving home the point, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiners Office tweeted Wednesday that it was investigating the deaths of an 89-year-old man and 39-year-old woman for probable connections to the heat. There are a lot of vulnerable populations exposed to this heat, University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd said. "I am particularly concerned about the elevated nighttime temperature. Thats what kills people if they are not adequately prepared or have the appropriate resources. Hurricanes get the headlines, but heat kills more people every year in the U.S. As temperatures soared into the 90s in downtown Indianapolis on Wednesday, Gary Lightle kneeled on the hot steps of the Indiana World War Memorial to replace some aging caulking. He wore a wide-brimmed hat and began his work day around 7 a.m. but said the heat dictates how long he stays outside. Yesterday it just got so miserable that we decided to quit at 3, he said. Foreman CJ Thrashers workday starts even earlier around 5 a.m., he said, to beat the heat with usually a 2 p.m. wrap-up. Thrasher worked quickly to apply glue to the side of a stone wall on W Ohio Street. In the heat, the sealant stiffens faster than in cooler weather, he said, so the glue becomes less malleable. With this heat, just like that, its done, Thrasher said, setting a small tile on an open space in the wall. For those off the clock, Wednesday's heat inspired trips to the beach, river, pool or splash pad, launching the summer swimming season a bit earlier than usual in some northern locales. Authorities throughout the affected area encouraged people without access to air conditioning to use public cooling centers, libraries and other public places to escape from the heat and humidity. Some areas were expected to get relief by Thursday. But the hot weather moving out could bring severe thunderstorms Wednesday to Iowa, Wisconsin and points eastward, including Michigan, according to the weather service's Storm Prediction Center. Those storms could dump large hail or spawn tornadoes or damaging straight-line winds. Utilities sorted out many of the power outages caused by storms that swept through the Midwest early in the week, but more than 200,000 customers remained without power still as of Wednesday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us. Joe Champion said he'd experienced intermittent outages at his home in Columbus, Ohio, since Tuesday afternoon. Champion, 38, said he spent part of Tuesday evening in his car running the air conditioning, despite soaring gas prices in the U.S. There was just no way I could sit in the house, he said. Meanwhile, crews worked to restore water service Wednesday to the West Texas city of Odessa, where residents have gone without it this week amid scorching temperatures because an aging pipe broke. ___ Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein in Washington, Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee, Arleigh Rodgers in Indianapolis and Claire Savage in Chicago contributed to this report. Rodgers and Savage are corps members for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) A man carrying a Confederate battle flag stormed the U.S. Capitol with his son because they intended to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Bidens 2020 electoral victory, prosecutors argued Tuesday at the close of the men's trial. A federal judge, not a jury, will decide if Delaware residents Kevin Seefried and his adult son, Hunter, are guilty of a felony obstruction charge and several misdemeanor offenses stemming from the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden didn't immediately issue a verdict from the bench after hearing attorneys' closing arguments. He told them to return to court on Wednesday afternoon. Defense attorneys argued that the Seefrieds had no intention of disrupting the joint session for Congress to certify the Electoral College vote when they entered the Capitol. Widely published photographs showed Kevin Seefried carrying a Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol after he and Hunter Seefried, then 22, entered the building through a broken window. Eugene Ohm, one of Kevin Seefried's lawyers, drew a distinction between rioters who merely trespassed and those who went inside the Capitol to interfere with Congress. Ohm said prosecutors have sometimes blurred that line, including in the Seefrieds' case. Edson Bostic, Hunter Seefried's attorney, said prosecutors are asking McFadden to take a lot of leaps without evidence that his client intended to stop the vote count on Jan. 6. No one said that he was angry, Bostic said. No one said that he was hostile or aggressive in his interaction with the Capitol police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benet Kearney said the Seefrieds' conduct and words, captured on video, made their intentions crystal clear. They thought the election was stolen and they were upset about it, Kearney said. McFadden, whom President Donald Trump nominated in 2017, presided over two previous bench trials for Capitol riot defendants. He acquitted one of all charges and partially acquitted another. The Seefrieds' trial included the first public testimony of Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, who has been lauded for his bravery during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of Trump supporters. Goodman led a group of rioters away from the Senate chamber as senators and then-Vice President Mike Pence were being evacuated. He also directed Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, to turn around and head away from the mob. Goodman encountered Kevin Seefried before the mob chased the officer up a set of stairs. The officer said the elder Seefried cursed at him and jabbed at him with the base end of his flagpole three or four times without making contact with him. Another Capitol police officer who confronted the mob near the Senate chamber recalled that Kevin Seefried asked, Why are you protecting them? I assumed he was talking about Congress, Officer Brian Morgan testified. The charges against both Kevin and Hunter Seefried include one felony count: obstruction of an official proceeding. They werent charged with assaulting any officers. Neither defendant testified at their trial. The father and son traveled to Washington from their home in Laurel, Delaware, to hear Trumps speech at the Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6. They were among the first rioters to approach the building near the Senate Wing Door, according to prosecutors. After watching other rioters use a police shield and a wooden plank to break a window, Hunter Seefried used a gloved fist to clear a shard of glass in one of the broken windowpanes, prosecutors said. FBI agents said they didnt find any evidence linking Kevin Seefried or his son to any far-right extremist groups. Kevin Seefried told an agent that he didnt view the Confederate flag as a symbol of racist hate. In April, McFadden acquitted New Mexico resident Matthew Martin of misdemeanor charges that he illegally entered the Capitol and engaged in disorderly conduct after he walked into the building. In March, McFadden acquitted a New Mexico elected official, Couy Griffin, of engaging in disorderly conduct but convicted him of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds. Separately on Tuesday, a former city councilman in West Virginia was sentenced to 45 days in prison for breaching the Capitol during the riot. Eric Barber was sentenced by a federal judge in Washington for his December guilty plea to a misdemeanor count of illegally entering the Capitol. Barber also was given a seven-day sentence, which the judge suspended, for stealing a portable battery charger from a media stand inside the Capitol. Barber was ordered to pay $500 restitution for damage done to the Capitol and for the cost of the charger. More than 800 cases have been brought so far in the largest prosecution in Justice Department history. So far, the criminal investigation has focused primarily on the hundreds of Trump supporters who broke through police barricades, shattered windows, attacked officers and stormed into the Capitol. More than 300 other defendants have pleaded guilty to riot offenses, mostly misdemeanors. Approximately 100 others have trial dates in 2022 or 2023. As he prepares to strike a nuclear weapon at any moment, Kim Jong Un has given a terrifying message to the West. It comes despite the United States threatening to "respond quickly" with allies if North Korea's ruler conducts a nuclear test. North Korea has finalized preparations for a second nuclear test, according to South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, and the only way to stop it is for the ruler to make a political choice. Kim Jong Un Is Feared To Conduct 8th Nuclear Test Following conversations with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, the senior diplomat warned the North would pay a high price if it went through, amid worries Kim Jong Un might conduct his eighth nuclear test within days. Last week, US and South Korean officials indicated simply that North Korea was approaching completion of such preparations and encouraged Kim Jong Un to "make the right decision." Park did not specify what measures the North would face or how the deterrence strategy would alter, The Sun reported. However, according to Blinken, the US and treaty allies South Korea and Japan might modify their military positions as a result. "The pressure will be maintained, continued, and, when required, enhanced," he continued. Kim Jong Un, who was spotted on Sunday smoking on a cigarette while holding a meeting after firing long-range artillery into the sea near South Korea, is ready to negotiations without preconditions, according to Park and Blinken. However, Blinken bemoaned that North Korea continues to rebuff offers for discussion, echoing statements made by a number of US officials in recent days. Park and Blinken decided to reactivate an extended deterrence working group, a policy body that deals with the US nuclear umbrella that protects South Korea, as soon as possible. He stated the committee is in charge of deploying strategic assets as needed, but he didn't elaborate. Blinken stated that Washington was prepared to change its military posture in the short and long term as needed, as per Mirror. Blinken predicted that the working group will resume operations in the coming weeks, and that Washington and Seoul were committed to discussing how to broaden the scope and extent of their joint military exercises. North Korea's first female foreign minister, crucial nuclear negotiator Choe Son Hui, was appointed last week, according to Blinken, but the US approach to a country is based on its policies, not individuals. Last week, China's UN representative said that Beijing did not want to see another North Korean nuclear test, which is one of the reasons it rejected a US-led effort to put further UN sanctions on Pyongyang. Sanctions on Pyongyang for launching new ballistic missiles. Ambassador Zhang Jun, on the other hand, cautioned against forming assumptions about Beijing's reaction to a seventh test, which Washington has warned may occur "at any time." Read Also: [Report] Vladimir Putin Urgently Needed Medical Assistance After Video Showing Russian President Uncontrollably Shaking While Presenting Medal North Korea's Previous Nuclear Tests China and Russia have been pressing for an easing of sanctions on North Korea in recent years, purportedly for humanitarian reasons and in the aim of persuading Pyongyang to resume talks. According to Daily Mail, North Korea has conducted seven nuclear tests in its history, all of which took place beneath Mount Mantap at the Punggye-Ri detonation site. The first occurred in 2006, while Kim Jong Un's grandfather, Kim Jong Il, was in power, and the most recent occurred in September 2017. Punggye-Ri was considered to have been largely destroyed in the last detonation, which erupted with a force of up to 280 kilotons of TNT - about 20 times that of Hiroshima's atomic bomb. Mount Mantap seemed to have partially fallen on satellite pictures, leading to concerns that tunnels beneath it had also caved in. Those fears were confirmed when Kim Jong Un volunteered to put the facility on hold as a goodwill gesture ahead of meetings with Trump. The gates to the site, as well as another nuclear testing site, were then blown up with TNT explosives, according to North Korean official media. However, repairs have been happening there since at least March of this year, according to the US and South Korean governments. Following recent leadership changes in both capitals, Washington and Seoul have become increasingly optimistic on North Korean nuclear tests. When the North recently tested eight smaller missiles, the allies retaliated by shooting eight of their own. Twenty American and South Korean fighter planes, including the latest-generation F-35 stealth jets, took part in drills over the Yellow Sea the next day, Seoul claimed, to demonstrate its "overwhelming reaction" to any threats. Despite limited resources, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has increased his weapons development since taking office in 2011. North Korea might claim the capacity to create small bombs that could be grouped on a multiwarhead ICBM or fitted on short-range missiles that could reach South Korea and Japan with its next test, experts warn. Related Article: Kim Jong Un Humiliated After North Korea's Missile Hits Own City; Pyongyang's Ruling Party Meets Amid Expectation of Another Nuclear Test @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. State lawmakers say a Hearst Connecticut Media Group investigation into state police misconduct underscores the importance of major legislative reforms they approved in 2020 and raises questions about if more should be done to bring additional accountability to policing. These incidents make clear that police misconduct is a serious problem in Connecticut, undermining our ability to trust law enforcement to keep our communities safe, said State Sen. Will Haskell, D-Westport and a member of the Judiciary Committee. His colleague, State Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven and a co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said lawmakers will closely monitor how state and local police respond to the Police Accountability Act passed in 2020. Now, we need to reassess and see if there is more we should do, Winfield said. The three-part Hearst Connecticut Media series, which published online this month, closely examined internal state police records that had largely been shielded from public view in recent years. The records detailed hundreds of cases of alleged wrongdoing by troopers, including dozens of allegations the department considered to be potentially criminal in nature between 2015 and 2020 before the accountability act went into effect. The stories seem to indicate that the accountability bill and transparency bill has helped us to get vision on state troopers that we didnt have before, Winfield said. The coverage focused on 340 cases that the department classified in the most serious of three categories of allegations. In nearly two-thirds of those cases, Internal Affairs investigators recommended internal charges to be sustained, or upheld, against the accused officers. Hearst Connecticut Media found that troopers were disciplined after being accused of a range of offenses, including excessive force, failing to investigate alleged crimes, conducting improper searches, driving cruisers and personal vehicles while intoxicated, violating protective orders, threatening, theft and fighting with colleagues. The most frequent punishment issued was a negative written report thats placed in an officers personnel file for a year. Law enforcement experts interviewed for the series questioned whether the discipline issued in some cases was too light. Winfield said the punishment given to police officers who violate the rules is still a work in progress. In general, the punishments we see are too low, Winfield said. The behaviors we see repeat themselves more than we should see. It's important that punishment be real for a crime. We give them immense power, and we recognize what that means. Assessing past reforms State lawmakers said they want to take more time to assess the impact of the 2020 reforms before enacting more major changes. State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport and co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the Hearst Connecticut Media investigation in many respects justified the changes we pushed for, in passing the 2020 police accountability legislation. Asked if more police reform is needed, Stafstrom said he wants to first see if the accountability act is sufficient. The changes in respect to the state police were significant, Stafstrom said. Now, we need to let some time pass to see the impact before making major changes. Haskell also pointed to the accountability act as an important step in needed reforms. Im proud to have voted for it, Haskell said. Sunshine is the best disinfectant, and bringing these stories to light will help usher in a culture that will not accept a slap on the wrist as suitable punishment for serious breaches of public trust. Among many provisions, the new law established an added layer of oversight for the state police with the creation of the Office of Inspector General to investigate serious violations and recommend that officers be fired. Winfield said: With police accountability, there is always something else to be done. There is a belief that police will protect its own so we created the Office of Inspector General, and now need to see how effective that is. Several Republican leaders in the state Legislature who opposed the accountability act did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. The law also requires police to intervene if they witness improper behavior, such as excessive use of force, and report those officers to superiors. And the accountability act placed state police under the control of the state Police Officer Standards and Training Council, which Stafstrom said is vital to changing how the agency operates. A key piece was the ability to decertify [officers] for conduct unbecoming, Stafstrom explained. The union said, what is unbecoming? Well, 300 complaints is exactly what we were referring to. The POST Council establishes training standards for the state police academy, provides officers with the license to work as a cop and sets the rules under which they perform their duties. Prior to the new law, state police had their own training, certification and rule making system, while local police were under the oversight of the POST Council. Mike Lawlor, a criminal justice professor at the University of New Haven and a POST Council member, said putting state police under the councils authority marked a major change. Its clear that this is resulting in some significant changes in the culture within the state police, Lawlor said. Changing the culture Lawlor said modern policing requires an understanding that respect is earned, which means troopers and local police must resist any urge to lash out at suspects when they feel they have been disrespected. Lawlor said several excessive use of force cases highlighted in the Hearst Connecticut Media series showed how in some cases officers responded violently when challenged by suspects and how they egged on those suspects with name calling and other verbal interactions. There is a sense that: Because I have a badge you have to respect my authority, Lawlor said. But things have changed everywhere, and you dont automatically get respect. You have to earn peoples respect. Winfield noted the only way to truly change how police operate is to change the culture within agencies. My point was to put the guardrail in place so when new people came in it didnt match the old system that was in place, Winfield said. You create those boundaries so the culture has to shift, he continued. Ten to 15 years from now a police officer is going to know that when people use excessive force, they have to report it. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A leading transgender health association has lowered its recommended minimum age for starting gender transition treatment, including sex hormones and surgeries. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health said hormones could be started at age 14, two years earlier than the groups previous advice, and some surgeries done at age 15 or 17, a year or so earlier than previous guidance. The group acknowledged potential risks but said it is unethical and harmful to withhold early treatment. The association provided The Associated Press with an advance copy of its update ahead of publication in a medical journal, expected later this year. The international group promotes evidence-based standards of care and includes more than 3,000 doctors, social scientists and others involved in transgender health issues. The update is based on expert opinion and a review of scientific evidence on the benefits and harms of transgender medical treatment in teens whose gender identity doesnt match the sex they were assigned at birth, the group said. Such evidence is limited but has grown in the last decade, the group said, with studies suggesting the treatments can improve psychological well-being and reduce suicidal behavior. Starting treatment earlier allows transgender teens to experience physical puberty changes around the same time as other teens, said Dr. Eli Coleman, chair of the groups standards of care and director of the University of Minnesota Medical Schools human sexuality program. But he stressed that age is just one factor to be weighed. Emotional maturity, parents consent, longstanding gender discomfort and a careful psychological evaluation are among the others. Certainly there are adolescents that do not have the emotional or cognitive maturity to make an informed decision, he said. That is why we recommend a careful multidisciplinary assessment. The updated guidelines include recommendations for treatment in adults, but the teen guidance is bound to get more attention. It comes amid a surge in kids referred to clinics offering transgender medical treatment, along with new efforts to prevent or restrict the treatment. Many experts say more kids are seeking such treatment because gender-questioning children are more aware of their medical options and facing less stigma. Critics, including some from within the transgender treatment community, say some clinics are too quick to offer irreversible treatment to kids who would otherwise outgrow their gender-questioning. Psychologist Erica Anderson resigned her post as a board member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health last year after voicing concerns about sloppy treatment given to kids without adequate counseling. She is still a group member and supports the updated guidelines, which emphasize comprehensive assessments before treatment. But she says dozens of families have told her that doesnt always happen. They tell me horror stories. They tell me, Our child had 20 minutes with the doctor'" before being offered hormones, she said. "The parents leave with their hair on fire. Estimates on the number of transgender youth and adults worldwide vary, partly because of different definitions. The association's new guidelines say data from mostly Western countries suggest a range of between a fraction of a percent in adults to up to 8% in kids. Anderson said shes heard recent estimates suggesting the rate in kids is as high as 1 in 5 which she strongly disputes. That number likely reflects gender-questioning kids who arent good candidates for lifelong medical treatment or permanent physical changes, she said. Still, Anderson said she condemns politicians who want to punish parents for allowing their kids to receive transgender treatment and those who say treatment should be banned for those under age 18. Thats just absolutely cruel, she said. Dr. Marci Bowers, the transgender health groups president-elect, also has raised concerns about hasty treatment, but she acknowledged the frustration of people who have been "forced to jump through arbitrary hoops and barriers to treatment by gatekeepers ... and subjected to scrutiny that is not applied to another medical diagnosis. Gabe Poulos, 22, had breast removal surgery at age 16 and has been on sex hormones for seven years. The Asheville, North Carolina, resident struggled miserably with gender discomfort before his treatment. Poulos said hes glad he was able to get treatment at a young age. Transitioning under the roof with your parents so they can go through it with you, thats really beneficial, he said. Im so much happier now. In South Carolina, where a proposed law would ban transgender treatments for kids under age 18, Eli Bundy has been waiting to get breast removal surgery since age 15. Now 18, Bundy just graduated from high school and is planning to have surgery before college. Bundy, who identifies as nonbinary, supports easing limits on transgender medical care for kids. Those decisions are best made by patients and patient families and medical professionals, they said. It definitely makes sense for there to be fewer restrictions, because then kids and physicians can figure it out together. Dr. Julia Mason, an Oregon pediatrician who has raised concerns about the increasing numbers of youngsters who are getting transgender treatment, said too many in the field are jumping the gun. She argues there isn't strong evidence in favor of transgender medical treatment for kids. In medicine ... the treatment has to be proven safe and effective before we can start recommending it, Mason said. Experts say the most rigorous research studies comparing treated kids with outcomes in untreated kids would be unethical and psychologically harmful to the untreated group. The new guidelines include starting medication called puberty blockers in the early stages of puberty, which for girls is around ages 8 to 13 and typically two years later for boys. That's no change from the group's previous guidance. The drugs delay puberty and give kids time to decide about additional treatment; their effects end when the medication is stopped. The blockers can weaken bones, and starting them too young in children assigned males at birth might impair sexual function in adulthood, although long-term evidence is lacking. The update also recommends: Sex hormones estrogen or testosterone starting at age 14. This is often lifelong treatment. Long-term risks may include infertility and weight gain, along with strokes in trans women and high blood pressure in trans men, the guidelines say. Breast removal for trans boys at age 15. Previous guidance suggested this could be done at least a year after hormones, around age 17, although a specific minimum ag wasn't listed. Most genital surgeries starting at age 17, including womb and testicle removal, a year earlier than previous guidance. The Endocrine Society, another group that offers guidance on transgender treatment, generally recommends starting a year or two later, although it recently moved to start updating its own guidelines. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association support allowing kids to seek transgender medical treatment, but they dont offer age-specific guidance. Dr. Joel Frader, a Northwestern University a pediatrician and medical ethicist who advises a gender treatment program at Chicagos Lurie Childrens Hospital, said guidelines should rely on psychological readiness, not age. Frader said brain science shows that kids are able to make logical decisions by around age 14, but theyre prone to risk-taking and they take into account long-term consequences of their actions only when theyre much older. Coleen Williams, a psychologist at Boston Childrens Hospitals Gender Multispecialty Service, said treatment decisions there are collaborative and individualized. Medical intervention in any realm is not a one-size-fits-all option," Williams said. ___ Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at @LindseyTanner. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate When Mystic's Port of Call opened on Water Street in March, proprietor Dan Meiser said his goal was to have it recognized as one of the best bars in the United States. "We make no bones about it," said Meiser, whose 85th Day Food Community operates restaurants including Oyster Club and Engine Room. "We are trying to put this place on the map as one of the premier cocktail bars in the country. We're really trying to do that. It's a bold endeavor, but we know what's out there." It only took three months. The bar was recently named to Esquire Magazine's 2022 list of the "Best Bars in America." Lisa Nichols/Hearst CT Media, Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst Connecticut Media Lisa Nichols/Hearst CT Media, Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst Connecticut Media Lisa Nichols/Hearst CT Media, Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst Connecticut Media Renee Touponce has created international small plates inspired by port cities around the world. The Dive Bar, on the second level of Port of Call, features a full-color mural of a deep sea diver. The cocktails crafted by Jade Ayala are also inspired by port cities, and are paired with each food item. Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst CT Media "Could you take a trip to this coastal town just to visit one bar? You will quickly discover that theres a thriving food-and-drink scene to fill your days, but should you make a stop only at the Port of Call, you will be, well, a happy sailor," wrote Kevin Sintumuang, Esquire's lifestyle and culture director. Sintumuang referenced the "next level" drinks by Jade Ayala and Sebastian Guerrero as "pure alchemy," with "rice koji, pet-nats, and spirits and infusions custom-made with the help of the experimental lab at the nearby Real McCoy Spirits distillery." Chef Renee Touponce's global plates from port cities also get a nod, with shoutouts to squid ink empanadas and the kimchi and bonito aioli-topped hot dog served in the basement's "Dive Bar." Port of Call is led by beverage director Ayala, who also heads up the bar program at Oyster Club; Touponce, Oyster Club's executive chef, who's crafted a worldly assortment of cocktail-driven food pairings, and general manager Nancy Hankins. Guerrero has worked in acclaimed New York City bars Dante and Mother of Pearl. Upstairs, the stately "saloon" space, designed by Jennifer Pryor, features mahogany walls adorned with portholes, leather-backed chairs and teak floors made from the original deck boards from the Joseph Conrad ship. The star of the room, though, is the gleaming U-shaped bar, constructed with wood reclaimed from the Charles W. Morgan. The last wooden whaleship in the world traveled a million miles over 180 years, so it's known as the "Million Mile Bar," Meiser said. Lisa Nichols/Hearst CT Media, Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst Connecticut Media Lisa Nichols/Hearst CT Media, Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst Connecticut Media Lisa Nichols/Hearst CT Media, Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst Connecticut Media Lisa Nichols/Hearst CT Media, Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst Connecticut Media Assorted plates from Mystic's Port of Call, including boquerones, papas rellenas, Singapore grilled mushroom salad and squid ink empanadas. Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst CT Media One level down, the atmosphere transforms from opulent to casual. The Dive Bar on the basement level takes on two connotations: a laid-back lounge, with a tribute to the region's deep sea diving history. A full-color mural of a deep sea diver overlooks tabletop arcade games, and framed historical photos of divers hang above a shuffleboard game. Port of Call's drinks draw inspiration from port cities in the United States, the Caribbean, South America, Europe and southeast Asia. Ayala's menu features takes on a Cuba Libre, made with Real McCoy aged rum, housemade cola syrup and ancho and guajillo chiles, and tropical presentations with pineapple Campari, passion fruit and reduced coconut milk. A savory Manhattan with rye gets umami flavor from mushrooms, brined in shio koji and blended with Zucca amaro to make a vermouth, Ayala explained. Touponce's street food menu spans several continents: bacalaitos (salted fluke fritters with cilantro foam), pork pinchos and the empanadas inspired by Puerto Rico; a Singapore-style grilled mushroom salad, papas rellenas from Peru and Spanish-style boquerones, which she makes by curing local smelts with vinegar and herbs. Yeosu, South Korea gets a nod with a warm hotteok pancake, made with cinnamon, sugar and walnuts. Lisa Nichols/Hearst CT Media, Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst Connecticut Media Lisa Nichols/Hearst CT Media, Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst Connecticut Media The Kind & Generous cocktail from Port of Call in Mystic, made with Berkshire gin, nixta corn liqueur, rice koji apertivo, milk liquor, hopped grapefruit bitters and citrus foam. A Cuba Libre #2, a nitro rum and Coke, is made with Real McCoy aged rum, housemade cola syrup, cinnamon, ancho and guajillo chiles, vanilla clove, Applachian fernet and lime. Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst CT Media Ayala and Touponce worked together to pair the small plates and cocktails, with two food suggestions per drink. A "gingery and approachable" Curry Barbados cocktail, with aged rum, ginger, curry, lime, bitter chocolate and fennel bitters, is partnered with papas rellenas and Merguez sausage with tzatziki, for example. Esquire Magazine is no stranger to Mystic's dining scene. In November, its editors chose Nana's Bakery & Pizza as one of its Best New Restaurants in America. Nana's, which specializes in naturally leavened bread and organic sourdough pizzas, opened in October 2020. Nana's fried-to-order sourdough doughnuts, in flavors like cinnamon sugar, cardamom espresso and savory cacio e pepe, "taste like melting cumulus clouds," wrote Jeff Gordinier, the magazine's former food and drink editor. He also praised its New England pizza with clams and bacon, writing that it "tastes like clam chowder if it spent a few months in Italy and had an epiphany in Naples." Port of Call is at 15 Water Street in Mystic, next door to Oyster Club. It's open Wednesday through Friday starting at 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Follow updates at @theportofcallct. WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced the appointment of former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as a top adviser, filling a key White House role at a politically important time in the runup to November elections that could determine the fate of the his agenda. Bottoms will become director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, adding the advice and counsel of a Black woman to Biden's inner circle. She succeeds Cedric Richmond, a former Louisiana congressman who in April left for a senior role at the Democratic National Committee. Bottoms joins at a challenging time for the White House, with Bidens public approval rating at the lowest of his presidency while consumer prices and the cost of gasoline keeps rising, factors that are complicating Democrats chances of retaining control of Congress in the November midterm elections. Biden, in a statement Wednesday, praised Bottoms' stewardship of her city through the pandemic, a summer of protests following the police killings of unarmed Black men, and through a mass shooting that targeted Asian Americans, killing six women. Mayor Bottoms understands that democracy is about making government work for working families, for the people who are the backbone in this country, he said. Keisha is bright, honorable, tough and has the integrity required to represent our administration to the American public. In her new role, Bottoms will be in regular touch with a range of constituency groups at the local, state and national levels, bringing their feedback to the president. Bottoms, 52, was an early supporter of Biden's presidential bid, and was considered as a possible running mate before Biden added then-Sen. Kamala Harris to the ticket. Bottoms stunned Georgias political establishment in 2021 when she announced she wouldnt run for reelection, amid a spike in homicides and strife over a police officer shooting a man in a fast food parking lot in 2020. Bottoms became the first Atlanta mayor since World War II to not seek a second term. She told reporters she had been thinking about limiting herself to one four-year term since shortly after she was elected in 2017, saying she was listening to the divine voice that lives inside each of us. Bottoms left the mayor's office in January 2022 and became a CNN commentator. - Associated Press writer Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report. June 14 is Flag Day, which marks the day the United States decided on stars and stripes for the design of the American flag in 1777. The day was first publicly celebrated by Nutmeggers over a century and a half ago. Hartford resident George Morris was the first known person to suggest a day to celebrate the flag as the country faced its first year of the Civil War, according to "Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History." On Morris' suggestion, Hartford reportedly celebrated the day on June 14, 1861. During the event, residents prayed for the continuation of the Union and the success of the Federal Arms, Live Science reports. The tradition has been continued all over Connecticut with events this year including in Ridgefield, Southbury and Willington, which hosted their first-ever Flag Day celebration on Tuesday. During these celebrations, the American Flag is hoisted into the air. Connecticut officials like Gov. Ned Lamont and State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff have acknowledged the day over the years. "We also have great CT pride today as one of the first recognized flag days in national history was right here in Hartford on June 14, 1861," Gov. Lamont wrote in a Facebook post last year. Does CT recognize flag day as a legal holiday? Despite its Connecticut origins, Pennsylvania is the only state that recognizes the date as a legal holiday, with government offices and banks closed, which it established on May 7, 1937, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The day was recognized by proclamations by President Woodrow Wilson and President Calvin Coolidge in the early 1900s before President Harry Truman signed legislation into law on Aug. 3, 1949, to nationally observe it. What do the components of the flag represent? The stars on the flag represent the 50 states of the Union and the stripes represent the original 13 colonies. The colors have symbolic meanings as well, with red representing valor, white for purity and blue signaling loyalty, according to the New York State assembly. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) New Mexicos secretary of state on Tuesday asked the state Supreme Court to order the Republican-led commission of rural Otero County to certify primary election results after it refused to do so over distrust of Dominion vote-tallying machines. Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Olive's request came a day after the three-member Otero County commission, in its role as a county canvassing board, voted unanimously against certifying the results of the June 7 primary without raising specific concerns about discrepancies. The commission's members include Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin, who ascribes to unsubstantiated claims that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Griffin was convicted of illegally entering restricted U.S. Capitol grounds though not the building amid the riots on Jan. 6, 2021, and is scheduled for sentencing later this month. He acknowledged that the standoff over this primary could delay the outcome of local election races. I have huge concerns with these voting machines, Otero County Commissioner Vickie Marquardt said Monday. When I certify stuff that I dont know is right, I feel like Im being dishonest because in my heart I dont know if it is right. The commissions vote is the latest example of how conspiracy theories and misinformation are affecting the integrity of local elections across the U.S. Trump has continued to describe the 2020 election as rigged or stolen, despite a coalition of top government and industry officials calling it the "most secure in American history. Dominions systems also have been unjustifiably attacked since the 2020 election by people who embraced the false belief that the election was stolen from Trump. The company has filed defamation lawsuits in response to incorrect and outrageous claims made by high-profile Trump allies. New Mexicos Dominion machines have been disparaged repeatedly by David and Erin Clements of Las Cruces in their review of the 2020 election in Otero County and voter registration rolls at the request of the commission. The Clements are traveling advocates for forensic reviews of the 2020 election and offer their services as election experts and auditors to local governments. Election officials including County Clerk Robyn Holmes say the Clements are not certified auditors nor experts in election protocols. The couple has highlighted problems during sporadic, hourslong presentations to the commission this year. Local election officials dispute many of the findings as mistaken or unfounded. County canvassing boards have until June 17 to certify election results, prior to state certification and preparation of general election ballots. Under state law, county canvass boards can call on a voting precinct board to address specific discrepancies, but no discrepancies were identified on Monday by the Otero commission. The post-election canvassing process is a key component of how we maintain our high levels of election integrity in New Mexico and the Otero County Commission is flaunting that process by appeasing unfounded conspiracy theories and potentially nullifying the votes of every Otero County voter who participated in the primary, Toulouse Oliver said in a statement. She accused the commission of willful violations of the state election code. New Mexico uses paper ballots that can be double-checked later in all elections, and also relies on tabulation machines to rapidly tally votes while minimizing human error. Election results also are audited by random samplings to verify levels of accuracy in the vote count. The Otero County commission voted last week to recount ballots from the statewide primary election by hand, remove state-mandated ballot drop boxes that facilitate absentee voting and discontinue the use of Dominion vote tabulation machines in the general election. On Monday, Holmes said those instructions from the county commissions conflict with state and federal election law, and that she would only recount the election by hand under a court order. The election law does not allow me to hand tally these ballots or to even form a board to do it. I just cant, said Holmes, a Republican. And Im going to follow the law. Holmes noted that the state-owned vote tabulation machines from Dominion are tested by Otero County officials in public view and that the machines also are independently certified in advance. Griffin said he and fellow commissioners don't see the process as trustworthy. Thats a source that we dont have any control or influence over, he said. Mario Jimenez of the progressive watchdog group Common Cause New Mexico said the public can view testing of vote-tallying machines prior to elections in every county, and that certification notices are posted on every machine where voters can see them. They have no basis other than we just dont trust the machine for not certifying the election," Jimenez said of the Otero County commissioners. Though Trump won nearly 62% of the vote in Otero County in 2020, county commissioners have said they are not satisfied with results of the states audit of the vote count nor assurances by their Republican county clerk that elections this year will be accurate. County commissioners could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. Marquardt, the commissioner, laughed Monday at the suggestion that a court might intervene in the election dispute. And so then what? They're going to send us to the pokey? she said. ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) A central Indiana school district that adopted a Native American mascot nearly a century ago has dropped a basketball pregame routine where students dressed as American Indians performed a peace pipe" ceremony. The Anderson Community Schools' athletic teams will continue to use the Indians name and logo, but the pipe routine performed before Anderson High School's basketball games is being eliminated immediately under recommendations unanimously approved Tuesday by the district's school board. Superintendent Dr. Joe Cronk proposed the changes, which include moving toward initiating a formal partnership with the Delaware Tribe of Indians to modernize some of the districts most visible traditions. The district formed a task force this year to review how it represents the Native American history of the city of Anderson, which is named after William Anderson, a former chief of the Delaware (Lenape) Tribe. That review came after a widely-viewed video posted to TikTok in February showed the pregame routine, where a student dressed as the school's American Indian mascot and another dressed as an American Indian maiden perform a dance and a peace pipe is passed among the teams cheerleaders. The video prompted hundreds of people to contact the school and school board to share concerns, support, and feedback, according to the school's internal review, WXIN-TV reported. Really, all the comments that we had cluster around the dance and the peace pipe ritual, Cronk said. The district's review states that, From the start in 1925, the intention behind the Indian symbol at Anderson High School has been to honor Native Americans. But Cronk said Native Americans had told the district that the pregame pipe ceremony was inappropriate. The Delaware tribe of Indians and most Native American tribal members have made it clear through this process that having students or any non-native individuals dressing up in native regalia and performing routines and ceremonies that they hold as a sacred component of their culture is in no way honoring them, he said. Members of the American Indian Movement who attended Tuesdays meeting said that eliminating that pipe routine wasnt enough, The Herald Bulletin reported. They spoke in favor of abandoning not only the pregame routine but also the Indians name and logo. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Rick Bowmer/AP Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Rick Bowmer/AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) Federal authorities have moved up an operation to remove hundreds of wild horses from western Colorado from September to this week, citing poor rangeland conditions that threaten the health of many in the herd. The Bureau of Land Management plans to start the gather in Rio Blanco County's Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area on Thursday, The Daily Sentinel reported. Officials will spend a month using food and water to attract and trap horses, then use helicopters and horseback riders to corral more in July. BRIDGEPORT A local woman, who woke up to find herself coated in baby shampoo with a naked man on top of her could not bring herself to come to court Wednesday and face the man again. Its a humiliating set of facts and was a terrifying ordeal for the victim, Senior Assistant States Attorney David Applegate told Superior Court Judge Kevin Russo as Hiram Heredia stood before the judge for sentencing. The judge then sentenced the 39-year-old Heredia, who previously pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree sexual assault for the 2019 crime, to eight years, suspended after Heredia serves three years in prison and followed by five years of probation. The judge also ordered Heredia to register as a sex offender. The facts of this case are beyond believable but thankfully there were no aggravating facts that we often hear with sexual assaults, the judge said. I wish the victim had been here so that I could apologize to her in person, Heredia told the judge. I am going to take the time while I am incarcerated to reflect on my life. Heredias lawyer, Daniel Ford, told the judge that his client agreed to plead guilty to spare the victim from having to come to court and relive the incident. Applegate said the victim did not oppose the plea bargain but wanted to ensure Heredia admitted what he had done. He said the victim knew Heredia, but they were not involved in a relationship. Police said in January 2019, the woman woke up in her bedroom in the middle of the night and found a man on top of her. When she realized it was not her husband who was asleep in the bed next to her, police said she screamed, and the naked man jumped off the bed. The woman then realized part of her body was coated in baby shampoo, police said. I woke and there was baby soap all over me, she stated, according to police. Police said the woman shook her husband awake and yelled at him that a man had just tried to rape her. The husband got up and ended up chasing the naked Heredia out of the house and down the street before losing him, police said. When officers arrived at the home, they spotted a pile of clothing the assailant had left by the bed. Inside a pants pocket, police said they found a wallet containing Heredias Connecticut identification card and his Social Security card. Tensions between the United States and China continue to be on the rise after American authorities on Tuesday backed Taiwan's assertion that the strait separating the island nation from China is an "international waterway." The remarks come as a further rebuff to Beijing's claim to exercise sovereignty over the strategic passage. Since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949, the Taiwan Strait has been a frequent source of military tension. At the time, they lost a civil war with the communists and then established the People's Republic of China. U.S.-China Relations But in recent years, American warships, and sometimes those from allied nations such as Britain and Canada, have sailed through the strait, drawing Beijing's ire. China's Foreign Ministry on Monday said that the country has "sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction over the Taiwan strait." Chinese authorities called it a "false claim when certain countries call the Taiwan Strait 'international waters.'" On Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price commented on the issue in an email, saying that the Taiwan Strait is an area where high seas freedoms, including freedom of navigation and overflight, are guaranteed under international law, as per Yahoo News. The official added that the world had "an abiding interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and we consider this central to the security and prosperity of the broader Indo-Pacific region." Price reiterated U.S. concerns about China's aggressive rhetoric and coercive activity regarding Taiwan. Read Also: US Security Report: Chinese Hackers Breach Major Telecom Companies, Exploit MS Office Weakness Price added that the United States "would continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, and that includes transiting through the Taiwan Strait." Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou on Tuesday called China's position a "fallacy." According to Newsweek, the situation comes as China accuses the United States of fueling militarization in the Asian region. The deep mistrust between the two nations comes despite Washington's attempts to reassure Beijing about the American military's renewed investment in the Pacific and growing ties with Taiwan. Heightened Tensions The tension also comes after a downturn in bilateral relations with China during the presidency of Donald Trump. Now, President Joe Biden's administration finds itself in an intense, full-spectrum rivalry that includes everything from political governance and trade to technological decoupling and military hard power. Beijing last month showed a willingness to meet what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken termed "competition" between the two nations. However, during a four-and-a-half-hour meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, senior Communist Party official Yang Jiechi told U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that China opposed such a definition. Yang, who heads the office of the CCP's Central Foreign Affairs Commission and is China's top diplomat, said that relations between China and the U.S. were "at a critical crossroads." He noted that instead of competing, the two countries should toward realizing Chinese President Xi Jinping's vision of "mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation." The situation also comes after Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe on Sunday strongly rejected the U.S.'s claims regarding Beijing's actions on the international stage. He said that American authorities were pushing for confrontation and were trying to encircle China, USNI News reported. Related Article: US Officials Pressures European Nations To Challenge China @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UPDATE: The driver of a sedan headed the wrong way on Route 25 on Wednesday was killed in the crash, state police said. The driver was identified as Shahid Malik, of Easton. TRUMBULL Serious injuries were reported Wednesday after a driver heading the wrong way on Route 25 collided head-on with a FedEx vehicle, state police said. The collision occurred between Exit 9 and Route 111, according to the state Department of Transportation. State police said they responded to a reported wrong-way driver on Route 25 around 11:35 a.m. After that call, state police said they began receiving reports that the driver had struck a FedEx truck. Serious injuries were reported, but the extent is unknown at this time, Trooper First Class Pedro A. Muniz said in an email. The state police accident reconstruction unit and the DOT were both on the scene to assist. Photos of the scene sent to Hearst Connecticut Media showed a gray-colored sedan that appeared to have collided head-on with a white van. The front end of both vehicles appeared to have suffered heavy damage in the crash, and charring around the front of the van suggested it may have caught fire. A large number of firefighters and emergency vehicles could be seen at the site of the crash. Trumbull police said state police are handling the investigation. Local police were dispatched to assist. A spokesperson with FedEx said the company is cooperating fully with authorities as they conduct their investigation. Our thoughts and condolences are with all those affected by this tragic incident, the spokesperson said. Police asked drivers to avoid the area. The crash was cleared just before 5:30 p.m., the DOT reported. The incident marks a rare daytime wrong-way crash, which typically occur at night when drivers dont realize they got on the highway going the wrong direction, according to state police. Most of the fatal wrong-way crashes reported over the last two years involved impaired drivers whose blood-alcohol content was over the legal limit, or who had consumed marijuana, state figures show. Check back for updates. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TOKYO (AP) Japan and Australia's defense ministers on Wednesday vowed to step up their ties to support democratic values in the Indo-Pacific region and agreed to work more closely with Southeast Asia and the Pacific island nations where China is seeking to expand its influence. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and his Japanese counterpart, Nobuo Kishi, said that region-wide cooperation is necessary to maintain and strengthen the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific, where there is growing fear that Russia's invasion of Ukraine may embolden China to increase its assertiveness. The ministers talks came just three days after they met in Singapore on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum. It is clear that our region faces the most complex set of strategic circumstances we have had since the end of World War II and what the region does matters, Marles told a joint news conference in Tokyo after holding talks with Kishi. Only by working together can we uphold the rules-based international order, contribute to an effective balance of military power and ensure our region remains stable, peaceful and prosperous, Marles added. Kishi said the two ministers shared their concerns about the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He said they remain strongly opposed to any unilateral change of status quo in the East and South China seas and reaffirmed their commitment to a mutual vision of a free and open international order of the seas. It is important to strengthen our cooperation with our regional partners, especially with ASEAN and the Pacific islands, to maintain and reinforce the free and open Indo-Pacific, he said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Friday, promised to provide about $2 billion in development aid, patrol boats, maritime law enforcement capabilities and other assistance to at least 20 Southeast Asian and Pacific island nations where China is attempting to increase its influence to help them better guard themselves. Kishida has pledged to bolster Japans military capabilities and spending. However, Japans attempt to expand its security role in Asia, where many countries suffered from its aggression during World War II, is a sensitive issue. Japan and Australia in January signed a reciprocal access agreement to allow their troops to enter each others country for training and other military purposes and work more closely together. Japan sees Chinas increasingly assertive military activity in the East and South China seas as a threat in some of the worlds busiest sea lanes. Japan is especially concerned about Chinese military and coast guard activity in the East China Sea near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls Diaoyu. DETROIT (AP) A Michigan police officer charged with murder after shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head has been fired, officials said Wednesday. Christopher Schurr, a Grand Rapids officer for seven years, waived his right to a hearing and was dismissed, effective last Friday, said City Manager Mark Washington. Schurr's dismissal was recommended by police Chief Eric Winstrom after a second-degree murder charge was filed Thursday. Washington declined further comment, noting the criminal case and a likely lawsuit over Lyoya's death. Schurr's attorney, Matt Borgula, said he wasn't representing the officer in the labor matter and had no comment. Lyoya, a Black man, was killed at the end of a traffic stop on April 4. He ran and physically resisted Schurr after failing to produce a driver's license. Schurr, who is white, claimed Lyoya had control of his Taser when he shot him. Defense lawyers said the officer feared for his safety. The confrontation and shooting were recorded on video. Schurr, 31, had been on leave while state police investigated the shooting and prosecutor Chris Becker decided whether to pursue charges. Lyoya's parents had long called for Schurr to be fired. Two words: about time. What took so long? the family's attorney, Ven Johnson, said. They knew this was excessive force and they put him on paid leave while the family buried their son in the middle of the rain. Schurr's personnel file shows no complaints of excessive force but much praise for traffic stops and foot chases that led to arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs. He spent a night in jail before being released on $100,000 bond Friday. Grand Rapids, population about 200,000, is 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Detroit. ___ Find the APs full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Fairfield Fire Department / Contributed Photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Fairfield Fire Department / Contributed Photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 FAIRFIELD A motorcyclist was taken to the hospital with severe injuries after a crash Tuesday, according to the local fire department. Firefighters were called to Catamount Road around 1:45 p.m. for the crash, according to Assistant Fire Chief Erik Kalapir. An ambulance provided advanced life support before taking the patient to an area hospital, the Fairfield Fire Department said in a Facebook post. STAMFORD A New York man pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing more than $60,000 in jewelry from a Westport home. Franco Saladrigas-Garcia, 29, of the Bronx, N.Y, pleaded guilty to first-degree larceny, third-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools at Superior Court in Stamford on Wednesday. The guilty pleas came as a part of deal offered by Superior Court Judge Gary White in May. Saladrigas-Garcia rejected the offer last month, but appeared back in court Wednesday and asked to accept the deal. Under the offer, Saladrigas-Garcia will receive a suspended seven-year sentence, which includes no time served, along with a one-year conditional discharge, which is a form of probation. He will also be required to pay a $10,000 fine by Dec. 14. With the conditional discharge, Saladrigas-Garcia could face up to 26 years in prison if he is arrested, receives any citations, or misses any court dates over the one-year probationary period. Saladrigas-Garcia was arrested on charges of possession of burglary tools, first-degree larceny, third-degree burglary, illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle and two counts of first-degree failure to appear following an April 11, 2020, residential burglary in Westport where more than $60,000 in jewelry was taken. Six days after the theft, police pulled over a vehicle driven by Saladrigas-Garcia on the Merritt Parkway. During the traffic stop, police found several pairs of gloves, a crowbar and a large knife. The crowbar appeared to match the tool used in the Westport burglary, police said at the time. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Fairfield Police Department / Contributed Show More Show Less 2 of 3 File photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 FAIRFIELD Police have charged an employee at the Rose Smoke and Vape Shop on Black Rock Turnpike after they say he sold marijuana and nicotine to minors. Ali Mohamed, 20, of Bronx, N.Y., was charged with possession with intent to sell marijuana and two counts sale of marijuana, Fairfield police said. He was also charged with possession of marijuana. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Scott Skinner-Thompson, University of Colorado Boulder (THE CONVERSATION) Almost all American adults including parents, medical patients and people who are sexually active regularly exercise their right to privacy, even if they dont know it. Privacy is not specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. But for half a century, the Supreme Court has recognized it as an outgrowth of protections for individual liberty. As I have studied in my research on constitutional privacy rights, this implied right to privacy is the source of many of the nations most cherished, contentious and commonly used rights including the right to have an abortion until the courts June 24, 2022, ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson. A key component of liberty The Supreme Court first formally identified what is called decisional privacy the right to independently control the most personal aspects of our lives and our bodies in 1965, saying it was implied from other explicit constitutional rights. For instance, the First Amendment rights of speech and assembly allow people to privately decide what theyll say, and with whom theyll associate. The Fourth Amendment limits government intrusion into peoples private property, documents and belongings. Relying on these explicit provisions, the court concluded in Griswold v. Connecticut that people have privacy rights preventing the government from forbidding married couples from using contraception. In short order, the court clarified its understanding of the constitutional origins of privacy. In the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision protecting the right to have an abortion, the court held that the right of decisional privacy is based in the Constitutions assurance that people cannot be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law. That phrase, called the due process clause, appears twice in the Constitution in the Fifth and 14th Amendments. Decisional privacy also provided the basis for other decisions protecting many crucial, and everyday, activities. The right to privacy protects the ability to have consensual sex without being sent to jail. And privacy buttresses the ability to marry regardless of race or gender. The right to privacy is also key to a persons ability to keep their family together without undue government interference. For example, in 1977, the court relied on the right to private family life to rule that a grandmother could move her grandchildren into her home to raise them even though it violated a local zoning ordinance. Under a combination of privacy and liberty rights, the Supreme Court has also protected a persons freedom in medical decision-making. For example, in 1990, the court concluded that a competent person has a constitutionally protected liberty interest in refusing unwanted medical treatment. Limiting government disclosure The right to decisional privacy is not the only constitutionally protected form of privacy. As then-Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist noted in 1977, the concept of privacy can be a coat of many colors, and quite differing kinds of rights to privacy have been recognized in the law. This includes what is called a right to informational privacy letting a person limit government disclosure of information about them. According to some authority, the right extends even to prominent public and political figures. In one key decision, in 1977, Chief Justice Warren Burger and Rehnquist both conservative justices suggested in dissenting opinions that former President Richard Nixon had a privacy interest in documents made during his presidency that touched on his personal life. Lower courts have relied on the right of informational privacy to limit the governments ability to disclose someones sexual orientation or HIV status. All told, though the word isnt in the Constitution, privacy is the foundation of many constitutional protections for our most important, sensitive and intimate activities. If the right to privacy is eroded such as in a future Supreme Court decision many of the rights its connected with may also be in danger. This story was updated on June 24, 2022, to reflect the Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/privacy-isnt-in-the-constitution-but-its-everywhere-in-constitutional-law-183204. The World Health Organization (WHO) will assemble experts to decide if the bizarre increase in the monkeypox outbreak should be regarded as a global health emergency. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday he decided to convene the emergency committee on June 23 because the virus has shown "unusual" recent behavior by spreading in countries well beyond parts of Africa where it is endemic, according to a report from CNBC. "We believe that it needs also some coordinated response because of the geographic spread," the official told reporters. Defining monkeypox as an international health emergency would give it the same status as the Covid-19 pandemic, indicating that the generally rare disease threatens countries worldwide, the WHO stated. Health Experts Still Puzzled on Monkeypox Transmissions In the U.K., monkeypox infections reached 470 on Monday, and most cases involve gay or bisexual men. Last week, British scientists warned they could not identify if the disease was spreading in the country and had reached its peak. Dr. Ghebreyesus said the meeting of outside specialists could help boost awareness and knowledge of the virus since the WHO recently announced updated guidelines on monkeypox vaccination. The WHO issued the highest level of alert. Currently, the agency only applies it to the COVID-19 pandemic and polio. According to the WHO, there have been 1,600 confirmed and 1,500 suspected cases of monkeypox this year, with 72 deaths in 39 countries, including those where the virus is most common. Monkeypox is endemic in areas of Africa, but instances have increased in recent months in both those nations and the rest of the world. The virus spreads through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and skin sores. Read Also: Chinese Authorities Trace 'Ferocious' COVID-19 Outbreak to Raucous Bar, Prompt Immediate Mass Testing Per Reuters, the agency noted that the disease is fatal in 3% to 6 % of cases. However, no deaths have been documented in the outbreak outside of Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo has had the most deaths this year. The risk of spread in Europe is "high," while the rest of the world is "moderate," according to Ibrahima Soce Fall, WHO Deputy Director for Emergency Response, and there is insufficient knowledge about how the virus spread. "We don't want to wait until the situation is out of control," Fall noted. Public Awareness Must Be Boosted Rosamund Lewis, a WHO Smallpox expert, told journalists in Geneva that it was critical to improve public awareness about the amount of risk and to explain how to prevent infecting close contacts and family members. Dr. Lewis noted that the condition could be contagious for two to four weeks, even if the symptoms are minor, like skin lesions. Lewis said: "We know that it is very difficult for people to isolate themselves for so long, but it is very important to protect others. In most cases, people can self-isolate at home and there is no need to be in the hospital." Monkeypox is spread by coming into close physical contact with someone who exhibits symptoms like rash, secretions, and scabs. Clothing, bedding, towels, or things contaminated with the virus, such as eating utensils or dishes, can also infect others. However, Dr. Lewis stressed that it is unclear if those who do not exhibit symptoms can spread the disease, as per a recent media release of WHO. Related Article: Monkeypox Transmission Baffles Scientists Amid Shocking Outbreak @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. During a carriage ride Monday, Prince Charles, his son Prince William, and their respective wives - Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, and Kate Middleton - were observed cracking a joke. The heir to the throne and his son were dazzling in their velvet robes for the Order of the Garter event at Windsor Castle. Prince Charles, Prince William Ban Prince Andrew Their upbeat demeanor was on full display only hours after disgraced Prince Andrew, Prince Charles' brother and William's uncle, was barred from attending the ceremony. According to royal sources, the decision was taken by Prince Charles and Prince William and was left to the Queen to inform her middle son. Royal observers and insiders are already arguing that the decision represents a power shift in the family. The insider also mentioned that following the Platinum Jubilee, it looks like Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William, and Kate Middleton may share responsibilities in the future. During the four-day celebration, Kate, William, and their three children were front and center. And it was the Cambridges who returned to the scene in the days that followed. Kate Middleton, 40, paid a visit to Little Village, a baby bank network, while Prince William, who turns 40 on June 21, was spotted last week selling copies of The Big Issue magazine, which benefits the homeless, New York Post reported. Read Also: Pro-Wrestler Jeff Hardy Arrested Days Before Big Match, Fans Express Concern Prince Andrew Could Struggle to Return Even From Public Life Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie claims that Prince Andrew was upset and puzzled after being barred from attending the Order of the Garter Day service on Monday. The Duke of York, 62, was not seen in public during the ceremony at Windsor Castle, one of the most colourful events in the royal calendar, after the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge reportedly lobbied the Queen about his participation. Because Prince Andrew's name appeared on the order of service, the choice was plainly made at the eleventh hour. Earlier this week, the Duke of York appeared to believe that permission had been granted for him to attend the funeral alongside senior members of the royal family. The monarchy's unwillingness to entirely detach Prince Andrew from all elements of royal life is detrimental and reflects poorly on the family. Due to a positive COVID-19 test result, the Duke did not attend the four-day celebrations with the rest of the royal family. The Duke of Cambridge joined forces with Prince Charles to put a stop to Andrew's plans to return to public service, according to royal analyst Katie Nicholl, in the father and son's latest show of togetherness in recent months. Prince William, 39, informed the Queen and Prince of Wales that if his uncle, the Duke of York, were given a public position, he would withdraw from the Order of the Garter ceremony. Katie also said that Prince Charles was 'especially reluctant' to his brother attending the ceremony for fear that he would 'overshadow Camilla's big moment,' which she was 'thrilled to receive.' She said in Vanity Fair that Prince William and Prince Charles are keen that Prince Andrew does not return to public life and wishes to ride the tide of goodwill produced by the Jubilee's success without the Duke. The Duchess of Cambridge kept the spirits high at Windsor yesterday as she laughed with Prince Charles and William before welcoming Camilla with a bright grin. It comes as Prince William and Kate prepare to relocate to Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Estate this summer, a decision that has allegedly 'gazumped' Andrew, who has reportedly 'always had his eye on the house.' The Cambridges, Prince of Wales, and Camilla look closer than ever in the midst of the scandal, appearing as a quartet more frequently in recent months. According to Vanity Fair, the Duchess of Cornwall had a "hidden desire" for the title of Royal Lady of the Order of the Garter. Camilla was overjoyed to receive it since it is the highest honor the Queen can give to a female member of her family. According to a royal expert, the Prince of Wales was concerned that Prince Andrew's participation at the occasion would overshadow his wife's big moment, according to Daily Mail. Related Article: Amber Heard Gets Brutally Honest After Losing in Johnny Depp Trial: "I Felt Less Human" @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The astonishing thing about the Governments proposed legislation to override the Northern Ireland Protocol is just how moderate it is. Look past the outraged headlines in Europhile papers. Screen out the howls of indignation from Brussels. And ask: what is being proposed? First, the Government has said it will set up a green channel, allowing goods sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, with no onward destination, to be spared customs checks. Hardly radical. Second, it wants non-exporting firms in the province to be able to choose whether to follow UK or EU regulations. Again, very reasonable. Third, it proposes taking back the right to set taxes in Northern Ireland a basic democratic right everywhere else. A new Bill presented to Parliament this week aims at sweeping away key parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol - including a check-free 'green channel' for goods from mainland Britain and stripping control from the EU court Laughable And, finally, it intends to let disputes be arbitrated, as in every other treaty, by an international tribunal. At present, the European Court of Justice has the last word, making it both a player in these disputes and the referee. How would any of these proposals inconvenience the EU? What possible harm would Ireland or the rest of the Continental bloc suffer? Even if we take at face value the EUs laughable claim that its single market would be undermined if just one British sausage crossed the border into Ireland, that supposedly terrifying eventuality is no more likely under these proposals than now. Britain will continue to police the EUs external border on its behalf but now, as ministers have put it, bangers will move freely from Bangor in Wales to Bangor, Northern Ireland. No: a fair-minded observer would surely ask not why the UK is legislating to recover these basic rights, but how it ever came to surrender them. After all, the deal has not just upset the political order, with every Unionist party opposing it, but also the economic order, adding hundreds of millions of pounds in bureaucracy. There have been warnings that the Protocol is disrupting the careful peace balance in Northern Ireland Northern Irelands sales to the rest of the UK are worth more than its sales to the Republic, the rest of the EU and the rest of the world combined. Yet this is the trade that is currently taking the hit. What made us concede a border across our own territory? And why did we accept the absurdity at the heart of the Northern Ireland Protocol: the notion that checks on goods between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic would destabilise the province, but that checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK would be fine and dandy? The answer is that, following the 2017 General Election, Remainer MPs would not allow Britain to leave except on terms that the EU liked. They called it preventing a no-deal Brexit but what it really meant was that Brussels could set its own conditions. And, of course, once they had pinched themselves to make sure they were awake, Eurocrats jumped on the opportunity. Before June 2017, when they were still dealing with a Conservative majority, it never occurred to them to suggest that Northern Ireland might be yanked into the EUs regulatory orbit. But once Brussels officials understood that they were dealing with Theresa Mays weakened House of Commons, which would side with them against the British Government, they gleefully upped their claims, dropping technical negotiations around an invisible border and instead demanding the regulatory annexation of Ulster. Boris Johnson insisted the changes are 'relatively trivial' despite EU protests The result was the ultimate unequal treaty one that was never going to endure once Boris Johnson won his majority in 2019. Now, to his huge credit, the PM is tackling the issue, facing down domestic and foreign critics in order to do the right thing by the people of Northern Ireland. What about the claim, often made overseas, that this is all about upholding the peace settlement? The UK was never going to implement infrastructure at the Irish border. Rather, it is the EU that insists on a border to preserve its single market. Britain could simply have said: Were leaving, but we wont put in any border checks. What you do on your side is your business. But we havent done that. Aware of the political delicacies in Northern Ireland, we have bent over backwards to help the EU police its imports, spending millions of pounds on systems that check goods as they cross the Irish Sea and giving the EU real-time access to that data. Why, then, with economies shrinking worldwide, are Eurocrats threatening something as radical as a trade war? Why, as the UK does the heavy lifting in Ukraine, does Emmanuel Macron take a harder line with Britain (nothing is negotiable, everything is applicable) than with Russia (we must never cede to the temptation of humiliation, nor to a spirit of revenge)? There is only one explanation. The EUs stated motives are not its real ones. If this were just about ensuring British bangers were kept out of Bangor Erris (a village in County Mayo), Brussels would accept the UKs proposals. The Government argued that the 'maintenance of stable social and political conditions in Northern Ireland' were among 'essential interests' of the UK. ('no entry' sign near the Stormont Parliament Buildings) Pique But they have other goals. They want to further the European cause and encourage Irish unity via economics. So far, they are succeeding. Exports from Northern Ireland to the Republic jumped by 60 per cent in the first nine months of 2021. Irelands statistics authorities recorded 1 billion of trade diversion last year as companies on the British mainland stopped selling into Belfast. Dublin wants to ensure that Britain does not gain any commercial advantages, and does not start importing beef from the U.S. instead of Ireland. Most of all, the EU is determined to show that leaving hurts. It wants the Protocol to irritate. Eurocrats have no interest in making life easier for people in Northern Ireland. Nor in the peace process. Indeed, the only party in this saga to have proposed putting a hard border in Ireland was the EU from pique, because Britains vaccine rollout had been faster than its own. For over a year, Britain has been proposing a series of complex and creative alternatives that would keep Northern Irelands border open while ensuring that the EU need fear no leakage of goods. But Brussels is not engaging. The current situation, where Britain is humiliated and an all-Ireland economy is taking shape, suits it very well. Measured But you signed the agreement! chorus the Governments critics. To which I say: is that all youve got? Having deliberately destroyed the Governments negotiating position from 2017, having actually passed a law in 2019 to prevent Britain leaving except on terms amenable to Brussels, you now complain about the resulting treaty? Well, treaties and international laws dont last for ever. The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, for example, was steadily repudiated as the new Free State government in Dublin broke its remaining links with Britain, declared a republic and left the Commonwealth. Whats more, the Protocol was specifically designed to be transitional. The EU insisted on negotiating it as part of our exit terms rather than as part of the final settlement. It contains a mechanism for either party to act unilaterally in the event of trade diversion or political and economic disruption. These conditions have plainly been met. Boriss Bill is well-drafted, offering measured and lasting solutions. Yes, it would be better if the EU were prepared to negotiate. But, given the choice between humouring Brussels and preserving stability in Northern Ireland, any self-respecting British government should choose the second option. And any self-respecting MP should back it. The European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) decision to block the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda may be utterly predictable but what is surprising is the speed at which it came to its judgment. As Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said yesterday on Radio 4's Today programme: 'I've never known such a quick decision made by somebody at the ECHR.' The Strasbourg-based court, which has nothing to do with the EU but was founded in 1959 in the hope of preventing another Nazi-type regime riding roughshod over human rights, has a well-earned reputation for sloth. At the end of 2018 (before any pandemic effect) some 10,000 cases awaited an initial judicial examination. Of those, 1,500 had been waiting more than a decade almost as long as the 12 years the Nazis were in power. Yet somehow, out of the blue, the ECHR managed to find the energy to spring into action and thwart the UK Government's effort to crack down on people-trafficking by employing an offshore processing facility in Rwanda. The decision has yet again raised the hackles of MPs, who see the ECHR as a highly politicised body using a loose interpretation of human rights in order to interfere in decisions which ought to be the realm of a country's democratically-elected parliament. Unsurprisingly, most of the criticism of the ECHR over the Rwanda case has come from Conservative MPs. But you don't have to be a Conservative minister to fall foul of the ECHR's effort to poke its nose into domestic politics. Labour home secretaries John Reid and Jacqui Smith also suffered as a result of ECHR rulings. Even Tony Blair, who oversaw the passing of the Human Rights Act incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law later grew exasperated when the ECHR started to thwart his efforts to tackle Islamist terrorism in the wake of 9/11. Ironically, the ECHR includes judges appointed by many countries which themselves fall short on their human rights record including Russia, Azerbaijan, Serbia and Albania. Will the Rwanda ruling spur the Government to do what it has threatened to do for more than a decade and withdraw from the ECHR and European Convention, drafting a British bill of rights instead? Don't bet on it. Every time the idea has been proposed, the hand of the Establishment seems to have been felt on ministers' shoulders. Abu Qatada successfully sought asylum in Britain in 1993, soon acquiring a reputation as a hate preacher. In 1999, he was convicted in absentia of conspiracy to cause explosions in Jordan, but efforts to deport him even after approval by the House of Lords were thwarted In 1980, John Hirst killed his landlady and was given a 25-year sentence for manslaughter. He later complained about not being able to vote, and the ECHR agreed, ruling that no prisoner should be denied a vote Boris Johnson has his own intimate connection with the court. His grandfather, Sir James Fawcett, was president of the European Commission on Human Rights between 1972 and 1981. That was the body which, until citizens were given the right to present cases directly to the ECHR in 1998, decided which cases should and shouldn't be laid before the court. Three years ago, former Supreme Court judge Jonathan Sumption used the BBC's Reith Lectures to argue that its judges have gone too far and engaged in what amounts to a power grab from elected politicians. The result is that many of the 315 judgments where the ECHR has ruled against the UK since 1975 have been perverse at best as this analysis reveals. 2004 A killer gets the right to vote In 1980, John Hirst killed his landlady and was given a 25-year sentence for manslaughter. He was annoyed to discover that, as a prisoner, he wasn't allowed to vote. In 2004, the ECHR ruled that Britain was wrong to deny all prisoners the vote. The then Labour government appealed against the decision and lost. Thankfully, in this case at least, neither the Labour government nor any subsequent one has obeyed the perverse ruling. 2009 Ruling against deportation of Nigerian criminal Just how bad do you have to be to convince the ECHR that you deserve to be deported from your adopted home? Worse, evidently, than Steven Omojudi, who in 1989 was jailed for five years for theft and conspiracy. In spite of that, the Home Office gave him a second chance and granted him leave to remain from 2005. The following year he was jailed for sexual assault. In 2007 the then home secretary John Reid ordered his deportation to Nigeria. The ECHR ruled that his deportation interfered with his right to a family life and awarded him 9,000 in damages. 2009 Abu Qatada and ten others get compensation for loss of liberty The ECHR ruled that the detention of 11 men, held on suspicion of terror offences under the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001, was illegal because it breached their right to liberty. They were awarded 26,000 in total, with radical cleric Abu Qatada receiving 2,500. Exactly what Britain was supposed to do with terror suspects in the aftermath of 9/11, the court did not explain. Police stop and search suspected protesters at the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England 2010 ECHR rules against police stop-and-search powers The names Kevin Gillan and Pennie Quinton don't quite stand out in the annals of historic injustices. The pair were detained for less than half an hour while police stopped and searched them outside the Defence Systems and Equipment Exhibition at the Excel Centre in London's Docklands in 2003. You might think the police were acting reasonably, in the wake of 9/11 in searching people they felt were acting suspiciously outside a defence exhibition. But the pair were so aggrieved they took their case to Strasbourg and won. The court awarded 30,000 towards their costs. 2011 Somali criminals allowed to stay in UK Abdisamad Adow Sufi and Abdiaziz Ibrahmin Elmi were convicted in Britain of burglary, threats to kill, robbery and dealing in class A drugs. But when it came to deporting them at the end of their sentences, the ECHR ruled that this could not go ahead because they might face death or injury because Somalia was in a state of civil war and that this would violate article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. 2012 ECHR Blocks deportation of Abu Qatada to his native Jordan Abu Qatada successfully sought asylum in Britain in 1993, soon acquiring a reputation as a hate preacher. In 1999, he was convicted in absentia of conspiracy to cause explosions in Jordan, but efforts to deport him even after approval by the House of Lords were thwarted. The ECHR ruled that Qatada could not be sent to Jordan because it said there was a risk he could be tried on evidence obtained by torture. He was eventually deported the following year and was cleared of the terrorist charges. In 2011 Sylvie Beghal was questioned by police on arrival at East Midlands airport. Officers used powers contained in the Terrorism Act, but the ECHR ruled her right to privacy had been violated 2016 Terror suspect awarded compensation for police using 'incorrect procedure' Three would-be Underground bombers whose bombs failed to explode weeks after the fatal 7/7 bombings in July 2005 took the UK Government to court, claiming their convictions were unfair because they hadn't been offered legal advice quickly enough. Thankfully, their cases failed, but the ECHR ruled that a fourth man who had helped one of the bombers and withheld information from the police should have been offered a lawyer when he started to incriminate himself. The result? He was awarded 16,000 in compensation. 2019 Police wrong to question airline passenger In 2011 Sylvie Beghal was questioned by police on arrival at East Midlands airport. Officers used powers contained in the Terrorism Act, which allows members of the public to be interrogated even though there might be no evidence to suspect them of wrongdoing. Beghal refused to answer questions and later pleaded guilty to failing to co-operate with the police. Then she challenged the police powers under the Terrorism Act, all the way up to the Supreme Court, which ruled her human rights had not been abused. The ECHR, however, decided her right to privacy had been violated all because she was asked a few questions at an airport. Sorry, but you wont persuade me to get cross with the rail unions. This is because most of the train disruption I have experienced has been organised by the rail companies or the Government, not by RMT or Aslef militants. For example, I have been suddenly bundled out of my homebound carriage on winter nights by shouting men and made to wait ages on the platform in a bitter wind, because the privatised company has decided to divert my train. I have been urged to go home and not travel because of various stupid panics about wind, a half-inch of snow or a bit of hot weather. Hardly a week goes by when they do not rob me of precious time by holding me up on the excuse of signal failures, broken rails, track circuit failures or wild over-reactions to sightings of trespassers. Many trains are cancelled without warning or explanation, behaviour that would smash up the carefully planned days of most people, though I have learned to cope because I have come to expect it. Mick Lynch, General Secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at the RMT headquarters in Euston, central London, pictured in May Nonsensical Almost every train I take can be guaranteed to be late, on the excuse of congestion. This is a nonsensical pretext on a timetabled, signal-controlled railway system whose movements are all intricately planned to match capacity with activity. It is not as if an unexpected surge of juggernaut lorries or white vans has suddenly gummed up the tracks with unpredictable traffic, or an overturned minibus at a key junction has caused the trains to back up for miles. The excuse is pure tripe, marinated in bilge. Congestion might be a real thing at Spaghetti Junction or on the M25. On the railways, it means that the people in charge have messed up and take us for fools. For more than a year now, my regular line has been running short, overcrowded trains because of metal fatigue on flashy new carriages, recently bought for them by the taxpayer for billions and billions of borrowed pounds. At my arrival station in London, elaborate measures are taken every morning to ensure that the exit gates from the platforms are mostly locked against passengers trying to get to work, so causing needless claustrophobic crowds around the few exits that are available. These are some of the obvious, deliberate acts which if I thought these people could organise anything would be evidence of a concerted plan to drive people on to the roads. You could add the seats as hard as ironing boards, the maddening, interminable announcements, and the increasingly dismal catering. Dismal People now dont believe me when I say that on the Oxford to Paddington Express, every weekday morning, you could once get a beautifully cooked bacon, egg, sausage and mushroom breakfast, with good coffee, freshly-made toast and an actual jar of Coopers Oxford Marmalade ready for use on the crisp white tablecloth. More recently, the trains still had convivial buffet cars, where you could go for a drink, a sandwich or a chat. Almost all of these are now gone. But there have been deeper blows than these. Near my Oxford home and this is typical of most parts of the country there are now several, sizeable market towns with no rail service at all. These are handsome, flourishing places where people like to live. But if they want to come and go by train, they must drive miles to a distant station. Britain will face its largest rail strike in over three decades on 21, 23 and 25 June. Pictured are commuters at Waterloo Station in London The trains that connected them to the mainlines also used to stop at dozens of villages, meaning the deepest, most hidden parts of the countryside were connected with nearby big towns and with the whole wide world. Now, in reality, it is a car or nothing. Country people know they cannot rely on the bus as they once relied on the train. Closing stations and tracks because they didnt make a profit was lunatic enough Acacia Avenue doesnt make a profit, and nor does the B4092 but was just part of a government rail strike lasting 50 years. Thriving and useful mainlines and vital alternative routes were idiotically shut, against the advice of every sensible voice. Heres an example of the folly. Every summer, the trains to Devon and Cornwall are wildly overcrowded by holidaymakers. In many winters the same line is cut at Dawlish by violent storms. This would not matter half so much if the Government had not systematically destroyed the alternative mainline to the West, which ran north of Dartmoor and was, incidentally, heartbreakingly beautiful. Sorry, but a few days of strikes does not compare in malice, damage or stupidity to the militant, fanatical anti-rail policies followed by Tory and Labour governments for decades. And those who want to accuse railway workers of greed might look at the fortunes made by privatised railway companies, while they make the system worse. So here is what I propose, and you might call it the Treaty of Clapham Junction, which is where I suggest it should be signed. The Government must end its long war on railways, especially mad in an age of high fuel costs and justifiable anger at pollution and noise. Peter Hitchens: You won't persuade me to get cross with the rail unions, Because most of the train disruption I have experienced has not been organised by RMT or Aslef militants It must forget vanity projects such as HS2 and concentrate entirely on reliable medium-speed services that actually work and which people can afford. It must put back the lines it ripped up in the 1960s, and electrify them where possible. It must reopen the country stations. It must renationalise the whole lot, recognising that the country which invented railways did so because rail transport is uniquely suited to its size and landscape. It must grasp that rail is a national benefit, helping to keep the country clean, quiet, healthy and connected: not a thing to be franchised and milked. And it must all work together, not be cut up into a jigsaw of jumbled bits and pieces. Lastly, it must cut fares to the levels you find in the rest of Europe, sweeping away the mad, incomprehensible system we have now. It might bring back breakfast, too. In return, the rail unions must agree that they will not go on strike again as long as this agreement is kept. It will be the best bargain they will ever get for their members and for the public. And once it is agreed, and starts to work, we will all wonder why we did not do it years ago. The farcical halting of the first Rwanda asylum seekers flight after a lastditch intervention by the European Court of Human Rights is an indisputable blow for the Government. The self-righteous liberal elite who had shrilly denounced the plan as immoral and inhumane did not simply celebrate the controversial ruling, they gleefully rubbed Tory noses in it. This matter, however, extends far beyond an acrimonious political skirmish over the stringency (or otherwise) of immigration control. At stake is nothing less than the question of who runs Britain. Are we still a democratic and sovereign nation, whose elected representatives make our laws and can be cast out by us when they get things wrong? Or are we for ever to be subject to the arbitrary impulse of a court of foreign judges, over whom we have no say? A Boeing 767 aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down, near Salisbury, which is believed to be the plane set to take asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda before being grounded on Tuesday With Home Secretary Priti Patels bold attempt to stop the deadly trade of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats seemingly in limbo, this question takes on the sharpest focus. After all, three UK courts including the Supreme Court had declared the Rwanda flight lawful. Not on a whim. No, they assessed all the evidence with the dispassionate sagacity expected of their exalted offices. Yet, scandalously, theyve been overruled by the ECHR in an out-of-hours hearing so rushed it verged on indecent for a body normally better known for its interminable deliberations. As the plane, with a passenger manifest of seven migrants, prepared to fly to east Africa, the Strasbourg court summarily grounded it, pending a full High Court trial of the policys legality. The full details of Tuesdays hearing remain troublingly opaque. Extraordinarily, even the identity of the judge who did not hear vital oral submissions from Home Office lawyers is shrouded in secrecy. Such a disturbing lack of transparency is redolent of a banana republic, not an organisation that pompously boasts it is a beacon of human rights. For years, the Mail has campaigned against the insidious undermining of the sovereignty of Parliament by the remote, unaccountable ECHR. From demanding that prisoners should get the vote to halting the deportation of terror suspects who hate this countrys values, it is synonymous with judgments that fly in the face of common sense and the interests of the British people. Judicial activism in Strasbourg has warped the original noble intentions of the British authors of the European Convention on Human Rights. Designed to prevent a repeat of the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps, it has become a charter for politically-correct special interest groups. While the ECHRs latest ruling has delighted the Left-wing coalition of activists, charities, unions and human rights lawyers who fought the case, millions of ordinary voters will be deeply unhappy at the outcome. They will wonder why, even after Brexit and the promise to take back control of our borders, a European tribunal is still meddling in our affairs. Yes, we remain a signatory to the convention. But the Tories were given a whopping majority in 2019 to crackdown on illegal immigration. With admirable optimism, the Home Secretary has vowed to press on with sending Channel-crossing migrants to Rwanda to process their asylum claims. But its not difficult to see the policy getting bogged down in legal battles for months, if not years. All the while, thousands of Channel-hoppers continue to make the illegal crossing from France unvetted, unchecked, uninvited. Sending illegal arrivals to Rwanda would be a visible deterrent to making these perilous journeys in overcrowded dinghies, preventing the Calais traffickers profiteering from human misery and saving lives. However, the virtue-signallers and legal aid-funded courtroom warriors dont appear to care how many migrants are endangered at sea. In defiance of the electorates express will, these pro-immigration zealots simply hanker after an open borders free-for-all. Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured in the Commons on Wednesday) was granted permission to go ahead with the removal flight to Rwanda this week by both the High Court and Court of Appeal Labour, as per usual, has nothing constructive to say about tackling the immoral trade. We know unrestricted immigration is their long-term policy objective. But their call for so-called safe routes is bone-headed. It would invariably lead to vastly more migrants applying abroad to come here, putting greater strain on public services. Plus, those denied asylum will jump in smugglers boats anyway. With their huge Parliamentary majority, the Conservatives can change, unhindered, any laws being exploited by the burgeoning immigration industry. We welcome Boris Johnson looking at withdrawing from the jurisdiction of the ECHR. And the PM should urge Justice Secretary Dominic Raab to speed up and strengthen reforms to replace Labours insidious Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights. That would reassert the superiority of Parliament and UK courts over international bodies. But given that the Tories have been promising to do this for nearly two decades, well keep the champagne on ice. While the Rwanda policy flounders thanks to an over-mighty Euro court, the militant rail unions are threatening to hold the country to ransom with crippling strikes. Labour has let the cat out of the bag that it would reverse Brexit. And the EU is trying to annex Northern Ireland as punishment for having the temerity to quit the sclerotic bloc. All of these beg the vital question: who governs Britain? Boris must have the nerve to show his opponents and voters that it is him. Products featured in this Mail Best article are independently selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, DailyMail.com may earn an affiliate commission. Khloe Kardashian wowed us recently when she admitted via Instagram that she had lost weight following split from Tristan Thompson. While we appreciate her toned body and glammed-up makeup and hair, it was her trousers that really got our tongues wagging. The 37-year-old reality star is modeling a piece from her brand, specifically a pink pair of metallic jeans from Good American's 'Good Icon Metallic' collection. The best part is that we can all get our hands on Khloe's jeans. They also come in metallic silver and blue so get them in all three colors. Our advice to grab this eye-catching look now before it's too late. Pretty in Pink! Khloe looks like she jumped off the runway in a pair of metallic jeans from her Good American brand Good American is of course the denim brand that broke all records when it first came out in 2016 ($1 million on its first day). First, as a denim-only, the label has since branched out to shoes, swimwear and even jackets and outerwear. We love that Good American embraces all body types and is not afraid of some serious glam either. Look no further than Khloe's glitzy pink jeans as the perfect example. For $195, it's not a serious splash of cash and you are getting a lot of bang for the buck. Style yours simply, like Khloe, with a pink tank top. Or add a white button-down poplin shirt for a more-toned down look. You can also kick it up for evening with a black bodysuit, or cutout crop top. The possibilities are endless. If you like Khloe's look but would like to shop around, we've assembled some lookalikes that will also do the trick, no matter your budget. On Tuesday, Virginia Democrat Representative Don Beyer filed legislation that would charge a 1,000% excise tax on assault-style guns and high-capacity ammunition magazines. The Assault Weapons Excise Act intends to raise the price of the AR-15-model rifle used by the gunman in a mass killing in Uvalde, Texas, to $18,700. Daniel Defense, the gun's manufacturer, is currently selling the DDM4V7 version for $1,870 online, as per a Newsweek report. Following the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Beyer declared his intention to draft the measure on June 5. Authorities identified Salvador Ramos, 18, as the gunman in the tragedy that killed 19 children and two teachers. Ramos, who was shot to death by the police, reportedly purchased 2 two semi-automatic rifles before the incident-the DDM4V7 he used in the mass shooting and a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 he did not bring. Senators Move to Fix US Gun Control Measures A group of 20 senators declared on Sunday that they had reached an agreement on the primary priorities of a plan to overhaul US firearms regulations. Beyond the reforms already in the works, the 1,000% tax on semi-automatic Assault rifles would provide the Senate "an option for further action to address the epidemic of gun violence," Beyer said in a statement. Even though the majority of Americans support tighter gun restrictions, Republican politicians have resisted bans on semi-automatic weapons such as AR-15s, which have been used in many mass killings. Such Semi-Automatic Weapons cost between $500 and $2,000, making them inexpensive to many users. CBS News reports under the proposal, states would be incentivized to pass "red flag" laws, increase mental health resources, provide funding for school safety resources, clarify the definition of a federally licensed firearms dealer, and crack down on criminals who illegally purchase and traffic guns. Read Also: Biden To Visit Middle East Next Month: Here's Why the Trip Is Important Beyer's bill could be filed through the reconciliation process since it imposes a tax, making it a revenue measure. That means it would only need the support of 50 senators rather than the 60 votes needed to overcome potential opposition and pass most bills. He noted that the bill might "cut through the gridlock and get it done." The measure exempts federal, state, and municipal entities, therefore, US military and law enforcement agencies would be exempt. Further Evaluation Needed However, according to Rosanna Smart, an economist at the Rand Corporation who has studied the impact of gun excise taxes, Beyer's proposal is far higher than existing municipal and federal weapons taxes. She added that the Democrat representative's bill aims at a specific class of guns and is difficult to compare to other more modest taxes, per The Washington Post. Smart noted that to understand better the impact of a firearms excise tax by evaluating its effect on consumer demand, though "a 1,000 percent tax is going to tax some people out of the market." "The question is if they're going to be able to find a substitutable [gun] that gets around that tax rate - or if they are so determined to buy the gun to commit a mass act of violence that price is not a deterrent," she said. Whether Beyer's proposal will get traction in Congress is another matter entirely. Smart pointed out that the proposal combines two most polarizing ideas: tax increases and gun restrictions. Related Article: Japan: Online Insults Can Now Lead to 1 Year in Prison, $2200 Fine After Death of Netflix Star @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Beggars in central London could make up to 35,000 a year, a viral YouTuber has claimed after spending a day with rough sleepers in the capital. Toba Courage, who boasts 854,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel The Hack, made the video in 2016, but it went viral again on TikTok this week. The social media star specialises in videos on how to live for free or on a tiny budget in various places in the world, such as surviving London on 1 a day or finding food in Amsterdam if you have no money. One beggar he spoke with claimed he received 5,000 cash in one go, while another explained she was given 80 by a single person that day. He calculated that those he was speaking to were earning up to 150 a day, and calculated that they could earn 35,000 a year based on five days a week of begging for 11 months. Beggars in central London could be making up to 35,000 a year, according to one YouTuber (pictured) who spoke to rough sleepers in the British capital Toba Courage, who boasts 854,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel The Hack ,spoke to a London beggar who claims he received 5,000 cash in one go I got a 5,000 drop like six months ago, one rough sleeper told Toba, while a woman said she received 80 from just one person and went to McDonald's, I was starving. Another woman claimed she made hundreds of pounds so she could afford to sleep. Following his discussions, the YouTuber spent a few hours begging, and claimed he made nearly 70. Other people they stay there for about two to three hours, they make about 40 - 40, 2-3 hours, times that by eight hours, normal day shift, he said. But most of these people, it's their lifestyle, it's like a vicious loop and then they're stuck in it. He continued: You're probably wondering What are they doing with all this money? Day after day after day after - surely they must be secret millionaires. From his chats, the YouTuber claims that those asking for money on the street were earning around 150 a day, which he says adds up to 35,000 a year based on five days a week of begging for 11 months Some of them are smart, they don't want you to know. Some of them won't let me record them, those are the secret millionaires, I even offered them 10 - they're like No no no, don't record me I don't want people to see me. Homelessness charity Crisis estimated that around 227,000 people were experiencing the worst forms of homelessness across England, Scotland and Wales in 2021. According to the charity, 80 per cent of beggars are homeless. Since 1824, the Vagrancy Act has made it a crime just to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales, but there are plans to repeal it following an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, according to MyLondon. However, in 2020, police urged shoppers not to hand over their money to street beggars because many are not homeless and some are claimed to be raking in as much as 200 a day. Career beggars in Birmingham are feared to be exploiting the public's generosity to line their pockets by pretending to be sleeping rough. Following his discussions, the YouTuber spends a few hours begging, and claims he made nearly 70 West Midlands Police told businesses to move on 'nuisance' beggars to stop them targeting customers. In a memo to traders seen by Birmingham Live, Sgt Hanif Ullah said: 'The local community have made a number of complaints of persistent begging in the area of your business premises. 'This can become a nuisance to your shoppers, and ultimately may result in them going elsewhere to purchase shopping. 'We need your co-operation in preventing and reducing this activity. Businesses should politely discourage beggars outside their premises. If the person refuses to move on then you may wish to call police on 101. 'Shoppers are giving money to beggars, which encourages beggars to return, therefore advise customers on this.' A further warning was also put out on the force's neighbourhood alert service which said 'The beggars we are referring to are NOT homeless they are BEGGARS. 'They continue to come back time after time because YOU as a community are giving.' It prompted a discussion on the Sparkhill Neighbourhood Facebook group where it was claimed one particular beggar 'averages 150-200 daily'. Products featured in this Mail Best article are independently selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, DailyMail.com may earn an affiliate commission. Charlotte McKinney smoldered in a series of photographs for the latest issue of US Retreat Magazine. The 28 year old Florida native worked her curves in a series of beach-ready looks including this cream colored midi dress from Free People. She opted to go barefoot as she struck a sultry pose on the beach, flaunting her natural good looks with a light dusting of makeup. Now we're in what finally feels like summer, we're all about the relaxed styling vibes. Beach shoot: Charlotte showed off her incredible figure in a Free People dress as she sat in front of a rockface Charlotte McKinney on the cover of US Retreat Magazine shot by Veronica Sams Charlotte radiated beauty in this beachside shoot photographed by Veronica Sams and styled by celebrity styling duo Daniella and Alix and assistant Jessie Somekh. The blonde beauty showcased her ample assets in a plunging halter-neck dress with a key-hole cut-out and texture weave fabric. This Free People dress is a cotton linen blend ensuring you will stay cool even on the warmest of days. Follow Charlotte's lead and shop her 'Nya' dress for $108, or recreate her look with one of our five fashion finds that promise major style without breaking the bank! Advertisement It's synonymous with luxury, glamour and VIP treatment - and now a glimpse of The Savoy's top room is on offer without the grand expense thanks to the return of its fly-on-the-wall documentary, starting tonight. ITV's The Savoy, which airs tonight at 9pm, takes viewers behind the scenes of one of London's top hotels - showcasing the high life experienced by guests. In the first episode, audiences at home are treated to a look at the Royal Suite, a 16,000-a-night room which runs across the fifth floor with a view of the London Eye and includes Princess Diana as one of its former guests. Having been recently re-designed in partnership with Gucci, the luxury Italian fashion brand's china, furniture and artwork are placed throughout the lavish suite, while it also features atmospheric lighting, as well as at least two staff members who can attend to any desire of the customer. It's synonymous with luxury, glamour and VIP treatment - and now a glimpse of The Savoy's top room (pictured, the bedroom in the Royal Suite) is on offer without the grand expense thanks to the return of its fly-on-the-wall ITV documentary, starting tonight The luxury Italian fashion brand's china, furniture and artwork are placed throughout the lavish suite, while it also features atmospheric lighting (pictured, the living area of the suite) The hotel suite, which costs 16,000 per night, was recently renovated in partnership with Gucci, and features accessories from the brand Furniture designed by the fashion label, whose founder Guccio Gucci once worked at the Savoy as a luggage porter, is placed throughout the suite Guest Experience Manager Sean Davoren, who started at The Savoy in 1978, keeps the seven-storey, 133-year-old hotel, which is situated on the banks of the River Thames and has 37 butlered suites, running. He took viewers through the Royal Suite, explaining: 'We've got their furniture, we've got their china and we have wonderful artworks around the suite as well... it oozes luxury.' Dubbed 'the jewel in the hotel's crown', the Royal Suite also has bespoke technology that means different scenes can be projected onto the table. Gucci's founder, Guccio Gucci, worked at The Savoy as a luggage porter in his younger years. Seeing the decadent luggage and sophisticated clothes of guests was a major motivation in his desire to start his own fashion company, shortly after his return to Italy from London. 'He was inspired by the beautiful luggage that he did see, then went back home to Italy and started creating his products,' explained Sean. The space features plush furnishings, decadent floral wallpaper and deep brown wooden parquet flooring throughout (pictured) Meanwhile the 16,000-per-night room also features elegant wooden panelling and marble flooring throughout the bathroom The Savoy's website describes how the Royal Suite includes 'furniture, furnishings and decorative items from the Gucci Decor Collection and art and antiques curated by Christie's'. Guests also receive a signature Gucci x Savoy welcome including a range of gifts and a bottle of Champagne on ice on arrival, as well as a dedicated Savoy butler and the 'most attentive service' by The Savoy team The Savoy's website describes how the Royal Suite includes 'furniture, furnishings and decorative items from the Gucci Decor Collection and art and antiques curated by Christie's'. Guests also receive a signature Gucci x Savoy welcome, including a range of gifts and a bottle of Champagne on ice on arrival, as well as a dedicated Savoy butler and the 'most attentive service' by The Savoy team. After the most turbulent time in its history, when the pandemic forced it to close its doors, the hotel is now back open with a new Managing Director, Frank Arnold, in charge. Guest Experience Manager Sean Davoren, who started at The Savoy in 1978, keeps the seven-storey, 133-year-old hotel, which is situated on the banks of the River Thames and has 37 butlered suites, running Butlers like Michael (pictured) are also on offer throughout the hotel to assist with the customers every want and desire Doormen Tony and Michal, pictured, are among the staff who appear in the ITV documentary series The Savoy, which follows the hotel as it recovers after the Covid-19 pandemic The access-all-areas series follows hotel life in the aftermath of the pandemic, during one of the most challenging times for the hospitality industry The access-all-areas ITV series follows hotel life in the aftermath of the pandemic, during one of the most challenging times for the hospitality industry. Having lost tens of millions of pounds in revenue The Savoy is battling to stay at the top in the fiercely competitive London luxury hotel market. Franck has big plans to help the hotel compete, including the 16,000-a-night Royal Suite, a new restaurant in partnership with Gordon Ramsay and the refurbishment of the hotel's world-famous American Bar, Londons original cocktail bar. With exclusive behind-the-scenes access, the series transports viewers both upstairs and downstairs, from guests and famous faces walking through the gilded revolving doors, to the army of staff catering to their every request. You can watch The Savoy, Wednesday 15 June, 9pm, ITV or catch-up on the ITV Hub Sarah Ferguson has praised her daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice for being good mothers, thanks to the example she set. The Duchess of York, 62, told British entrepreneur Matt Haycox, on his podcast The Matt Haycox Show that she's a 'darn good mum' and that her daughters Princess Beatrice, 33, and Eugenie, 32, have taken their parenting cues from her. Sarah, who is commonly known as Fergie, said Eugenie, 32, who has a son August, 17 months, with husband Jack Brooksbank, and Beatrice, who had her daughter Sienna, ten months, with Edo Mapelli Mozzi, are 'the 'best ambassadors for good mothering.' Reflecting on her own childhood, the mother-of-two, who resides at Royal Lodge in Windsor, said she was told as a child that thinking about herself was selfish, which led her to make poor decisions. Sarah Ferguson, 62, (middle) has spoken about what it is like spending time with her two grandchildren. Her daughter Princess Eugenie (left) gave birth to August in February, whilst Princess Beatrice (right) had her daughter Sienna in September 2021 During the podcast, Prince Andrew's ex-wife said: 'I teach my grandchildren the same way as I've taught my two beautiful girls who are the best ambassadors for good mothering because I'm a darn good mum.' She added her way of parenting was different from the way she was raised. 'I was brought up with, "Oh, don't ever think of yourself. You're too selfish". And of course, then you never think of yourself and then you go make endless wrong decisions and take the wrong roads,' she said. Matt asked her what advice she would give to her grandchildren about life, business and the future, to which Fergie replied that they're a little too young, even though she already 'communicates with them'. Fergie revealed that August (pictured here with his mother Princess Eugenie) that he likes to play with tractors and trains but will also share Barbies with Sienna 'But I look at them and I think, "Oh goodness, always allow a child - or in my case, my grandchildren - to be who they are",' she said. 'I think that my advice to not just my grandchildren, but to my children too, is [to ask], "How do you feel? Does this make you happy? Do you feel like you are doing it because you wish to or are you trying to please or are you trying to overachieve? Where are you in all of this?".' She also warned against being a people pleaser or an overachiever. Sarah also shared what playtime is like with her two grandchildren, August, 15 months and Sienna, ten months months. Sarah said to Matt Haycox, that she already communicates with both children, saying that she looks at them and stressed the importance of letting children be who they are. She spoke of they playtime habits revealing that August likes to play with trains and tractors, but can play with Barbies if he wants to. 'And at the moment, Sienna wants to play with cuddly teddy bears and very pink things,' she added. 'But if she wants to go play with trains and tractors, well then they can share, can't they? So that's all good.' Sarah pictured here with a young Beatrice and Eugenie says that she asks her daughters and grandchildren 'how do you feel? Does this make you happy? Do you feel like you are doing it because you wish to or are you trying to please?' Fergie said to Matt Haycox on his podcast that she teaches August (pictured) and Sienna the same way that she taught their mothers This comes as The Duchess recently said in an interview with Times Radio on Tuesday morning that the disgraced Duke of York is a 'good and kind man' amid speculation he is pushing for a return to royal life. The interview came after Prince Andrew's settlement with Virginia Giuffre over sexual assault claims earlier this year. Asked if she would still choose to marry the duke if she could turn back time, Ferguson gushingly replied: 'Oh, yes - he's a very good and kind man'. Referring their wedding day, she added: 'And it was an exceptional day, July 23 1986. And it was just extraordinary. 'I think my life is an amazing life. I think I've been very lucky. And I am now just beginning my life again. And I think it's pretty cool to be able to say that.' Despite divorcing in 1996, Sarah and Andrew have remained on such good terms that they still share Royal Lodge, the Queen Mothers former home, on the Windsor estate, and regularly visit the Queen together at Windsor Castle. She previously described them as 'the happiest divorced couple in the world', living under the same roof at Royal Lodge, Windsor, but with their own rooms. A self-confessed freebie-addict has managed to save over 7,000 in two years after becoming an eagle-eyed bargain hunter. Mum-of-two Maria Sillaste, from Liverpool, has been hunting for freebies since 2020 and has bagged herself a selection of amazing items including food, drink, skincare, and even household appliances. Since the 33-year-old set off on her quest for free items, she has saved over 7,000 in the process. Maria says that her freebie addiction began when she saw a social media post about free perfume and began searching for more to see what else she could find. Scroll down for video Mum-of-two Maria Sillaste, 33, from Liverpool, has been hunting for freebies since 2020 and claims she's saved 7,000 thanks to the free items (pictured with one of her hauls, including nappies, toiletries and a blender) Maria has also been able to get vouchers and free food thanks to her bargain-hunting skills, pictured Loo rolls for days! The mother-of-two got an impressive stock of toilet paper as well as free soft toys from Andrex 'I started to get addicted to freebie hunting when I saw a post on social media about getting free perfume. I started searching for more, and then more and more things started appearing on my feeds,' she explained. She soon realised she could save a lot by collecting these free items. 'One of the best freebies I have had so far is a Tefal blender which should have cost 150,' she said. 'And the freebies that are the most beneficial to me are free shopping vouchers.' Maria, who shares her son Gustav, three, and newborn Galifa with her husband Gunnar, 33, said she uses the vouchers to stock up on products for her family The mother-of-two was able to throw a DIY birthday party for her son Gustav thanks to several freebies and vouchers she collected The savvy mum has been able to collect several nappies and products for her children thanks to her keen eye for freebies Maria, who shares her son Gustav, three, and newborn Galifa with her husband Gunnar, 33, said she uses the vouchers to stock up on products for her family. 'I am always so surprised at how much I can get. Ive had free snacks, drinks, skincare, free sample of perfumes, items from big brands, household appliances, full-size nappies, wipes and vouchers to spend. 'My very first freebie was from Ellas kitchen. I received a weaning guide with stickers and vouchers. It was great for my son,' the mother-of-two said. 'Freebie hunting is part of our life now. My family loves it because we are able to experience a product for free together. Maria, who checks social media for freebies first thing in the morning, has been able to get samples from big skincare brands like Urban Decay Thanks to her keen-eye for freebies, Maria has not had to spend a dime on skincare products since 2020 The mother-of-two has even been able to bag herself products for babies as well as several samples from high end haircare products Maria has been able to get her hands on some Chanel samples during one of her hunt for freebies MARIAS TOP TIPS FOR HOW TO GET THE BEST FREEBIES 1. Support the big brands by following and liking the brands pages in Facebook and Instagram so you will see their giveaways on the newsfeed 2. Join Facebook groups for freebie hunters 3. Be active in Facebook and Instagram because you need to be quick in applying for the free stuff Advertisement 'My husband is very supportive of what I do. We unbox the parcel together and he is just as excited as I am to see whats been delivered.' And the mother-of-two added she enjoys the thrills of not knowing exactly which freebie she's going to get. 'The exciting part is that you sign up for a lot of freebies but you wont know what is getting delivered first,' she said. She explained that she got into the habit of scanning the web for freebies first thing in the morning, every day. 'To find these amazing freebies I follow big brands on social media so if they have a giveaway or free samples, I will see that on my newsfeed,' she said. 'Its also helpful that I do lots of searches for freebies on my own social media pages as that signals my interest in finding freebies. 'This addiction is all positive because I can guide newbies on how to get their freebies too, plus I love to share what I get each day. 'Its been amazing.' The proud freebie hunter said her best find was a free Tefal blender which should have cost her 150 Several household products Maria found during one of her hunts for freebies. She regularly checks pages on Facebook and other social media Maria was sucked into the world of freebie hunting when she got a free bottle of perfume in 2020 No need to spend thousands on beauty products! Maria gets her foundation from samples, like this one from Revolution Volunteers at a community kitchen set up to support bereaved families after the Grenfell tragedy have revealed the Duchess of Sussex sent them a 'thoughtful' voice note to mark the five-year anniversary of the blaze. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry first visited The Hubb Community Kitchen in 2018 after the fire at the North Kensington tower block claimed the lives of 72 people. The initiative, long-supported by the Sussexes, was set up to provide support and hot meals for bereaved families in west London following the blaze on June 14, 2017. Five years on, voluntary staff at the kitchen shared on their Facebook page how the Duchess of Sussex had been in touch this week asking about their welfare and sharing news of her own children, Archie, three, and Lilibet, one. Scroll down for video Meghan Markle left a voice note asking about the volunteers and their families on the five-year anniversary of the West London tower block tragedy. Pictured: Meghan and Harry during their recent visit to the UK to mark the Platinum Jubilee celebrations The Hubb Community Kitchen posted on its Facebook that the Duchess, 40, had left message asking 'about our children and families and giving us news of hers' this week. Pictured: Meghan at the community kitchen in 2018 A photo of the couple during one of their visits to the kitchen in 2017; the volunteers praised the couple for staying in touch five years on from the tragedy They wrote: 'Today is a day spent looking back, remembering and reflecting. I just found this picture of us all, on the day our cookbook came out. 'The Duchess had wrapped a book for each one of us and wrote a lovely message to each lady on the first page.' The comment continued: 'Always very thoughtful, today we received a lovely voice message from the Duchess, being the 5 years anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy, asking how we are, about our children and families and giving us news of hers. Just being her beautiful kind self.' Last week, the page also praised the couple for staying in touch in the years since their visit, saying: 'Many times they surprised us, be it flowers, a picture, chocolates, a phone call...they dont have to. still they do. Because they are a genuinely kind couple.' The kitchen, long-supported by the Sussexes, was set up to provide support and hot meals for bereaved families in west London following the Grenfell blaze, which killed 72 people on June 14, 2017. Pictured, Meghan at the kitchen in November, 2018 In June last year, the couple sent sweet treats and a letter (pictured) to the volunteers behind the Grenfell community kitchen to mark International Women's Day In June 2021, the couple sent sweet treats and a thoughtful letter to the women behind the community kitchen to mark International Women's Day. Delicious-looking cupcakes decorated with fruit were given to the volunteers behind the kitchen via the Luminary Bakery, a small independent London bakery that Meghan has worked with in recent years as it aims to 'empower women'. The gesture followed Meghan and Prince Harry's bombshell Oprah interview in which the couple laid bare the extent of their rift with the Royal Family. This week a royal author claimed that Meghan and Harry are in the 'last chance saloon' with the royal family and will be 'cut off' if they leak anything from the Jubilee. The Duke, 37, and the Duchess of Sussex, 40, who are currently living in their $14 million mansion in California, flew in from the US for events which began on June 1st, but spent little time with the royal family. Harry and Meghan did not spend any private time with Prince William, Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis during the Jubilee, while they were not permitted to bring a private photographer to the first meeting between the Queen and their daughter Lilibet. Royal biographer and journalist Duncan Larcombe has now said the 'test now begins' for the royal couple, telling Closer magazine: 'If anything from the weekend leaked, I imagine they will be totally cut off and that'll be it.' Advertisement The British royal family once again turned out in force at Royal Ascot today - with Prince Charles and Camilla leading the carriage procession for the second day of the glamorous event. Her Majesty, 96, missed today's occasion amid her ongoing mobility issues. The Queen has been at every Royal Meeting since acceding to the throne in 1952, apart from when it was held behind closed doors in 2020. Instead, the Prince of Wales, 73, and Duchess of Cornwall, 74, were in attendance alongside a host of other royals - including Princess Anne, 71, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, and Princess Beatrice, 33, who was joined by her husband Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi, 38. The Queen's daughter-in-law, Sophie, cut an elegant figure in a blue lace dress from Suzannah, while Beatrice opted for a sophisticated white frock with a matching hat, featuring a navy brim. Camilla looked equally radiant in a white ensemble. Just over a week after the Platinum Jubilee celebrations ended, members of the royal family appeared in high spirits, with many taking part in the carriage procession, before greeting one-another in the warm summer sunshine at the racecourse. Prince Charles and Camilla arrive for day two of Royal Ascot as they lead the royal family members attending the event Matching! Princess Anne, 71, was all smiles as she appeared at the event, dressed in blue, like her sister-in-law Sophie Wessex Princess Beatrice, who on Tuesday walked through the gates of Royal Ascot with other racegoers, travelled in the third carriage with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (pictured together) Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex, who is the Queen's youngest son (pictured left), was also seen during today's event Royal blue! Sophie Wessex (left) looked radiant in a lace ensemble, while Princess Beatrice (right) donned a white frock when appearing alongside her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi The British royal family once again turned out in force at Royal Ascot today - with Prince Charles and Camilla (pictured) leading the carriage procession for the second day of the glamorous event Camilla looked radiant in a white ensemble when appearing alongside her husband The Prince of Wales today The Prince of Wales, 73, and Duchess of Cornwall, 74, were in attendance alongside a host of other royals - including Countess Sophie Wessex, 57, and Princess Beatrice, 33, who was joined by her husband Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi (pictured together) Beautiful in blue! The Queen's daughter-in-law, Sophie, cut an elegant figure in a sapphire lace dress for her appearance Stylish: Princess Beatrice (pictured left) opted for a sophisticated white frock with a matching hat, featuring a navy brim The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall once again lead the royal party and are likely to spend the day studying the form of the thoroughbreds and enjoying the atmosphere. Like the Queen, the world of racing looks forward to the summer meet, which is as much a social occasion as a sporting fixture. Charles and Camilla took part in a traditional procession along the course and travelled in the lead carriage with the master of the Queen's household, Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt. The Earl and Countess of Wessex followed and Princess Beatrice, who on Tuesday walked through the gates of Royal Ascot with other racegoers, journeyed in the third carriage with husband Edoardo. Russell and Tracy Rose, who have been regulars at Royal Ascot for decades, said it was a shame the Queen missed another day at the races but sympathised with the monarch. Mr Rose said: She's an elderly lady and is conserving her energy and seems to be conscious about what she does. But I wouldn't be surprised to see her make an appearance later this week if she can. Everybody would love to see her here. Royally good fun! The Queen's family appeared to be in great spirits as they attended day two of Royal Ascot this afternoon Saying Hi! Princess Beatrice opted for a glamorous makeup appearance, with a sweep of pink lipstick and black eyeliner Meanwhile, her husband opted for the customary traditional morning dress, complete with a black top hat, light waistcoat and tails Hat's the ticket! Princess Anne made a statement with an eye-catching blue floral headpiece when attending the second day A family affair! Princess Beatrice, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Sophie Countess of Wessex stand with one another A beaming Sophie opted for a ruffled frock from Suzannah, which she teamed with a floral blue hat from Jane Taylor and matching high heels Royal Ascot racegoers sweltered in scorching temperatures as the Queen missed another day of the famous sporting event. Pictured, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi Like the Queen, the world of racing looks forward to the summer meet, which is as much a social occasion as a sporting fixture. Pictured left to right, Prince Charles and Camilla Charles and Camilla took part in a traditional procession along the course and travelled in the lead carriage with the master of the Queen's household, Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt Lady Sarah Chatto (left) - daughter of Princess Margaret and niece of Queen Elizabeth II - attends today's event and is pictured alongside the master of the Queen's household, Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt A beaming Sophie opted for a ruffled frock from Suzannah, which she teamed with a floral blue hat from Jane Taylor and matching high heels. Royal Ascot showed it has firmly rediscovered its pre-pandemic glamour when it opened its gates yesterday, with spectators donning high fashion finery and some show-stopping millinery. And day two of the British summer season society favourite saw a similarly bold couture catwalk of daring outfits, as racegoers appearing to be taking this year's more relaxed dress code in the main spectators' enclosure to the letter. A sartorial rainbow was on display at the racecourse's entrance just after 10am as thousands of spectators - sporting enormous wide-brimmed straw hats, dazzling fascinators, elegant summer gowns and towering heels in day-glo shades - poured into the Berkshire enclosures. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall once again lead the royal party and are likely to spend the day studying the form of the thoroughbreds and enjoying the atmosphere Princess Beatrice's husband Edoardo appeared dapper as he joined his wife at the event alongside other royal family members Channing Millerd, Lady Eliza Spencer, Lady Amelia Spencer and Greg Mallett attend Royal Ascot 2022 at Ascot Racecourse The Prince of Wales watches the action through binoculars from a balcony during day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse The Prince of Wales talks to guests at the second day of Royal Ascot as he enjoys watching the races from a balcony Prince Charles peck's the cheek of one of the racegoers during the second day of Royal Ascot this afternoon Shane Crosse receives a trophy on the podium from the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall Beaming! Camilla was all smiles as she joined other members of the royal family for the second day of Royal Ascot The Queen's daughter, Princess Anne, 71, donned navy heels with her elegant dress and matching headpiece Princess Anne pictured alongside her old flame Andrew Parker Bowles, who is the Duchess of Cornwall's ex-husband Lady Sarah Chatto and Tony Johnstone-Burt are pictured watching the races from a balcony at Royal Ascot Pretty in pink! This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby oozed elegance in a midi dress with a bow neckline (L to R) Dame Deborah James, brother Benjamin James and his fiance Ashley Hall attend Royal Ascot 2022 at Ascot Racecourse (L to R) Ruth Langsford, Dame Deborah James and Eamonn Holmes attend Royal Ascot 2022 at Ascot Racecourse The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall arrive in the royal procession into the parade ring ahead of racing on day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse One reveller turned heads with a spectacular millinery effort that included more than a dozen unicorns in pastel shades, while another donned a gigantic multi-coloured bow, and some lightning bolt earrings - catching the eye of photographers at the race meet. Elsewhere, there was everything from traditional top hat and tails for gents heading to the Royal Enclosure, to sharp monochrome looks and floaty floral ensembles. The 2022 published Style Guide for the event, the eleventh of its kind, requests formality remains in the Royal Enclosure - where punters have been able to buy their way in since 2007 - but hints at a less strict approach elsewhere, suggesting exuberant occasion wear is positively encouraged this year. Plenty of fans adopted a patriotic theme too, to ensure the Platinum Jubilee celebrations continue, with red, white and blue incorporated into their outfits for the day. Bring on the colour! Spectators heading to the second day of the British horse-racing meet went all out on colourful occasion wear, with the brightest shades in the colour palette on display Say it with flowers: A spectator smiles as she arrives in a vibrant pink and orange ensemble, twinned with a multi-layered orange hat Give us a twirl! Glamorously-attired racegoers headed to famous Berkshire course for the second day of Royal Ascot - including this lady who opted for a fit and flare in cerise Milliner Awon Golding wears one of her own designs...with pom poms in shades of pink the main attraction Oranges and lemons: Fashion fans haven't shied away from the boldest shades as day two kicks off at Royal Ascot Spectator Amelia Johnson also picked out orange, with a blue clutch and co-ordinated hat Hats off to day two! The summer season staple has returned largely to its pre-pandemic glory - with zero Covid restrictions on revellers and a more relaxed dress code in the main spectators' enclosure now in place A slick of purple lipstick complemented this racegoer's imposing look, which included purple and violet floral dress, and an eye-catching yellow hat, while her companion opted for pretty red flowers and matching millinery Creativity abounds: A playful watering can handbag finished off this green summer lace number Unicorn dream: This spectacular millinery incorporates dozens of unicorns in pastel shades. Right, an over-sized many coloured bow - and some lightning bolt earrings - caught the eye of photographers at the race meet Head to toe glamour: With the sun high and hot for the afternoon's races, this spectator opted for a straw hat with a huge brim. Right: More daring designs - including these lime feathered heels - are on display at Royal Ascot this year In the pink: Hat designer Lisa Tan, who attended day one of the event, arrives in a vision of pink - with a circular leather horse clutch - for day two. Right: Pink diamante heels and a cerise hat, with a snakeskin clutch in green, accessorise this green and pink checked pleat dress Dance star Oti Mabuse looked stunning in emerald satin and an unusual cerise pink hat as she waltzed into the race meet Those with the widest brimmed hats are likely to be best suited for temperatures that look set to soar to over 25 degrees in this leafy portion of Berkshire this afternoon. Races running at Ascot today include the Queen Mary Stakes (2.30pm), the Queens Vase (3:05pm) and the Prince Of Waless Stakes (3.40pm). There were more celebrities at the meet on Wednesday, with Good Morning Britain star Charlotte Hawkins, dancer Oti Mabuse and comedian Rob Beckett among them. Penny Lancaster arrived wearing a white dress adorned with a purple wisteria design, and finished the look with a purple felt wide-brimmed hat. Feeling vibrant! Glamorous racegoers put their best fashion foot forward when attending day two of Royal Ascot today Co-ordinated chic: These three ladies were all smiles as they attended the occasion together in all their colourful finery Looking good! These two ladies appeared effortlessly elegant in their sophisticated outfits as they posed up a storm Hat's more like it! These glamorous racegoers made sure to stand out from the crowd thanks to their daring headpieces Show stopping looks! Fashion desginer Kyle De'Volle stuns in a shimmering blue ensemble, left, while Good Morning Britain star Charlotte Hawkins opted for a patterned dress, right Say cheese! Glamorous racegoers, arriving ahead of racing on day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse, pose for a photo Bright and colourful! The famous racing event has returned largely to pre-pandemic status - with zero restrictions on revellers - and a dress code that appears to encourage people to go all out on occasion wear Perfect patterns! Many racegoers made sure to stand out from the crowd with their vibrant outfits and matching accessories Monochrome might: Black and white has proved an ever popular choice for occasion wear this year so far Whites and creams also featured heavily in the sartorial choices for day two attendees, with this sophisticated-looking racing fan opting for a white lace dress with a wide, bow-style collar Meanwhile, for the royal procession today, Prince Charles, and the Duchess of Cornwall and Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt arrived in the first carriage. The second carriage included The Earl of Wessex, The Countess of Wessex, The Lord de Mauley and The Lady de Mauley, while in the third, Princess Beatrice and Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi joined Princess Alexandra and The Countess Mountbatten of Burma. The royals were out in force yesterday. The Queen, residing in Windsor Castle, seven miles north of the course, missed the event amid her ongoing mobility issues. Berry nice! A spectator arrives for day two of Royal Ascot wearing a berry themed apricot summer dress with matching pillbox hat and deep red heels. Right: A racegoer looks chic in a stylish white floral dress with matching white hat, bag and heels Giant Union Jack screens greeted racing fans - keeping the Platinum Jubilee celebrations firmly in mind Plenty of fans adopted a patriotic theme too, to ensure the Platinum Jubilee celebrations continue, with red, white and blue incorporated into their outfits for the day Dazzling headwear, including these two drama-filled red and black designs, stole the sartorial show on Wednesday A flourish of feathers: This stylish racegoer opted for an eye-catching hat design, with pink and white feather plumes spilling over the edge Good Morning Britain star Charlotte Hawkins, also a day one attendee, chose a red skirt dress with navy branch detail and a co-ordinated hat as she headed to the event's second day. Wild for wisteria: Penny Lancaster arrived in a purple and white off-the-shoulder dress with a purple felt wide-brimmed hat Actress Helen George plumped for an African-style dress design with a tilted black hat adding a stylish edge The Queen did make it...sort of! Two spectators enjoy a cooling Pimm's, with a cardboard cut-out of HRH watching over them Sandwiches in the sun: al fresco lunches broke out in the car park Funnymen: Rob Beckett donned his smartest suit - with a black tie - for a day at the races on Wednesday. Right: Comic Jason Mansford arrived with his wife Lucy A Scottish racing fan dressed up in his country's traditional attire - complete with a tartan kilt Platty Joobs footwear! A racegoer wears quirky leather Union Jack shoes and red socks, left, and gents heading for the Royal Enclosure donned either grey or black top hats...reflecting the formal nature of the highest tier of specators' stand, right Checking out the runners and riders: A top-hatted spectator looks to be taking tips seriously as he awaits day two's races Not the day for a bearskin! Racegoers pose for a photo with guards in royal uniform at the event, which lies seven miles south of Windsor Her Majesty was a regular at the Berkshire racecourse before the pandemic and has been at every Royal Meeting since acceding to the throne in 1952, apart from when it was held behind closed doors in 2020. However, the 96-year-old monarch is thought to have watched from home just seven miles away at Windsor Castle this afternoon, especially when her horse King's Lynn started racing in the King's Stand Stakes at 3.40pm. Royal Ascot dates from 1711 when Queen Anne drove from nearby Windsor with her entourage for a day's sport organised at her command. Making merry: Grinning spectators took selfies galore ahead of the second day of the famous race meet What a way to arrive: Those bound for the Royal Enclosure trotted into Royal Ascot on a horse and carriage Two lines: The spectators enclosure looked crowded, while the queue for the Royal Enclosure - where top hats and tails are standard for men - was shorter Pristine lawns: a groundmen offers a final cut to the grass inside the beautiful race course Any tips? Races running at Ascot today include the Queen Mary Stakes (2.30pm), the Queens Vase (3:05pm) and the Prince Of Waless Stakes (3.40pm) Security: Armed officers patrolled the entrance to Royal Ascot ahead of day two The weather at the racing event, a highlight of the British summer season, is expected to top 25 degrees today THE OFFICIAL ROYAL ASCOT STYLE GUIDE 2022 ROYAL ENCLOSURE DRESS CODE LADIES Pictured left: Favourbrook jacket 720, trousers 250, waistcoat 320, tie 95, pocket square 35, Oliver Brown top hat 500, Shirt 85, Shoes: Haes and Curtis 149. Pictured right: The Vampire's Wife dress 1,650, Handbag 450, Hat: Edwina Ibbotson 1,580, Shoes: Roger Vivier 1,350, Ring: Garrard 8,000 Erdem dress 2490, hat 1395, gloves 390, Emilia Wickstead shoes 515, earrings: 4element. Available to rent. Dresses and skirts should be of modest length defined as falling just above the knee or longer. Dresses and tops should have straps of one inch or greater. Strapless, off the shoulder, halter neck and spaghetti straps are not permitted. Dresses and tops with sheer straps and sleeves are also not permitted. Jackets and pashminas may be worn. Tops and dresses underneath should still comply with the Royal Enclosure Dress Code. Midriffs must be covered. Trouser suits are welcome. They should be of full-length to the ankle and of matching material and colour. Jumpsuits are welcome. They should fall below the knee, with regulations matching that for dresses. Hats should be worn; however, a headpiece which has a solid base of 4 inches (10cm) or more in diameter is acceptable as an alternative to a hat. Fascinators are not permitted. GIRLS Girls (aged 10-17) should dress in accordance with the Ladies' Dress Code. However, they may wear a headpiece or fascinator as an alternative to a hat, without any size restriction. GENTLEMEN Favourbrook jacket 720, trousers 250, waistcoat 280, tie 110, shoes 320, Oliver Brown top hat 500, shirt 85 It is a requirement to wear black, grey or navy morning dress which must include: A waistcoat and tie (no cravats or bow ties) A black or grey top hat Black shoes worn with socks A gentleman may remove his top hat within a restaurant, a Private Box, a private club or a facilitys terrace, balcony or garden. Hats may also be removed within any enclosed external seating area within the Royal Enclosure Gardens. The customisation of top hats (with, for example, coloured ribbons or bands) is not permitted in the Royal Enclosure Novelty waistcoats and ties are not permitted. Discreet patterns and those of a patriotic nature (for example, a national flag) are acceptable. BOYS Boys (aged 10-17) should either dress in accordance with the gentlemen's Dress Code; or alternatively may wear a dark-coloured lounge suit with a shirt and tie. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Fancy dress, novelty and branded or promotional clothing is not permitted on site. QUEEN ANNE ENCLOSURE DRESS CODE LADIES Pictured left: Dress: Simone Rocha 995, Hat: Jane Taylor 1,560, ShuShu Tong bag 450, shoes 875. Pictured right: Emilia Wickstead dress: 1,650, shoes 590, Hat: Edwina Ibbotson 2,045 Pictured left: Dress: Lisa the Label 720, Hat: Emily London 885, Shoes: Roger Vivier 1,150. Pictured right: Oliver Brown suit 327, shirt 85, tie 69, pocket square: Richard Anderson 84, shoes: Christian Louboutin 775 Ladies within the Queen Anne Enclosure are required to dress in a manner as befits a formal occasion and are kindly asked to take note of the following: A hat, headpiece or fascinator should be worn at all times. Strapless and sheer dresses and tops are not permitted. Please note our definition of strapless necklines include off-the-shoulder, Bardot and one shoulder. Dresses and tops with sheer straps and sleeves are also not permitted. Midriffs must be covered. Trouser suits must be full-length and jumpsuits should fall below the knee. Both must adhere to the neckline regulations above. Shorts are not permitted. GIRLS Girls aged 17 and under should be dressed for a formal occasion. Smart summer dresses are suggested. Hats, headpieces and fascinators may be worn but are not compulsory. GENTLEMEN Richard James jacket 585, trousers 345, Oliver Brown shirt 85, tie 49, Hawes and Curtis pocket square 29, shoes 149 Pictured left: Oliver Spencer suit jacket 369, suit trousers 189, shirt: Budd 130, Tie: Oliver Brown 59, pocket square: Richard Anderson 95, shoes: Harry's 350. Pictured right: Richard James jacket 745, trousers 325, shirt: Budd 130, tie: Oliver Brown 49, pocket square: Richard Anderson 95, shoes: Russel and Bromley 225 Gentlemen's Dress Code Gentlemen are required to wear a full-length suit with a collared shirt and tie, and kindly asked to take note of the following: Jackets and trousers should be of matching colour and pattern. A tie should be worn at all times. Bow ties and cravats are not permitted. Socks must be worn and should cover the ankle. Jeans, chinos and trainers are not permitted. BOYS Boys aged 10-17 should wear a suit or jacket with a shirt and tie. Younger boys nine and under should be dressed smartly but are not required to wear a jacket or tie. VILLAGE ENCLOSURE LADIES Pictured left: Bora Aksu blouse 429, skirt 385, shoes 595, hat: Juliette Botterill 370, handbag: Roger Vivier 1,050. Pictured right: dress: Temperley 560, hat: Yuan Li Milinery 580, shoes: Jimmy Choo 750 Pictured left: Shrimps dress 495, bag 475, hat: Bee Smith 250, shoes: Office 40, earrings: Margaux Studios 195. Pictured right: Gant blazer 350, trousers 175, shirt: Hawes and Curtis 55, tie: Oliver Brown 59, shoes: Christian Louboutin 775 Ladies within the Village Enclosure are required to dress in a manner as befits a formal occasion and are kindly asked to take note of the following: A hat, headpiece or fascinator should be worn at all times. Strapless and sheer dresses and tops are not permitted. Please note our definition of strapless necklines include off-the-shoulder, Bardot and one shoulder. Dresses and tops with sheer straps and sleeves are also not permitted. Midriffs must be covered. Trouser suits must be full-length, and jumpsuits should fall below the knee. Both must adhere to the neckline regulations above. Shorts are not permitted Please note, the Village Enclosure is a grassed area and ladies should consider their hat size and shoes accordingly. Smaller hats or fascinators and wedges or block heels are recommended in place of large headwear or stilettos. GIRLS Girls aged 17 and under should be dressed for a formal occasion. Smart summer dresses are suggested. Hats, headpieces and fascinators may be work but are not compulsory. GENTLEMEN Gant blazer 350, trousers 175, Hawes and Curtis shirt 55, shoes 149, tie: Oliver Brown 59 Gentlemen are required to wear a full-length trousers and jacket with a collared shirt and tie, and kindly asked to take note of the following: A tie should be worn at all times. Ties, bow ties or cravats can be worn in the Village Enclosure. Socks must be worn and should cover the ankle. Jeans and trainers are not permitted. BOYS Boys aged 10-17 should wear a suit or jacket with a shirt and tie. Younger boys nine and under should be dressed smartly but are not required to wear a jacket or tie. WINDSOR ENCLOSURE LADIES Dress: LK Bennett 499, hat: Juliette Botterill 430, shoes: Kurt Geiger 99 Whilst there is no official Dress Code for the Windsor Enclosure, Ladies are encouraged to dress in smart daywear. It is recommended that ladies wear smart attire with a hat or fascinator. GENTLEMEN Ted Baker jacket 279, trousers 150, shirt 95, pocket square: Oliver Brown 35, shoes: Grenson 295 Whilst there is no official Dress Code for the Windsor Enclosure, Gentlemen are encouraged to dress in smart daywear. It is recommended that Gentlemen wear a jacket, collared shirt and full-length trousers. Advertisement Princess Beatrice revealed how she combines her official royal title with her married name for formal events when she stepped out at Ascot yesterday. The royal, 33, who tied the knot with her husband in July 2020 in Windsor at the height of the pandemic, styled herself 'HRH Princess Beatrice Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi' as she descended onto the racecourse in Berkshire. It's understood that's guests in the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot can choose how they want to be referred to on their name badge. Beatrice, who was joined by her Italian husband, 38, her uncle Prince Charles, 73, and her cousins Zara and Peter Phillips for the day, was also seen with a clutch bag reading 'B.Y' for 'Beatrice York,' from Misela, showing she enjoys a bit of branding on occasion. Princess Beatrice proudly wore the name of her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi as she attended Royal Ascot with him and several other members of the royal family yesterday Pinned to her bust, her regulation Ascot nametag revealed she was styled 'Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi' for the day at the races The royal looked darling in a floral day dress and a raffia fascinator adorned with pink flowers. The mother-of-one wore the dress once before to attend the Bahrain Grand Prix with her sister Princess Eugenie in March. Pinned to her bust, her regulation Ascot nametag revealed she was styled 'Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi' for the day at the races. Her 656 belted cream Zimmermann midi frock came with a pink floral print design, puff sleeves and a Mandarin collar. Beatrice's waist was cinched in with a raffia belt, which matched her hat. Beatrice's 656 belted cream Zimmermann midi frock came with a pink floral print design, puff sleeves and a Mandarin collar. Her waist was cinched in with a raffia belt, which matched her hat She paired the look with neutral heels and the 370 Juliette Botterill Millinery floral straw headband for the yearly horse-racing event. The delicate fascinator, also in raffia, was adorned with pink flowers, which matched the royal's choice of dress. Her 'B.Y' clutch also matched her other accessories as she stepped out into the Berkshire sun. Her strawberry blonde locks were styled in an updo tucked under her hat, with tresses cascading down her shoulders at the back. Stylish Beatrice was seen chatting with her cousin Zara Tindall, 41, by the racecourse during the event Prince Andrew's daughter gave her uncle the Prince of Wales, 73, a kiss on the cheek as they arrived at Royal Ascot The daughter of Prince Andrew looked very elegant in her race outfit, donning a natural makeup that highlighted her healthy glow. The mother-of-one sported a dash of blush on the cheeks and a pink lip, as well as a discreet trait of eyeliner around her eyes. Meanwhile, her husband of two years Edo looked dapper as he stood by her side in a morning coat and a pink tie that matched the hue of the flowers on her hat. The couple looked relaxed as they joined Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and the rest of the royal attendees. The royal family showed up in force at the race yesterday, while it's been announced the Queen missed the event amid her ongoing mobility issues. It looked like Prince Charles and Sophie Wessex, 57, were enjoying each other's company during the racing event yesterday Kate Middleton's parents Carole and Michael Middleton were also spotted by the racecourse yesterday Her Majesty was a regular at the Berkshire racecourse before the pandemic and has been at every Royal Meeting since acceding to the throne in 1952, apart from when it was held behind closed doors in 2020. However, it was suggested the 96-year-old monarch would likely be watching from home just seven miles away at Windsor Castle. Her son the Prince of Wales, 73, and Duchess of Cornwall, 74, were in attendance alongside a host of other royals - including Princess Anne, 71, and her two children Peter Philips, 44, and Zara Tindall, 41, Countess Sophie Wessex, 57, and Princess Beatrice, and Edo. Just over a week after the Platinum Jubilee celebrations ended, members of the royal family appeared in high spirits, with many taking part in the carriage procession, before greeting one-another in the warm summer sunshine at the racecourse. Zara could be seen affectionately greeting her uncle Charles, as well as Princess Michael of Kent, while Princess Beatrice was also beaming with joy at the event. Meanwhile the Duchess of Cambridge's parents Carole and Michael Middleton also made a surprise appearance at the event today. The Queen, who is a passionate horse breeder and has owned 22 winners of races at Royal Ascot, was among racegoers attending last year after it was selected to take part in the Government's events research programme on behalf of the sport of racing. She did not attend the first day of last year's races but was later present at day five with her racing manager John Warren and inspected her four horses in the Parade Ring after they crossed the finish line. A British ballet star who fled his role as a principal dancer at the prestigious Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg when war broke out has revealed he's finally performed again. Xander Parish, 36, who's originally from North Ferriby in East Yorkshire, quit his role in a production of Giselle at the historic dance company, and left for Estonia with his new Russian wife in tow in March - and hasn't stepped on stage for three months. The performer, who joined the company in 2010 after previously being offered a place at the Royal Ballet when he was 18, said when Russia launched its attacks on the Ukraine he could not continue to appear on a Russian stage 'until peace comes', telling social media: 'We need to observe from afar rather than being in the middle of it.' However, this week, the British dancer revealed he'd been invited to perform in Romeo and Juliet in the city of Tbilisi, Georgia - reuniting with a fellow performer from the Mariinsky Ballet, Laura Fernandez Gromova. Scroll down for video British star Xander Parish, 36, had been a principal dancer at the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg since 2010 but made the decision to leave Russia in March. This week, he revealed he'd danced once more, after receiving an invitation from the Georgia State Ballet (Pictured with dancer Laura Fernandez Gromova, left, and, right, head of the State Ballet of Georgia Gavriel Heine) The dancer, who was born near Hull in East Yorkshire, fled to Estonia with his Russian wife, fellow Mariinsky dancer Anastasia Demidova in March (The couple pictured during a Zoom ballet session during lockdown) Parish was the first UK principal at the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg - and had danced with the company since 2010 - but made the decision to leave Russia when the country attacked the Ukraine He wrote on Instagram: 'Last night in Tbilisi - Romeo & Juliet with the State Ballet of Georgia. Thank you for the invitation Gavriel Heine and for giving me a wonderful reunion with Laura Fernandez Gromova as my Juliet and as our Maestro!' He added: 'Feels great to be back on stage! Huge thanks to Laura & Gavriel for the wonderful performance and thanks also to the whole company for being so welcoming!' Parish and his wife Anastasia Demidova, who was born in the Siberian city of Tomsk, said in March that the couple had made the decision to leave the country 'due to the awful crisis'. He told his social media followers after making the decision: 'Tonight I was supposed to be performing Giselle at the Mariinsky Theatre but instead, due to the awful crisis I have taken the difficult decision to leave Russia, at least until peace comes. My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine, near and far.' He added: 'I am grateful to the wonderful ordinary Russian people, the majority of whom have treated me with such kindness. I pray that peace will come and the wounds will be healed by Gods grace.' On Instagram, Parish thanked 'ordinary' Russian people for their kindness but said they 'need to observe from afar rather than being in the middle of' the 'awful crisis' (Pictured in Romeo and Juliet performed by the Mariinsky Ballet at the Royal Opera House in 2014) The historic St Petersburg ballet company currently employs 14 dancers from overseas. After being a child star of ballet, Parish took a place as a principal dancer in 2010. His sister Demelza currently dances at The Royal Ballet in London. Speaking to The Sunday Times in March, he said his parents in the UK had influenced the couple's decision not to stay in Russia while Putin is unleashing war on neighbouring Ukraine. He told the newspaper: 'My mum and dad really decided for me. They have been happy to see me thriving in St Petersburg. 'But when this happened my mum was very keen I should take some time out and just leave for the time being. I'm not saying I'm never going back.' British ballet star Xander Parish, 36, has been a Principal dancer at the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg since 2010, but made the decision to leave Russia in March following Putin's attacks on the Ukraine (Xander Parish as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake at the Royal Opera House in July 2017) The couple are now applying for a visa for Demidova, who Parish wed nine months ago, so they can reside in the UK until the conflict ends. Several dancers at the Mariinsky Ballet have spoken out about the conflict in recent months. Yekaterina Chebykina, a soloist, posted on social media: 'It was impossible to imagine what is happening now... I am Ukrainian. 'My hometown is Kyiv. Over these seven days, I have come across various statements addressed to me, and my country. 'You can tell me anything, but I know better than anyone what is happening in my hometown, because my relatives are there, relatives, friends with whom I am in touch 24/7. 'I will not call anyone to any action. Everyone must live according to their conscience. I can only say one thing, nothing can justify war!!!' The star said speaking to his parents back in the UK had made his mind up to leave Russia, saying: 'My mum was very keen I should take some time out and just leave for the time being. I'm not saying I'm never going back.' Vladimir Shklyarov, 37, a principal dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet and a guest principal with The Royal Ballet, posted: 'I am against the war in Ukraine! I am for the people, for the peaceful sky above your heads. 'Politicians should be able to negotiate without shooting and killing civilians, for this they were given a language and a head. 'My grandfather, Anatoly Filimonovich, graduated from school in Ukraine with a gold medal, my great-grandmother Sonya lived all her life in Kyiv. It is impossible to look at everything that is happening today without tears' He said plaintively: 'I want to dance I want to love everyone - that's the purpose of my life I don't want wars or borders.' 'I cannot but say that with every fibre of my soul I am against the war,' she said in an emotional post on Telegram At the same time, another leading Bolshoi prima ballerina also hit out at Putin's attacks in Ukraine, claiming she is 'ashamed' of Russia. Olga Smirnova, 30, posted her opposition to the invasion of Ukraine - where she has family. 'I cannot but say that with every fibre of my soul I am against the war,' she said in an emotional post on Telegram. 'Probably every other Russian [person] has relatives or friends living in Ukraine.' The St Petersburg-born star who has two scheduled performances this month said her grandfather is Ukrainian - 'and I am a quarter Ukrainian'. Olga Smirnova, 30, posted her opposition to the invasion of Ukraine - where she has family In a brave, outspoken and heartfelt attack on the war, she said: 'We continue to live in the 20th century, although nominally in the 21st. 'Political issues in a modern civilised society should be resolved exclusively through peaceful negotiations. I never thought that I would be ashamed of Russia. I have always been proud of the talented Russian people, our cultural and sporting achievements. 'But now the line is drawn on the before and after. 'And it hurts that people are dying, while others are deprived of a roof over their heads or forced to leave their homes. 'And who would have thought a week ago that all this would happen to us, because even if we are not at the epicentre of hostilities, we cannot remain indifferent to a global catastrophe.' Advertisement The Queen's beloved niece, Lady Sarah Chatto, made a rare public appearance alongside the rest of the royal family today as she joined Prince Charles in the Royal Box at Ascot. Sarah, 58, the daughter of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl Snowdon, was accompanied by her hunky son Samuel, 25, who is forging a career as a sculptor. Despite her closeness to Her Majesty, Lady Sarah is known for keeping a low profile, and while she's attended Ascot in the past, she's not regularly seen with the royal family, aside from a handful of key events. Sporting a cream wide-brimmed hat, the mother-of-two looked in great spirits as she took in the action on the track alongside Vice Admiral Sir Charles Anthony Johnstone-Burt, the Queen's Master of the Household. She was also seen chatting to her cousin, Prince Charles, who appeared to be greet her with a kiss on the hand. Lady Sarah seemed to be wearing the same pink pleated skirt she wore to the high society race meeting in 2014. Lady Sarah Chatto looked in great spirits as she took in the action on the track alongside Vice Admiral Sir Charles Anthony Johnstone-Burt, the Queen's Master of the Household in the Royal Box at Royal Ascot Lady Sarah Chattoe kept her look netural, re-wearing a peach pleated skirt she debuted at the event in 2014, teamted with a cream hat aqnd mauve cardigan lady Sarah was greeted with a kiss on the hand by her cousing Prince Charles, while her son Samuel Chatto, 25, looked on It comes after Princess Margaret's daughter attended the service of thanksgiving at St Paul's cathedral during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Lady Sarah Chatto was born in 1964 the last royal baby born at a palace rather than a hospital within weeks of cousins Prince Edward, Lady Helen Windsor and James Ogilvy. The Queen has been described as a 'surrogate mother' to Sarah and her brother, and is particularly close to Lady Sarah, who is understood to remind Her Majesty of her late sister. One royal insider previously revealed: 'The Queen adores Sarah and seeks out her company as often as possible. She is her absolute favourite younger Royal. 'They are hugely at ease in each other's company. Much giggling can be heard when they are together. They share a sense of loyalty, fun, duty and the ridiculous.' One acquaintance said: 'Sarah is very unassuming; shy and almost embarrassed with no grandeur at all. Take royal events she'll be on the balcony, but she never pushes herself to the middle or the front, like some.' The British royal family once again turned out in force at Royal Ascot today - with Prince Charles and Camilla leading the carriage procession for the second day of the glamorous event. Her Majesty, 96, missed today's occasion amid her ongoing mobility issues. The Queen has been at every Royal Meeting since acceding to the throne in 1952, apart from when it was held behind closed doors in 2020. Instead, the Prince of Wales, 73, and Duchess of Cornwall, 74, were in attendance alongside a host of other royals - including Princess Anne, 71, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, and Princess Beatrice, 33, who was joined by her husband Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi, 38. The Queen's daughter-in-law, Sophie, cut an elegant figure in a blue lace dress from Suzannah, while Beatrice opted for a sophisticated white frock with a matching hat, featuring a navy brim. Camilla looked equally radiant in a white ensemble. Just over a week after the Platinum Jubilee celebrations ended, members of the royal family appeared in high spirits, with many taking part in the carriage procession, before greeting one-another in the warm summer sunshine at the racecourse. Prince Charles and Camilla arrive for day two of Royal Ascot as they lead the royal family members attending the event Matching! Princess Anne, 71, was all smiles as she appeared at the event, dressed in blue, like her sister-in-law Sophie Wessex Princess Beatrice, who on Tuesday walked through the gates of Royal Ascot with other racegoers, travelled in the third carriage with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (pictured together) Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex, who is the Queen's youngest son (pictured left), was also seen during today's event Royal blue! Sophie Wessex (left) looked radiant in a lace ensemble, while Princess Beatrice (right) donned a white frock when appearing alongside her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi The British royal family once again turned out in force at Royal Ascot today - with Prince Charles and Camilla (pictured) leading the carriage procession for the second day of the glamorous event Camilla looked radiant in a white ensemble when appearing alongside her husband The Prince of Wales today The Prince of Wales, 73, and Duchess of Cornwall, 74, were in attendance alongside a host of other royals - including Countess Sophie Wessex, 57, and Princess Beatrice, 33, who was joined by her husband Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi (pictured together) Beautiful in blue! The Queen's daughter-in-law, Sophie, cut an elegant figure in a sapphire lace dress for her appearance Stylish: Princess Beatrice (pictured left) opted for a sophisticated white frock with a matching hat, featuring a navy brim The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall once again lead the royal party and are likely to spend the day studying the form of the thoroughbreds and enjoying the atmosphere. Like the Queen, the world of racing looks forward to the summer meet, which is as much a social occasion as a sporting fixture. Charles and Camilla took part in a traditional procession along the course and travelled in the lead carriage with the master of the Queen's household, Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt. The Earl and Countess of Wessex followed and Princess Beatrice, who on Tuesday walked through the gates of Royal Ascot with other racegoers, journeyed in the third carriage with husband Edoardo. Russell and Tracy Rose, who have been regulars at Royal Ascot for decades, said it was a shame the Queen missed another day at the races but sympathised with the monarch. Mr Rose said: She's an elderly lady and is conserving her energy and seems to be conscious about what she does. But I wouldn't be surprised to see her make an appearance later this week if she can. Everybody would love to see her here. Royally good fun! The Queen's family appeared to be in great spirits as they attended day two of Royal Ascot this afternoon Saying Hi! Princess Beatrice opted for a glamorous makeup appearance, with a sweep of pink lipstick and black eyeliner Meanwhile, her husband opted for the customary traditional morning dress, complete with a black top hat, light waistcoat and tails Hat's the ticket! Princess Anne made a statement with an eye-catching blue floral headpiece when attending the second day A family affair! Princess Beatrice, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Sophie Countess of Wessex stand with one another A beaming Sophie opted for a ruffled frock from Suzannah, which she teamed with a floral blue hat from Jane Taylor and matching high heels Royal Ascot racegoers sweltered in scorching temperatures as the Queen missed another day of the famous sporting event. Pictured, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi Like the Queen, the world of racing looks forward to the summer meet, which is as much a social occasion as a sporting fixture. Pictured left to right, Prince Charles and Camilla Charles and Camilla took part in a traditional procession along the course and travelled in the lead carriage with the master of the Queen's household, Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt A beaming Sophie opted for a ruffled frock from Suzannah, which she teamed with a floral blue hat from Jane Taylor and matching high heels. Royal Ascot showed it has firmly rediscovered its pre-pandemic glamour when it opened its gates yesterday, with spectators donning high fashion finery and some show-stopping millinery. And day two of the British summer season society favourite saw a similarly bold couture catwalk of daring outfits, as racegoers appearing to be taking this year's more relaxed dress code in the main spectators' enclosure to the letter. A sartorial rainbow was on display at the racecourse's entrance just after 10am as thousands of spectators - sporting enormous wide-brimmed straw hats, dazzling fascinators, elegant summer gowns and towering heels in day-glo shades - poured into the Berkshire enclosures. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall once again lead the royal party and are likely to spend the day studying the form of the thoroughbreds and enjoying the atmosphere Princess Beatrice's husband Edoardo appeared dapper as he joined his wife at the event alongside other royal family members Channing Millerd, Lady Eliza Spencer, Lady Amelia Spencer and Greg Mallett attend Royal Ascot 2022 at Ascot Racecourse The Prince of Wales watches the action through binoculars from a balcony during day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse Prince Charles peck's the cheek of one of the racegoers during the second day of Royal Ascot this afternoon Pretty in pink! This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby oozed elegance in a midi dress with a bow neckline (L to R) Dame Deborah James, brother Benjamin James and his fiance Ashley Hall attend Royal Ascot 2022 at Ascot Racecourse The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall arrive in the royal procession into the parade ring ahead of racing on day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse One reveller turned heads with a spectacular millinery effort that included more than a dozen unicorns in pastel shades, while another donned a gigantic multi-coloured bow, and some lightning bolt earrings - catching the eye of photographers at the race meet. Elsewhere, there was everything from traditional top hat and tails for gents heading to the Royal Enclosure, to sharp monochrome looks and floaty floral ensembles. The 2022 published Style Guide for the event, the eleventh of its kind, requests formality remains in the Royal Enclosure - where punters have been able to buy their way in since 2007 - but hints at a less strict approach elsewhere, suggesting exuberant occasion wear is positively encouraged this year. Plenty of fans adopted a patriotic theme too, to ensure the Platinum Jubilee celebrations continue, with red, white and blue incorporated into their outfits for the day. Say it with flowers: A spectator smiles as she arrives in a vibrant pink and orange ensemble, twinned with a multi-layered orange hat Give us a twirl! Glamorously-attired racegoers headed to famous Berkshire course for the second day of Royal Ascot - including this lady who opted for a fit and flare in cerise Milliner Awon Golding wears one of her own designs...with pom poms in shades of pink the main attraction Oranges and lemons: Fashion fans haven't shied away from the boldest shades as day two kicks off at Royal Ascot Spectator Amelia Johnson also picked out orange, with a blue clutch and co-ordinated hat Hats off to day two! The summer season staple has returned largely to its pre-pandemic glory - with zero Covid restrictions on revellers and a more relaxed dress code in the main spectators' enclosure now in place A slick of purple lipstick complemented this racegoer's imposing look, which included purple and violet floral dress, and an eye-catching yellow hat, while her companion opted for pretty red flowers and matching millinery Creativity abounds: A playful watering can handbag finished off this green summer lace number Unicorn dream: This spectacular millinery incorporates dozens of unicorns in pastel shades. Right, an over-sized many coloured bow - and some lightning bolt earrings - caught the eye of photographers at the race meet Head to toe glamour: With the sun high and hot for the afternoon's races, this spectator opted for a straw hat with a huge brim. Right: More daring designs - including these lime feathered heels - are on display at Royal Ascot this year In the pink: Hat designer Lisa Tan, who attended day one of the event, arrives in a vision of pink - with a circular leather horse clutch - for day two. Right: Pink diamante heels and a cerise hat, with a snakeskin clutch in green, accessorise this green and pink checked pleat dress Dance star Oti Mabuse looked stunning in emerald satin and an unusual cerise pink hat as she waltzed into the race meet Those with the widest brimmed hats are likely to be best suited for temperatures that look set to soar to over 25 degrees in this leafy portion of Berkshire this afternoon. Races running at Ascot today include the Queen Mary Stakes (2.30pm), the Queens Vase (3:05pm) and the Prince Of Waless Stakes (3.40pm). There were more celebrities at the meet on Wednesday, with Good Morning Britain star Charlotte Hawkins, dancer Oti Mabuse and comedian Rob Beckett among them. Penny Lancaster arrived wearing a white dress adorned with a purple wisteria design, and finished the look with a purple felt wide-brimmed hat. Feeling vibrant! Glamorous racegoers put their best fashion foot forward when attending day two of Royal Ascot today Co-ordinated chic: These three ladies were all smiles as they attended the occasion together in all their colourful finery Looking good! These two ladies appeared effortlessly elegant in their sophisticated outfits as they posed up a storm Hat's more like it! These glamorous racegoers made sure to stand out from the crowd thanks to their daring headpieces Show stopping looks! Fashion desginer Kyle De'Volle stuns in a shimmering blue ensemble, left, while Good Morning Britain star Charlotte Hawkins opted for a patterned dress, right Say cheese! Glamorous racegoers, arriving ahead of racing on day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse, pose for a photo Bright and colourful! The famous racing event has returned largely to pre-pandemic status - with zero restrictions on revellers - and a dress code that appears to encourage people to go all out on occasion wear Perfect patterns! Many racegoers made sure to stand out from the crowd with their vibrant outfits and matching accessories Monochrome might: Black and white has proved an ever popular choice for occasion wear this year so far Whites and creams also featured heavily in the sartorial choices for day two attendees, with this sophisticated-looking racing fan opting for a white lace dress with a wide, bow-style collar Meanwhile, for the royal procession today, Prince Charles, and the Duchess of Cornwall and Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt arrived in the first carriage. The second carriage included The Earl of Wessex, The Countess of Wessex, The Lord de Mauley and The Lady de Mauley, while in the third, Princess Beatrice and Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi joined Princess Alexandra and The Countess Mountbatten of Burma. The royals were out in force yesterday. The Queen, residing in Windsor Castle, seven miles north of the course, missed the event amid her ongoing mobility issues. Berry nice! A spectator arrives for day two of Royal Ascot wearing a berry themed apricot summer dress with matching pillbox hat and deep red heels. Right: A racegoer looks chic in a stylish white floral dress with matching white hat, bag and heels Giant Union Jack screens greeted racing fans - keeping the Platinum Jubilee celebrations firmly in mind Plenty of fans adopted a patriotic theme too, to ensure the Platinum Jubilee celebrations continue, with red, white and blue incorporated into their outfits for the day Dazzling headwear, including these two drama-filled red and black designs, stole the sartorial show on Wednesday A flourish of feathers: This stylish racegoer opted for an eye-catching hat design, with pink and white feather plumes spilling over the edge Good Morning Britain star Charlotte Hawkins, also a day one attendee, chose a red skirt dress with navy branch detail and a co-ordinated hat as she headed to the event's second day. Wild for wisteria: Penny Lancaster arrived in a purple and white off-the-shoulder dress with a purple felt wide-brimmed hat Actress Helen George plumped for an African-style dress design with a tilted black hat adding a stylish edge The Queen did make it...sort of! Two spectators enjoy a cooling Pimm's, with a cardboard cut-out of HRH watching over them Sandwiches in the sun: al fresco lunches broke out in the car park Funnymen: Rob Beckett donned his smartest suit - with a black tie - for a day at the races on Wednesday. Right: Comic Jason Mansford arrived with his wife Lucy A Scottish racing fan dressed up in his country's traditional attire - complete with a tartan kilt Platty Joobs footwear! A racegoer wears quirky leather Union Jack shoes and red socks, left, and gents heading for the Royal Enclosure donned either grey or black top hats...reflecting the formal nature of the highest tier of specators' stand, right Checking out the runners and riders: A top-hatted spectator looks to be taking tips seriously as he awaits day two's races Not the day for a bearskin! Racegoers pose for a photo with guards in royal uniform at the event, which lies seven miles south of Windsor Her Majesty was a regular at the Berkshire racecourse before the pandemic and has been at every Royal Meeting since acceding to the throne in 1952, apart from when it was held behind closed doors in 2020. However, the 96-year-old monarch is thought to have watched from home just seven miles away at Windsor Castle this afternoon, especially when her horse King's Lynn started racing in the King's Stand Stakes at 3.40pm. Royal Ascot dates from 1711 when Queen Anne drove from nearby Windsor with her entourage for a day's sport organised at her command. Making merry: Grinning spectators took selfies galore ahead of the second day of the famous race meet What a way to arrive: Those bound for the Royal Enclosure trotted into Royal Ascot on a horse and carriage Two lines: The spectators enclosure looked crowded, while the queue for the Royal Enclosure - where top hats and tails are standard for men - was shorter Pristine lawns: a groundmen offers a final cut to the grass inside the beautiful race course Any tips? Races running at Ascot today include the Queen Mary Stakes (2.30pm), the Queens Vase (3:05pm) and the Prince Of Waless Stakes (3.40pm) Security: Armed officers patrolled the entrance to Royal Ascot ahead of day two The weather at the racing event, a highlight of the British summer season, is expected to top 25 degrees today THE OFFICIAL ROYAL ASCOT STYLE GUIDE 2022 ROYAL ENCLOSURE DRESS CODE LADIES Pictured left: Favourbrook jacket 720, trousers 250, waistcoat 320, tie 95, pocket square 35, Oliver Brown top hat 500, Shirt 85, Shoes: Haes and Curtis 149. Pictured right: The Vampire's Wife dress 1,650, Handbag 450, Hat: Edwina Ibbotson 1,580, Shoes: Roger Vivier 1,350, Ring: Garrard 8,000 Erdem dress 2490, hat 1395, gloves 390, Emilia Wickstead shoes 515, earrings: 4element. Available to rent. Dresses and skirts should be of modest length defined as falling just above the knee or longer. Dresses and tops should have straps of one inch or greater. Strapless, off the shoulder, halter neck and spaghetti straps are not permitted. Dresses and tops with sheer straps and sleeves are also not permitted. Jackets and pashminas may be worn. Tops and dresses underneath should still comply with the Royal Enclosure Dress Code. Midriffs must be covered. Trouser suits are welcome. They should be of full-length to the ankle and of matching material and colour. Jumpsuits are welcome. They should fall below the knee, with regulations matching that for dresses. Hats should be worn; however, a headpiece which has a solid base of 4 inches (10cm) or more in diameter is acceptable as an alternative to a hat. Fascinators are not permitted. GIRLS Girls (aged 10-17) should dress in accordance with the Ladies' Dress Code. However, they may wear a headpiece or fascinator as an alternative to a hat, without any size restriction. GENTLEMEN Favourbrook jacket 720, trousers 250, waistcoat 280, tie 110, shoes 320, Oliver Brown top hat 500, shirt 85 It is a requirement to wear black, grey or navy morning dress which must include: A waistcoat and tie (no cravats or bow ties) A black or grey top hat Black shoes worn with socks A gentleman may remove his top hat within a restaurant, a Private Box, a private club or a facilitys terrace, balcony or garden. Hats may also be removed within any enclosed external seating area within the Royal Enclosure Gardens. The customisation of top hats (with, for example, coloured ribbons or bands) is not permitted in the Royal Enclosure Novelty waistcoats and ties are not permitted. Discreet patterns and those of a patriotic nature (for example, a national flag) are acceptable. BOYS Boys (aged 10-17) should either dress in accordance with the gentlemen's Dress Code; or alternatively may wear a dark-coloured lounge suit with a shirt and tie. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Fancy dress, novelty and branded or promotional clothing is not permitted on site. QUEEN ANNE ENCLOSURE DRESS CODE LADIES Pictured left: Dress: Simone Rocha 995, Hat: Jane Taylor 1,560, ShuShu Tong bag 450, shoes 875. Pictured right: Emilia Wickstead dress: 1,650, shoes 590, Hat: Edwina Ibbotson 2,045 Pictured left: Dress: Lisa the Label 720, Hat: Emily London 885, Shoes: Roger Vivier 1,150. Pictured right: Oliver Brown suit 327, shirt 85, tie 69, pocket square: Richard Anderson 84, shoes: Christian Louboutin 775 Ladies within the Queen Anne Enclosure are required to dress in a manner as befits a formal occasion and are kindly asked to take note of the following: A hat, headpiece or fascinator should be worn at all times. Strapless and sheer dresses and tops are not permitted. Please note our definition of strapless necklines include off-the-shoulder, Bardot and one shoulder. Dresses and tops with sheer straps and sleeves are also not permitted. Midriffs must be covered. Trouser suits must be full-length and jumpsuits should fall below the knee. Both must adhere to the neckline regulations above. Shorts are not permitted. GIRLS Girls aged 17 and under should be dressed for a formal occasion. Smart summer dresses are suggested. Hats, headpieces and fascinators may be worn but are not compulsory. GENTLEMEN Richard James jacket 585, trousers 345, Oliver Brown shirt 85, tie 49, Hawes and Curtis pocket square 29, shoes 149 Pictured left: Oliver Spencer suit jacket 369, suit trousers 189, shirt: Budd 130, Tie: Oliver Brown 59, pocket square: Richard Anderson 95, shoes: Harry's 350. Pictured right: Richard James jacket 745, trousers 325, shirt: Budd 130, tie: Oliver Brown 49, pocket square: Richard Anderson 95, shoes: Russel and Bromley 225 Gentlemen's Dress Code Gentlemen are required to wear a full-length suit with a collared shirt and tie, and kindly asked to take note of the following: Jackets and trousers should be of matching colour and pattern. A tie should be worn at all times. Bow ties and cravats are not permitted. Socks must be worn and should cover the ankle. Jeans, chinos and trainers are not permitted. BOYS Boys aged 10-17 should wear a suit or jacket with a shirt and tie. Younger boys nine and under should be dressed smartly but are not required to wear a jacket or tie. VILLAGE ENCLOSURE LADIES Pictured left: Bora Aksu blouse 429, skirt 385, shoes 595, hat: Juliette Botterill 370, handbag: Roger Vivier 1,050. Pictured right: dress: Temperley 560, hat: Yuan Li Milinery 580, shoes: Jimmy Choo 750 Pictured left: Shrimps dress 495, bag 475, hat: Bee Smith 250, shoes: Office 40, earrings: Margaux Studios 195. Pictured right: Gant blazer 350, trousers 175, shirt: Hawes and Curtis 55, tie: Oliver Brown 59, shoes: Christian Louboutin 775 Ladies within the Village Enclosure are required to dress in a manner as befits a formal occasion and are kindly asked to take note of the following: A hat, headpiece or fascinator should be worn at all times. Strapless and sheer dresses and tops are not permitted. Please note our definition of strapless necklines include off-the-shoulder, Bardot and one shoulder. Dresses and tops with sheer straps and sleeves are also not permitted. Midriffs must be covered. Trouser suits must be full-length, and jumpsuits should fall below the knee. Both must adhere to the neckline regulations above. Shorts are not permitted Please note, the Village Enclosure is a grassed area and ladies should consider their hat size and shoes accordingly. Smaller hats or fascinators and wedges or block heels are recommended in place of large headwear or stilettos. GIRLS Girls aged 17 and under should be dressed for a formal occasion. Smart summer dresses are suggested. Hats, headpieces and fascinators may be work but are not compulsory. GENTLEMEN Gant blazer 350, trousers 175, Hawes and Curtis shirt 55, shoes 149, tie: Oliver Brown 59 Gentlemen are required to wear a full-length trousers and jacket with a collared shirt and tie, and kindly asked to take note of the following: A tie should be worn at all times. Ties, bow ties or cravats can be worn in the Village Enclosure. Socks must be worn and should cover the ankle. Jeans and trainers are not permitted. BOYS Boys aged 10-17 should wear a suit or jacket with a shirt and tie. Younger boys nine and under should be dressed smartly but are not required to wear a jacket or tie. WINDSOR ENCLOSURE LADIES Dress: LK Bennett 499, hat: Juliette Botterill 430, shoes: Kurt Geiger 99 Whilst there is no official Dress Code for the Windsor Enclosure, Ladies are encouraged to dress in smart daywear. It is recommended that ladies wear smart attire with a hat or fascinator. GENTLEMEN Ted Baker jacket 279, trousers 150, shirt 95, pocket square: Oliver Brown 35, shoes: Grenson 295 Whilst there is no official Dress Code for the Windsor Enclosure, Gentlemen are encouraged to dress in smart daywear. It is recommended that Gentlemen wear a jacket, collared shirt and full-length trousers. Advertisement By Marjorie Cohn June 15, 2022: Information Clearing House -- In a shameful opinion that broke down along ideological lines, the right-wingers on the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 last month that people who receive ineffective assistance of counsel are not entitled to present new evidence to prove their innocence in federal court. After the decision in Shinn v. Ramirez and Jones which flies in the face of the courts recent precedents protecting the Sixth Amendment right to counsel even people who can demonstrate their innocence could be subjected to the shameful practice of capital punishment. The courts decision will leave many people who were convicted in violation of the Sixth Amendment to face incarceration or even execution without any meaningful chance to vindicate their right to counsel, Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent, adding that the court hamstrings the federal courts authority to safeguard that right and reduces to rubble many Sixth Amendment constitutional rights. Indeed, the ramifications of the Shinn decision are frightening. When a capital defendant is poorly represented by an appointee of the State, the State gets to defend the unfairly won conviction in federal court and bar the defendant from even showing that crucial evidence was omitted from the trial due to lawyer malfeasance, appellate habeas defense attorney Chuck Sevilla told Truthout. This obvious Kafkaesque scenario could, and probably will, lead to the execution of the innocent. The court used a pair of Arizona cases to reach this decision. The Case of Barry Lee Jones In 1994, Barry Lee Jones was charged with murdering his girlfriends 4-year-old daughter, Rachel Gray. The prosecution argued that Rachel died from an injury while in Jones care. But Jones trial attorney didnt perform any investigation, which would have uncovered medical evidence that Rachels fatal injury could not have progressed as rapidly as the prosecution claimed. This evidence may have demonstrated Rachel was injured when she wasnt in Jones care. Since the jury never heard this evidence, they convicted Jones of murder and the trial judge sentenced him to death. Arizona law didnt allow Jones to argue on direct appeal that his trial lawyer provided him with ineffective assistance of counsel. The first time he could raise this issue was in a state habeas corpus proceeding, where Jones once again was appointed an incompetent lawyer, who lacked the minimum qualifications for appointment in a capital case. The new lawyer also carried out almost no investigation, failing to investigate the ineffective assistance of Jones trial attorney. The state habeas lawyer didnt even allege in the habeas petition that Jones trial lawyer was ineffective for failing to investigate the medical evidence. The Arizona courts denied Joness habeas petition. Jones filed a petition for habeas corpus in Federal District Court, where he was finally represented by a competent attorney. The District Court held an evidentiary hearing where Jones lawyer presented exonerating evidence that could have been offered by his trial counsel and state habeas counsel. After the hearing, the District Court found that Jones state habeas lawyer provided ineffective assistance of counsel and therefore Jones could raise the issue for the first time in federal court. The District Court also concluded that there was a reasonable probability that the jury would not have unanimously convicted [Jones] of any of the counts if Jones trial attorney had adequately investigated and presented medical and other expert testimony to rebut the States theory of Jones guilt. Arizona appealed the District Courts decision, arguing that the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act prevented the District Court from considering new evidence. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Courts ruling. The Case of David Ramirez David Ramirez was convicted of capital murders of his girlfriend and her daughter. During the sentencing phase, the state court appointed a psychologist to conduct a mental health evaluation of Ramirez. But Ramirezs trial lawyer failed to provide the psychologist with evidence that Ramirez had an intellectual disability which could mitigate against a death sentence and in favor of life in prison without parole. Ramirez was sentenced to death Like Jones, Ramirez was appointed a lawyer for his state habeas claim. And like Jones, this was the first time Ramirez had an opportunity to claim he had received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Again, as in Jones case, Ramirezs state habeas attorney didnt conduct an investigation despite knowing that Ramirez might suffer from intellectual disabilities. Neither did Ramirezs state habeas attorney argue that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel by not developing and presenting mitigating evidence. The Arizona courts denied Ramirezs habeas petition. A Federal District Court appointed the Arizona federal public defender to represent Ramirez in a federal habeas proceeding, citing concerns regarding the quality of his prior attorneys. Ramirez argued in his habeas petition that his trial counsel had provided him with ineffective assistance. He submitted evidence from family members, who had never been contacted by Ramirezs trial lawyer and his state habeas lawyer. This evidence demonstrated that Ramirez ate on the floor while growing up and slept on dirty mattresses in places filthy with animal feces; that his mother beat him with electrical cords; and that he had multiple apparent developmental delays, which included delayed walking, potty training, and speech and he was unable to engage in basic hygiene or use eating utensils. The court-appointed psychologist who evaluated Ramirez for the sentencing phase of the trial told the habeas court that if the trial attorney had given him Ramirezs school records and IQ scores, he would have insisted on comprehensive testing. Ramirezs trial counsel submitted an affidavit saying she wasnt prepared to handle the representation of someone as mentally disturbed as Ramirez. But the District Court denied Ramirezs ineffectiveness claim and refused to allow him to present further evidence in the federal habeas proceeding. Arizona conceded that Ramirezs state habeas lawyer performed deficiently. The Ninth Circuit then reversed and directed the District Court to receive evidence to support Ramirezs ineffectiveness claim, saying he had been precluded from such development because of his post-conviction counsels ineffective representation. The Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit decisions in both Joness and Ramirezs case Trapped in a Catch-22 In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in Martinez v. Ryan that defendants could argue that they received ineffective assistance of counsel for the first time in federal court. But on May 23, the court ruled in Shinn that these defendants cannot present evidence to support those claims. Defendants who are convicted in state court must first raise constitutional challenges to their convictions in state court. If they dont, they are in procedural default and a federal court cannot review their constitutional claims. In Martinez, however, the court held that if a state allows a prisoner to raise a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for the first time in a state habeas corpus proceeding (after a direct appeal has already been heard), the lawyers ineffectiveness at the habeas stage constitutes cause to excuse the procedural default. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (with some exceptions) forbids a federal court from holding an evidentiary hearing where the defendant has failed to develop the factual basis of a claim in State court proceedings. The issue in Shinn was how to reconcile Martinezs permission for a prisoner to claim ineffective assistance of trial counsel with the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Acts prohibition on presenting evidence to support that claim. Clarence Thomas wrote the Supreme Courts majority opinion in Shinn on behalf of himself, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. The court held that a federal habeas court may not conduct an evidentiary hearing or otherwise consider evidence beyond the state-court record based on ineffective assistance of state post-conviction counsel. Trapping defendants in a Catch-22 conundrum, the majority ruled that defendants are at fault for failing to raise a claim of their lawyers ineffectiveness in state court, even though that failure was caused by the errors of their lawyer. In her dissent, joined by Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, Sotomayor explained the unfairness of the majoritys holding. She wrote, A petitioner cannot logically be faultless for not bringing a claim because of post-conviction counsels ineffectiveness, yet at fault for not developing its evidentiary basis for exactly the same reason. Ironically, while the majority held that Jones and Ramirez had defaulted by not raising their claims in the lower court, the right-wingers excused the state from failing to object to the evidentiary development of Ramirezs claim and raising an Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act argument in the District Court or in the Ninth Circuit. In a footnote, Thomas wrote, Because we have discretion to forgive any forfeiture, and because our deciding the matter now will reduce the likelihood of further litigation in a 30-year-old murder case, [citation omitted], we choose to forgive the States forfeiture before the District Court. Sotomayor called the majority opinion perverse and illogical and wrote that it makes no sense. She noted that since claims of ineffective assistance often involve errors of omission (such as the failure to properly investigate), the proof of ineffectiveness will necessarily require evidence outside of the trial record. To put it bluntly: Two men whose trial attorneys did not provide even the bare minimum level of representation required by the Constitution may be executed because forces outside of their control prevented them from vindicating their constitutional right to counsel, Sotomayor wrote. The courts ruling has alarming implications. It will preclude defendants from presenting evidence that they are innocent. Without ineffective assistance of counsel claims, there is no procedural vehicle to bring evidence of actual innocence in most states, Michigan law professor Andrew Fleischman tweeted. Nearly 3,000 people have suffered wrongful criminal convictions since 1989, according to the Innocence Project, and 186 people sentenced to death have been exonerated since 1973. Moreover, as I wrote in 2014, the death penalty leads to the execution of innocent people, is racist in its application and imposition, does not deter homicide, is likely unconstitutional and flies in the face of nearly all industrialized countries that have abolished capital punishment. Shinn effectively ensures that innocent people will remain imprisoned, Salons Mark Joseph Stern tweeted. It also means that innocents will likely be executed, as habeas attorney Sevilla predicts. Attorney Robert Loeb, who represented Jones and Ramirez in the Supreme Court, called the Shinn decision tragic, not just for his clients but also for myriad prisoners. The courts decision effectively closes the federal courts to many prisoners with extremely serious constitutional ineffective trial counsel claims simply because they were unlucky enough to have incompetent lawyers at every stage of state court proceedings, he said. Stern sees Shinn as one more in the unceasing stream of callous, radical, reactionary decisions coming from the Supreme Court, which is fairly easy to miss because so many of them involve complicated points of law. Stern added, But the conservative majority is very much in the midst of a revolution. And it is a brutal one. Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, former president of the National Lawyers Guild, and a member of the bureau of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and the advisory board of Veterans for Peace. Her books include Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues. - This article is from Truthout Former Milly designer Michelle Smith has opened up about coming out as pansexual after falling in love with SoulCycle instructor Stacey Griffith, saying she now feels 'more natural' and 'comfortable' with herself. Smith, 49, and Griffith, 54, confirmed their relationship on Instagram in 2019, two years after the former split with her husband, Andrew Oshrin, with whom she co-founded Milly in 2000. 'I identify as pansexual,' she told Vogue in a new interview. 'I grew up very straight, but around the age of 40, my attraction to people changed: I stopped being attracted to someone through their gender and became attracted to people through who they are and their energy.' Former Milly designer Michelle Smith has opened up about coming out as pansexual after falling in love with SoulCycle instructor Stacey Griffith The designer, who now identifies as pansexual, told Vogue that she grew up 'very straight' but her 'attraction to people changed' around the age of 40 Smith, 49, and Griffith, 54, are pictured celebrating Price Month in New York City in 2020 Smith noted she 'never had an official coming-out announcement' and reflected on how her experience greatly differed from Griffith's. 'When my girlfriend [Griffith] came out, she was a gay teen in high school in the '80s and it was horrible people would write "d**e" on her car in soap and pick fights with her,' she explained. Smith was in her late 20s when she married Oshrin in 2003, and they have two children together, Sophia, 15, and William, 12. She admitted she has a 'good laugh' when she looks at photos of herself from this time in her life because she looks 'like such a straight mom.' 'Now I just feel more natural and comfortable with myself,' she said. Smith and Oshrin were in the midst of a divorce when Milly was sold to a subsidiary of the apparel company S. Rothschild & Co. in 2019. Smith was married to Milly co-founder Andrew Oshrin from 2003 until their split in 2017. They are pictured together in 2015 Smith stepped away from Milly in 2019 after it was sold to a subsidiary of the apparel company S. Rothschild & Co. She is pictured at a runway show during New York Fashion Week in 2018 Griffith, who is renowned for her popular SoulCycle classes, has her own celebrity following that includes the likes of Kelly Ripa (far left) and Hoda Kotb (second from left) The designer, whose fans included Michelle Obama and Jennifer Lopez, quietly stepped away from the brand after the sale and launched her new line, Michelle Smith, a year later. 'Realizing that Im pansexual definitely changed my design aesthetic and the way I approached collections,' she told Vogue. 'It feels old-fashioned even to define clothing by a certain gender I want all genders to feel welcome in my clothes.' Griffith has previously dated Debby Hymowitz for 13 years after the socialite left her hedge fund husband Greg for her in 2005 Griffith, who is renowned for her popular SoulCycle classes, has her own celebrity following that includes the likes of Brooke Shields and Kelly Ripa. Together, the powerhouse couple has launched Love & Sports, a genderless activewear line for Walmart. Smith said she makes a point to 'look for nonbinary and trans models' when casting because 'it's important' that 'everyone has a place in fashion.' The mother of two has been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ community since before she came out, and she noted it's a troubling time for gay rights. She mentioned Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill that bans teachers from giving instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. Smith encouraged people to stand up for LGBTQ rights and also support gay youth, who are 'most at risk and the most vulnerable.' 'Maybe Im in a microcosm because Im in New York City, but with my childrens identities and friendships, theyre very comfortable in their own skin,' she said. 'Theres no sense of shame around queerness.' Smith and Griffith confirmed their relationship on Instagram in 2019, two years after the former split with her husband Smith shared a blurrier version of the image with a check mark emoji and the hashtags #lovewins and #loveislove The couple made their first public appearance at the Seeds of Hope Fundraising Gala in 2019 Smith's relationship with Griffith is her first with a woman, and as recently as July 2018, she was saying she was not a member of the LGBTQ community but an ally. 'Im not coming out, but I am a big, ardent supporter of equality and LGBTQ rights, and my upcoming Fall collection was all about color and using the rainbow as a metaphor,' she told The Daily Front Row at the Big Gay Ice Cream shop in New York during Pride Month. Griffith had previously dated Debby Hymowitz for 13 years after the socialite left her hedge fund husband Gregg for her in 2005. The couple had two college-aged daughters and a seven-year-old at the time of the split. Smith first met Griffith when she started taking SoulCycle classes in 2013, The New York Times reported in 2020. Five years later, the two reconnected at a barbeque in Montauk and started spending more time together. In October 2019, Griffith made their relationship Instagram official by sharing a photo of herself dipping Smith while posing in front of the New York City skyline. Smith told Vogue that she 'never had an official coming-out announcement,' but she now feels 'more natural' and 'comfortable' with herself Together, they have launched Love & Sports, a genderless activewear line for Walmart. Smith said she makes a point to 'look for nonbinary and trans models' when casting 'As clear as it gets ... #lovewins every time,' she wrote, adding a heart emoji and the hashtags #partner, #loveyourself, and #tomboy. She also tagged Smith in the picture, leaving no doubt as to the identity of her glamorous-looking partner. Meanwhile, Smith shared a blurrier version of the image with a check mark emoji and the hashtags #lovewins and #loveislove. Later, she commented with more hashtags: #lgbtq #equality #lgbtqrights #pansexual #lesbian #love. The two hadn't come out publicly about their relationship before, so the posts elicited supportive replies from friends and fans, including several of Griffith's A-list pals such as Molly Sims and MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle. Days later, Smith and Griffith made their first public appearance together at the 2019 Seeds Of Hope Fundraising Gala hosted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City. 'I wasn't seeing her for her gender. I saw her for her energy, and her beautiful light and it felt very natural,' Smith said of falling for Griffith on the Tamron Hall Show in 2020 Smith said she waited until the right moment to tell her children Sophia and William about her relationship with Griffith, but they were ultimately supportive Smith spoke candidly about her relationship with Griffith during an appearance on the Tamron Hall Show in December 2020. 'I'd always had a very, you know, traditionally heterosexual life and up until that point, I never felt attractions to a woman before,' she said. 'This is my first time but now my life is very different.' Smith explained that the way she sees 'people and love is very different,' adding that her relationship with Griffith was 'not anything I expected.' 'We did fall in love. She's amazing,' she said. 'It just happened. I wasn't seeing her for her gender. I saw her for her energy, and her beautiful light and it felt very natural.' Smith also spoke about how she waited to tell her children about her new relationship, which they ultimately supported. 'I didn't want to rock their boat. So, I took some time to be sure that it was the right moment,' she said. 'And when I told them, they had questions. And they too were a bit surprised. But, they're also very accepting, you know, my children, children of their age, are of a new generation.' A few years ago, Kathryn Roberts attended the Scottish Comedy Awards with some fellow comedians. As the ceremony drew to a close, one man in her group told her he was hosting a party afterwards. The drink had been flowing, spirits were high and Kathryn knew the man, so thought little of accepting the invitation. Back at his house, however, she discovered she was the only guest. Confused, she crashed out on his sofa. The comic then hauled her off it and pulled her to his bed. I said, No, Im drunk, I want to sleep, recalls Kathryn, before adding quietly: He raped me. Afterwards, as he slept, she lay awake all night, trapped until the trains started at dawn and she could travel to her home in the countryside outside Glasgow. Kathryn Roberts, 26, (pictured) has given an account of being harassed and raped while working as a comedian. This experience made her quit her job I felt ashamed, she says. It was dark, I was sore. I was in shock. I remember thinking, Hold it together. Five more hours, four more hours, then youll be home. I left before he woke and texted a friend from the train to tell him what had happened. He said it sounded like I had been raped. The traumatic ordeal was the tipping point that resulted in Kathryn quitting her successful six-year career, in which she had won a newcomer award and performed in front of crowds of hundreds. But it was far from an isolated incident by this point she had already been harassed by a number of men in her industry. Sadly, Kathryn isnt the only one. Speaking on her new TV series last week, comic Katherine Ryan said she had accused a fellow comedian of being a sexual predator while on the set of a popular programme. She was in conversation with Sara Pascoe a regular on BBCs Mock The Week among other shows who shared a story about being contacted by a viewer who said theyd been raped by a celebrity Sara had been on screen with. Last week comedian Jackie Clune wrote in this paper about misogyny and sexual assault on the 1990s comedy scene. But Kathryn Roberts experience shows that 30 years on, misogyny is still rife. Kathryn, now 26, was raped five years ago and Ive interviewed others who have had still more recent and ongoing experiences of misogyny, unwanted advances and discrimination. Siobhan Phillips, 45, (pictured) a successful stand-up who was a finalist on ITVs Britains Got Talent in 2019 also shares her experiences in the industry. Her most recent harasser is a 50-something compere notorious for propositioning female comedians at a famous comedy club. While other industries have cleaned up their act, it seems sexual predators still operate unchecked in the comedy circuit which can mean everything from those who play in small time pubs to venues seating several thousands well as tele - vision shows. Its a world known for attracting maverick men who push boundaries for a living. For some the line between banter and misogyny becomes blurred, on and off stage. Add to that a culture of drinking, late nights, travel and loneliness and you have a breeding ground for misconduct. For a long time, female comedians, aware that being able to laugh at themselves is part of the job, were loath to complain lest it damage their career. In 2020, however, 16 women accused Scottish comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli who has appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Masterchef and the BBCs Children In Need of sexual and physical violence. Meanwhile, comedian Tez Ilyas, presenter of Channel 4s The Tez OClock Show, admitted unacceptable behaviour towards women, adding: The way I sometimes used women for my own personal gratification is just not OK. Female comedians started to speak up too. Stevie Martin, the co-presenter of comedy podcast Nobody Panic, told of a promoter who paid male comedians who performed at his gigs not with cash but by giving them the phone numbers of female stand-ups. Kathryn Roberts (pictured) experience shows that 30 years on, misogyny is still rife. Kathryn, now 26, was raped five years ago and Ive interviewed others who have had still more recent Edinburgh Festival performer Kiri Pritchard-McLean added, I dont know a single female act who doesnt have an unsavoury story about abuse or harassment when it comes to working in comedy. Stand-up comedian Chelsea Hart, who identifies as non-binary, revealed a comedian took a picture of them naked and sent it to someone without consent: A comedian, though I slept with him of my own (albeit drunken) free will, snapped a picture of my unconscious, naked body and sent it off to another . . . A compromising picture of someone, taken or spread without their consent, falls under what is known as revenge porn and is illegal. I let myself be harmed because I love comedy Although it looked like comedy was finally to have its #MeToo moment, nothing much came of it. Two years on, Kohli, 53, might have been dropped by the BBC, but he has managed to reinvent himself as a chef. Ilyas still presents The Tez OClock Show and last week Ryan and Pascoe seemed resigned, rather than shocked, by the messy and complicated business of alleged abuse rumoured in their industry. It should, however, be pointed out that neither Kohli nor Ilyas have ever been charged with sexual offences. Kathryn, who has bravely waived her right to anonymity, is not surprised by last weeks revelations. She says its so widespread its impossible for anyone on the circuit to avoid predatory male comedians: Every single comedian has to work with a male comedian they know is predatory, but its still talked about in hushed tones, because everyone loves comedy and if its spoken out loud they fear the circuit will fall apart because o f its bad reputation. It is only since she has left comedy that she feels able to speak out. Ive quit and cant be punished for saying what happened to me, says Kathryn, now studying bioscience at university as a mature student. Sara Pascoe (pictured) a regular on BBCs Mock The Week among other shows shared a story about being contacted by a viewer who said theyd been raped by a celebrity Sara had been on screen with Yet she has been punished, in terms of the depression she developed: I had to take a voluntary suspension from university last year because I became so upset. I realised Id let myself be harmed because I loved comedy so much. Of course, the majority of male comedians arent aggressors but, as Ilyas himself pointed out, he is just one part of an industry-wide problem which begs the question: why is this happening? Comedy is a largely unregulated industry. In 2020 the Live Comedy Association (LCA) was launched as a trade body to support comedians during lockdown and it acknowledged that harassment exists in every corner of our industry, from open-mic nights to professional comedy venues and festivals, and we are committed to addressing change. One compere stands too close, talks about his large genitals and invites me to his flat. I complain but nothing is done... - comedian Siobhan Phillips Yet how much change has it effected so far? I received an automated response when I requested an interview last week, telling me the LCA was run by volunteers and asking for time to respond. I contacted them again this week to say I had spoken to women who had experienced harassment, and asked what steps were being taken to safeguard the industry. I have yet to receive a response. Kathryn says: Venues are booking people being investigated by police for harassment. People whove had warnings from bookers not to misbehave are still headlining. Kathryn started doing gigs for new comedians at Glasgows Stand Comedy Club at 18. When she began performing at pub gigs two to three times a week, subsidising her 30-a-gig payments with work in a nursery, she quickly became aware of sexism: If there was more than one woman on the line-up, theyd split you up. The booker would say, We cant have two women in a row. We dont want to lose the crowd. At two events in her early 20s, lead comedians often in charge of booking the other comedians for smaller gigs messaged Kathryn via Facebook to ask her to appear, only to proposition her before she went on stage. They think, Ive got this gig for you, so I can ask you out now. She was non-committal before rejecting their advances by text when back home. Neither booked her again. Speaking on her new TV series last week, comic Katherine Ryan (pictured) said she had accused a fellow comedian of being a sexual predator while on the set of a popular programme Aged 20, she recalls, she was waiting for her slot at a pub gig, a male comedian sitting by her side, when she felt a sensation on the back of her neck. Touching the back of her dress she discovered it had been unbuttoned. When she looked at the comedian, he laughed. She was meant to accept it as banter but says, I was so shocked, I wanted to cry. I didnt say anything. I didnt want to make a scene. He was more established and friends with more bookers than me. In comedy, theres an 80/20 male to female split. You have to make male friends or you wont get gigs. You need to know people who will recommend you. She adds: I dont have large breasts so I havent been heckled badly. There are women who have had their breasts and bum grabbed on stage by the compere. Ive seen it happen to a woman at a gig in Newcastle. She kept going but I think she cried afterwards. Kathryn was 21 when she was raped; her attacker was also early in his career. She arrived home in distress at dawn, telling her dad, a university professor, that she had gone back to someones house. She adds: I cried and he hugged me. A fortnight later, she saw her rapist at a comedians meet-up. She tried to avoid him, but he propositioned her: I said, I didnt want you to force me to have sex. He said, F*** you. He didnt deny it. She didnt report the rape to police on account of the abysmal conviction rate, and for years laughed off her parents concerns, adopting drink, denial and promiscuity as coping mechanisms. I wanted to be a comedian so badly I didnt want it to get in the way, she says. If a comedian propositioned me, Id sleep with them, because choosing to sleep with someone is better than not choosing to and it happening anyway. Yet turning down gigs where she knew her rapist was booked to appear, the pool of places where she could perform shrunk. It wasnt until other female comedians started talking about their abuse in 2020 that she finally acknowledged what had happened to her and decided to quit the circuit. It really upset me that I was OK with being hurt because I loved comedy so much. She says Women are trying to effect change. The organisation Good Night Out, for example, is talking to comedy venues to make standard policies on sexual harassment. But more people need to listen and improve comedians safety. Her rapist has also quit comedy, but because he drank a lot, not because he has been held accountable. While alcohol is undoubtedly a factor in aggression on the circuit, women, when primary carers, may appear less likely to drink at work. Siobhan Phillips, 45, a successful stand-up who was a finalist on ITVs Britains Got Talent in 2019, has a six-year-old daughter and drives home after gigs. Im on the school run in the morning, says Siobhan, from Castleford, West Yorkshire. The men are more likely to be fuelled by alcohol and have nobody to answer to. Her most recent harasser is a 50-something compere notorious for propositioning female comedians at a famous comedy club. He insists on standing too close and gets drunker and more leering as the night goes on, says Siobhan. He talks about how big his penis is and invites me to his flat on the pretence of talking about work. When Ive complained the male managers have said its because hes drunk, but that doesnt excuse it. Its sinister. Siobhan started stand-up as a teenager in the 1990s, in working mens clubs in the North of England, when creepy male managers and comedians would deliberately walk in on her backstage as she changed. Her mother, a retired special educational needs teacher, begged her not to join the circuit, while her father, a property landlord, bought her a door stop to stop the men bursting in on her. If she was my daughter, Id still be bathing her, was a line I heard from almost every male comic I was on the bill with, by which they meant I was young enough to be their daughter but they still found me attractive, recalls Siobhan. Her lowest point came in her 30s on a comedy cruise of the Mediterranean, where she was the only female comedian on the bill and a famous comic told her that because she was so big she should tell a crude joke about making love. Im a bigger woman and can joke about that part of being a comedian is laughing at yourself. But he wouldnt say it to a bloke. I didnt want to look like a prude, so I smiled, but it was demeaning. Managers said he was drunk but that doesnt excuse it Late one evening, she recalls, she got a knock on her cabin door from another comedian with an established career in television who was dressed only in a Speedo thong with a glass of whisky in hand, requesting my company in his cabin to watch a blue movie, as if it were 1923. I slammed the door in his face. The following morning she came down to breakfast to discover the male comedians laughing at the night of passion he claimed to have shared with Siobhan. It was his word against mine. I wondered why I was putting myself through this, but never thought about reporting any of it, not when my livelihood depended on it. Her partner of eight years, a project manager, is upset by the harassment. Siobhan says: I dont think anyone likes to think of their partner being hit on or disrespected. Gemma Arnold, 33, a stand-up from London whose identity weve changed to protect her privacy, says: It speaks to the level of misogyny that I dont want to be named. People who try and call it out sometimes get abuse, and Id rather not open myself to that. You dont want to make a scene. Gemma, a stand-up for seven years, recalls having her booking at a gig cancelled by the venue because they didnt want too many women on the bill. She says: It was shocking. Theres an attitude that women arent going to be as funny as men. She says, women are hugely under-represented. Often I see lineups with no women on the bill, or on a panel show the men will be comedians and the women celebrities, so they wont be as funny. Its as if were going backwards. Calling it out doesnt seem to make a difference. She stresses that most male comedians she works with are incredulous at the discrimination. But nobody in the industry seems able, or willing, to prevent it: Someone has shouted, You should be a stripper at me on stage. Another man filmed me. When I asked him to stop he said, Were waiting for the porno. To come out with something like that while I was making a joke about lockdown put me in a vulnerable position. You wish security would stop it which is a horrible thing to think when youre doing a job you love. Queen Letizia of Spain once again proved her fashion prowess and thrifty style when attending a meeting with United World Colleges (UWC) at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid. Joining her husband King Felipe at the event, the royal mother-of-two, 49, opted for an eye-catching patterned Hugo Boss dress which she previously wore in September 2021 to Madrid's book fair. UWC is a global network of schools and educational programmes with the shared mission of 'making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future'. It has 18 schools and colleges on four continents, the majority of which focus exclusively on the 16-19 year-old age group, including UWC Atlantic College, which Letizia's daughter Princess Leonor attends. Following the footsteps of Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, the future Queen is studying at the boarding school, based at the 12th-century St Donat's Castle dubbed the 'Hippie Hogwarts' in Wales. Queen Letizia of Spain once again proved her fashion prowess and thrifty style when attending a meeting with United World Colleges (UWC) at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid Joining her husband King Felipe at the event, the royal mother-of-two, 49, opted for an eye-catching patterned Hugo Boss dress which she previously wore in September 2021 to Madrid's book fair Other pupils count Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, also 16. Both girls have enrolled on a 67,000, two-year course to study for their International Baccalaureate diploma. Letizia looked typically stylish for the occasion in the Hugo Boss number - a navy form-fitting dress which was peppered with splashes of light colours. She paired it with bright fuchsia heels and kept her accessories to a minimum, wearing a discreet pair of golden hoop earrings. Letizia looked typically stylish for the occasion in the Hugo Boss number - a navy form-fitting dress which was peppered with splashes of light colours She paired it with bright fuchsia heels and kept her accessories to a minimum, wearing a discreet pair of golden hoop earrings Wearing a smattering of glamorous makeup, she donned her trademark smokey eye, with a dash of eyeliner bringing intensity to her gaze The royal couple's meeting today was with members of the Foundation of the Spanish Committee of the United World Colleges Her brunette locks were styled straight in an impeccable blow-dry, to add to her simple but effective look. Wearing a smattering of glamorous makeup, she donned her trademark smokey eye, with a dash of eyeliner bringing intensity to her gaze. The royal couple's meeting today was with members of the Foundation of the Spanish Committee of the United World Colleges. There is nothing quite like a heatwave to make the British nerves, usually so resilient, snap. No sooner does the mercury inch over a balmy 22 degrees than we, as a nation, lose our cool. Suddenly the polite, brolly-wielding, door-opening persona, the you-before-me, disappears, and we become short, sharp and hot-tempered. And Im embarrassed to admit I feel this most keenly with my own husband. Never are my vows stretched further, never have all those awful little irritations suddenly come to the fore, than during a scorcher. For me, its the moobs I cant abide them. With the first rays of proper sun this week, suddenly every single man in Britain clawed away at the back of his T-shirt and whipped it off. Street. Park. Sainsburys. Bare-chested hirsute silverbacks displaying their bouncing breasts are everywhere. My husband, slightly the wrong side of 30, doesnt see the moob problem. He thinks its fine to whip his own shirt off whenever he fancies it. Hes not a Sainsburys Moober, but he thinks the park is just fine. Just as its also fine to have lunch looking at someones armpit hair. His old workout vest is acceptable around the dinner table as are bare feet, apparently. Imogen Edward-Jones (pictured) says that her and husband argue more in warm weather. UK-based writer describes how it is the 'moobs' that sets her nerves of edge But its not just the shorts, moobs, flip-flops and hairy feet combination that makes hot weather so challenging to me, its how bloody cross I feel with him when the temperature rises. We always think the sunshine brings out the best in us, sighing that if only we had the same climate as Spain, how happy wed all be. Glossy, tanned, fond of a siesta and living on salads and seafood. But the truth is, nothing heats up a marital row quicker than a heatwave. And the worst of these is in the bedroom. Stuffy, hot, stultifying, my husband and I struggle to sleep. Windows open? Windows shut, due to his hay fever. Of course. Curtains open? Curtains shut 24 hours a day, due to too much sunshine. Of course. Duvet? Are you mad? So Im stuck with the top sheet. And theres nothing more annoying than lying in the dark secretly wishing your other half dead, while waging war over a scrap of cotton. The tug of war, the huffing and puffing and kicking of legs only to wake in the early hours like a beached starfish, while hes managed to snaffle the lot and have it wrapped around his legs like a coddled beanstalk. Imogen says that nothing heats up a marital row quicker than a heatwave. She says that her husband, form Birmingham, thinks the tong of a BBQ is something in your mouth Then theres the barbecue. There are some people, like my Australian friend Peter, who are born with a set of tongs in their hand. But my husband is from Birmingham, and he thinks a tong is something in your mouth. As such, he should never be left in charge of an actual fire. Mostly it goes out. Then it gets doused in paraffin, which makes the food taste great, by the way. And then it burns the food, which also makes the food taste great, by the way. I have lost count of the times weve all sat down ready to tuck into an apparently cremated chicken breast only for the call to go out: Stop! The inside is raw and could possibly kill you! The other pressing question is what to drink during a heatwave? Summer calls for special drinks, like Aperol Spritz and Pimms. Or indeed a litre of rose, or lady petrol, as it is called by the unkind. Nothing makes a lady crosser than being told she has had a little too much petrol of an afternoon. Men, more specifically husbands, appear to have an innate ability to fall asleep anywhere and everywhere And finally, worst of all, is the afternoon nap. Men, more specifically husbands, appear to have an innate ability to fall asleep anywhere and everywhere. Particularly after an exhausting barbecue that involved huge amounts of hunting, gathering and setting fire to things, followed by three glasses of fruit punch and an ice cream. Trotters up, moobs out in the sun, mouth ajar, catching flies, theres nothing like a well-earned rest after a lovely lunch. Except I never get one. All jobs get left to yours truly while the exhausted chef has a sit down. Theres a barbecue grill to scrub, a salad to clear up, chicken to throw away, a paddling pool to blow up, a dog to walk. Dont mind the snoring! Followed by the yawn, the stretch and the comment: Im not sure where today went? At which point, it is better to step away from the husband, find yourself a darkened room, even the cupboard with the boiler is probably a few degrees lower than the air outside. And scream as if no one is listening...because they arent. For nothing says a heatwave more than a frazzled woman sitting alone in the boiler cupboard in the dark. Anyway, enjoy the weekend. She's known for her quirky style - but today, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands opted for a more laid-back look as she stepped out in Senegal. For the final leg of her trip to West Africa, the Argentine-born royal, 51, opted for a sweeping skirt with a bold brown and white pattern. She teamed it with a loose-fitting brown top and matching peep-toe sandals - completing her look with an oversized belt and drop earrings. Her look was the epitome of laid-back chic, with the royal finishing her ensemble with a bag made in the same pattern of her skirt. Maxima is an international financier by training and is visiting the country in the capacity of UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). She's known for her quirky style - but today, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands opted for a more laid-back look as she stepped out in Senegal For the final leg of her trip to West Africa, the Argentine-born royal, 51, opted for a sweeping skirt with a bold brown and white pattern She teamed it with a loose-fitting brown top and matching peep-toe sandals - completing her look with an oversized belt and drop earrings The royal looked energised, with her blonde hair loose and swept back. She kept her make up neutral, opting for a light bronzer and pale pink lips. During her visit today, Maxima met with farmers to hear about how pioneering schemes are helping them save and plan for the future. She also met with local entrepreneurs in the country's capital Dakar, to hear about the programmes used as an entry point into digital financial services for individuals and businesses. The trip is the first in-person 'country visit' Queen Maxima is taking in her capacity as the UNSGSA since before the pandemic. Her look was the epitome of laid-back chic, with the royal finishing her ensemble with a bag made in the same pattern of her skirt Maxima is an international financier by training and is visiting the country in the capacity of UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA) The royal looked energised, with her blonde hair loose and swept back. She kept her make up neutral, opting for a light bronzer and pale pink lips The West Africa region represents a priority area of focus for the UNSGSAs efforts to bolster financial and digital inclusion, along with financial health, and follows on from virtual visits with both Ivory Coast and Senegal in 2021. The UNSGSA aims to support a range of inclusive finance priorities in close collaboration with key leaders and stakeholders in each country, as well as meet with local customers who use and benefit from financial services and products. Both countries have opportunities to be at the forefront of financial inclusion in West Africa, with growth being driven by digital payments. As a result, both have potential to be leaders in the region. During her visit today, Maxima met with farmers to hear about how pioneering schemes are helping them save and plan for the future She also met with local entrepreneurs in the country's capital Dakar, to hear about the programmes used as an entry point into digital financial services for individuals and businesses It came as the royal's eldest daughter announced she has enrolled for a degree at Amsterdam University - and will live with normal students in a houseshare. Heir to the throne Princess Amalia, 18, has revealed she will be studying for a 3,750 degree in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics at University of Amsterdam from September. During her studies, the Princess will be living in a rented houseshare with her fellow students. A post on the royal court's Instagram account stated that her time at university is considered 'private.' The statement from the court read: 'The Princess of Orange will start in September with the bachelor's degree in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics (PPLE) at the University of Amsterdam.' The announcement went on to reveal the Princess applied for the degree and went through the same testing and application process as any other student. Emma Weymouth looked sensation as she stepped out in London today to attend the Royal Academy Of Arts Summer Exhibition party. Oozing elegance, the Marchioness of Bath, 36, opted for a glamorous white cape gown when arriving at the star-studded event - which also counted Lila Moss, Hayley Atwell and Mia Regan as guests. Adding a splash of colour to her look, Emma sported multi-coloured high heels under her off-the-shoulder floor length dress. Emma Weymouth looked sensation as she stepped out in London today to attend the Royal Academy Of Arts Summer Exhibition party Oozing elegance, the Marchioness of Bath, 36, opted for a glamorous white cape gown when arriving at the star-studded event - which also counted Lila Moss, Hayley Atwell and Mia Regan as guests Emma is joined by Edward Enninful as they pose up a storm at the star-studded event Emma styled her glossy hair into a tight ponytail swept behind her to reveal dazzling diamond and emerald earrings. She donned a smattering of glamorous makeup on her features, including bronzer and a smokey eye. Also at today's party was Lady Amelia Windsor, who showcased her fashion prowess in a floral dress. Emma has been married to Viscount Weymouth since June 2013, with the couple sharing sons John, six, and Henry, four. Emma styled her glossy hair into a tight ponytail swept behind her to reveal dazzling diamond and emerald earrings She donned a smattering of glamorous makeup on her features, including bronzer and a smokey eye On her wedding day Emma became the first black marchioness in British history. Yet in November Emma said she doesn't want her skin colour to be a 'defining characteristic' and is a reluctant role model after becoming Britain's first black marchioness. Emma starred on the cover of Tatler's January 2021 issue and opened up about her family's wildly ambitious plans for Longleat, their Wiltshire estate. Emma has been married to Viscount Weymouth since June 2013, with the couple sharing sons John, six, and Henry, four Also at today's party was Lady Amelia Windsor, who showcased her fashion prowess in a floral dress. Pictured, Emma during the outing this evening While Emma, the daughter of a Nigerian oil tycoon, is deeply respectful of her title, she is a reluctant role model, according to the society magazine. 'Where I have been discussed in a positive light, as positive change, I'm grateful for being included in the conversation,' she said. 'I see my role as a practical thing: as a wife, mother and someone with a responsibility to maintain this incredible estate. 'I aspire to a future where [my skin colour] is not a defining characteristic,' she added. Former Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert has become a grandmother for the second time - this time to a baby granddaughter named Rosemary. The 58-year-old actress introduced the newest addition to her Instagram followers on Tuesday, while sharing a sweet snap of herself meeting the baby girl for the first time - months after she gave up her life in Hollywood to live in a ramshackle cottage in the mountains. Melissa who recently recovered from COVID-19, added that it was 'absolute heaven' to meet her new granddaughter. 'Everyone say hi to the newest addition to our family who I finally got to meet today,' she captioned a picture, which showed her cradling the newborn. The baby slept in her arms while Melissa starred down at her in the touching photo. A second pic featured the former child star smiling at the camera while her granddaughter laid on her shoulder. Melissa Gilbert has become a grandmother again. She introduced the newest addition to her family while sharing a sweet snap of herself meeting the baby for the first time to Instagram Growing family: The former Little House on the Prairie star, 58, shared the exciting baby news with her followers on Tuesday, calling it 'absolute heaven' to meet her new granddaughter The announcement comes months after she gave up her life in Hollywood to live in a ramshackle cottage in the mountains. She and husband Timothy Busfield are seen at the house She continued, 'The silver lining of having COVID a couple weeks ago is that Im super immune right now! Meet Rosemary Coates Busfield AKA Romy. Absolute heaven. #Nana #proudnana #nanapint #granddaughter #iminlove.' Melissa revealed that she caught COVID-19 on June 1, explaining at the time that she was feeling 'pretty oogie.' It also comes two weeks after the former child star - who was best known for playing Laura Ingalls Wilder in the show - recovered from COVID-19. She is pictured in 2020 'Welp, the lady COVID finally got me. Symptoms started yesterday. Tested negative all day. Positive this morning,' she shared. 'I feel pretty oogie. Starting #paxlovid today. Im triple vaxxed so I should be OK ultimately.' The next day, she posted an update, revealing that she had 'aches, chills, a wicked sore throat, stuffy nose, and tightness in her chest,' as well as a high fever. 'Ugh, this still sucks,' she wrote, alongside some photos that showed her dog cuddling in bed with her. 'Fever peaked yesterday at 102. His morning pre-Advil it was 100. Still have aches, chills, wicked sore throat, stuffy nose, and tightness in my chest. 'Zero appetite but forcing myself to get some calories in. Sleeping off and on all day and night. Drinking tons of fluid. Water and miso soup and ginger ale seem to be the favorites.' On June 3, Melissa said she had 'come out of her COVID fog' and was feeling much better. 'The fever seems to be gone, chest feels better, but nose is still stuffy,' she wrote, adding that she still felt 'weak and tired.' Melissa and her husband, Timothy Busfield, 65, got married back in 2013. They don't share any kids together, but she has two sons from previous relationships and he has two sons and a daughter from a past marriage. Melissa revealed that she caught COVID-19 on June 1, explaining at the time that she was feeling 'pretty oogie' The next day, she posted an update alongside a photo of herself cuddling with her dog, revealing that she had 'aches, chills, a wicked sore throat, a stuffed nose, and a high fever' On June 3, Melissa said she was feeling much better. 'The fever seems to be gone, chest feels better,' she captioned a video of her trying out an Instagram filter Based on the baby's last name, it appears that Rosemary is the child of one of Tim's kids, but it's unclear which one of them welcomed the little girl. This is not her first grandchild, as Tim has previously posted photos of granddaughters named Ruby and Ripley, and a grandson named Eli. Melissa - who was skyrocketed into stardom after she starred in the 1974 Western show as Laura Ingalls Wilder when she was just a child - recently purchased a $98,000 14-acre property in upstate New York so that she can enjoy a much more relaxed lifestyle and escape the pressures of being in the public eye. She previously explained to Yahoo Life that the decision to make the move came to her after she looked back at old photos and didn't even recognize herself. She underwent multiple plastic surgery procedures throughout her career, and she said it left her thinking, 'Who is that person? That's not me. That's like a shell over what the real me is.' She admitted that she was also having a 'hard time' living her life from a place where the 'external mattered more than the internal.' 'I really wanted to reverse that. I wanted to become more spiritual, more grounded, more at peace, more connected to my community, to my family, to my friends,' she explained. The couple purchased the fixer-upper - which was filled with rotting deer heads, porn, and holy water when they moved in - in 2018, and spent about a year renovating it. Melissa and her husband, Timothy (pictured in 2020), 65, got married in 2013. She has two sons from previous relationships and he has two sons and a daughter from a past marriage This is not her first grandchild, as Tim has previously posted photos of granddaughters named Ruby (left) and Ripley (center), and a grandson named Eli (right) The couple recently purchased a $98,000 14-acre property (pictured) in upstate New York so that Melissa can enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle and escape the pressures of the spotlight The couple purchased the fixer-upper in 2018, and spent about a year renovating it. They officially moved in in 2019. Melissa is seen at her new home Melissa (pictured with her son) spends her days raising chickens and growing her own food at her new home, and she said starring in Little House made her to want to live near nature She now spends her days raising chickens and growing her own food at her new home, and it turns out, starring in Little House as a kid is what inspired her to want to live so close to nature. 'I actually feel like Little House on the Prairie was sort of the bait that opened my eyes to what could be,' she told the outlet. 'I would be on the set, especially when we were outdoors with the chickens and then the frogs and the pond and horses and cows, and everybody had their dogs with them. 'I was outside in Simi Valley on the ranch and it was always dusty, always dirty, but [I was] just gleeful and happy.' The couple officially moved into the home in late 2019, and she previously recalled to Good Morning America how they spent the height of the COVID-19 pandemic locked down in their new house, saying it was an experience she never wants to forget. 'I would tell myself to remember 2020 as vividly as possible because it really was an extraordinary life-changing time for the entire world, and I was a part of that,' she said. 'I think remembering that will enable me to be more compassionate, more tolerant, more understanding, and not just about COVID but about everything that happened in the summer of 2020 and to remain aware of my own privilege and my own part in all of it.' Advertisement There was no surge in hospitalizations or liver transplants due to hepatitis among children this winter despite 274 cases being recorded and six children dying from the disease, an analysis by health officials has found. Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who carried out the study said this suggested there were no more cases of child hepatitis being recorded now than before Covid hit the country. But they pointed out there was no system in place for reporting and recording cases where youngsters are struck down by the inflammatory liver condition without a known cause. In a statement, the agency said their results suggested 'there hasn't been a notable national-level increase' in cases of hepatitis compared to before March 2020. They added that it did not help to determine what was causing the mysterious hepatitis cases detected in both America and other countries with scientists still working to establish whether it is due to a previous Covid infection, adenovirus which causes the common cold, a weakened immune system or another factor. CDC scientists also suggested in several other European countries data was 'inconclusive' as to whether they had recently seen a spike in child hepatitis cases, although they said the United Kingdom was one of those to report a spike compared to previous years. Scientists not involved in the research said today the results provided 'very useful information' which suggested that a previous Covid infection may not be behind the illness. The CDC said there was no significant increase in the number of youngsters being hospitalized with hepatitis now compared to before the pandemic struck The above graph shows the number of hospitalizations with hepatitis (red line, children aged 0 to 4, and red spotted line, children aged five to 11) compared to previous years. It suggests there has not been a significant spike this year This graph shows the number of liver transplants for children under 11 years old carried out this year (red line) compared to previous years. It suggests there has not been a significant surge compared to previous years A total of 39 states have now reported cases of the mysterious hepatitis. Above are the states that have reported at least one case Q&A: What is the mysterious global hepatitis outbreak and what is behind it? What is hepatitis? Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver that is usually caused by a viral infection or liver damage from drinking alcohol. Some cases resolve themselves, with no ongoing issues, but a fraction can be deadly, forcing patients to need liver transplants to survive. What are the symptoms? People who have hepatitis generally have fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools and joint pain. They may also suffer from jaundice when the skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow. Why are experts concerned? Hepatitis is usually rare in children, but experts have already spotted more cases in the current outbreak than they would normally expect in a year. Cases are of an 'unknown origin' and are also severe, according to the World Health Organization. What are the top theories? Weakened immunity British experts tasked with investigating the spate of illnesses believe the endless cycle of lockdowns may have played a contributing role. Restrictions may have weakened children's immunity because of reduced social mixing, leaving them at heightened risk of adenovirus. This means even 'normal' adenovirus could be causing the severe outcomes, because children are not responding to it how they did in the past. Adenovirus mutation Other scientists said it may have been the adenovirus that has acquired 'unusual mutations'. This would mean it could be more transmissible or better able to get around children's natural immunity. Advertisement America has so far reported more than 274 cases of mysterious hepatitis across a total of 39 states or most of the country. There have also been 14 liver transplants reported related to the condition, and six deaths. The CDC study was published today in the agency's Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Reports (MMWR) under early release. Publishing the paper, they said: 'The number of children hospitalized for hepatitis of unknown cause has stayed stable over the last four years. 'While this study does not determine a cause for pediatric hepatitis of unknown cause, it does suggest that there hasn't been a notable national-level increase in these cases recently compared to before the pandemic.' In the study, scientists examined data from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program which covers about 70 percent of non-federal emergency departments (EDs) across all 50 states. They also looked at data from more than 1,000 hospitals that are run by the Premier Healthcare system. For liver transplants, data was extracted from the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) which covers the entire country. It showed that among 0 to 4-year-olds there were about 22 ED visits involving hepatitis per month from October 2021 to March 2022, which was not a significant change from 19.5 the year beforehand. For children aged five to 11 years old there were about 12 ED visits over the year to March 2022 compared to 10.5 in the 12-month period beforehand. In terms of liver transplants, there were about five recorded among under-18s every month from October 2021 to March 2022. For comparison, the figure was four for between October 2017 to March 2019. Scientists said there was no significant rise in the numbers of children visiting EDs with hepatitis or needing liver transplant recently compared to the period before the pandemic. The paper also looked at the proportion of stool samples from patients that had tested positive for adenovirus the leading theory for the cause of the illness. They found that the proportion picking up this virus remained between five and 19 percent among children up to four years old and three to 14 percent for those aged five to nine years old both before and after March 2020. Writing in the paper, scientists said: 'These analyses.... did not indicate a recent increase in hepatitis-associated ED visits or hospitalizations among children aged 0 to 11 years, liver transplants among children aged 0 to 17 years.' Looking globally they said it was 'inconclusive' whether several other European countries had also seen a rise in cases compared to previous years. But in the United Kingdom which was first to alert the world to the mysterious illness they noted that its health system had reported more hepatitis cases than previously. Noting limitations in the research, they said: 'Although liver transplants are well documented, cases of hepatitis of unknown [cause] are not reportable in the United States.' They added that data could also be incomplete because it normally takes up to three months for a hospitalization with the condition to appear in their records. And they added that the Covid pandemic may have affected patterns they would expect to see because of how it changed healthcare seeking behavior. Reacting to the study Dr Alasdair Munro, a pediatrician at Southampton University in the UK, said: 'Interesting that the USA, with one of the highest burdens of Covid, has not seen an increase in cases of acute, severe hepatitis in young children during/since the pandemic. 'It provides very useful information towards the exceedance observed in the UK'. Monkeypox will be renamed following calls for a new 'non-discriminatory and non-stigmatising' term, it emerged today. The World Health Organization (WHO) promised a new name for the rash-causing virus, endemic to Africa, would be announced 'as soon as possible'. As well as renaming the actual pathogen itself, strains will likely be lettered, such as A or B, to remove any mention of the parts of Africa where they were first spotted. Over 30 researchers last week signed a position paper stating there was an 'urgent need' to change its name given the current outbreak, which has mainly struck gay and bisexual men. It has already swept the world to strike 45 countries, including Britain, the US, Spain and Portugal. They wrote: 'Continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatizing.' Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, has confirmed the virus will be renamed. He said: '[The] WHO is working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox virus, its clades, and the disease it causes. World Health Organization chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed they are in conversation with experts on changing the name for monkeypox Officials are urging gay and bisexual men to be aware of new lesions, rashes or scabs and get in contact with a sexual health clinic What could monkeypox be renamed to? A group of scientists from around the world have said the current naming of monkeypox and its clades (different types of the virus) is inaccurate, discriminatory and stigmatising. They say references to West African and Central African monkeypox do not accurately reflect the current monkeypox outbreak sweeping the world. Instead, they suggest ditching terms tied to geography, a move the World Health Organization (WHO) has broadly supported. The scientists have suggested monkeypox in general should now be renamed to MPXV. A number at the end of MPXV would indicate the particular clade of the virus. MPXV1 would indicate Central African monkeypox. MPXV2 for the West African version. And MPXV3 would be term for an offshoot of the West African responsible for pervious and current international outbreaks. But the the scientists add the current outbreak and its sustained human-to-human transmission deserves its own clade. This would be called hMPXV with letters indicating distinct genetic lineages. With pervious international human-to-human monkeypox outbreaks in 2017-2019 with their own distinct ancestry this would mean the current outbreak would be called hMPXVB.1. While the WHO has said it supports renaming monkeypox, the formal naming of viruses is the purview of the International Committee of Taxonomy of Viruses. This international committee of virologists would need to accept any new name for monkeypox for it to become official. Advertisement 'We will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible.' Monkeypox was first discovered when an outbreak of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research in 1958. Its naming system currently divides it into two types, the West African version and Central African or Congo Basin version. But experts want them to be replaced with numbers, like MPXV1, MPXV2 and so forth. Naming viruses geographically goes against WHO guidelines because of concerns it may spark abusive backlash or potential racism. It is, for this reason, that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid) was not called the Wuhan coronavirus, despite originating in the Chinese city of the same name. Writing in a paper published last week, the coalition of infectious disease researchers from around the world also proposed creating a new 'clade' for the current outbreak. They argue the virus circulating at present has become a distinct 'human virus', compared to MPXV, which rarely transmitted between people. The new type, the experts claimed, should be called hMPXV and lineages should be referred to as A, A.1, A.1.1, B.1. They gave four examples because of data showing the West African strain has evolved slightly, based on samples collected in small human-to-human outbreaks over the past few years. The naming system would be similar system to that used for Covid variants like Omicron, with Britain hit by a wave of BA.2 and now experiencing an uptick in cases of BA.4 and BA.5. One benefit of ditching geographic terms would be encouraging countries to continue monitoring for and raising the alarm when spotting new diseases, rather than having their name negatively attached to it, the scientists said. The responsibility of renaming monkeypox actually lies with the International Committee of Taxonomy of Viruses, a committee tasked with formally labelling pathogens. It is not the first time concerns about monkeypox and racism have been raised. Last month the Foreign Press Association, Africa, a media body for journalists on the continent, urged Western media to stop using photos of black people alongside monkeypox stories describing the outbreak in Europe and North America. They accused such outlets of perpetuating 'negative stereotypes that assigns calamity to the African race and privilege of immunity to other races.' They instead urged reports on monkeypox to instead use images of hospitals in their own countries or of graphical representations of the virus itself. Calls to rename monkeypox echo those made regarding Covid after people, such as former US President Donald Trump, started referring to it as the China or Wuhan virus in 2020, shortly after the virus began spreading internationally. Calls to rename monkeypox because of concerns of racism and discrimination echo those regarding some people calling Covid the 'Chinese virus' such as former US President Donald Trump (pictured here at the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting last month) Mr Trump was widely condemned over statements referring to Covid as the 'Chinese violence' with some studies finding it increased anti-Asian comments on social media Pride events can spread public health messages about monkeypox Global Pride events are an opportunity to spread public health messages about monkeypox and must not be cancelled, an expert has told a World Health Organization (WHO) briefing. Steve Taylor, board member at EuroPride, said the virus which has been mainly concentrated in gay and bisexual men must not be used as an excuse to shut down LGBTQ+ events. Mr Taylor told the briefing that this summer Europe will host around 750 Pride events. 'We are reassured by the clear statement from WHO that major events including Pride should not be cancelled or curtailed because of the outbreak,' he said. 'We have been working with WHO over recent weeks to develop our messages and we will encourage Pride organisations and event producers across Europe to use their events to raise awareness of the facts about monkeypox so that people can protect themselves. 'Sadly, but entirely predictably, some of those who oppose Pride and who oppose equality and human rights have already been attempting to use monkeypox as a justification for calls for Pride to be banned. 'We are pleased that the WHO guidance is clear that Pride and major events should not be affected and are, in fact, opportunities to share important public health messaging.' Dr Catherine Smallwood, senior emergency officer at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, was asked why cases have been predominantly in the men who have sex with men. She said: 'All outbreaks start somewhere this virus doesnt choose any one person against another, its opportunistic in its spread. 'And how it will spread will really be defined by the opportunities it has. 'Its also a disease that has an incubation period of 21 days. Were just over a month into this outbreak, understanding that outbreak, so its too early to conclude as to how it will be spreading amongst the general population.' Advertisement They instead urged reports on monkeypox to instead use images of hospitals in their own countries or of graphical representations of the virus itself. Calls to rename monkeypox echo those made regarding Covid after people, such as former US President Donald Trump, started referring to it as the China or Wuhan virus in 2020, shortly after the virus began spreading internationally. The current term monkeypox is already somewhat misleading as while the virus was first discovered in macaques, many cases are believed to be transmitted to humans by rodents. A large proportion of cases so far have been identified in the gay, bisexual and men who have sex with other men community. But anyone can get monkeypox if they have had close contact with an infected person. Monkeypox is not normally a sexually-transmitted infection, but it can be passed on by direct contact during sex. It can also be spread through touching clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with the monkeypox rash. The disease is usually mild but can cause severe illness in some cases. It kills up to 10 per cent of cases. But this high rate is thought to be in part due to a historic lack of testing meaning that a tenth of known cases have died rather than a tenth of all infections. With milder strains, the fatality rate is closer to one in 100 similar to when Covid first hit. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, which then spreads to other parts of the body including the genitals. Dr Ghebreyesus said that 1,600 confirmed monkeypox cases and 1,500 suspected cases have been reported to the WHO this year from 39 countries, 32 of which have been recently hit by the virus. But other experts tracking the outbreak say at least 45 nations have logged cases or suspected cases. While 72 deaths have been reported in countries where monkeypox was already endemic, none have been seen in the newly affected countries, Dr Tedros said. However, he added that the WHO is seeking to verify news reports from Brazil of a monkeypox-related death there. The UN agency will hold an emergency meeting next week to determine whether to classify the global outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern. Only six PHEICs have been declared in the past, with the most recent being Covid. Officials are scrambling to contain the tropical virus, amid fears it could become endemic in Europe too unless it is stamped out soon. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) bosses have logged 524 cases in Britain. How DO you catch monkeypox and what are the symptoms? EVERYTHING you need to know about tropical virus How do you catch monkeypox? Until this worldwide outbreak, monkeypox was usually spread by infected rodents including rats, mice and even squirrels in west and central Africa. Humans can catch the illness which comes from the same family as smallpox if they're bitten by infected animals, touch their blood, bodily fluids, or scabs, or eat wild game or bush meat. The orthopoxvirus, which causes monkeypox, can enter the body through broken skin even if it's not visible, as well as the eyes, nose and mouth. Despite being mainly spread by wild animals, it was known that monkeypox could be passed on between people. However, health chiefs insist it was very rare until the current outbreak. Human-to-human spread can occur if someone touches clothing or bedding used by an infected person, or through direct contact with the virus' tell-tale scabs. The virus can also spread through coughs and sneezes. In the ongoing surge in cases, experts think the virus is passing through skin-to-skin contact during sex even though this exact mechanism has never been seen until now. How deadly is it? Monkeypox is usually mild, with most patients recovering within a few weeks without treatment. Yet, the disease kills up to 10 per cent of cases. But this high rate is thought to be in part due to a historic lack of testing meaning that a tenth of known cases have died rather than a tenth of all infections. However, with milder strains the fatality rate is closer to one in 100 similar to when Covid first hit. The West African version of the virus, which is mild compared to the Central African strain, is behind the current spread. No deaths have been reported as part of the ongoing outbreak. How is it tested for? It can be difficult to diagnose monkeypox as it is often confused with other infections such as chickenpox. Monkeypox is confirmed by a clinical assessment by a health professional and a test in the UK's specialist lab the UKHSA's Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory. The test involves taking samples from skin lesions, such as part of the scab, fluid from the lesions or pieces of dry crusts. What are the symptoms? It can take up to three weeks for monkeypox-infected patients to develop any of its tell-tale symptoms. Early signs of the virus include a fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion meaning it could, theoretically, be mistaken for other common illnesses. But its most unusual feature is a rash that often begins on the face, then spreads to other parts of the body, commonly the hands and feet. The rash changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab, which later falls off. How long is someone contagious? An individual is contagious from the point their rash appears until all the scabs have fallen off and there is intact skin underneath. The scabs may also contain infectious virus material. The infectious period is thought to last for three weeks but may vary between individuals. What do I do if I have symptoms? The UK Health Security Agency advises Britons to contact their sexual health clinic if they have a rash with blisters and have been in close contact with a suspected or confirmed monkeypox case or have been in West or Central Africa in the last three weeks. Britons are asked to contact clinics ahead of their visit and avoid contact with others until they have been seen by a medic. Gay and bisexual men have been asked to be especially alert to the symptoms as most of the cases have been detected in men who have sex with men. What even is monkeypox? Monkeypox was first discovered when an outbreak of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research in 1958. 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. Only a handful of cases have been reported outside of Africa and they were confined to people with travel links to the continent. The UK, US, Israel and Singapore are the only countries which had detected the virus before May 2022. Monkeypox is a rare viral infection which kills up to one in ten of those infected but does not spread easily between people. The tropical disease is endemic in parts of Africa and is known for its rare and unusual rashes, bumps and lesions (file photo) Nurses and doctors are being advised to stay 'alert' to patients who present with a new rash or scabby lesions (like above) Is it related to chickenpox? Despite causing a similar rash, chickenpox is not related to monkeypox. The infection, which usually strikes children, is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. For comparison, monkeypox like smallpox is an orthopoxvirus. Because of this link, smallpox vaccines also provide protection against monkeypox. Are young people more vulnerable? Britons aged under 50 may be more susceptible to monkeypox, according to the World Health Organization. This is because children in the UK were routinely offered the smallpox jab, which protects against monkeypox, until 1971. The WHO also warns that the fatality rate has been higher among young children. Does it spread as easily as Covid? Leading experts insist we won't be seeing Covid-style levels of transmission in the monkeypox outbreak. A World Health Organization report last year suggested the natural R rate of the virus the number of people each patient would infect if they lived normally while sick is two. This is lower than the original Wuhan variant of Covid and about a third of the R rate of the Indian 'Delta' strain. But the real rate is likely much lower because 'distinctive symptoms greatly aid in its early detection and containment,' the team said, meaning it's easy to spot cases and isolate them. Covid is mainly spread through droplets an infected person releases whenever they breathe, speak, cough or sneeze. How is the UK managing the outbreak? MailOnline revealed monkeypox patients and their close contacts, including NHS workers, are being offered the Imvanex smallpox vaccine. The strategy, known as ring vaccination, involves jabbing and monitoring anyone around an infected person to form a buffer of immune people to limit the spread of a disease. Additionally, close contacts of those with a confirmed monkeypox infection are being told to stay at home for 21 days and avoid contact under-12s, immunosuppressed people and pregnant women. The Government said unprotected direct contact or high risk environmental contact includes living in the same house as someone with monkeypox, having sexual contact with them or even just changing their bedding 'without appropriate PPE'. As with Covid, someone who has come within one metre of an infected person is classed as a monkeypox contact. This lower category of contact, which also includes sitting next to a person with monkeypox on a plane, means a tracer will call the person every day for three weeks and they will be advised to stay off work for 21 days if their job involves children or immuno-suppressed colleagues. The UK has stopped short of requiring people by law to quarantine if they develop monkeypox, but ministers are considering a public health campaign to alert gay and bisexual men, because of the number of cases in this group. What if it continues to spread? Experts told MailOnline they 'could see a role' for a targeted jab rollout to gay men in the UK 'if this isn't brought under control quickly'. Close contacts of the UK's known cases are already being offered the jab, which was originally designed for smallpox. The two rash-causing viruses are very similar. A health source told MailOnline 'there would be a number of strategies we'd look at' if cases continued to rise. Professor Kevin Fenton, London's public health regional director, said if the outbreak in the capital continues to grow then the rollout of vaccines and treatments could be broadened to more groups. He said there are 'plans in place' to have more antivirals if the outbreak keeps growing. What other countries have spotted cases? More than 40 countries including the US, Spain and Italy have detected cases of monkeypox. The most cases have been detected in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Canada and Germany. There are a handful of antivirals and therapies for smallpox that appear to work on monkeypox, including the drug tecovirimat, which was approved for monkeypox in the EU in January Is there a vaccine for it? The smallpox vaccine, called Imvanex in the UK and Jynneos in the US, can protect against monkeypox because the viruses behind the illnesses are closely related. Data shows it prevents around 85 per cent of cases, and has been used 'off-label' in the UK since 2018. The jab, thought to cost 20 per dose, contains a modified vaccinia virus, which is similar to both smallpox and monkeypox, but does not cause disease in people. Because of its similarity to the pox viruses, antibodies produced against this virus offer cross protection. Are there any drugs to treat it? There are a handful of antivirals and therapies for smallpox that appear to work on monkeypox. This includes the drug tecovirimat, which was approved for monkeypox in the EU in January. Tecovirimat prevents the virus from leaving an infected cell, hindering the spread of the virus within the body. An injectable antiviral used to treat AIDS called cidofovir can be used to manage the infection, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It also works by stopping the growth of the virus. Covid should not be blamed for the mysterious hepatitis outbreak striking children across the world, experts have insisted. Claims that the pandemic virus is responsible for the unusual illness have been torn apart. An Israeli study last week prompted some to label the condition, which has affected around 650 children globally since January, 'long Covid liver'. It claimed that five cases in the Middle Eastern country in children were likely caused by a delayed response to catching the virus earlier in the pandemic. Experts accused of stoking fears throughout the pandemic jumped on the academic paper, accusing health agencies of covering up the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 on children. But now infectious diseases experts have dismissed the findings of the study, based on just five children. Dr Jake Dunning, of Oxford University, tweeted: 'Whatever the cause of unexplained hepatitis in children, this tiny uncontrolled study doesn't provide an answer as to the cause.' He added: 'One can not simply will Covid to be the cause, just because it supports broader agendas and campaigns.' And Dr Dunning said hepatitis was only being branded long Covid liver by scientists who 'really should know better'. Covid should not be blamed for the mysterious hepatitis outbreak in children, experts have insisted after an Israeli study last week labelled the inflammatory liver condition 'long Covid liver'. Dr Jake Dunning (right), an infectious diseases expert at the University of Oxford, slammed 'some scientists' for trying to 'will Covid to be the cause'. Dr Alasdair Munro (left), a paediatrician at the University of Southampton, says the paper 'provides almost no useful information in relation to the current cluster [of hepatitis] under investigation' The mystery hepatitis has been spotted in the US, Western Europe and a handful of other countries. Globally, at least 12 youngsters have died and dozens needed liver transplants What did the 'long Covid liver' study claim about the cause of hepatitis? An Israeli study last week prompted some to label the condition, which has affected around 650 children globally since January, 'long Covid liver'. It claimed five cases in the Middle Eastern country in children were likely caused by a delayed response to catching the virus earlier in the pandemic. The study, published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, tracked the medical history of five children with hepatitis to establish a cause of the condition. It looked at children aged three months to 13 years old who had hepatitis in Tel Aviv since the start of the year. All five had been infected with Covid between 21 days and four months before the onset of hepatitis. Two children aged three and five months old had to have liver transplants because of acute liver failure. All the children survived. The authors suggested the paper proves Covid can cause hepatitis later down the line. Writing in the paper, the authors said: 'We report two distinct patterns of potentially long Covid-19 liver manifestations in children.' Advertisement Although rare, hepatitis is a known cause of liver failure in children every year. The sheer number of cases and the fact experts have not yet found a clear cause for the current cluster of cases is what has sparked alarm. Some 240 cases have been spotted in the UK since January, with none resulting in deaths. The US has seen 274 cases, with six children dying from the disease. Scientists still do not know what is causing the life-threatening liver disease, which has forced scores of children to get liver transplants, including 10 in Britain. But the chief culprit is thought to be adenovirus, which usually only causes cold-like symptoms or diarrhea. A leading theory is that it is causing an unusually severe illness in children because their immune systems have been weakened due to lockdowns and school closures during the pandemic. However, health chiefs are still investigating whether a mutated strain of adenovirus is to blame. The Israeli study, in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, tracked five children with hepatitis to establish a cause of the condition. Children were aged between three months and 13. All five who were struck down this year had caught Covid up to four months before the onset of hepatitis. Only one had adenovirus. Two children aged three and five months old had to have liver transplants because of acute liver failure. All the children survived, however. The authors suggested the paper proves Covid can cause hepatitis later down the line, a theory peddled by some groups in the scientific community who have been critical of treating the virus like flu. Writing in the paper, the authors said: 'We report two distinct patterns of potentially long Covid-19 liver manifestations in children.' But Dr Alasdair Munro, a paediatrician at the University of Southampton, said the paper 'falls at the first hurdle' because it does not say why the particular children were chosen. Writing in his blog, he said: 'This new study provides almost no useful information in relation to the current cluster [of hepatitis] under investigation. 'A series of five patients, some of whom had hepatitis more than three months after their initial infection, does not establish causality. 'This case series does not look similar to the cluster under investigation in the UK, and does not provide any evidence that the current exceedance of acute, severe hepatitis is due to Covid.' He also said hepatitis can be triggered by any viral infection, meaning it is possible Covid would cause the complication in some children. Graph shows: The number of unexplained hepatitis cases detected in children in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each week up to May 16 Adenovirus has been detected in the majority of global hepatitis cases in children. Graph shows: Detection of viruses in British child hepatitis cases up to mid-May Scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday claimed there was no surge in hospitalisations or liver transplants due to hepatitis among children this winter. They said this suggested there were no more cases of child hepatitis being recorded now than before Covid hit the country. Independent scientists said the results suggested that a previous Covid infection may not be behind the illness, because hepatitis levels were the same as pre-pandemic. But some experts continued to insist Covid was the problem, accusing the CDC of failing to investigate the virus as a cause. Dr Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist at the New England Complex Systems Institute thinktank who has faced criticism for Covid alarmism, suggested the Israeli study proved a link to the virus. Writing on Twitter, he said: 'Pretty sure the CDC was wrong on this. '[The] University of Tel Aviv study points to Covid as [the] cause of recent unexplained acute liver failure among children. 'CDC had blamed it on adenovirus before without testing liver for SARS-CoV-2.' Andrew Longhurst, a health policy researcher at Simon Fraser University in in British Columbia, Canada, said: 'That mystery hepatitis in kids has been labelled Long Covid Liver in children, especially unvaccinated. 'Will the Covid minimizers apologise? Of course not.' Dr Lisa Iannattone, a dermatologist at Montreal University, said anyone denying Covid is the sole cause of the hepatitis outbreak 'is not someone to be taken seriously'. She tweeted: 'I dont care what "very serious institution" they work for. This is absurd. Its Covid.' The majority of cases have been spotted in children aged three to five who were initially hit with diarrhoea and nausea before later getting jaundice the yellowing of the skin or eyes. Other symptoms can include vomiting, grey-coloured faeces, stomach pains, tiredness, a fever and breathing issues. The UKHSA has ruled out Covid vaccines as a possible cause because the vast majority of affected children are too young to have been jabbed. Britain's monkeypox outbreak passed 500 cases today, with another 52 patients sickened with the tropical virus. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) bosses say 'most' new infections are still among gay and bisexual men. England has recorded 504 cases, Scotland 13, Wales five and Northern Ireland two. Health chiefs are scrambling to contain the tropical virus, which is usually only seen in Africa amid fears it could become endemic in Europe. Dozens of countries around the world, including the US, Spain and Portugal, have all been affected with around 1,800 confirmed global cases. The growing tally comes as Pride event organisers said monkeypox must not be used as an excuse to shut down LGBTQ+ celebrations. It also comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) promised to rename the rash-inducing infection following calls for a new 'non-discriminatory and non-stigmatising' term. Pride events can spread public health messages about monkeypox Global Pride events are an opportunity to spread public health messages about monkeypox and must not be cancelled, an expert has told a World Health Organization (WHO) briefing. Steve Taylor, board member at EuroPride, said the virus which has been mainly concentrated in gay and bisexual men must not be used as an excuse to shut down LGBTQ+ events. Mr Taylor told the briefing that this summer Europe will host around 750 Pride events. 'We are reassured by the clear statement from WHO that major events including Pride should not be cancelled or curtailed because of the outbreak,' he said. 'We have been working with WHO over recent weeks to develop our messages and we will encourage Pride organisations and event producers across Europe to use their events to raise awareness of the facts about monkeypox so that people can protect themselves. 'Sadly, but entirely predictably, some of those who oppose Pride and who oppose equality and human rights have already been attempting to use monkeypox as a justification for calls for Pride to be banned. 'We are pleased that the WHO guidance is clear that Pride and major events should not be affected and are, in fact, opportunities to share important public health messaging.' Dr Catherine Smallwood, senior emergency officer at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, was asked why cases have been predominantly in the men who have sex with men. She said: 'All outbreaks start somewhere this virus doesnt choose any one person against another, its opportunistic in its spread. 'And how it will spread will really be defined by the opportunities it has. 'Its also a disease that has an incubation period of 21 days. Were just over a month into this outbreak, understanding that outbreak, so its too early to conclude as to how it will be spreading amongst the general population.' Advertisement The UKHSA advises Britons to contact their sexual health clinic if they have a rash with blisters and have been in close contact with a suspected or confirmed monkeypox case or have been in West or Central Africa in the last three weeks. As part of efforts to thwart the ever-growing outbreak, both confirmed cases and close contacts are offered the Imvanex jab, which is 85 per cent effective against the virus. The strategy, known as ring vaccination, has been used in the past and is proven to work. A large proportion of cases so far have been identified in the gay, bisexual and men who have sex with other men community. But anyone can get monkeypox if they have had close contact with an infected person. Monkeypox is not normally a sexually-transmitted infection, but it can be passed on by direct contact during sex. It can also be spread through touching clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with the monkeypox rash. The disease is usually mild but can cause severe illness in some cases. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, which then spreads to other parts of the body including the genitals. The UKHSA this month declared the virus a notifiable disease. It means all medics must alert local health authorities to suspected cases. The tropical virus now carries the same legal status as the plague, rabies and measles. Britain's latest figures come as two more countries joined global tally of nations in reporting cases of the disease. It comes as Steve Taylor, board member at LGBTQ+ event EuroPride, said monkeypox must not be used as an excuse to shut down pride events. Mr Taylor told a WHO briefing that this summer Europe will host around 750 Pride events. 'We are reassured by the clear statement from WHO that major events including Pride should not be cancelled or curtailed because of the outbreak,' he said. He added that such events could also be used to spread public health messaging about monkeypox so people can keep an eye out for possible symptoms and protect themselves. Mr Taylor also warned that people who hated the LGBTQ+ could use monkeypox fears as a weapon in an attempt to stop pride events from going ahead. 'Sadly, but entirely predictably, some of those who oppose Pride and who oppose equality and human rights have already been attempting to use monkeypox as a justification for calls for Pride to be banned. 'We are pleased that the WHO guidance is clear that Pride and major events should not be affected and are, in fact, opportunities to share important public health messaging.' The latest UK monkeypox figures come as the WHO confirmed it is looking to rename the disease following calls for a new 'non-discriminatory and non-stigmatising' term for monkeypox. WHO chiefs promised a new name for the rash-causing virus, endemic to Africa, would be announced 'as soon as possible'. As well as renaming the actual pathogen itself, strains will likely be lettered, such as A or B, to remove any mention of the parts of Africa where they were first spotted. Over 30 researchers last week signed a position paper stating there was an 'urgent need' to change its name given the current outbreak, which has mainly struck gay and bisexual men. They wrote: 'Continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatizing.' Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, confirmed the move. He said: '[The] WHO is working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox virus, its clades, and the disease it causes. World Health Organization chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed they are in conversation with experts on changing the name for monkeypox Officials are urging gay and bisexual men to be aware of new lesions, rashes or scabs and get in contact with a sexual health clinic What could monkeypox be renamed to? A group of scientists from around the world have said the current naming of monkeypox and its clades (different types of the virus) is inaccurate, discriminatory and stigmatising. They say references to West African and Central African monkeypox do not accurately reflect the current monkeypox outbreak sweeping the world. Instead, they suggest ditching terms tied to geography, a move the World Health Organization (WHO) has broadly supported. The scientists have suggested monkeypox in general should now be renamed to MPXV. A number at the end of MPXV would indicate the particular clade of the virus. MPXV1 would indicate Central African monkeypox. MPXV2 for the West African version. And MPXV3 would be term for an offshoot of the West African responsible for pervious and current international outbreaks. But the the scientists add the current outbreak and its sustained human-to-human transmission deserves its own clade. This would be called hMPXV with letters indicating distinct genetic lineages. With pervious international human-to-human monkeypox outbreaks in 2017-2019 with their own distinct ancestry this would mean the current outbreak would be called hMPXVB.1. While the WHO has said it supports renaming monkeypox, the formal naming of viruses is the purview of the International Committee of Taxonomy of Viruses. This international committee of virologists would need to accept any new name for monkeypox for it to become official. Advertisement 'We will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible.' Monkeypox's naming system currently divides it into two types, the West African version and Central African or Congo Basin version. But experts want them to be replaced with numbers, like MPXV1, MPXV2 and so forth. Naming viruses geographically goes against WHO guidelines because of concerns it may spark abusive backlash or potential racism. It is, for this reason, that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid) was not called the Wuhan coronavirus, despite originating in the Chinese city of the same name. Writing in a paper published last week, the coalition of infectious disease researchers from around the world also proposed creating a new 'clade' for the current outbreak. They argue the virus circulating at present has become a distinct 'human virus', compared to MPXV, which rarely transmitted between people. The new type, the experts claimed, should be called hMPXV and lineages should be referred to as A, A.1, A.1.1, B.1. They gave four examples because of data showing the West African strain has evolved slightly, based on samples collected in small human-to-human outbreaks over the past few years. The naming system would be similar system to that used for Covid variants like Omicron, with Britain hit by a wave of BA.2 and now experiencing an uptick in cases of BA.4 and BA.5. One benefit of ditching geographic terms would be encouraging countries to continue monitoring for and raising the alarm when spotting new diseases, rather than having their name negatively attached to it, the scientists said. The responsibility of renaming monkeypox actually lies with the International Committee of Taxonomy of Viruses, a committee tasked with formally labelling pathogens. It is not the first time concerns about monkeypox and racism have been raised. Last month the Foreign Press Association, Africa, a media body for journalists on the continent, urged Western media to stop using photos of black people alongside monkeypox stories describing the outbreak in Europe and North America. They accused such outlets of perpetuating 'negative stereotypes that assigns calamity to the African race and privilege of immunity to other races.' They instead urged reports on monkeypox to instead use images of hospitals in their own countries or of graphical representations of the virus itself. Calls to rename monkeypox echo those made regarding Covid after people, such as former US President Donald Trump, started referring to it as the China or Wuhan virus in 2020, shortly after the virus began spreading internationally. Calls to rename monkeypox because of concerns of racism and discrimination echo those regarding some people calling Covid the 'Chinese virus' such as former US President Donald Trump (pictured here at the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting last month) Mr Trump was widely condemned over statements referring to Covid as the 'Chinese violence' with some studies finding it increased anti-Asian comments on social media They instead urged reports on monkeypox to instead use images of hospitals in their own countries or of graphical representations of the virus itself. Calls to rename monkeypox echo those made regarding Covid after people, such as former US President Donald Trump, started referring to it as the China or Wuhan virus in 2020, shortly after the virus began spreading internationally. The current term monkeypox is already somewhat misleading as while the virus was first discovered in macaques, many cases are believed to be transmitted to humans by rodents. A large proportion of cases so far have been identified in the gay, bisexual and men who have sex with other men community. But anyone can get monkeypox if they have had close contact with an infected person. Monkeypox is not normally a sexually-transmitted infection, but it can be passed on by direct contact during sex. It can also be spread through touching clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with the monkeypox rash. The disease is usually mild but can cause severe illness in some cases. It kills up to 10 per cent of cases. But this high rate is thought to be in part due to a historic lack of testing meaning that a tenth of known cases have died rather than a tenth of all infections. With milder strains, the fatality rate is closer to one in 100 similar to when Covid first hit. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, which then spreads to other parts of the body including the genitals. Dr Ghebreyesus said that 1,600 confirmed monkeypox cases and 1,500 suspected cases have been reported to the WHO this year from 39 countries, 32 of which have been recently hit by the virus. But other experts tracking the outbreak say at least 40 nations have logged cases or suspected cases. While 72 deaths have been reported in countries where monkeypox was already endemic, none have been seen in the newly affected countries, Dr Tedros said. However, he added that the WHO is seeking to verify news reports from Brazil of a monkeypox-related death there. The UN agency will hold an emergency meeting next week to determine whether to classify the global outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern. Only six PHEICs have been declared in the past, with the most recent being Covid. Officials are scrambling to contain the tropical virus, amid fears it could become endemic in Europe too unless it is stamped out soon. How DO you catch monkeypox and what are the symptoms? EVERYTHING you need to know about tropical virus How do you catch monkeypox? Until this worldwide outbreak, monkeypox was usually spread by infected rodents including rats, mice and even squirrels in west and central Africa. Humans can catch the illness which comes from the same family as smallpox if they're bitten by infected animals, touch their blood, bodily fluids, or scabs, or eat wild game or bush meat. The orthopoxvirus, which causes monkeypox, can enter the body through broken skin even if it's not visible, as well as the eyes, nose and mouth. Despite being mainly spread by wild animals, it was known that monkeypox could be passed on between people. However, health chiefs insist it was very rare until the current outbreak. Human-to-human spread can occur if someone touches clothing or bedding used by an infected person, or through direct contact with the virus' tell-tale scabs. The virus can also spread through coughs and sneezes. In the ongoing surge in cases, experts think the virus is passing through skin-to-skin contact during sex even though this exact mechanism has never been seen until now. How deadly is it? Monkeypox is usually mild, with most patients recovering within a few weeks without treatment. Yet, the disease kills up to 10 per cent of cases. But this high rate is thought to be in part due to a historic lack of testing meaning that a tenth of known cases have died rather than a tenth of all infections. However, with milder strains the fatality rate is closer to one in 100 similar to when Covid first hit. The West African version of the virus, which is mild compared to the Central African strain, is behind the current spread. No deaths have been reported as part of the ongoing outbreak. How is it tested for? It can be difficult to diagnose monkeypox as it is often confused with other infections such as chickenpox. Monkeypox is confirmed by a clinical assessment by a health professional and a test in the UK's specialist lab the UKHSA's Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory. The test involves taking samples from skin lesions, such as part of the scab, fluid from the lesions or pieces of dry crusts. What are the symptoms? It can take up to three weeks for monkeypox-infected patients to develop any of its tell-tale symptoms. Early signs of the virus include a fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion meaning it could, theoretically, be mistaken for other common illnesses. But its most unusual feature is a rash that often begins on the face, then spreads to other parts of the body, commonly the hands and feet. The rash changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab, which later falls off. How long is someone contagious? An individual is contagious from the point their rash appears until all the scabs have fallen off and there is intact skin underneath. The scabs may also contain infectious virus material. The infectious period is thought to last for three weeks but may vary between individuals. What do I do if I have symptoms? The UK Health Security Agency advises Britons to contact their sexual health clinic if they have a rash with blisters and have been in close contact with a suspected or confirmed monkeypox case or have been in West or Central Africa in the last three weeks. Britons are asked to contact clinics ahead of their visit and avoid contact with others until they have been seen by a medic. Gay and bisexual men have been asked to be especially alert to the symptoms as most of the cases have been detected in men who have sex with men. What even is monkeypox? Monkeypox was first discovered when an outbreak of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research in 1958. 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. Only a handful of cases have been reported outside of Africa and they were confined to people with travel links to the continent. The UK, US, Israel and Singapore are the only countries which had detected the virus before May 2022. Monkeypox is a rare viral infection which kills up to one in ten of those infected but does not spread easily between people. The tropical disease is endemic in parts of Africa and is known for its rare and unusual rashes, bumps and lesions (file photo) Nurses and doctors are being advised to stay 'alert' to patients who present with a new rash or scabby lesions (like above) Is it related to chickenpox? Despite causing a similar rash, chickenpox is not related to monkeypox. The infection, which usually strikes children, is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. For comparison, monkeypox like smallpox is an orthopoxvirus. Because of this link, smallpox vaccines also provide protection against monkeypox. Are young people more vulnerable? Britons aged under 50 may be more susceptible to monkeypox, according to the World Health Organization. This is because children in the UK were routinely offered the smallpox jab, which protects against monkeypox, until 1971. The WHO also warns that the fatality rate has been higher among young children. Does it spread as easily as Covid? Leading experts insist we won't be seeing Covid-style levels of transmission in the monkeypox outbreak. A World Health Organization report last year suggested the natural R rate of the virus the number of people each patient would infect if they lived normally while sick is two. This is lower than the original Wuhan variant of Covid and about a third of the R rate of the Indian 'Delta' strain. But the real rate is likely much lower because 'distinctive symptoms greatly aid in its early detection and containment,' the team said, meaning it's easy to spot cases and isolate them. Covid is mainly spread through droplets an infected person releases whenever they breathe, speak, cough or sneeze. How is the UK managing the outbreak? MailOnline revealed monkeypox patients and their close contacts, including NHS workers, are being offered the Imvanex smallpox vaccine. The strategy, known as ring vaccination, involves jabbing and monitoring anyone around an infected person to form a buffer of immune people to limit the spread of a disease. Additionally, close contacts of those with a confirmed monkeypox infection are being told to stay at home for 21 days and avoid contact under-12s, immunosuppressed people and pregnant women. The Government said unprotected direct contact or high risk environmental contact includes living in the same house as someone with monkeypox, having sexual contact with them or even just changing their bedding 'without appropriate PPE'. As with Covid, someone who has come within one metre of an infected person is classed as a monkeypox contact. This lower category of contact, which also includes sitting next to a person with monkeypox on a plane, means a tracer will call the person every day for three weeks and they will be advised to stay off work for 21 days if their job involves children or immuno-suppressed colleagues. The UK has stopped short of requiring people by law to quarantine if they develop monkeypox, but ministers are considering a public health campaign to alert gay and bisexual men, because of the number of cases in this group. What if it continues to spread? Experts told MailOnline they 'could see a role' for a targeted jab rollout to gay men in the UK 'if this isn't brought under control quickly'. Close contacts of the UK's known cases are already being offered the jab, which was originally designed for smallpox. The two rash-causing viruses are very similar. A health source told MailOnline 'there would be a number of strategies we'd look at' if cases continued to rise. Professor Kevin Fenton, London's public health regional director, said if the outbreak in the capital continues to grow then the rollout of vaccines and treatments could be broadened to more groups. He said there are 'plans in place' to have more antivirals if the outbreak keeps growing. What other countries have spotted cases? More than 40 countries including the US, Spain and Italy have detected cases of monkeypox. The most cases have been detected in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Canada and Germany. There are a handful of antivirals and therapies for smallpox that appear to work on monkeypox, including the drug tecovirimat, which was approved for monkeypox in the EU in January Is there a vaccine for it? The smallpox vaccine, called Imvanex in the UK and Jynneos in the US, can protect against monkeypox because the viruses behind the illnesses are closely related. Data shows it prevents around 85 per cent of cases, and has been used 'off-label' in the UK since 2018. The jab, thought to cost 20 per dose, contains a modified vaccinia virus, which is similar to both smallpox and monkeypox, but does not cause disease in people. Because of its similarity to the pox viruses, antibodies produced against this virus offer cross protection. Are there any drugs to treat it? There are a handful of antivirals and therapies for smallpox that appear to work on monkeypox. This includes the drug tecovirimat, which was approved for monkeypox in the EU in January. Tecovirimat prevents the virus from leaving an infected cell, hindering the spread of the virus within the body. An injectable antiviral used to treat AIDS called cidofovir can be used to manage the infection, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It also works by stopping the growth of the virus. Terms like 'normal' or 'natural' birth should be dropped in favour of factual language, a report has concluded. The Royal College of Midwives found women feel judged by phrases which suggest their labours have failed or that somehow their birth experience has been abnormal. Instead they want descriptions that are 'non-judgmental, non-hierarchical' and which are not 'value-laden', it said. The report comes after a damning report into failings at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, where over 200 babies and mothers needlessly died. An obsession with stamping out C-sections, in order to drive up natural birth rates, was partly blamed. As recently as April, NHS trusts were still posting job ads for midwives committed to 'normal birth' and asking for 'normality-focused midwives'. A new study has said language used by midwives should be less judgmental (PA) The RCM report included responses from 8,000 people in the UK, including women, their partners, doctors and midwives. About 1,500 women who had given birth in the past five years gave their views. 'Normal labour and birth' and 'natural labour and birth' were the two phrases which prompted the biggest anger. The study recommended several terms should now be used by health professionals and researchers. These include 'spontaneous vaginal birth' for a birth without intervention or 'induced and/or augmented labour' for when labour is induced. Gill Walton, chief executive of the RCM, said: 'The relationship between a midwife and the women in her care is an incredibly intimate one. Rhiannon Davies and Richard Stanton with a copy of the Donna Ockenden Independent Review into Maternity Services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. Mr Stanton hopes that police now have enough evidence to prosecute those responsible for his daughter's death Rhiannon Davies from Ludlow, Shropshire, pictured with her daughter Kate moments after she was born on March 1, 2009 at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust. Kate died just hours later NHS trusts have come under fire for posting job adverts (pictured) for midwives committed to 'normal birth' just a week after Britain's biggest ever maternity death scandal. 'The role of the midwife is to advise and support women, to listen to them and to advocate on their behalf. 'To do that successfully, we have to share a language.' Historically, the idea of a 'normal birth' has been promoted in the UK, with the RCM, the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) signing a 'normal birth consensus statement' in 2007. They said: 'With appropriate care and support the majority of healthy women can give birth with a minimum of medical procedures 'Procedures used during labour which are known to increase the likelihood of medical interventions should be avoided where possible.' A later 2015 inquiry into failings at Morecambe Bay NHS trust where 11 babies and one mother suffered avoidable deaths found a group of midwives' overzealous pursuit of natural childbirth had 'led at times to inappropriate and unsafe care'. Two years later, in 2017, the RCM dropped its 'normal birth' campaign and removed similar advice for midwives from its website. Meanwhile, the RCOG has recently apologised on Twitter for signing up to the 'normal birth consensus statement' in 2007. It said this 'may have mistakenly given the impression that targets around childbirth could take priority over safety. This is something we acknowledge and sincerely regret'. The term 'normal birth' is still used by other organisations including the International Confederation of Midwives and the World Health Organization. The report into Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, released in May, showed mothers were made to have natural births, despite the fact they should have been offered a Caesarean at the hospital. The review found around 200 babies and nine mothers could have survived if it had provided better care. The trust's low Caesarean rate was regarded nationally and locally as a positive. In the review, midwife Donna Ockenden found the trust presided over catastrophic failings for 20 years and did not learn from its own inadequate investigations. It led to babies being stillborn, dying shortly after birth or being left severely brain damaged. Some babies suffered skull fractures, broken bones or developed cerebral palsy after traumatic forceps deliveries, while others were starved of oxygen and experienced life-changing brain injuries. People who 'feel sick' or have rashes should not attend summer parties or festivals in case they have monkeypox, health chiefs in Chicago have warned. The city's Department of Public Health insisted it gave the warning to ensure residents could make 'informed choices' about gathering in places where the tropical disease could spread. Chicago's monkeypox tally doubled to eight this weekend, with at least one case linked back to the annual fetish festival Mr Leather which took place last month. It is thought to be the first city to issue the warning, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also warned people who were ill or had rashes to stay away from others earlier this month. America recorded another seven monkeypox cases yesterday bringing its tally to a total of 72 infections. Four of the new cases were in New York City, while one each was in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. It was not clear where the seventh was recorded. Globally, more than 1,800 cases of the rash-causing virus have been detected in at least 45 countries outside of West Africa where it is native. It comes as the World Health Organization says it will rename the illness because its name is 'racist and discriminatory towards Africa'. WHO will rename monkeypox because 'it's RACIST and discriminatory towards Africa' Monkeypox will be renamed following calls for a new 'non-discriminatory and non-stigmatising' term, it emerged today. The World Health Organization (WHO) promised a new name for the rash-causing virus, endemic to Africa, would be announced 'as soon as possible'. As well as renaming the actual pathogen itself, strains will likely be lettered, such as A or B, to remove any mention of the parts of Africa where they were first spotted. Over 30 researchers last week signed a position paper stating there was an 'urgent need' to change its name given the current outbreak, which has mainly struck gay and bisexual men. It has already swept the world to strike 45 countries, including Britain, the US, Spain and Portugal. They wrote: 'Continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatizing.' Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, has confirmed the virus will be renamed. He said: '[The] WHO is working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox virus, its clades, and the disease it causes. Advertisement In guidance issued this week, Chicago's health chiefs said: 'Individuals attending festivals or other summer events should consider how much close, personal, skin-to-skin contact is likely to occur at the events. 'If someone feels sick or has rashes or sores, [we] recommend not attending a gathering and visiting a healthcare provider as soon as possible.' Dr Allison Arwady, its commissioner, added: 'While the risk in Chicago remains low, [we] want the public to be able to make informed choices about gathering in spaces or participating in events where monkeypox could be spread through intimate contact.' Monkeypox primarily spreads through skin-to-skin contact with infectious lesions or sores on infected patients. But in rare cases it can also be passed on through the air when there is 'sustained' face-to-face contact. People can only transmit the virus when they have symptoms, unlike with Covid where people can infect others before they show signs of having the virus. On Monday, America recorded its biggest day-on-day rise in infections since the outbreak began. New York City health chiefs are yet to give any details on their new cases to 'protect individuals privacy'. In Massachusetts, health officials said their case was in a man who is currently isolating. They did not say whether the individual was a close contact of another case or had recently returned from abroad. But on Monday a scientist in the state warned that monkeypox was likely already spreading under the radar in the state. Pennsylvania also did not release any details about its new case citing 'privacy' issues. One expert has warned the U.S. may already have more than 300 cases of the rash-causing virus, but that these have been missed due to testing problems and because the disease may be being mis-diagnosed as others. Medical literature says that in the early stages of infection someone may experience flu-like symptoms before developing a rash on the face around three days later. But the CDC says many patients are experiencing rashes in the genital area and around the anus first. In some cases, they are also not developing any flu-like symptoms. Officials are urging gay and bisexual men to be aware of new lesions, rashes or scabs and get in contact with a sexual health clinic Most cases in America's outbreak have been detected among gay and bisexual men with links to international travel. But a growing number are being detected in close contacts of people these individuals mixed with before testing positive. There are also at least two cases with no links to known cases or international travel which suggests the disease may be spreading under the radar in the country. It comes as the WHO says it will rename monkeypox with a new 'non-discriminatory and non-stigmatising' term 'as soon as possible'. As well as renaming the actual pathogen itself, strains will likely also be lettered such as A or B to remove any mention of the parts of Africa where they were first spotted. Over 30 researchers last week signed a position paper stating there was an 'urgent need' to change its name given the current outbreak, which has mainly struck gay and bisexual men. They wrote: 'Continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatizing.' Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, has confirmed the virus will be renamed. He said: '[The] WHO is working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox virus, its clades, and the disease it causes. 'We will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible.' Advertisement Covid vaccines for the youngest Americans could be rolled out in a matter of days after the Food and Drug Administration recommended approving both the Moderna and Pfizer shots, despite some experts warning that they are not needed for children under the age of five. On Wednesday, members of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee convened debated whether the benefits of Moderna and Pfizer outweigh the risks for America's 18million under-5s. They gave the greenlight for both vaccines. Formal authorization should follow quickly, with the first shots in arms expected by next week. 'This recommendation does fill a significant unmet need for a really ignored younger population,' said Michael Nelson, a professor of medicine at the University of Virginia and one of the 21 experts who unanimously said the benefits of the Moderna vaccine outweighed the risks. The vote on Wednesday is the first stage of the four-part process that will also see them examined by FDA chiefs on Thursday and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday and Saturday. Some scientists have warned that children between the ages of six months and five years old face a vanishingly small risk of dying from Covid and that there is little demand for the shots. Under-5s account for just 0.05 percent of America's more than a million Covid deaths, while nationally less than a third of five to 11-year-olds who are eligible for two doses of the Covid vaccine have got the shots. If all shots are approved, it is thought the U.S. would become the first country to offer shots against the pandemic virus for children under two years old. Cuba has been vaccinated children as young as two years since October, while Chile and China are offering the shots to everyone over the age of three years. It comes as national Covid cases continue to plateau at about 107,000 a day, while deaths fall 36 percent to a seven-day average of 374 and hospitalizations also remain steady. But new Omicron subvariants scientifically named BA.4 and BA.5 are spreading quickly in the U.S., now accounting for up to three in ten infections in some areas. It is feared they could trigger a rebound in cases, although there is no evidence that they are more likely to cause severe disease or death. Members of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee met today to consider whether to approve Moderna and Pfizer's shots for children aged six months to five years. Pictured is Dr Peter Marks at the meeting who heads up vaccine approval at the FDA at the meeting today. On the right is a graph showing the number of hospitalizations among children under four years with the most recent Omicron wave shown in grey. He said that just because there was a small number of deaths in the age group, people should not become desensitivized to the risk it posed to children Covid cases in the US have plateaued for the sixth day in a row, with the seven-day average now standing at about 107,000 new cases every day. It comes as new Omicron subvariants gain ground in the country Covid deaths dropped 33 percent yesterday compared to the same time last week, with about 374 now being registered daily FDA advisory panel gives unanimous support to Moderna's Covid vaccine for children aged six to 17 Moderna's Covid vaccine should be made available for children aged six to 17 years, an independent panel at the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday as America's Covid wave fell on all fronts. All 22 members of the panel convened by the FDA voted to approve the two-dose jab for the age group following an all-day debate on the issue. The FDA is now expected to sign-off on the shots in the coming weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will also need to give them the green-light before they can be rolled out nationwide. Dr Paul Offit, a pediatrician who sits on the committee, said the benefits of the jab 'outweigh' the risks among youngsters but added that it was now a 'different time' in the Covid pandemic. Children less than 11 years old will be offered two half-strength doses of the shots, while those above this age will get jabs that are the same strength as those administered to adults. Many experts have raised concerns over rolling out Covid vaccines to children because of the vanishingly small risk they face from the virus, with under-18s making up about 0.1 percent of America's more than a million Covid fatalities. Pfizer's Covid jab was made available for children over five years old months ago, but uptake has been sluggish with less than a third of children aged five to 11 having come forward to get fully-vaccinated. Advertisement Moderna sought emergency use authorization for its two-dose course for children aged six months to five years. Its jab holds 25 micrograms of mRNA, or about a quarter of that in doses for adults, and is given four weeks apart. Pfizer is also seeking the green-light for offering a three-dose course of its vaccine to children aged from six months to four years. Its jab contains 3mcg, or about 10 percent of that in shots for adults. Both jabs use mRNA, which gets cells to manufacture antigens from Covid which the virus uses to invade cells in order to trigger immunity against the pandemic virus. The panel will vote on whether to approve the shots for the age group today, with their decision then passed to chiefs at the FDA. This group normally follows the recommendation of this expert panel. Afterwards, the CDC will also need to sign off on the shots before they can be rolled out to the public. A number of states including New Jersey have already begun ordering jabs in for youngsters in anticipation of the approval. The White House which says approving the jabs would be a 'historic milestone' has plans in place to start dishing out the shots as soon as June 20. There has been pressure to get Covid vaccines approved for even the youngest children for months, especially from sections of the left-wing media. But a number of experts have raised concerns over vaccinating children, who face a small risk of becoming seriously ill with Covid and a vanishingly small chance of death. There are also fears over myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation that may be detected in up to one in 20,000 boys following vaccination. Girls are less at risk from the complication. While in most cases the condition is mild, scientists are not yet sure of the long-term effects. Earlier this year Dr Michael Kurilla who previously sat on the panel was one of the few members to refuse to approve Covid jabs for five to 11-year-olds. He told DailyMail.com at the time that while he thinks children with certain conditions that put them at a high risk should receive the shot, it was not clear if they should be approved for healthy children. Pfizer's Covid vaccine is already available for everyone more than five years old. But CDC statistics show just over 28 percent of five to 11-year-olds have got the shot to date. Among 12 to 17-year-olds, almost 60 percent are now fully vaccinated. For comparison, nationally about three in four Americans have now got two Covid vaccines and almost 50 percent have got a booster. A survey carried out last month found just 18 percent of parents would 'definitely' get their child who was less than five years old the Covid vaccine. Almost two in five parents said they would refuse to get their child inoculated, or only do so when it was required. More than 1,800 parents took part in the survey by health pollster the Kaiser Family Foundation, including 181 with children younger than five years. Moderna was first to present its vaccine to the committee today, saying that it triggered as many Covid-fighting antibodies in children as the adult's dose. It presented data from clinical trials where 6,600 children under six years old were given the shots and monitored for at least two months after the second dose. This included 3,100 children aged two to five years, and 1,911 aged six to 23 months. Only 15 children were reported as suffering a temperature afterwards which was over 104F (40C). There were no other recorded side-effects. It comes as America's Covid wave continues to plateau with the seven-day case average having barely shifted for the sixth day in a row. Across the states 20 are seeing their infections fall compared to the same time about two weeks ago. Only two Oklahoma and Wyoming are seeing cases double compared to the same time about a fortnight ago. A father-of-one from New Jersey was told he had just four days to live after doctors found out a pain in his right toe was caused by kidney cancer. Richard Bernstein, 62, who lives in Montvale, went to doctors about the pain five years ago but was discharged when no fracture was found. It was only after the discomfort spread to his ankle and his leg started to swell in March that he was finally sent for scans. These revealed a 2.5lb kidney tumor on the right of his abdomen which had also grown foot-long extensions medically termed tumor thrombus which were partially blocking two major arteries. He was given the grim diagnosis of having just four days to live before he was rushed into surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City where medics performed a bypass and then removed the tumors over 12 hours. Bernstein who has now been cancer-free for three months says his swollen leg saved his life. Doctors said the cancer could trigger pain in the toes if the growths stopped fluid draining from these areas properly, putting them under severe pressure. Richard Bernstein, 62, was diagnosed with a 2.5lb kidney tumor five years after going to doctors with foot pain. He is pictured above with his wife Ann and daughter Emma Pictured above is Richard Bernstein, 62, during the operation at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. The procedure took about 12 hours Pictured above is the kidney tumor and right kidney that doctors removed during the procedure (in the white bucket). The 'snake-like' growths through arteries are shown in the blue dish This is a scan of Bernstein. It reveals the kidney tumor on his right side, with the foot-long tumor thrombus in veins also shown How can kidney cancer cause pain in a toe? Kidney cancer can trigger pain in the toe if it prevents fluids draining away from the area. Doctors say one of the earliest symptoms of this type of cancer is swelling in the limbs and extremities. This is triggered because the tumor is partially blocking a vein or artery, limiting how much fluid can be carried away from an area. In turn, if too much fluid collects in one place this can lead to pain. Dr Michael Grasso, from Phelps hospital and who diagnosed Bernstein with the disease, said the pain in his patients toes was due to a blockage in the vein. This led to fluid not draining away, he said, which in turn triggered 'pressure' in the lower areas and pain. Advertisement About 79,000 Americans mostly men will be diagnosed with kidney cancer this year, which is the sixth most common in men and ninth in women. It normally triggers few warning signs in the early stages, although patients can experience blood in their urine and swelling of limbs. Doctors say it could also trigger pain in the toes if fluid begins to collect there because blockages are preventing it draining away. Most patients survive the illness with about three in four still being alive within five years of the diagnosis. Bernstein revealed the tale of how his kidney cancer was spotted to the New York Post. It was not clear what stage his kidney cancer was at, although it appeared to be advanced. 'If my whole leg didn't swell up, I would have dropped dead,' he said after spending five years seeing medics for a diagnosis. '[When they found the cancer they] told me I had four days to live.' Dr Michael Grasso, the director of urology at Phelps Hospital and who delivered the diagnosis to Bernstein, said he was 'walking a thin tightrope' when he came in for the scans. The patients body was first cooled to 18C (64F) during the operation to reduce the blood flow, allowing them to cut into major veins and arteries. Medics initially performed a coronary bypass, where blood is redirected around a blockage to ensure normal flow can be resumed. To remove the foot-long tumor thrombosis, they started by opening up the right side of the heart and vena cava the largest vein in the body. The tumor was freed at both ends, before doctors then 'pulled the snake out' through the end of the vein. The kidney tumor and kidney it was next to was also removed. After the surgery, Bernstein was kept on the wards for a week where he gradually rebuilt his strength. Three months later he can now walk unaided again. It is not clear what causes kidney cancer, although medics say obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and a family history of the illness put people at greater risk. The illness is normally treated through surgery to remove part or all of the affected kidney. But patients can also be offered radiotherapy and embolization where doctors cut off the blood supply to the kidney. Doctors at the NHS England's health service says the outlook for patients depends on how progressed the cancer is when it is diagnosed. Surgery can normally cure it when it has not spread beyond the kidney, they said, but if it has spread to other areas it can be harder to treat. The cheapest way to run an electric car is to find the best home EV tariff and benefit from improved electricity rates for charging. That's a factor that's become even more important with energy prices having risen and after it was revealed another leg-up for electric car buyers was being removed, as the 1,500 plug-in car grant has ceased immediately. We take a look at what electric car owners and those considering making the switch to an EV need to know. Rightcharge estimates that the average household could save around 500 a year on the cost of their energy and fuel bills by switching to an electric vehicle specific tariff With petrol and diesel prices rising to eyewatering levels, it's no wonder that many more Britons are debating the switch to all-electric cars. And they will join the 750,000 British car owners who have already gone electric, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. But, with rising electricity prices and the threat of another energy price cap increase in October, many may be considering putting the brakes on the switch. But they may not want to pause, as even with higher electricity costs charging an electric car remains much cheaper that filling up with petrol - and those who seek out the best home EV tariff will find that they can save even more. This is Money and electric motoring comparison site Rightcharge took a look at the energy tariffs currently on the market, to find out how much they could set you back, and if it's possible to save money on your motor bills. Be warned though, switching can be tough at the moment and not all suppliers will let you sign up - those that do are likely to require you to speak to them over the phone and may not provide onliune quotes. Which energy providers offer specific EV tariffs? Energy switching has got much harder, as prices have spiked and a crunch sent many firms bust. However, according to the data from Rightcharge, there are at least five major energy providers than currently offer an EV-specific energy tariff. We looked at average prices based on a Jaguar I-Pace, averaging 7,000 miles a year, to see which providers offer the best rates. Average annual cost of an electric vehicle energy tariff Provider Tariff Annual Cost Peak Rate (p/kWh) Off-Peak Rate (p/kWh) Standing Charge (p/day) Octopus Intelligent Octopus 2,203 34.42 7.50 31.88 Octopus Go 2,318 34.42 7.50 31.88 EDF Go Electric single rate 3,550 30.98 30.98 32.15 EDF Go Electric 35 3,237 45.69 4.50 32.23 EDF Go Electric 98 3,342 42.24 20.65 32.23 British Gas Standard variable tariff (price capped) 2,276 29.63 29.63 32.14 Ecotricity Green Electricity + EV (Standard) 3,073 31.90 31.90 42.57 Ecotricity Green Electricity + EV (Economy 7) 2,762 32.87 19.70 42.57 OVO Drive 3,625 37.24 37.24 31.42 Prices are based on a 2-3 bed house in London, paid via direct debit Octopus currently offers some of the more competitive energy tariffs for those who would only be charging their electric cars at home. Its Intelligent Octopus average annual price was 2,203, our research showed, while the Go Octopus average annual price came in at 2,318. This includes all household electricity expenditure and car charging, assuming a car was charged during off-peak hours. Both Octopus's energy tariffs offer reasonable prices at peak rates, at 34.42p per kWh, and substantially lower off-peak rates, currently at 7.50p per kWh. By comparison the Ofgem energy price cap rates from April 2022 sit at around 28.34p per kWh for electricity, with a 45p per day standing charge. Ofgem's average price-capped rates from April 2022 Gas Gas Electricity Unit rate 7.37p per kWh 28.34p per kWh Standing charge 27.22p per day 45.34p per day Rates may vary depending on the region Of the EV tariffs we looked at, Ovo offers the most expensive rates, at 37.24p per kWh for both peak and off-peak hours, averaging a staggering 1,400 extra year compared to Octopus Energy. Charlie Cook, CEO of Rightcharge, said that it doesn't include Ovo on its price comparison site, as we 'don't think it's great value' for customers. British Gas also offers an affordable standard tariff that is not specifically tailoured to EVs, however, with the energy crisis continuing to worsen, EV drivers may have a tough time switching to a standard tariff. Fiona Howarth, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, commented: 'For many drivers, charging your car at home is as simple as charging your phone. 'EV-specific energy tariffs like Octopus Go offer cheap, green energy in the middle of the night. When the average UK driver can fill up for as little as 12 a month, EVs are not only the better choice for the planet, but great for your wallet too.' What about an Economy 7 tariff? An Economy 7 (E7) tariff is the most common, non-smart energy tariff that offers seven hours of cheaper electricity overnight. The tariff measures your electricity usage based on two different prices per kilowatt; an on-peak rate and an off-peak one, with off peak hours usually falling between 11pm and 8am. And, as a majority of EV drivers are more likely to charge their vehicle overnight, you will get the best rate for your energy when you need it most with an E7 tariff. Cook recommends electric motorists to stick to one of these EV-specific tariff to ensure they get the best prices out there. He added, 'EV tariffs are normally the best option for EV drivers who charge at home but if consumers want to compare prices of EV tariffs against a tariff available for normal consumers as well, they should consider Economy 7 tariffs. 'Octopus' Economy 7 tariff is currently our cheapest non-EV friendly tariff that we recommend for EV drivers, at annual estimated cost of 2,612 for the average EV driver.' Cook also said that there may be some cases where an EV-specific tariff may not be the one for you. It's estimated that only 10 per cent of your energy bill could be going directly towards your total energy costs, so it's important to monitor your usage in order to get the best value rates for your overall tariff. Additionally, Ofgem has said that they believe their energy price cap could increase even further in October, which may mean that standard variable tariffs could cost you substantially more in six months time. How do I get a good EV and home rate? When it comes to choosing the right EV tariff, Cook says its all about the off-peak rates (and then using those to charge your electric car) He said, 'The best tariffs for the average EV driver have the cheapest off-peak rates for the longest period of time overnight. 'If EV drivers smart charge (schedule their charge to align with cheaper, off-peak rates of their energy tariff) they will make use of the off-peak windows EV tariffs, reducing the cost of charging their car.' But this can unfortunately mean that drivers could be left paying more for their daytime energy use, so customers need to be extra vigilant on their energy consumption. Cook said: 'For EV owners to accurately estimate their annual energy bill they need to consider their driving and charging habits as well as home usage. 'Peak rates are normally slightly higher for EV tariffs, so drivers have to be careful that the increase in cost of their home usage doesn't outweigh the savings to be had on their car charge when they switch to an EV tariff, especially if they aren't smart charging.' To ensure you are getting the best deal on your energy tariff, consider when you would likely be able to charge your electric car, and be firm with when you expend your extra energy. If you find you are struggling to charge your EV overnight, or you don't use your car regularly enough for daily charging, then a tariff with lower variable rates between night and day usage could be a better option for you. Switching standard energy deals is very hard to do and likely to be uneconomical at the moment, but some comparison sites, such as Rightcharge do still allow people to compare EV-friendly tariffs. They may have to jump through hoops to switch to them, as we highlight below. For EV owners to accurately estimate their annual energy bill they need to consider their driving and charging habits as well as home usage. Octopus Energy currently has the most competitive off-peak rate of energy consumption for their EV specific energy tariffs, with the total costs for your energy bill averaging 2,200 a year How much will my car choice affect my energy bill? Naturally, the size of your house will influence how much you pay on your energy bill. The same is true for your electric car choice. The range and efficiency of your electric car will influence how often you need to charge your car and how much energy it takes to keep it running. Cook said, 'regardless of the tariff you're on, you will use more energy (and increase your annual bill) if you're driving a lower efficiency EV. 'Efficiency varies significantly between EV models, generally the heavier the electric car the lower the efficiency. 'For example, a Tesla Model X owner will spend 60 per cent more on charging their car each year than a Nissan Leaf owner assuming they drive the same number of miles per year. 'The efficiency unit for electric vehicles is miles per kWh, i.e., the miles that can be covered using one unit of electricity. The lower the efficiency number the more energy required to travel a distance.' If you have still to choose your electric car and want to save money, then it is definitely worth considering the efficiency rating of your car, in the same way a petrol or diesel motorist may look at miles per gallon when buying. The type of electric car you choose could see your energy bills varying regardless of when you charge your vehicle, so be sure to check your vehicles efficiency rating before buying Should you take out a deal with your car? There are some deals available, depending on where you buy your car, that give you a one-off credit on your energy bill. For example, you can get 90 credit with the VW & Octopus Energy deal and 75 credit with the Vanarama and OVO deal. Cook added that you should be wary of the unit rates these deals offer, as some deals 'don't give any discount on the unit rates'. He added, 'The only other exception is Intelligent Octopus, which generally comes out cheapest for drivers at the moment. 'This tariff is only available to owners of certain such as Tesla, Jaguar, Land Rover or VW (except the ID range). 'However, Octopus intends to expand the app compatibility to work with more cars, and some charge points, so that soon any driver will be able to switch to Intelligent Octopus. 'Other than these exceptions, all electric car drivers can access all EV tariffs, at the same rates.' Is it possible to switch during the energy crisis? The short answer? Yes, you can. The long answer? It depends on your tariff and energy provider. Most electric vehicle deals are only available to existing customers of that company, but you may still be able to get one with a different provider by jumping through some extra hoops. If you are already an existing customer, switching to a different tariff should be simple, as you can just call your provider up and they will start the switching process for you. However, its worth knowing that to switch to an EV tariff you will need to have a smart meter installed, if you haven't done so already. If you are not an existing customer, there are a few extra steps involved. You will need to switch to the energy provider first before you are able to take up an EV contract. Make sure you opt for their cheapest energy deal when you do, as it could take a number of weeks to make the switch. Once you've made the switch, you should be able to ask your provider to begin the process of moving you to an EV tariff, but only after the contracted start date. However, many providers are not taking on new customers at the moment, so it may be difficult to switch. The situation changes regularly though, so it is worth contacting your ideal provider to discuss the options for switching. Most EV energy tariffs require a smart meter to get the best deals available Will I see savings if I switch to an EV energy tariff? If you can do it, switching to an EV energy tariff could save you hundreds on your energy bill. 'Electric car drivers can shift a large proportion of their electricity to the night time, when wholesale electricity rates are lower and energy suppliers pass these savings on in the form of off-peak tariffs,' says Cook. 'Generally, an EV tariff will slightly increase the cost of powering the rest of a driver's home, but this is outweighed by the savings made on charging their car. 'The end result is a significant reduction in annual bills.' But, its not just your wallet that could see a positive impact from switching to off-peak charging. Cook says: 'Using electricity overnight is not only cheaper, it's cleaner too because of the way the UK's electricity is generated. 'Electricity consumed overnight generates 25 per cent less C02 on average than electricity used during the evening. Why? It's because the UK's gas turbines are dialled right up during the evening to meet peak electricity demand (we use a lot of energy in the evening for example to make dinner and watch TV). 'Overnight, electricity demand drops away, the gas turbines are turned down, and we're left with a much higher proportion of our electricity coming from low carbon sources like wind and nuclear.' Meanwhile, Howarth added that you can benefit from additional savings on your energy consumption by taking advantage of free, or cheaper energy sharing alternatives. She said: 'Filling up an EV at the lowest cost will be a shift in mindset for many of us. 'As a rule of thumb, charging your car slowly when it is parked will be the lowest cost and often most convenient. Unlike a petrol or diesel car you dont have to stand with it, so it can be busy charging while you are busy elsewhere. 'Sometimes well also pay more for speed and convenience, for instance when you need to use rapid chargers on motorways or longer journeys. 'However, with around 20 per cent of public chargers in the UK being completely free, small tweaks to your charging habits can offer huge savings. 'A little planning goes a long way and can save thousands of pounds.' For many consumers and smaller businesses dealing with the bank has become a nightmare, writes Alex Brummer. Branches are disappearing from local high streets so fast that they are creating financial deserts. This is devastating for the elderly, the infirm and small businesses which are still part of the cash society. More than 5,000 bank branches have shut up shop since 2015 leaving customers with little choice but to travel several miles to their nearest branch or try to navigate unhelpful phone lines, with the possibility of being kept hanging on for 30 minutes or more, or go online. Given that many of the closed branches are in rural areas or smaller towns, that in itself is its own problem because of the unreliability of Wi-Fi signals and the slowness of connections. That is why it was such a relief that the first action of Debbie Crosbie (formerly of TSB) when taking over as chief executive of mutually owned building society Nationwide was to pledge that for two years at least the branch network would remain intact. Indeed, Nationwide is engaged in refurbishing many of its 700 branches and has made an effort started in the pandemic to divert phone calls from a central switchboard to local branches where the colleagues manning the cash desks know the customers. The devaluation of branch banking among the high street banks is all about maximising profits. Even on high streets and in communities where they remain open the staff are much less expert than they once were. Simple concepts such as family trusts are unknown to staff and it is impossible to find qualified help. As for online banking, for many less technically inclined people navigating the security checks has become a complex task. But failure to do so raises the fraud risk. In an age of anonymity, poor customer service and automated switchboards, customers have become second-class citizens for most banks. Those financial groups such as Nationwide and the Swedish competitor Handelsbanken UK present in many towns offer a great other choice to the big four players: HSBC, Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds. Newcomers, such as Metro Bank, have demonstrated that a combination of new branch technology, seven-days-a-week opening and longer hours can be hugely attractive. The big four need to be careful what they wish for. As quickly as they adopt online banking, their artificial intelligence, code writing, tech and mobile apps are never going to be as good as that of the Silicon Valley giants. Apple and others are moving on to traditional bank territory. Apple has launched a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) app and divorced from its former banking partner Goldman Sachs, which provides billions of consumers with an alternative to traditional credit card finance. Amazon offers its market place businesses smoother access to credit. Wise offers customers much cheaper foreign exchange services. Unless they re-invigorate branches and start offering services again, traditional banks could render themselves increasingly obsolete. Advertisement With his love of cars, casinos, caviar, and Omega watches, Ian Fleming's peerlessly suave James Bond helped to turned MI6 and the cutthroat world of Cold War espionage into a seductive martini fueled escape for an audience of millions. By the 1960s, Fleming's best-selling novels, and the movies such as Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Goldfinger had helped to create an incredibly glorified and glossy image of MI6 around the world. At the same time, America's own intelligence service, the CIA, was suffering major blows to its reputation after a handful of bungled operations and a firestorm of rumors of their alleged involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy. That's when the CIA concocted an ill-conceived scheme to boost their image: Why not create a James Bond of their own? And thus, the Agency tasked a career spy named Howard Hunt with a confidential mission to 'become the Ian Fleming of the American clandestine service.' Off Hunt went on a tax-payer funded writers retreat to Madrid where he churned out three novels following the exploits of 'Peter Ward'the commie-hunting CIA operative whose missions took him from Hong Kong to New Delhi. There would be seven books in total. The only problem was that the CIA's pulpy propaganda campaign failed spectacularly. Twice denied by Hollywood, 'Peter Ward' was no match for the smoldering adventures of James Bond, and Howard Hunt was no Ian Fleming. According to one movie exec, the paperback tales of Peter Ward were 'dull' and 'cliche.' Paramount Pictures said the books were 'a bunch of crap' and that they 'couldn't possibly do the Agency any good.' As it turns out, Hunt's credentials as a spook were just as checkered as his woebegone career as the CIA's man of letters. Once, while stationed in Mexico City, the hapless spy left two briefcases of classified information outside his office in Mexico City that were stolen. Another time, he got too drunk during an interview with an asset to realize that the tape recorder hidden beneath his seat cushion had been crushed when he sat down and stopped recording. With that track record, it seems only inevitable that Hunt became entangled in President Nixon's doomed administration. For a measly $100-per-day salary, the former intelligence officer with literary dreams, worked as Nixon's master of dirty tricks. He was one of the so-called White House 'plumbers,' a secret team assembled to stop press leaks and sabotage the president's political opponents. In 1972, Hunt was indicted and sentenced to 33 months for organizing the thwarted break-in of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate. As far as the CIA Director who ordered the 'Peter Ward' books, he became the first CIA chief ever convicted of a crime for lying to Congress about an assassination operation in Chile in 1977. Howard Hunt was a career spy who wrote propaganda novels for the CIA just as it was facing public criticism during the 1960s. The Agency hoped to capitalize on the same success as Ian Fleming, the former MI6 man turned James Bond novelist, but the experiment was a huge flop. The seven books in total were twice denied by Hollywood and critically panned. Years later, in 1972, Hunt was indicated for burglary, conspiracy and wiretapping in the Watergate scandal Inspired by the success of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, the CIA sanctioned a set of propaganda books they thought would boost their image. The result was 'Peter Ward' a commie-hunting CIA operative who missions took him to exotic locations around the world, leaving a trail of broken hearts and beautiful women in his wake It wasn't public knowledge until last month when Jefferson Morley, author of 'Scorpions' Dance: The President, the Spymaster, and Watergate' unveiled the true identity of 'David St. John'- the penname was an amalgam of Hunt's two sons' names. Morley discovered that these books were part of a domestic propaganda campaign masterminded by the CIA A new book, 'Scorpions' Dance: The President, the Spymaster, and Watergate' by author Jefferson Morley details the story of how Howard Hunt, the ex-CIA officer turned Watergate mastermind had a secret literary career long before he became infamous as 'the burglar-in-chief' in 1972. The short-lived tales of 'Peter Ward' might have been completely lost to history had Morley not uncovered their true identity while researching the book. 'I realized Hunts spy fiction was actually an undercover mission in the cultural cold war, ordered up by Helms himself with the goal of burnishing the C.I.A.s public reputation at a moment when it was facing public criticism for the first time.' WHO WAS HOWARD HUNT? HOW A SPY WITH LITERARY FLAIR BECAME THE CIA'S 'IAN FLEMING' Hunt came from a small town in upstate New York with a 'chip on his shoulder.' He graduated from Brown before he joined the Office of Strategic Services (the precursor to the CIA) during WWII and honed his skills in martial arts, knives, lockpicks and cryptology. While deployed in China, he boasted about dynamiting convoys and bridges and infiltrating agents. 'Action was his instinct,' writes Morley. But 'his ambition was literary.' His book-writing career began early when he released his first novel, 'East of Farewell' in 1943. The secret agent 'devoted himself to writing novels, possibly more than he devoted himself to spying,' writes Morley. After the war ended, Hunt won a Guggenheim Fellowship, much to the chagrin of up-and-coming novelists, Gore Vidal and Truman Capote. But when he couldn't crack it as a screenwriter in Hollywood, the former spy went back to doing what he knew best: espionage. As a CIA operative, Hunt earned his spurs running an effective coup to overthrow the Guatemalan government in 1954, and later trained counter-revolutionary Cuban expats to rout Fidel Castro's socialist government out of Cuba. When the Bay of Pigs operation failed, the White House laid blame on the CIA and Hunt was reassigned. He felt his clandestine career died in Cuba. Advertisement Hunt was a seasoned spy who cut his teeth as a naval officer in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. While deployed in China, he boasted about dynamiting convoys and bridges and infiltrating agents. Working for the CIA, he staged coups in South America, worked as Station Chief in both Mexico City and Uruguay before he trained an anti-Castro militia to overthrow the Cuban dictator. 'Action was his instinct,' writes Morley. But 'his ambition was literary.' After the Cuban mission failed, Hunt was reassigned to a new job more appropriate for his literary talents, by the new CIA Director, Richard Helms. The spymaster was made 'covert action chief' in the newly minted Domestic Contacts Division - which was essentially a unit dedicated to creating domestic propaganda. In this position, Hunt was given a mission to develop 'an American counterpart to the James Bond series.' He 'fancied himself the agency's answer to Ian Fleming,' wrote Morley. CIA Director Helms agreed it was 'a magnificent opportunity to boost the image.' Thus was the genesis of 'Peter Ward' a natty, sardonic, playboy spy who fought communism in exotic locales around the world: a Tokyo brothel, a Hong Kong music studio, a Phnom Penh tea house. Fetching, seductive and treacherous women tagged along as Ward took orders from a formidable director back at CIA headquarters named Avery Thorne. 'Thorne resembled no one so much as Hunt's great good friend Dick Helms,' wrote Morley. He was the American stand-in for 'M,' James Bond's MI6 boss in the 007 movies. Introducing his character, Hunt wrote: 'Thorne resembled a broker or financier rather than spymaster. His manners were somewhat elegant, and he could don the air of affability for the Hill, but professionally, he was as single minded as a monk on hazardous duty.' Writing to his old pal William F. Buckley (the famed conservative intellectual who founded The National Review), Hunt emphasized the need to keep his true identity secret: 'As you may imagine this is plenty delicate. Since no matter how popular the series might become, I need certain guarantees that are, up to now, unique in publishing.' Years earlier, Hunt hired Buckley to work in the CIA while he was station chief in Mexico City. The two remained close friends and confidants for the rest of their lives. 'Of course,' Hunt told Buckley 'the editor had no idea that he was working with a current CIA officer who had an ulterior motive to write the books.' Hunt wrote under the worldly-sounding sobriquet of, 'David St. John,' - the penname was an amalgamation of his sons' first names. It was hardly top-notch spy craft for someone who was desperate to keep his identity hidden. And according to Morley, it 'wasn't the first time Hunt's tradecraft was sloppy.' When a fellow colleague named Walter Pforzheimer became curious about the identity of 'David St. John,' he obtained a copyright of 'On Hazardous Duty' which listed Hunt's home address. Protective of his pet project; when Helms got wind of Pforzheimer's intra-agency spying, he chastised: 'For Christ's sake Walter, this is the first book to come along and say something good about the Agency. Why not leave the god**** thing alone?' When another senior official named Paul Gaynor complained that the spy books had not been cleared by the Agency, he was told to 'Keep your stinking nose out of his business.' Gaynor added that he was 'led to believe that Mr. Helms desired to improve the image of the intelligence service and that Hunt's books were part of the program to do so.' By the 1960s, spy work had taken on a certain glamour as Ian Fleming's peerlessly suave creation, James Bond, turned MI6 and the grey, shadowy world of Cold War espionage into a seductive martini fueled escape for millions around the world. Sean Connery (left) starred in the first Bond film, 'Dr. No' in 1962, since then the series has turned into a billion franchise with 14 books, and 25 movies. The most recent film, 'No Time To Die' starred Daniel Craig in 2021 Hunt was a naval intelligence officer who joined the CIA in the 1950s after he tried his hand as a Hollywood scriptwriter after the war. His book-writing career began early when he released his first novel, 'East of Farewell' in 1943. The secret agent 'devoted himself to writing novels, possibly more than he devoted himself to spying,' writes Morley Hunt was specialized in political action, and propaganda campaigns. While deployed in China, he boasted about dynamiting convoys and bridges and infiltrating agents. 'Action was his instinct,' writes Morley. But 'his ambition was literary' Richard Helms, Director of the CIA, originally commissioned the project in 1965. He was a champion of the pulpy 'Peter Ward' books, even after Hollywood twice denied them as 'a bunch of crap' that 'couldn't possibly do the Agency any good' Only two people were allowed to know about the propaganda books and Helms had to do damage control. As part of his coverup he announced that Hunt would be retiring from the CIA. Instead, they sent Hunt and his family of five, on a paid one-year holiday to Spain so he could focus more on writing. He later testified that to Senate investigators that 'This was a project that had been laid on by Dick Helms.' His second book, 'Festival for Spies' opened with a made-for-movie scene that sees Peter Ward yachting off the coast of Bermuda when a helicopter appears to drop him a message: he's wanted back at headquarters. The plot materializes in Cambodia, 'where Ward falls for the sex-starved wife of a cabinet minister, thwarts her blackmail scheme, and fortifies a government struggling to resist communism.' To lend his protagonist the sophistication of Bond, Hunt made Peter Ward 'a master of menus and wardrobe, a gourmand with a gun,' writes Morley. In Hong Kong's Parisian Grill, Ward 'began with Malossol caviar on Melba rounds, a brace of dry martinis, soupe a l'oignon, tiny French lambchops with a crisp green salad, and for dessert a frozen mousse with crushed fruit and liqueur known as plombieres.' Hunt finished three more Peter Ward books in the course of the year, but slowly he was beginning to unravel on the inside through bouts of depression. When he learned that Frank Wisner, the former deputy director of the CIA who hired him in 1950, had shot himself at his country home in Maryland, Hunt wondered, 'how much longer I could take the work myself if this Gibraltar of a figure had succumbed to the pressure?' Hunt was drinking more too, which reflected in Peter Ward who 'often took refuge in a bottle of Canadian Club.' After reading the spy series, Gore Vidal commented on the 'obsessive need for the juice to counteract the melancholy of middle age. The hangovers, as described, get a lot worse, too.' Hunt's family returned from Spain in 1966 and settled on a sprawling horse ranch in suburban Maryland - just stone's throw from Langley headquarters. Meanwhile, Helms made it his job to get Peter Ward books adapted for the big screen. But his plan foiled when he received a damning assessment from Paramount Pictures that deemed them 'indifferent screen material.' 'Both books have plot and substance for a single TV episode,' the Hollywood exec continued, 'neither has enough of a feature length picture. The emphasis is not on people or action, for all that the books are filled with murder, bloodshed, and casual sex.' 'All these values are handled in pretty cliche terms. . . . Peter Ward does seem pretty dulland he has no one to talk to . . . a loner without humor and with little or no personal life or personal charm is not a character to win an audience easily.' Nonetheless, Helms remained undeterred. In 1972, the Director passed the books to Martin Davis who was senior vice president of the Gulf & Western conglomerate that owned Paramount Pictures at the time. Davis concluded that the Peter Ward series were 'a bunch of crap' that 'couldn't possibly do the Agency any good.' Hunt was critical in masterminding the 1961 CIA-funded Bay of Pigs Invasion. After its failure, he was given desk duty at the CIA headquarters. He remained resentful of President Kennedy for what he perceived was a betrayal. The Bay of Pigs wasn't a failure of intelligence, he surmised, but more so 'a lack of a will to win' on Jack Kennedy's part that bordered on 'criminal negligence.' On his deathbed in 2007, Hunt confessed to his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy in 1963 Hunt poses with his wife, Dorothy and children. Dorothy was killed in a suspicious United Airlines plane crash in December 1972. Rescue workers sifting through the wreckage found $10,000 cash in her purse. It was during this time that Dorothy Hunt was traveling around the country paying off operatives and witnesses involved the Watergate operation with 'hush' money her husband extorted from Nixon's administration CIA Director Helms retired from the CIA after allegedly being disgusted by Nixon's efforts to call off the Watergate investigation. He was appointed as the Ambassador to Iran in 1973 and later pleaded guilty to misleading Congress about an assassination operation in Chile, making him the first CIA director convicted of a crime THE CIA'S PR CRISES The Kennedy administration was left humiliated when their plan to rout Fidel Castro's socialist government out of Cuba in April 1961 resulted in the failed landing of American trained (and funded) operatives at the Bay of Pigs. 119 men were killed and most were captured by Cuban forces. In 1963, the CIA led a coup in South Vietnam with a former ally that resulted in the violent death and disembowelment of its leader, Ngo Dinh Diem. According to Morley, 'Kennedy blanched when he heard the news.' The Defense Secretary McNamara said, 'I've never seen him more upset.' Less than three weeks later on November 23, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated. Investigations surrounding the event suddenly put the CIA in the hot seat. Former President Harry Truman (who created the CIA in 1947) penned a scathing op-ed piece in the Washington Post condemning the agency: 'I never had any thought that when I set up the CIA that it would be injected into peacetime cloak and dagger operations,' he wrote. 'It's become a government all of its own and all secret.' Amid this tempest, the agency's director, Richard Helms came up with an ill-conceived idea that he thought would revamp the CIA's public profile, much in the way James Bond did for MI6. Advertisement Helms also used Hunt to feed the press in various advantageous ways. In 1968, he gave the agent a handful of files and asked him to write 800 words to 'try out on Cy Sulzberger.' Sulzberger was a scion of the family who owned (and still owns to this day) the New York Times, and a regular columnist for the newspaper. Hunt turned around his copy on a tight deadline and a few days later, Sulzberger's column, an almost carbon copy of Hunt's draft, revealed that more than a hundred Soviet spies were caught posing as journalists and diplomats in America. Ward's mental health began to decline in 1969. Still angry by what he perceived was a betrayal by the Kennedy Administration, he wrote a comprehensive expose of the 'Bay of Pigs' event that soured the public's opinion of the CIA. It wasn't a failure of intelligence, he surmised, but more so 'a lack of a will to win' on Jack Kennedy's part that bordered on 'criminal negligence.' The unauthorized book was called 'Give Us This Day' and would eventually be his downfall. 'If a CIA officer published a book saying the Agency had tried to kill Castro, the liberals on Capitol Hill would raise holy hell,' said Morley. 'The press would sensationalize it. The communists would love it.' Hunt was becoming a liability. He had alienated more than few of his colleagues and Helms gave him an early out to retirement. Eventually with help from the CIA boss, the Hunt was hired at the Robert Mullen Company, a global public relations firm that collaborated with the clandestine services. By 1971, Nixon was President and becoming increasingly paranoid about a leak in his office. He hired Hunt to join his team of fixers. They called themselves 'the Plumbers' and their mission was to stop internal leaks. Hunt came highly recommended through his former boss: 'Helms says hes ruthless, quiet, careful,' said H.R Haldeman, Nixon's chief of staff. 'Hes kind of a tiger,' said Nixon's White House counsel, Charles Colson. 'He spent 20 years in the CIA overthrowing governments.' Hunt was just what Nixon needed. Nevermind the fact that Hunt's reputation as a spy, was checkered at best, and prone to errors and hapless mistakes. He once left two briefcases filled with classified information in a car outside his office in Mexico City that were stolen. His impulse to write a CIA 'tell all' memoir is what got him fired from the agency in the first place. Hunt completely bungled his first assignment in Nixon's administration, which was to dig up direct on the democrats ahead of the 1972 election. The President had become increasingly concerned that his political rival Ted Kennedy was surpassing him in the polls. Nixon needed kompromat fast and was hoping to pin the killing of South Vietnamese ally, Ngo Dinh Diem, on his brother's administration. But when it came down to it, the hapless spy hid a tape recorder beneath the seat cushion of his interview subject and got too drunk to remember the conversation. Later when he extracted the machine, he discovered that it had been crushed in the process and failed to record the entire conversation. As Morley put it, Hunt was 'Langley's answer to Inspector Clouseau.' In this context, the Watergate disaster seemed inevitable. Working on behalf of President Nixon, Hunt directed five men, all of them former associates from his Bay of Pigs operations, to break into the Democratic National Committees offices at the Watergate Hotel in the early hours of the morning on June 17, 1972. Responding officers found it suspicious that the burglars were dressed in fine suits, carrying large amounts of cash. Convicted Watergate conspirator Howard Hunt is shown on the first and second days of testimony before Watergate Senate Investigating Committee. After his sullied career as an intelligence officer was over, Hunt continued writing books under his name Former White House aide Howard Hunt leaves District Court building with possessions in a box and a bag. He was freed from prison after serving 33 months for his federal crime Hunt was known for shoddy tradecraft during his time at the CIA. That transferred over to his bungled plan to break into the Watergate when five of his men were caught red handed by local policemen. Hunt was quickly tied to the scandal when investigators discovered his name and phone number in several of the burglars' address books Hunt's name was listed in several of the burglars' address books, when inevitably led to Hunt's indictment on federal charges and the downfall of Nixon's presidency. When called to testify of at the Senate Watergate Committees hearings, Hunt's former CIA boss gave the impression he barely knew him. 'Well, Mr. Hunt washad a, well, he had a good reputation,' Helms said, desperate to distance himself from the criminal he groomed. 'There was some questions at various times during his employment about how well he carried out certain assignments.... It was just a question of his effectiveness. Mr. Hunt was a bit of a romantic.' Hunt spent 33 months in federal prison prison for burglary, conspiracy and wiretapping and emerged a broken man. Helms managed to nab a plush job as the ambassador to Iran. In 1977, Helms pleaded guilty to misleading Congress about an assassination operation in Chile, making him the first CIA director convicted of a crime. In the spring of 1978, Hunt was lunching at the Metropolitan Club in Washington when Helms suddenly came into view. 'When was the last time you saw Mr. Hunt?' Helms was asked in a 1984 court deposition. 'Saw Mr. Hunt?,' Helms gulped. 'I believe I saw Mr. Hunt way across the Metropolitan Club dining room four or five years ago, but I'm not sure that it was he.' Hunt was sure it was Helms. 'I was lunching in D.C. at the Metropolitan last month,' he wrote to Buckley. 'Dick Helms was nearby and we stared wordlessly at each other. Appropriate. I thought, Dick having testified so often that he didn't know me.' Today the paperback adventures of Peter Ward have become collector's items for niche bibliophiles. One out-of-print copy of The Coven, is currently on sale for $764 on Amazon. One reviewer remarks how 'the plot felt forced and disjointed.' Adding, 'Most of the hard-boiled zingers fell flat or were just plain terrible.' Helms was the sophisticated CIA director who grew up on Philadelphias Main Line and went to Le Rosey, a boarding school in Switzerland. Hunt based his fictional character, 'Avery Thorne' off his CIA boss. He was the American stand-in for 'M,' James Bond's MI6 supervisor in the 007 series. Introducing his character, Hunt wrote: 'Thorne resembled a broker or financier rather than spymaster. His manners were somewhat elegant, and he could don the air of affability for the Hill, but professionally, he was as single minded as a monk on hazardous duty' The father of a four-year-old Afghani girl who vanished without a trace in Texas nearly six months ago has been terrorized online by conspiracy theorists who claim he sold her as a child bride. Lina Sarder Khil disappeared from an apartment complex playground in San Antonion in December. Her disappearance is being treated as a missing person case, and there are no suspects. The search for her has been suspended indefinitely, although the San Antonio Police Department said it was still following up tips and the case remains open. At the time of her disappearance, her father Riaz Sardar Khil, 27, said that his pregnant wife was watching Lina when she walked over to a nearby path and vanished. Her mother initially thought she may have returned to the family's Villa Del Cabo apartment. On Tuesday, Khil told DailyMail.com through a translator that he and his wife Varmina have been devastated by both their daughter's disapperance and the vile online comments directed toward them. 'Whenever I open Facebook or other social media I see hateful messages and accusations saying that, 'I sold my daughter to be a child bride; 'I sent her back to Afghanistan; 'I abducted her,' or 'my wife did something to our daughter and I am covering up for her,' he said in Pashto through translator Lawang Mangal. He added: 'These are all wrong and they are wrong about me. All of these false allegations make me very sad and I am afraid that someone will harm me and my family.' Lina and her family moved to the US in 2019 from Afghanistan after fleeing the country. Her father assisted American troops in the country, and the family was brought to the US as refugees when the Taliban retook control of the country. Lina Sardar Khil was three years old when she vanished on December 20, 2021 while out in the playground at her family's apartment buliding in San Antonio, Texas Lina with her father Razi Sardar Khil who has been desperately searching for his little gir.l The photo was taken in October 2021, weeks before the child vanished with out a trace Some of the vile comments the family has received since Lina disappeared Khil told DailyMail.com that since his daughter's disappearance, he has been stalked and the negativity faced online has taken a toll on him and his wife, who do not feel safe in San Antonio. He said that when he returned home from work recently, he was nearly attacked by in the parking lot by a hostile stranger. He said that neighbors came to his defense, and the man who tried to attack him was an outsider and not part of their Afghan community. Khil also said that conspiracy theorists have claimed that his daughter was taken from him in retaliation for him working for US troops in Afghanistan. 'I came to the United States with great hope and that I will have a bright future but all my hopes are dead now. The US was different than I thought it was,' he said. 'There is pre-planned propaganda going on. There is no such type of propaganda or conspiracy theories in Afghanistan.' Lina was only 3 years-old when she mysteriously disappeared. In the photo, she is seated sweetly sitting on her father's lap with the lake as the backrdrop Lina is 4 feet tall and weighs 55 pounds. She has brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair that was in a ponytail when she vanished, according to a handout. She was last seen wearing a black jacket, a red dress and black shoes He claimed that child abductions were not common in Afghanistan, and that typically, if a child goes missing, it is usually for ransom. There are other times when a child runs away they are usually found safe. And, in the most extreme cases a child is sold because families are so poor. Khil, also has a two-and-a-half-year-old son, Rayhan, and became a father for the third time after his wife gave birth to a baby boy named Saud on Saturday. The joys of having a new son has been overshadowed by the disappearance of his eldest child and only daughter. 'We are very happy to have a new baby at home but we are very afraid for our children's future because we lost Lina,' Khil said. When he isn't searching for his little girl he is working as driver for Amazon and Uber to be able to feed his family. He said he has also been extremely discouraged by the police response. 'We are not being informed of what is happening. Whenever I call they same the same thing. I don't believe they are working on the case,' he said. 'We have no leads. Nothing.' Pam Allen, CEO of Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach, who has been working with the Khil family, has been involved in helping the Afghan refugee community since 2009. She told DailyMail.com that she believes the family is being treated differently because they are refugees. 'If this was an American family it would be totally different,' she said. 'The police and FBI don't communicate with the family. The week Lina went missing and divers were searching a creek the parents weren't informed. They found out by social media.' One of the numerous missing person's flyers that were distributed. This one was from the FBI Lina wearing traditional headscarf while reading a book On January 29, a prayer vigil was held at the Mosque, Allen said. 'The Mayor of San Antonio was present and told the community to be vigilant. He said that Lina was 'San Antonio's child, but on the other side of that sentiment are some truly awful responses to this family's tragedy,' she said. 'This is not a shared trauma. This child's family goes to sleep and wakes up with this trauma everyday. No law enforcement initiated communication for the family,' Allen said. She added: 'San Antonio's child seems to have been forgotten.' Allen said she had to call off the last two searches for Lina because the harassment had gotten so bad. She said the last time they searched, her husband hired a bodyguard because he was concerned for Allen's well-being. 'There are people who go on these searches with us who film us and take pictures of us and come up with different stories,' she said. 'It's outrageous and it is unconscionable and people listen to that.' She also said the family have had random strangers calling themselves psychics knocking on the door of their home. Another missing flyer handout that was distributed by San Antonio Police Khil looking exhausted from the endless days of working with crews searching for his daughter who vanished on December 20, 2021 from the playground of the San Antonio apartment Pam Allen, CEO of Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach, has been working with the Khil family organizing searches and has been working with the Afghan refugee community since 2009. On June 20 Allen has arranged their monthly vigil for Lina that will take place at the family's home. This month has a special significance since it will be the six-month mark of Lina's disappearance Riaz looking for his daughter in a drainage ditch as a volunteer helps assist in search One psychic told him that his daughter was at the coast. Others sent photos of storage unit, an RV parking lot, claiming Lina was being held in those areas. A man from Jordan, Allen said, claimed that Lina was in California. 'It was heartbreaking to listen to but then to realize it wasn't true,' Allen said. 'The psychic activity got real aggressive,' Allen said. 'My Facebook got hacked my son's family was harassed and trespassers came. My mother's home was being staked out. Lawang [the translator] could not let his family out of their home. One man had to even be arrested for going to Riaz's home.' She added: 'These stalkers and haters have actually produced a lot of distraction for us and law enforcement. I had to hire a lawyer and private investigator. We have have had to do things discreetly when there are so many that really want to help.' The San Antonio Police Department's public information officer, Jennifer Saucedo Rodriguez, told DailyMail.com that the investigation into Lina's disappearance remains active, and tips are still being followed. 'Lina remains as a missing person as a crime was never established. On the night of her disappearance, a preliminary search did not result in finding her in the areas she is known to go or within her safety zone,' she said. 'The initial fear was the possibility of a stranger abduction which is why the search was expanded to the scope it became. The expanded scope resulted in a large amount of data being collected through interviews, CCTV coverage in the area, etc. She said SVU and FBI will not suspend our investigations until all leads are exhausted. Khil speaking with members of the community praying for his daughter's safe return. He said he came to America with great hope but all of his hopes are 'dead now. 'I came to the United States thinking I will have bright future. I didn't see the U.S. the way I was thinking,' Khil said Members of the community show their support for Khil and his family as they hold a vigil for Lina sending prayers for her safe return. The community has been trying to be supportive since the horrifying ordeal praying for little Lina's safe return. In February, The Islamic Center of San Antonio increased their initial reward of $10,000 to $250,000 for her safe return, but sadly no one has come forward On the day of her disappearance, Lina had been playing with other children at the playground of the family's apartment complex in San Antonio. At the time, Lina's mother stepped away for a few minutes, and she vanished. She was reported missing an hour later, and police officers went door-to-door in the community of more than 300 refugees to search for her. The search continued on foot, and uniformed officers with K9 units combed through remote wooded areas and the rugged terrain, while scuba divers searched nearby lakes. Lina Sardar Khil turned 4-years-old on February 21, 2021 Khil pictured as his daughter gives her daddy a kiss on the cheek as the busy father holds her younger brother, Rayhan, who was a baby and is now 2-1/2 years old. The heartbroken father said that he will not leave San Antonio, Texas until his daughter is found. 'I love my child. She is my first child and a part of my heart. I will not stop looking for her until I find her' On February 20 Lina turned four years old. The family had a birthday celebration in their apartment hoping and praying that they would seen see their little girl again. Khil told DailyMail.com that he thinks his daughter has been abducted and that she is no longer in the United States. He denies any of the rumors that have circulated that a family member may have taken Lina. He said 'that is not possible.' He continues to hold out hope that she will be found. Three months ago, the family started working with Abel Pena, a private investigator who runs a nonprofit. Allen said every month on the 20th they hold a vigil for Lina at various different locations: the church, the local mosque or their home. The upcoming vigil that is slated for Monday, June 20, will be held at the family's apartment due in part, to Lina's new baby brother that they family hopes she will one day get to meet. The community has been trying to be supportive since the horrifying ordeal praying for little Lina's safe return. In February, The Islamic Center of San Antonio increased their initial reward of $10,000 to $250,000 for her safe return, but sadly no one has come forward. The heartbroken father said that he will not leave San Antonio until his daughter is found. 'I love my child. She is my first child and a part of my heart. I will not stop looking for her until I find her.' A Louisiana mother who claims she was raped at 16 by a 30-year-old-man has been ordered to give up custody of their daughter sixteen years later - and pay him child support in a cruel legal twist. Crysta Abelseth, now 32, claims that John Barnes, now 46, raped her in 2005 after she accepted a ride home from him from a bar where she had been drinking with friends. She was 16 at the time and had been in the bar with friends. Six years later, she says he found out about the baby but did nothing about it until 2015, when he suddenly requested 50/50 custody. She then filed a police report, alleging the rape ten years prior, but he was never charged - even though Louisiana has clear statutory rape laws that apply to anyone under the age of 17. Now, Abelseth has been ordered to relinquish custody of the now 16-year-old girl and pay Barnes child support, telling local network WBRZ of her peril. It was after he complained to a judge that she gave the teenage girl a cell phone. She is now campaigning to win back her rights, and to see him prosecuted. Scroll down for video Crysta Abelseth, now 32, claims that John Barnes, now 46, raped her in 2005 after she accepted a ride home from him from a restaurant where she'd been having dinner with a friend. Crysta is shown with the daughter she had with Barnes in 2005. Crysta was 16 at the time - one year under the legal age of consent in Louisiana. The girl is now 16 and in full custody of her father The mother filed this police report in 2015 alleging that she had been raped five years earlier Records obtained by WBRZ show that a DNA test proved Barnes was the father of the child Abelseth did not explain whether or not she physically consented to the sexual encounter in 2015 which occurred when she was 16 - a year under the legal age of consent in Louisiana. In her 2015 police report, she described how she was 'highly intoxicated' when Barnes took her back to his home after meeting her in the bar where she'd been drinking with friends. 'On December 13th, 2005, I was out at a bar with friends. We were drinking and highly intoxicated. The driver left [the other friend] and I at the bar. The ruling by Judge Jeffrey Cashe also forced Abelseth to pay child support to his alleged rapist, in what her advocates have branded an outrageous miscarriage of justice 'John Barnes offered to take me home. Instead of bringing me to my house, John Barnes brought me to his home. 'He proceeded to rape me,' she told cops. She claims that once she found out she was pregnant, she let relatives believe that the baby's father was a boyfriend. 'Everyone assumed it [the pregnancy] was from a boyfriend, and I let them believe that. 'When my daughter was five years old, he found out about her, and once he found out about her, he pursued custody and wanted to take her away from me. Despite filing the report and it being within the state's statute of limitations, Barnes was never charged. In 2015, he was given 50/50 custody. The pair have shared custody for seven years but this year, Barnes obtained full custody. He complained to Judge Jeffrey Cashe that the girl's mother gave her a cell phone. Now Abelseth is fighting to regain custody of her daughter. She believes that a sexual assault report she filed against him with Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office has not been thoroughly investigated. 'It was never assigned to a detective, and nothing was ever investigated,' Abelseth alleged. Barnes, now 46, is shown in 2016. He has not yet commented on the allegations and he has never been charged with rape - despite admitting to fathering the girl when her mother was under the legal age of consent Barnes is the owner of Gumbeaux Digital, whose clients include Ponchatoula Police, where the company is located. LOUISIANA'S STATUTORY RAPE LAWS: ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 17 IS AUTOMATICALLY A VICTIM Louisiana has statutory rape laws known as Carnal Knowledge of a Juvenile which dictate that anyone under the age of 17 is automatically a victim if they have sex with an adult, regardless of whether or not they physically consented to it. The crime is a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison and a fine of $5,000. Not knowing whether the victim is under 17 at the time of the crime is not a defense. It's unclear why Barnes was never charged after staking claim to the child, and after DNA proved he was the father. Advertisement 'He's threatened me multiple times, saying he has connections in the justice system, so I better be careful and he can take her away anytime he wants to. 'I didn't believe him until it happened.' The sheriff's department told WBRZ that the investigation into Abelseth's claims was open and ongoing - but has not moved since 2015. Abelseth said she didn't think she could file a criminal complaint against Barnes after the day of the assault, and only found out that the statute of limitations would allow her to do so through a trauma counselor. 'I thought if I didn't do it the next day, there was nothing I could do about it. 'I went to a trauma counselor, and he said, "No, you have 30 years after you turn 18." Although Barnes has admitted he is the biological father of his child with Abelseth, he has not been charged in connection with her allegations of rape or statutory rape. Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault attorney Sean Cassidy told WBRZ he had never come across a case like this. 'It seems pretty straight-forward that not only did a crime take place, but as a result of the crime, this person should not have custody of the child,' he told the outlet. Save Lives advocate Stacie Triche, who has helped Abelseth navigate the legal system as she tries to regain custody of her child, echoed the feeling. 'When I found out she was a rape victim, and this rapist could potentially get full custody, that's when I stepped in and said something has to be done about this,' she told WBRZ. 'She's been forced to pay her perpetrator,' Triche said. 'Forced to pay her rapist child support and legal fees and give up custody of the child that's a product of the rape. It makes no sense.' Abelseth has appealed Judge Cashe's decision and has a court hearing scheduled for July. Barnes did not reply to requests for comment from DailyMail.com. Major U.S. baby formula plants not inspected in 2020: CBS Xinhua) 09:17, June 15, 2022 WASHINGTON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. regulators failed to inspect any of the three biggest U.S. baby formula manufacturers in 2020, CBS reported recently. "When they finally did get inside an Abbott Nutrition formula plant in Michigan after a two-year gap, they found standing water and lax sanitation procedures. But inspectors offered only voluntary suggestions for fixing the problems and issued no formal warning," according to the report. "Inspectors would return five months later after four infants who consumed powdered formula from the plant suffered bacterial infections. They found bacterial contamination inside the factory, leading to a four-month shutdown and turning a festering supply shortage into a full-blown crisis that sent parents scrambling to find formula and forced the U.S. to airlift products from overseas," said the report. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, is set to speak to Twitter employees at a company town hall this week. This is the first time that Musk agreed to talk to Twitter employees since he reached a deal to acquire the microblogging site for $44 billion in April. The news of Musk agreement to talk at a company-wide Twitter meeting was confirmed to CNET through a Twitter spokesperson. Accordingly, the meeting will take place on Thursday morning. The Tesla CEO will be answering questions from employees who have been reportedly worried by the upcoming acquisition. This is according to the Business Insider, citing an email from Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal. Musk Will Address Questions of Twitter's Employees According to the Insider report, the meeting was announced by Twitter's CEO Parag Agrawal on Monday. It will be moderated by Twitter's chief marketing officer Leslie Berland. Previously, Twitter's employees already voiced their concern about Musk's bid to acquire the social media platform. According to CNET, Agrawal stated in an email, that the meeting would cover "topics and questions that have been raised over the past few weeks." Back in April, during a company-wide meeting, Agrawal was forced to deal with angry employees. The employees were "demanding answers as to how the anticipated mass exodus prompted by Musk's purchase would be handled," according to Yahoo Finance. There are already a number of concerns raised by Twitter employees, mainly regarding Musk's purchase of the company. In the recent months, Musk has called out Twitter employees and the company's operations. Read Also: Elon Musk Puts Twitter's $44 Billion Deal 'On Hold' Following Pending Details on Fake Accounts Musk Previously Threatens to Back Out of Deal to Buy Twitter Earlier this month, Musk threatened to end his bid to buy Twitter. Through his lawyer, he expressed the possibility that he might back out from the deal if the microblogging site will fail to provide data showing the number of spam and fake accounts. According to Twitter, spam and fake accounts comprise only 5% of the 229 million platforms users. Musk believes that the figures are actually higher. If the number of spam and fake accounts are in fact higher, it could potentially have an impact on Twitter's revenue because advertisers could potentially walk away from the service and demand lower rates. While Twitter did not immediately respond to Musk's demand for data on fake and spam accounts, when he threatened to walk away, Twitter offer access to its "firehose." According to the Digital Trends, the firehose data "comprises all of the hundreds of millions of tweets that land on the service daily." It also include details on the users' devices and information on the associated accounts. Some critics believe that Musk have gotten cold feet and he is just using the fake accounts issue to walk aways from the deal. But the Tesla CEO insisted that he still wants to proceed with the bid once Twitter provide him the accurate number on the number of fake or spam accounts. It is not known yet whether Twitter's reported offer to deliver its firehose data will be acceptable for Musk and his team. Related Article: Elon Musk Got Into a Twitter Fight - What Does His Now Deleted Tweet Say? A divorcee who siphoned $1.1million from her employer to inject into a series of offshore bank accounts after falling victim to two online dating scams has avoided jail. Kaye Leanne Ferguson, 59, defrauded the Mulwala Water Ski Club, in NSW's Riverina region, of the six-figure sum between December 2020 and January 2021. The former financial officer faced a sentencing hearing in Albury District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to three charges of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception in February. The court heard Ferguson, who worked for the business for 10 years, started using online dating website 'Singles 50s' after separating from her husband in January 2020, the Herald Sun reports. After being conned by two men, Ferguson emptied around $355,000 from her personal accounts before taking money from the club 27 times. Kaye Leanne Ferguson, 59, (pictured) has been sentenced to a three-year intensive corrections order after defrauding her boss She encountered her first scam six months into using the site when a man blackmailed her into transferring him $130,000 under the threat of sending explicit images of her to her children. Ms Ferguson later met a second man, William David Rodavan, who told her he was a Melbourne-based engineer who travelled overseas frequently for work. In November, the pair were speaking on the phone when Ferguson heard a loud noise and Mr Rodavan abruptly hung up. Days later, he called her up claiming he was involved in an explosion that killed several of his employees and needed money to pay their families. Ferguson subsequently transferred him $225,000 of her own funds, draining her accounts. As Mr Rodavan continued to ask for money, she began transferring him funds from the club at his direction - which totalled $1,064,000. She also took $40,000 to pay builders for renovations that had already begun on her home, which was later sold to pay back the club. Ferguson took more than a $1million from the Mulwala Water Ski Club (pictured) over the course of two months Ferguson paid the club back $10,000 from her savings during that period. The court heard the fraud was uncovered when Ferguson admitted what she had done to Mulwala Water Ski Club CEO Peter Duncan when he visited her home in January 2021. She collapsed to the floor in hysterics and told him, 'I am a bad person and I want somebody to shoot me', prompting Mr Duncan to ask her to tell him what was wrong. The court heard Ferguson was scammed by two men months apart that she met on dating website Singles 50 After admitting taking the money, Mr Duncan asked her how much, expecting it to be around $200,000, before Ferguson told him it was more than $1million. Judge Sean Grant sympathised with Ferguson's situation, saying she too was a victim. '[She was] sad, lonely, depressed and vulnerable [at the time],' Judge Grant said 'Catfishes and dating scammers are sophisticated. 'The desire for a relationship is a part of the human experience.' Ferguson, who now owns nothing besides her car and a few personal belongings, has so far repaid the club $300,000. She was sentenced to a three-year intensive corrections order to be served in the community. Advertisement Airlines were told last night to ensure the recent unacceptable scenes at British airports do not drag on into summer. The regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the Government urged carriers to ensure planned flights are deliverable. The warning came as consumer group Which? said firms were blatantly flouting passenger rights through practices such as taking bookings for flights which may not be able to run. Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by flight cancellations and long queues at airports in recent months, particularly during Easter and last months half-term school holiday. Passengers at Bristol Airport endured delayed and cancelled flights plus long queues before 4am on Monday Manchester Airport's Terminal One was also crowded and understaffed early on Monday this week, with lines stretching far A passenger tweeted this picture of cases piled on top of one another at Glasgow Airport, describing an 'absolute shambles' The disruption has been blamed on aviation firms struggling to recruit enough staff to cope with demand for travel after thousands of jobs were cut during the pandemic. A joint letter from the CAA and Department for Transport said schedules should be resilient for unplanned and inevitable operational challenges. Air industry representatives told the Commons business, energy and industrial strategy committee that staff shortages may not be fixed by the summer. It came as easyJet revealed it is taking four weeks longer than normal for new cabin crew recruits to receive security passes because of delays in references for people who have had so many different jobs in recent years. The airline said it was taking about ten weeks pre-pandemic to get ID passes, but this was now at 14 weeks due to a requirement for potential staff to obtain references for all the jobs they have done in the past five years. A passenger said this was the scene at Edinburgh, 5.25am on Tuesday, adding: 'What a joke' Bristol Airport (pictured, one passenger sleeps off a delay) was ranked in a recent study as among the very worst in the UK Holidaymakers queue for check-in at the Jet2 area of Manchester Airport's Terminal Two, Monday in the early hours One passenger passing through Edinburgh Airport yesterday morning described 'huge chaos' at passport control EasyJet chief operating officer Sophie Deckers told a hearing of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee today that the airline has 142 crew ready and trained to go online who do not have their ID passes. Airlines charter planes to cope with staffing crisis Airlines are being forced to charter planes to avoid cancelling holiday flights amid staffing shortages in the industry. Tui, easyJet and British Airways are among those chartering aircraft at huge expense just so they can fulfil bookings. It is understood the airlines have plenty of planes but not enough cabin crew to steward them. Charter planes come with cabin crew, meaning it is preferable to lease these rather than cancel holidays. But it means flight times can change at the last minute, creating more chaos for travellers. It also means food and drink are not always available on the flights. Thousands are getting emails from carriers saying their flight has been changed to a charter service. EasyJet passengers flying from Gatwick to Kalamata in Greece were sent an email at the weekend, saying: 'Please be advised that your flight is operated by SmartLynx Latvia on behalf of easyJet. Fresh sandwiches and hot food may not be available on your flight.' Tui customers flying to Cyprus were told: 'Your flights will now be operated by EuroAtlantic Airways on behalf of Tui Airways.' The company described EuroAtlantic as an airline which 'provides charter services and ad-hoc flights'. British Airways has been chartering planes from Finland's national carrier Finnair. Yesterday easyJet cancelled another 70 flights across Europe with 218 more delayed. Wizz Air and Tui also cancelled dozens over the half-term holidays and British Airways has removed 16,000 flights, or 8,000 round trips, from its schedules. Advertisement She said that the Luton-based company had planned for the increase in demand for travel after restrictions eased, but the ID processing has 'caught us by surprise and it's taken longer than we had ever planned or anticipated'. Meanwhile new Home Office data made clear the scale of the passport backlog earlier this year, revealing that more than 35,000 people waited longer than ten weeks for their document in the first three months of 2022. Also today, Heathrow Airport's Terminal Four reopened for the first time in two years ahead of the peak summer season, with the first airline flying out being Qatar Airways to Doha - and 30 others are set to join soon. As passengers again reported huge queues yesterday morning at Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast airports - and others tweeted pictures of chaos overnight at Gatwick and Bristol, easyJet made further flight cancellations. It axed 16 flights at Gatwick today - eight departures to Almeria, Catania, Belfast, Preveza, Krakow, Madrid, Prague and Montpellier; and eight arrivals from Belfast, Montpellier, Milan, Catania, Preveza, Prague, Madrid and Krakow. Sue Davies, head of consumer rights at consumer group Which?, said the cancellation of thousands of flights and long queues at airports in recent months were caused by the impact of staffing shortages being 'underestimated'. She said: 'Both the industry and the Government need to shoulder the responsibility for the chaos that we've seen.' Ms Davies acknowledged that the sector has been 'particularly affected' by the coronavirus pandemic, but stressed that consumers have 'lost money and suffered huge emotional stress'. She went on: 'Particularly appallingly, we've been hearing from lots of people who have just had very little information about actually what's happening on the ground. 'The airlines and the Government were encouraging people to travel again, and we think they've just underestimated the capacity issues, and the shortages both within the airlines and the airport services, including baggage handlers.' Ms Davies accused airlines of selling tickets when 'they don't know for sure that those flights are actually going to be able to go'. She told the committee that passengers 'haven't really been given proper information about their rights', adding: 'We feel that obviously there's some really specific issues at the moment in this case, but this is just symptomatic of some of the issues that we've seen in the industry for a long time. 'There's just blatant flouting of consumer rights and a failure to put passenger interests first.' She also told MPs: 'Both the industry and the Government need to shoulder the responsibility for the chaos that we've seen.' Passengers queue outside Terminal One at Manchester Airport earlier this month amid half-term travel chaos A YouTube video star has revealed the dangers lurking inside disposable vapes as teenagers continue to take up the unhealthy fad and top doctors warn of its deadly consequences. Sydney-born scooter superstar Kai Saunders posted a special video to his popular YouTube channel to highlight what's inside cheap and widely available e-cigarettes. He ripped apart two different vapes to reveal the gadgets were filled with potentially dangerous batteries and wires, singed cotton wool soaked in chemicals, and pipes choked with ashy residue. 'Oh god! Look how gross that is,' he said on the video. 'A lot of this s*** would be in your lungs. A lot of it would travel through into your lungs.' A YouTube star revealed the dangers lurking inside the disposable vapes fad taking off among teens as top doctors warn of its deadly consequences NSW recently declared war on vaping, with more than $1million worth of illegal vapes and nicotine-laced vape juice seized in the state since January. 'The harmful impacts of vaping on young people cannot be underestimated,' warned NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant. 'People think they are simply flavoured water but in reality, in many cases they are ingesting poisonous chemicals that can cause life threatening injuries.' Vapes and vaping liquid with nicotine in it have only been available on prescription since October, but the law change hasn't stopped smaller tobacconists and general stores from selling them. And it is often specifically targeted at the youth market. NSW chief helth officer Dr Kerry Chant has now declared war on vaping, with more than $1million worth of illegal vapes and nicotine-laced vape juice seized in the state since January 'Among many young people, e-cigarettes or vapes have been considered safe and certainly safer than cigarettes,' NSW Acting Chief Health Officer Marianne Gale said. People often consider vapes harmless because of the sweet or fruity flavours, attractive packaging and their 'vapour' often perceived as water. But the video by Saunders, 22 - known as Saundezy - lifted the lid on shonky throwaway vapes. 'It started in America, where I know it was a big problem and now it's made its way in the last few months to Australia,' Saundezy said. People often consider vapes harmless because of the sweet or fruity flavours, attractive packaging and their 'vapour' often perceived as water 'Now every single teenager and their dog is literally smoking these disposable vapes. They're actually very, very bad for you. 'You might just think they're cool, they're fun - you get a bit of a nicotine hit, it's all fun and games,...it's just not harmful - but it is and you won't know until it's too late.' Australia's health department found vapes contained cancer-causing chemicals like formaldehyde (used to preserve dead bodies), acetaldehyde (used to create wood glue) and acrolein, which is used as weedkiller. Other chemicals were discovered which also cause DNA damage. Each vape contains bulky batteries that either contain potentially lethal battery acid if damaged and then inhaled, or lithium ion batteries which can burst into flames or even explode if pierced. Sydney-born scooter superstar Kai Saunders ripped apart two different vapes to reveal the gadgets were filled with potentially dangerous batteries and wires Thin wires connect them to a heating element which scorches a wad of cotton wool soaked in chemicals, causing it to boil and turn to burning gas which is then inhaled. Despite not producing the tar of normal cigarettes, researchers believe vaping is still linked to an increased risk of lung disease, heart disease and cancer. 'If you're smoking any nicotine in a vape, it's all bad,' Saundezy said in his video. 'If you don't smoke cigarettes, do not pick up a vape and start smoking it.' He admitted he was now hooked on vaping himself after picking up the habit like many of his followers. 'I'm actually quite addicted,' he said. 'I'd say 60 or 70 per cent of my viewers are probably on these vapes or have tried them in the past. 'If you want to be an athlete of any kind, you want your body to stay in tip top shape. This is not the way to do it, guys.' He said he made the video to find out what was actually making the smoke come out the gadgets and into his lungs. 'I think it'd be really interesting to see what is inside these little disposable vapes,' he said. 'We want to know what is going into your lungs, what is making the smoke what you're ingesting into your body, and all that kind of things.' But he was horrified by what he found with unbranded batteries, loose wires and the soaking cotton wool that often delivered a mouthful of raw chemical liquid to users. Unfurling the cotton wool revealed singe marks on parts of it where the heated central coil had scorched the material. The video revealed the vapes had singed cotton wool soaked in chemicals, and pipes choked with ashy residue And breaking open the pipeline to the mouthpiece uncovered a sooty, dusty residue coating the tube. He said the smell of the chemicals was overpowering as he dismantled two separate disposable vapes. 'You're literally sucking through battery juice and vape juice with nicotine in it through this dirty little coil,' he said on the video. 'It is not worth the risks. Hopefully you guys are surprised because this stuff is really gross.' He added: 'I'm sure a lot of you have been told the dangers of disposable vapes. 'But I really hope hearing it from me and seeing us break them open and show what's inside them might open your eyes a little bit more 'And you might rethink your decision of smoking these disposable vapes.' Instagram will roll out new family controls that will allow parents to check how much time their kids spend scrolling and safeguard who they're chatting with. The social media giant's new suite of supervision features are live from Wednesday and aim to get parents more switched on to their child's social media activity. Guardians will be able to see who follows their children, get weekly reports on new connections, and set time limits on how much time they spend on Instagram. They will also receive a notification when their teen reports an account or piece of content, and their child will have the option to leave notes to their parents on why the account was reported, in a bid to start healthy conversations. Instagram has implemented a suite of new parental controls from Wednesday but both kids and parents need to agree to switch them on (stock image) Meta, the company which owns Instagram and Facebook, also plans to provide links to anti-bullying, mental health and eating disorder resources after reports are made. Instagram will also augment its Take A Break nudge to prompt teens to move onto different topics if they repeatedly look at the same content on the explore page. But there is one caveat, the tools will only become available to a parent if the teen and the parent mutually agree. The new family-friendly tools arrive several months after Meta announced it was halting development of an Instagram for kids specifically aimed at those under 13. Mia Garlick, Director of Policy at Meta ANZ, said the company does 'recognise' it has a responsibility to protect younger users. 'Our intention for these resources is to strike the right balance for young people's desire for some autonomy when using Instagram, but also allows for supervision in a way that supports conversations between parents and young people when it is helpful,' she said. She said social media is critical to the way teens communicate, and this only increased during Covid. 'Teens often self-supervise because they're sort of concerned that the oldies don't really get it. They're worried that there'll be over-concern about some of the content or the people that they may interact with or how they interact with them.' She added their research found safe use needed to be fostered by defining boundaries for teenagers and in some instances a trusted professional may even be needed to intervene to curb social media use. 'Their safety is of paramount importance to us, and we want them to have an experience that is both fun and safe, and we want to support their parents to assist them in doing this.' The social media giant paused development a few months ago on an Instagram for kids aimed at under 13-year-olds (stock image) Curtin University professor of internet studies Tama Leaver watched the rollout of the suite of parental tools in the US in March and said they are more public relations measure than significant safety features. 'We have to be honest, it's an incredibly basic tool that relies 100 per cent on a child who enters their date of birth correctly, requesting that their parent supervise them,' he told The Australian. 'Instagram and Meta are doing a big sort of PR spin about how they're good for children and young people. Obviously, the parent controls form some part of that narrative,' he said. Instagram has also launched a Family Centre education hub with resources designed to educate teens about staying safe online. Resources will be offered by eating disorder charity Butterfly, mental health charity Orygen Youth Health, anti-bullying group Project Rockit, ReachOut and the eSafety Commissioner. Labor won the election by targeting the unpopular Scott Morrison and convincing undecided voters to back change. ALP national secretary Paul Erickson has revealed the secrets to the party's successful campaign three weeks after Anthony Albanese's victory. He said the campaign targeted undecided voters to make sure they felt 'haunted' by the idea of three more years under a Morrison Government. One advert (pictured) timed to hit screens after Mr Albanese's win at the first leaders' debate featured vision of Mr Morrison trying to force an exhausted firefighter to shake his hand Labor released a barrage of TV and radio adverts blasting Mr Morrison over his handling of the 2019 bushfires and the slow Covid-19 vaccine rollout. One advert timed to hit screens after Mr Albanese's win at the first leaders' debate featured vision of Mr Morrison trying to force an exhausted firefighter to shake his hand as well as pictures of him on holiday in Hawaii as the nation burned. Another showed him repeatedly saying 'that's not my job' and accused him of failing to take responsibility for mistakes. In a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Mr Erickson said Labor's biggest challenge was to convince undecided voters to back a new government when normally during times of crisis the status quo prevails. 'The biggest barrier Labor had to overcome was not voters' evaluation of our proposition, or a counter offer from the Coalition, it was a widespread and deep sense of fatigue, anxiety, and aversion to risk after some of the most difficult years we've endured,' he said. Labor won a narrow majority of 77 seats in the lower house. Pictured: Mr Albanese with his girlfriend Jodie and son Nathan on election night 'Normally, these sentiments would drive fence-sitters decisively back to the government of the day and weigh heavily against an effort to build a majority for change. Yet we had a powerful argument. 'We asserted that the alternatives at this election were not ''the devil you know'' or ''a leap into the unknown'' instead, it was a clear choice between a better future under Anthony Albanese and three more years of Scott Morrison.' Mr Erickson believes Labor was able to 'cultivate, elevate and stoke a mood for change'. The aim was to portray Mr Albanese as someone who would 'show up, take responsibility and work with people to solve problems' in contrast to Mr Morrison. He also believes voters had a clear sense of Labor's priorities and supported them. They were 'getting wages growing, investing more in Medicare and healthcare, working with business to bring back manufacturing, and investing in renewable energy to reduce emissions and face up to the challenge of climate change.' Labor won a narrow majority of 77 seats in the lower house as the Coalition lost 18 seats including 10 to the ALP, six to climate-focussed independents and two to the Greens. A man accused of swindling his mother out of more than $1million has been arrested after financial crime detectives caught on to his alleged four year scam. The 64-year-old man from Melbourne allegedly stole $1.145million from his 83-year-old mother, with police saying she was too unwell to give him permission to access her money. Detectives from the Financial Cyber Crime Group allege the son spent four years siphoning money from his mother's accounts to put it into his between 2014 and 2018. Detectives spoke to a Melbourne man (pictured) over allegations his mum was swindled out of $1million from her accounts Vision emerged of police making a dawn raid on a Melbourne property last week where they searched through the house, confiscating folders and papers The elderly woman did not have capacity to provide her son with permission to access the funds due to an illness, Queensland Police said. Police allege the man 'never held an authority of enduring power of attorney to lawfully access her finances'. The son is also accused of helping himself to his mum's debit card, making more than $150,000 worth of purchases and withdrawals over the four years. By 2018, the mum's bank account was almost completely empty which police allege was drained by the son. He was charged with fraud of more than $100,000 and will face Brisbane Magistrate's Court on July 4. Queensland Police went to Melbourne to search a home (pictured) with assistance from the Victoria Police Financial Crime Squad Police leave the Melbourne property (pictured) last week after seizing documents and files from a home Queensland's Public Trustee, which acts in the best interest for Australians, tipped off police about the son's alleged scam against his mother. Public Trustee CEO Samay Zhouand said almost all cases of elder abuse occur within family relationships. 'It's devastating, but over 80 per cent of financial elder abuse reports in Queensland involve family or friends,' Mr Zhouand said. The organisation raises awareness to protect ageing Queenslanders from abuse, which includes financial, physical, psychological, sexual and neglect. The Queensland Civil and Administration Tribunal appointed it to act as attorney for the 83-year-old alleged fraud victim, where the PT made investigations into her financial circumstances. The PT told Daily Mail Australia: 'Throughout the investigative process, financial discrepancies came to light prompting in-depth examinations into suspected misappropriation of funds.' 'The Public Trustee alerted the Queensland Police Service of the matter.' Vision emerged of police making a dawn raid on the man's Melbourne property last week where they searched through the house, confiscating folders and papers. Queensland detectives travelled to Melbourne to execute the search warrant at an Elwood residence with assistance from Victoria Police Financial Crime Squad. Detective Superintendent Lance Vercoe of the Financial and Cyber Crime Group said offences against elderly people were 'disturbing'. 'In all of my 42 years of policing, I find these types of offences the most gut wrenching and disturbing, that someone could treat their loved ones this way,' Detective Superintendent Vercoe said. 'I would recommend that the elderly and vulnerable never feel ashamed and to take control if this behaviour occurs and always reach out to a support person or friend'. The Public Trustee said more than 80 per cent of reported financial elder abuse in Queensland involve family or friends mismanaging their role as attorney The arrest comes the same week as World Elder Abuse Day, which raises awareness for what some advocates label as a 'global epidemic'. Senior Rights Victoria said the day was held to highlight elder abuse as 'one of the worst manifestations of ageism and inequality in our society'. The organisation said 284 calls were made to its helpline last April, with almost 60 per cent of those relating to elder abuse. One in six older Australians said they experienced elder abuse in a given year, a report from the Attorney-General's Department said. About 15 per cent of Australia's population is aged over 65 making up around 3.7million people, with numbers forecast to rise to 23 per cent by 2055. The Public Trustee in Queensland said elder abuse was a 'serious and growing concern' and estimated around 25,000 cases are going unreported. Advertisement Grenfell Tower was last night illuminated in a striking light display as parts of London fell silent in a poignant tribute to the 72 victims of the deadly blaze who died five years ago. The 220ft tower lit up the west London skyline as it was bathed in a glow of green light, matching the colours worn by campaigners who have adopted the powerful symbol to represent the memory of those lost in the tragedy. The Grenfell United twitter account later tweeted: '72 beams of light reminding those in power we're here to stay.' Almost 20,000 people joined the bereaved families, survivors, firefighters, politicians and musicians who united on the streets of north Kensington on Tuesday evening as they conducted a silent walk in memory of the dozens killed on June 14, 2017. Mourners donned green scarves and clothing to match the green hearts which adorn the wall below Grenfell Tower. Green balloons were later released in memory of the 18 children who perished in the deadly blaze. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were pictured with survivors of the fire along with bereaved relatives at a memorial service also attended by MPs including Theresa May, who was prime minister at the time of the tragedy. With Prince William looking on, Kate laid a wreath with white flowers at the base of Grenfell Tower to mark the five-year anniversary of the deadly fire. Afterwards, both bowed their hoods and paused for a moment of reflection. It was also revealed the Duke and Duchess had held a private meeting earlier on Tuesday between the royal couple and those directly affected by the disaster. The royal couple have long supported survivors and the families who died in the fire on June 14, 2017, which was accelerated by deadly combustible cladding and where many of those who died had been told to stay in their flats. 72 people died in the tragedy - but more are feared to have perished but were never identified. Attendees marked the memorial with a 72-second silence in memory of the 72 victims of the fire, which took place exactly five years ago, was observed by attendees including William and Kate, and followed by applause. Eight-year-old Ayeesha, who survived the fire, also recited a poem she wrote called Never Forget, which was met with raucous applause from both Prince William and Kate. She said: 'We will stay strong, we will rise up as a community, we will fight for justice together, we will always remember our friends and our neighbours, we will always remember our home. 'We can't change the past but we can change the future. Never forget.' The little girl smiled as she ended the poem and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge could be seen smiling as they joined in applause. And today with tears streaming down the faces of mourners, dressed in green and clutching photographs of their loved ones, the fifth anniversary was marked. Grenfell Tower was last night illuminated in glow of dazzling green light as it put on a striking light display Dozens of firefighters with the London Fire Brigade fall silent as they remember the 72 lives which were lost during the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze in 2017 Almost 20,000 people joined the bereaved families, survivors, residents, politicians and musicians who united on the streets of north Kensington on Tuesday evening as they conducted a silent walk Participants of the fifth annual silent walk march hold placards aloft as they pay tribute to the victims of Grenfell Prince William shakes the hand of two young attendees at the Grenfell Tower memorial service in London With Prince William looking on, Kate laid a wreath with white flowers at the base of Grenfell Tower to mark the five-year anniversary of the deadly fire. Both bowed their hoods and paused for a brief moment of reflection Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge speak with survivors and bereaved children during a memorial service to mark the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire Hundreds of mourners attended Tuesday's service of remembrance - marking five years since the Grenfell Tower tragedy A young schoolgirl is pictured laying flowers at the site of the Grenfell Tower memorial in north Kensington on Tuesday The Duchess of Cambridge arrives during their unannounced visit to the memorial service at the base of Grenfell Tower earlier today The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stood shoulder-to-shoulder with survivors of the fire along with bereaved relatives at Tuesday's memorial service William and Kate have long supported survivors and families who died in the tragedy, which took 72 lives when a fire took hold in the tower block on June 14, 2017 Eight-year-old Ayeesha, who survived the fire, recited a poem she wrote called Never Forget which was met with raucous applause from both Prince William and Kate Hundreds gathered at the base of Grenfell Tower in north Kensington, London as they watched the memorial service get underway Rapper Stormzy watched on as a wreath laying ceremony was displayed on big screens at the base of Grenfell Tower Hamid Ali Jafari staples to a tribute wall at Grenfell Tower a photo of his father, Ali Yawar Jafari, who died in the Grenfell Tower fire on June 14, 2022 in London, England People read the written tributes left to victims of the deadly Grenfell Tower fire on Tuesday, June 14 Prince William and Kate Middleton look sombre as they attend a memorial service marking the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower tragedy William and Kate sit among the congregation during the unannounced visit to today's wreath laying service at the base of Grenfell Tower After each group of names was read out, the congregation said in unison 'Forever in our hearts' - the phrase emblazoned across the top of the covered-up tower in north Kensington. Pictured: The Duchess of Cambridge today The Duke of Cambridge is pictured addressing fellow attendees at the Grenfell Tower memorial on Tuesday as he and the Duchess of Cambridge made a surprise visit Prince William speaks at the memorial service at the base of Grenfell Tower. Mourners were dressed in green and clutching photographs of loved ones William and Kate were present as the congregation took part in the special service to commemorate those lost in the tragedy Grenfell survivors and bereaved relatives are releasing 18 green balloons from the base of the west London tower to represent each child who died there five years ago. Pictured: Prince William speaks with fellow attendees on Tuesday afternoon The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge chatted with attendees before taking their seats in the front row for a multi-faith service at the base of the north Kensington high-rise on Tuesday It is one of several events at which Grenfell survivors, the bereaved and the community will gather on Tuesday, five years on from the deadliest domestic blaze since the Second World War The Duke of Cambridge is pictured arriving at the memorial service on Tuesday afternoon The 72 victims who lost their lives in the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze Mohammad al-Haj Ali, 23 Sakina, 65, and Fatema Afrasehabi, 59 Fathia Ahmed, 71, Abufars Ibrahim, 39, and daughter Isra Ibrahim, 35 Raymond Bernard, 63 Kamru Miah, 79, Rabeya Begum, 64, Mohammed Hamid, 27, Mohammed Hanif, 26 and Husna Begum, 22 Maria del Pilar Burton, 72 Ali Yawar Jafari, 81 Amna Mahmud Idris, 27 Victoria King, 71, and Alexandra Atala, 40 Tony Disson, 65 Rania Ibrahim, and her young children Fethia and Hania Vincent Chiejina, 60 Joseph Daniels, 69 Mariem, 27, and Eslah Elgwahry, 64 Hesham Rahman, 57 Gary Maunders, 57 Hashim Kedir, 44, Nura Jemal, 35, Firdows Hashim, 12, Yahya Hashim, 13, and Yaqub Hashim, six Gloria Trevisan, 26, and Marco Gottardi, 27 Khadija Saye, 24 Mary Mendy, 54 Hamid Kani, 60 Deborah Lamprell, 45 Abdulaziz El-Wahabi, 52, Faouzia, 41, Yasin, 20, daughter Nur Huda, 16, and son Mehdi, eight Ligaya Moore, 78 Dennis Murphy, 56 Mohamed Neda, 57 Mohamednur Tuccu, 44, his wife Amaya Tuccu-Ahmedin and Amal Ahmedin, three Omar Belkadi, 32, Farah Hamdan, 31, and daughters Malak, seven, and six-month-old Leena Berkti, 29, and Biruk Haftom, 12 Khadija Khalloufi, 52 Steve Power, 63 Jessica Urbano Ramirez, 12 Zainab Deen, 32, and her son Jeremiah, 2 Logan Gomes Abdeslam Sebbar, 67 Sheila Smith, 84 Marjorie, 68, and Ernie Vital, 50 Isaac Paulos, 5 Nadia, Bassem, Sirria, Mierna, Fatima and Zeinab Choucair Advertisement Tuesday marked the latest public show of support from the Cambridges. William, along with his grandmother, the Queen, visited the site in west London in the days following the fire in June 2017. And the Duke was joined by his wife when they met with survivors as part of the launch of the National Emergencies Trust in 2019. It comes as local residents praised the appearance of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as 'huge' for the community and showed they 'shared that feeling' of mourning on the fifth anniversary. Mother-of-five Muna Hussain said her children went to the same school as five of those who died in the fire and her household was evacuated in the days following. When asked about William and Kate's appearance at the service, Ms Hussain, 50 said: 'I was happy. 'I was glad to see at least they know how we are feeling as a community and they shared that feeling. 'It makes me very happy. It's massive, it's huge for us. It makes you feel better.' Today's congregation, organised by campaigners with Grenfell United, stood as the Westminster Abbey special service choir sang Psalm 102:1: 'Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my crying come unto thee.' Mrs May, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Housing Secretary Michael Gove, former building safety and fire minister Stephen Greenhalgh, and shadow housing secretary Lisa Nandy sat to the side of the pulpit. Journalist Jon Snow sat in the front row and also spoke to the congregation. The names of the 72 men, women and children who lost their lives in the worst fire in a generation were also read out. Floral displays -including a 72 constructed of white flowers - and written tributes were left beside the Grenfell 'tribute wall'. Opening the service, the very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, said the loss and anguish 'are still vivid and sharp' as the congregation gathered 'in sorrow and in pain'. He said: 'Here we renew our commitment to remember those we have lost. 'We gather as those who look for justice and a renewed commitment to securing safety in our homes, safety in times of fire. 'Grateful for the support of the communities and individuals that have sustained the bereaved and the survivors over the last five years, we meet in faith and hope looking to a better, safer, surer future.' It came as politicians paid tribute on social media, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeting: 'Today marks five years since the Grenfell Tower fire took the lives of 72 people. 'My thoughts are with the survivors, those who lost loved ones and the wider community.' Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer posted: 'Five years on from the Grenfell tower fire we remember the 72 people killed. 'The Grenfell community are courageous in their pursuit of justice and change. 'We stand with them. To honour the memories of those lost we must prevent such a tragedy happening again. Mr Khan tweeted: 'Along with all Londoners I stand with the Grenfell community, today on the fifth anniversary of that terrible tragedy, and always. 'Together, we will get the answers, justice and change that we need to protect communities in London and across the rest of our country.' Multi-faith leaders said the names of the victims of the tragedy, during a service at Westminster Abbey to remember those who perished in the tower block fire on June 14 2017. After each group of names was read out, the congregation said in unison 'Forever in our hearts' - the phrase emblazoned across the top of the covered-up tower in north Kensington. Hundreds of people connected to Grenfell Tower have heard a reading from the Quran at a multi-faith service being held at the base of the building. Christian prayers were also being read by Reverend Gerard Skinner from the Roman Catholic Parish of Notting Hill. Following the readings, the local Soul Sanctuary Choir began a rendition of Amazing Grace. Several hundred mourners later held a silent walk through North Kensington for the 72 victims of the devastating fire. Survivors and bereaved relatives holding a banner reading 'United for Grenfell' led the walk while other members of the community are held huge home-made green hearts aloft. Writing on Twitter, the Archbishop of Canterbury said 'we pray for the bereaved and survivors' and for solutions to the 'injustice of unsafe housing'. He tweeted: 'Five years on from the devastating Grenfell fire, we remember the 72 people who died. 'We pray for the bereaved and survivors, and for all those who still struggle for justice. We pray too for swift and lasting solutions so that no one suffers the injustice of unsafe housing.' Theresa May and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove lower their heads in prayer during the service in Westminster Abbey today Theresa May and community volunteer Claire Walker speak before the Grenfell fire memorial service at Westminster Abbey today A green ribbon is tied to railings below the empty shell of the building, where loved ones continue to commemorate those lost in the fire Grenfell Tower went up in flames five years ago today in the early hours of June 14, 2017, and became the worst fire in a generation Campaigners have continued to question why nobody has ever been prosecuted in relation to the blaze, which took place five years ago today It is one of several events at which Grenfell survivors, the bereaved and the community that gathered on Tuesday, five years on from the deadliest domestic blaze since the Second World War. At 2pm a 72-second silence was observed at Westfield shopping centre, after which the names of the 72 victims was read out over the public address system. Later in the afternoon, cording around the tower in north Kensington was removed so survivors, the bereaved and community groups could gather at its base for a multifaith service and lay flowers and wreaths. Natasha Elcock, chairwoman of campaign group Grenfell United, said: 'This week will be a difficult week for everyone affected by the Grenfell Tower fire. 'For many of us the events five years ago are still so raw in our minds and our losses remain heavy in our hearts.' In the evening, firefighters from across the country will form a guard of honour as members of the community take part in a silent walk starting from the base of the tower. Pete Wolfenden, a firefighter who responded to the blaze, said: 'It's been five years since the Grenfell Tower fire and the thoughts and wishes go out from all London firefighters and fire control staff personnel to the survivors and friends and family of those who lost their lives in this appalling incident, the worst domestic blaze in living memory. 'We also remember the brave and courageous members of all the emergency services who attended on the night and subsequent days, some of whom still suffer ill-health and bear the mental scars of attending that traumatic incident.' The loss of 72 lives inside Grenfell Tower made it the worst fire in a British residential building since the Second World War The Dean of Westminster David Hoyle addresses the congregation on the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy at Westminster Abbey People arrive for a Grenfell fire memorial service at Westminster Abbey earlier today, where tributes were paid to those who lost their lives in the tragedy Some in the crowd held flowers in memory of loved ones, with this person hold a white rose in Westminster Abbey during the service Sir Martin Moore-Bick (centre), who led the public inquiry into the cause of the fire at Grenfell Tower, attended the ceremony today A community choir dressed in green and black performs at the Grenfell Tower fire memorial service at Westminster Abbey today A tree is decorated in green and with placards near to the remains of Grenfell Tower today, where the memory of the tragedy still looms large Flowers and tributes to those who lost their lives in the tragedy have been placed at a wall in the area, with the remains of the tower in the background Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: 'Firefighters and the Grenfell community have a bond that was forged in tragedy, and the Fire Brigades Union stands in solidarity with all bereaved, survivors and residents. 'Today, on the fifth anniversary of the fire, it is a time for reflection, and to remember all those who lost their lives, and the loved ones they left behind. Their legacy lives on in the fight for justice. 'The community have faced constant denials from those responsible for Grenfell being covered in cladding as flammable as petrol. 'They have faced a wait for criminal charges that continues to this day. They inspire us all with their relentless fight for justice and we continue to stand in solidarity with them every step of the way.' London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said he has found the strength and dignity of the Grenfell community 'humbling and inspiring'. He added: 'I give my commitment that we will continue to listen and make changes to our service and work to drive improvements in the built environment to ensure such a tragedy can never happen again.' A spokeswoman for campaign group Justice 4 Grenfell said: 'Today we stand with the Grenfell bereaved, survivors and community. Forever in our hearts. 'The Grenfell Tower fire has become a symbol of the social inequality and injustice that exists in our country. 'Seventy-two people lost their lives, many people lost their homes, possessions, families and loved ones. 'The first duty of any government is to protect the lives of its citizens. From the right to life and including the duty to provide adequate housing, these duties are enshrined in law and are where the Government has and continues to fail.' It comes as other members of The Firm were out in force at Royal Ascot, with Prince Charles and Camilla leading the royal family today while the Queen missed the event amid her ongoing mobility issues. Her Majesty was a regular at the Berkshire racecourse before the pandemic and has been at every Royal Meeting since acceding to the throne in 1952, apart from when it was held behind closed doors in 2020. However the 96-year-old monarch will likely be watching from home just seven miles away at Windsor Castle this afternoon, especially when her horse King's Lynn started racing in the King's Stand Stakes at 3.40pm. Instead, the Prince of Wales, 73, and Duchess of Cornwall, 74, were in attendance alongside a host of other royals - including Princess Anne, 71, and her two children Peter Philips, 44, and Zara Tindall, 41, Countess Sophie Wessex, 57, and Princess Beatrice, 33, who was joined by her husband Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi, 38. Just over a week after the Platinum Jubilee celebrations ended, members of the royal family appeared in high spirits, with many taking part in the carriage procession, before greeting one-another in the warm summer sunshine at the racecourse. Zara could be seen affectionately greeting her uncle Charles, as well as Princess Michael of Kent, while Princess Beatrice was also beaming with joy at the event. Meanwhile the Duchess of Cambridge's parents Carole and Michael Middleton also made a surprise appearance at the event today. Prince Charles, 73, and Camilla, 74, led the royal family today at Royal Ascot as they came out in force for the first day of the races - while the Queen, 96 missed the event amid her ongoing mobility issues The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were in attendance alongside Princess Beatrice (left with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi) and Zara Tindall (right) Meanwhile the Queen's only daughter Princess Anne was also in attendance at the event, opting for a cream coat dress with a brown fascinator Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall shared a laugh with William Buick's trainer Charlie Appleby during the event Meanwhile Sophie Wessex was elegant in an over-the-top raspberry hat today as she joined other members of the royal family at the event Scoring a winner! The Duchess of Cambridge's mother was seen jumping for joy during the races at Ascot A pro-life Republican politician had his office firebombed on Monday, the latest in a spate of attacks against pregnancy centers and pro-life officials in the wake of a bombshell leaked Supreme court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v Wade. Andrew Barkis, a Republican representing the Olympia in the Washington state legislature, had his Olympia office attacked around 4 a.m. Monday's attack was the 17th so far on a pregnancy support clinic or an office of a pro-life figure. It was not clear whether he was deliberately attacked for his beliefs. The same group of people were also seen ransacking a nearby antique center 20 minutes later. Two masked people were caught on a Ring camera installed outside the building breaking a window with a hammer, and throwing a lit flare into the building. There were no injuries, and no one has claimed responsibility. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also warned last month of the rising risk of violence - on both sides of the political spectrum - ahead of the expected Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade. 'Threat actors have recently mobilized to violence due to factors such as personal grievances, reactions to current events, and adherence to violent extremist ideologies, including racially or ethnically motivated or anti-government/antiauthority violent extremism,' said a National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin, issued on June 7. 'Given a high-profile U.S. Supreme Court case about abortion rights, individuals who advocate both for and against abortion have, on public forums, encouraged violence, including against government, religious, and reproductive healthcare personnel and facilities, as well as those with opposing ideologies,' the DHS alert said. Two masked individuals are seen in the early hours of Monday walking up to Andrew Barkis's office door. The person on the right smashed the door with a hammer; the individual to the left is throwing a lit flare inside The first person can be seen raising their right arm with a hammer, to smash through the door The figure can be seen watching as the flare takes hold inside the building A senior official, in the threat alert, warned that 'going forward, we're concerned that grievances related to restricting abortion access in general could fuel a broader response.' Last week, in Buffalo, New York, attackers spray painted the slogan 'Jane Was Here' on the side of the building - a calling card of the activists from pro-choice group Jane's Revenge. Similar attacks were carried out in Washington DC on June 3, and in Madison, Wisconsin, on May 8. There have also been multiple attacks in Texas and Oregon - the first was on May 3 in Austin, Texas. At least 10 states have been affected. Police are unsure if the Olympia attack was carried out by pro-choice agitators, and no one has claimed responsibility. Twenty minutes after the arson attack, three suspects - including the two seen at Barkis's office - were seen breaking into Lighthouse Antiques, said Lt. Paul Lower of Olympia police. The gang got away with $5,000 worth of goods, and broke a skylight estimated at $2,000, The Olympian reported. 'Two of the three suspects are clearly the suspects from the flare-attempted arson,' a police report reads, giving rise to suspicion that the attack on Barkis's office may have been a distraction. Yet JT Wilcox, the House minority leader for Washington state, said he was convinced his colleague had been attacked for his pro-life views. Andrew Barkis, a Republican representative in Washington's state legislature, is said to believe the attack on his office was deliberate It also comes after a 26-year-old Californian man was arrested outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh - a pro-life member of the court - and admitted he intended to kill Kavanaugh for his position on Roe v. Wade. Wilcox connected the attack on his colleague to this spate of threats - and said that Barkis will now be forced to permanently look over his shoulder. 'An attack like this changes you forever,' Wilcox tweeted. 'On the same day unhinged partisans publish a list including Andrew as an extremist, something we all know is BS. The graphic included a lit fuse. Sick.' It was unclear what list he was referring to. Barkis has not commented, but Wilcox said his colleague believes he was deliberately targeted. 'I think that this is clearly targeted, I don't think it would be easy to make a case that this was a random event,' Wilcox told MyNorthwest.com, noting the use of a 'hammer and flare which people don't just have on them.' Jay Inslee, the Democrat governor of Washington, who opposes repealing Roe v Wade, also condemned the attack. 'Such attempts at violence are abhorrent,' Inslee said. 'We're thankful no one was hurt. Hopefully, law enforcement is able to identify these individuals before they inflict any more harm.' Last week a Christian anti-abortion group in a suburb of Buffalo, New York, had their offices firebombed and vandalized in what the company CEO called 'pro-abortion Kristallnacht'. CompassCare CEO Jim Harden is seen on Tuesday morning outside the firebombed offices of his company CompassCare's office in Amherst, a suburb of Buffalo, is pictured on Tuesday following the arson attack The offices were burnt out in the firebombing, and two firefighters who responded were injured The attackers left behind graffiti reading 'Jane was here' - believed to be a reference to the violent activist group Jane's Revenge The Buffalo organization, CompassCare, pointed out in a statement on Tuesday that the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, has designated funds to protect abortion clinics but not to protect organizations like theirs. 'Ironically, New York's Governor not only ignored the violence but instead earmarked $35 million in taxpayer funds to increase security at abortion clinics,' they said. Jim Harden, the CEO, likened the attack on his facility to the beginning of the Holocaust. 'This is the pro-abortion Kristallnacht,' said the father of ten. 'Because of this act of violence, the needs of women facing unplanned pregnancy will go unmet and babies will die. 'I wonder if Gov. Hochul will veto the Pregnancy Center Investigation Bill? 'I wonder if Attorney General Letitia James will investigate these cowardly criminals? 'CompassCare will rebuild because women deserve better. CompassCare will not stop serving because pre-born boys and girls deserve protection.' Police in Amherst, the Buffalo suburb, have launched an investigation and are treating the case as an act of arson. Brian Kulpa, Amherst town supervisor, said: 'With reports that this fire was set intentionally, I am disgusted that lives were put at risk.' A Washington DC site, the Capitol Hill Crisis Pregnancy Center, was attacked on June 3 Two firefighters who responded to the scene were injured and treated for minor injuries, the Amherst police department. 'Our thoughts are with the firefighters as they recover,' Kulpa said. 'A violent response is never the answer. There is no place in Amherst for such attacks. 'Amherst police are working with our partners to continue its investigation to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.' Jane's Revenge has claimed responsibility for throwing Molotov cocktails into the offices of the Wisconsin Family Action in Madison, as well as vandalizing a pro-life center in Seattle. The group derives its name from an underground abortion network operating in Chicago in the late 1960s and early '70s called the Jane Collective. A Russian man was arrested yesterday at Gatwick airport as he attempted to leave the country, on suspicion of spying for the regime of Vladimir Putin. The suspected agent was detained as he attempted to board a flight out of the UK and was taken to Hammersmith police station late last night by Met officers. His arrest came as the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Met's SO15 counterterrorism unit and Britain's domestic counter-intelligence and security organisation, MI5. 'Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command arrested a man in his 40s at Gatwick airport on Monday. He remains in custody,' a Met police spokesperson said. Meanwhile, a source told The Sun Online: 'The suspect is believed to have been in the UK spying on behalf of the Putin regime. 'He was kept under observation and arrested as he arrived at Gatwick to try and fly out of the country.' Police refused to release details on the man's intended destination prior to his arrest. It comes as spy chiefs in the UK are on heightened alert for nefarious cyber attacks after it was revealed earlier this month that Russian hackers had attempted to compromise the mobile devices of several Ukrainian and European officials. A Russian man was arrested yesterday at Gatwick airport as he attempted to flee the country on suspicion of spying for the regime of Vladimir Putin (pictured earlier this year at the Kremlin) The suspected Russian agent was detained as he attempted to board a flight out of the UK and was taken to Hammersmith police station late last night by Met officers (armed officers are pictured patrolling Gatwick airport) Victor Zhora, the deputy head of Ukraine's State Special Communications Service, said phones being used by the country's public servants have come under sustained targeting by Russian agents in the months since Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on February 24. 'We see a lot of attempts to hack Ukrainian officials' phones, mainly with the spreading of malware,' Zhora told journalists at a recent online news conference, but confirmed there was no evidence that Ukrainian devices have been compromised thus far. The hacking of government leaders' devices crept up the international agenda following a cascade of revelations last year around the how phones used by presidents, ministers, and other government officials had been targeted or compromised. The ability to remotely and invisibly hack into such devices using sophisticated spy software - sometimes called a 'zero click' hack because it requires no interaction from the victim - is particularly feared. Zhora said he and his colleagues were aware of the threat of zero-click intrusions but declined to comment on whether they knew of any such attempts against their own devices. Russia's foreign ministry warned the West on Thursday that cyber attacks against its infrastructure risked leading to direct military confrontation, and that attempts to challenge Moscow in the cyber sphere would be met with targeted countermeasures In a statement, the foreign ministry said that Russia's critical infrastructure and state institutions were being hit by cyberattacks and pointed to figures in the United States and Ukraine as being responsible. 'Rest assured, Russia will not leave aggressive actions unanswered,' it said. 'All our steps will be measured, targeted, in accordance with our legislation and international law.' The statement, issued by the ministry's head of international information security, said Washington and its allies were 'deliberately lowering the threshold for the combat use' of IT. 'The militarisation of the information space by the West, and attempts to turn it into an arena of interstate confrontation, have greatly increased the threat of a direct military clash with unpredictable consequences,' it said. Victor Zhora, the deputy head of Ukraine's State Special Communications Service, said phones being used by the country's public servants have come under sustained targeting by Russian agents in the months since Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on February 24 Spy chiefs in the UK are on heightened alert for nefarious cyber attacks after it was revealed earlier this month that Russian hackers had attempted to compromise the mobile devices of several Ukrainian and European officials The websites of many state-owned companies and news organizations have suffered sporadic hacking attempts since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, often to show information that is at odds with Moscow's official line on the conflict. Putin said in May that the number of cyberattacks on Russia by foreign 'state structures' had increased several times over and called on the country to bolster its IT security. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's top advisor yesterday called on Western allies to dramatically increase and speed up heavy weapons shipments to push back the Russian onslaught in eastern Ukraine. Mykhailo Podolyak said Monday that Kyiv needs 1,000 howitzers, 300 rocket artillery systems, 500 tanks, 2,000 armoured vehicles and 1,000 drones 'to end the war'. The eye-watering shopping list amounts to an army's-worth of Western equipment and goes well beyond both what has been supplied so far and what Ukraine itself has been requesting. Put in context, 500 new tanks would be more than the UK and Germany have in active service combined, while 1,000 howitzers and 300 rocket launchers is more than the US currently has in active service. The US has supplied a little over 100 howtizers to Ukraine so far while the US and UK combined are thought to have sent seven rocket systems. Podolyak published the list amid heavy fighting in Ukraine's east - where Russia has this week issued a 'surrender or die' order to troops defending a key Donbas city - and ahead of a Wednesday meeting in Brussels to discuss weapons supplies. Ukraine has asked its Western allies to supply an additional 1,000 artillery guns in order to put them on a level footing with Russian forces in the Donbas (pictured, a US M777 howitzer) Ukraine also wants another 500 tanks which it says are needed to 'win' against Russia (pictured, the German Leopard 2 tank which Spain was considering sending to Kyiv) Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, will chair the meeting, while UK defence secretary Ben Wallace will be in attendance. It is the third such meeting of Western defence ministers in recent months, after the first summit in late April brought together 40 nations to discuss Ukraine's security. But such is the scale of Podolyak's new request that it is unclear whether the allies would even be capable of supplying Ukraine with what it needs without leaving their own stockpiles critically low. And that is before factoring in shipments of spare parts, ammunition, fuel, and other equipment needed to keep those weapon systems running. Ukraine not only wants to repel the Russian advance in the east, but also retake areas of the Donbas and Crimea occupied after the last war in 2014. Pivotal to that goal will be the outcome of the ongoing battle for Donbas, where Russia and Ukraine are locked into bloody long-range artillery duels and bitter street-to-street fighting in the city of Severodonetsk. Russian forces on Monday blew up the last remaining bridge connecting the city with its sister, Lysychansk which sits on high ground across the Donets River, making efforts to resupply and reinforce units in the city very difficult. ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose has been a journalist for longer than most of her employees have been alive with a long career since she was 17. And the veteran network boss showed how old newswoman habits die hard with the state of her home office during a video addressing recent job cuts. Viewers noticed the office she used was crammed with with papers and files stacked high on the cabinets behind her. She appeared on ABC New Breakfast on Wednesday defending the retrenchment of 58 staff at the archives department due to records increasingly being digital. ABC Chair Ita Buttrose appeared on ABC News Breakfast to defend the broadcaster's sacking of archives staff last week but it was the state of her office that caught viewer's attention Those watching were quick to note the irony of Buttrose defending the job cuts on those grounds while her room was overflowing with analogue technology. 'Streaming in from the spare bedroom, surrounded by piles of paper... the message? 'Technology is the future. And I get to keep my job,' one tweeted. 'Guests on The Drum have tweeted that their zoom interview space has had to be approved and tidied up before they appear on TV,' another wrote. 'But looks like no one was gonna suggest that Ita cleans up her space. Metaphor for the mess that @politicsabc is in under Ita's conservative control.' A third thought it looked unprofessional: 'Looked like out of control - not on top of workload'. 'Did anyone see Lisa Millar interview Ita Buttrose on New Breakfast this morning? Is Buttrose a hoarder? Asking for a friend,' another wrote. Viewers shocked by the piled papers in Buttrose's home office had likely not seen the inside of a working newsroom, where most journalists have their desks buried under metres of clippings and documents they haven't had time to organise. Ms Buttrose has defended the axing of 58 archivist positions at the ABC by saying that digitisation means the process has become much more 'streamlined' The ABC last week announced that 58 archival and research positions would go and be replaced by 30 'new roles' and journalists would be expected to do more of their own research and archive work. Buttrose said the decision could 'not be avoided' because of changing technology. 'So we - with technology, a lot of jobs are going to change, not just at the ABC, but in every workplace and because we will have digitised 1.2 million documents by the end of this year,' she said. 'So we really - we streamlined the process.' Buttrose said the 58 people who lost their jobs would be the first invited to apply for the 30 new positions and there would be about 72 people still working in archives. 'Technology is going to allow us to collect and use and manage our archival material far more efficiently,' she said. Ms Buttrose was the founding editor of Cleo, which began in 1972, and says the magazine was a ground-breaking publication that made a difference in the lives of woman Communications Minister Michelle Rowland called the decision to sack archives staff 'regrettable' but did not call on the ABC to reverse it. Staff and the public sector union said it would affect the quality of output. Buttrose denied the changes would lead to a deterioration of the ABC archives, saying she has always been 'a protector of history'. 'ABC archives are a national asset and we will always protect them,' she said. The interview also foreshadowed Buttrose's upcoming Andrew Olle Media Lecture on Friday, which will mark the 90th anniversary of the ABC's founding. She took the opportunity to reminisce about her pioneering role as founding editor of woman's magazine Cleo, launched in 1972. Three years later, Buttrose was appointed editor of The Australian Women's Weekly and went on to become editor in chief of both it and Cleo. 'When you look back, you think, oh, gosh, maybe some of those things we did in Cleo did make a difference and I think they did make a difference,' Buttrose said 'We encouraged women and girls to seek further education because at the time, girls' education wasn't valued at all. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has met with ABC senior management, including Ms Buttrose, as the national broadcaster emerges from a period of frosty relations with the previous federal government 'It didn't matter what we did and because it was assumed that we would all marry, have children and give up work. 'Well, what happened was that a lot of us got married and had children, but we didn't give up work and I was one of them. 'Yeah, they were hugely significant magazines and did make quite a difference.' After a sometimes-frosty relationship with the Morrison Government, Buttrose said she anticipated working well with Ms Roland, who she and ABC managing director met in a private session in Canberra last week. 'We feel - she has a very good understanding of the ABC and in the past before she joined - before she became a politician, she once wanted to be a journalist, she told me, but she - politics and law won,' Buttrose said. 'Nobody who runs the ABC really wants to be at loggerheads with the government. 'I mean, they are our boss and I can speak for David Anderson, he and I have always tried our very best to have harmonious relations with the government of the day.' An Indian government website, according to security expert Atul Nair, is leaking the Aadhaar numbers of India's farmers. It has the potential to affect millions of individuals. As per a report by TechCrunch, he discovered that a section of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) website revealed farmers' Aadhaar numbers, which they must provide in order to obtain state benefits. PM-Kisan, as the agency is known, is an Indian government initiative aimed at delivering a basic financial income to every farmer in the country. What is the risk of an Aadhaar data breach? Nair warned that by writing a script, an attacker might simply obtain the farmers' information. He gave a few samples of exposed farmers' information and their Aadhaar numbers, which TechCrunch confirmed as real by comparing the exposed data with each farmer's information using a tool on PM-Kisan's website. It is worth noting that more than 110 million farmers have joined PM-Kisan since the initiative launched in 2019. Read More: Self-ID Cameras Can Guess Your Age When Buying Alcohols In Supermarket Meanwhile, TechCrunch mentioned that the data leak is not a breach of Aadhaar's core database, which is administered by the UIDAI. It was reported that it is the latest security lapse to afflict the controversial national identity database, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has defended fiercely. What Are Aadhaar Numbers? Aadhaar is a 12-digit number that links a person's fingerprints and retina scan. To further elaborate, it is a number that each Indian citizen receives as part of the country's national identity database. With over 1.33 billion people enrolled, or roughly the entire population of India, Aadhaar is the world's largest biometric identity system. Despite New Delhi's promotion of Aadhaar as a "voluntary" identification system, critics have expressed concerns about how its use case has been widened and made mandatory across a variety of daily activities. What Is the Purpose of Aadhaar Numbers? After citizens submit their fingerprints and retinal scans to the central database, Aadhaar is used as proof of identity, and it is frequently required for accessing state government services like welfare assistance and voting. Aadhaar numbers are also used to verify identities when creating bank accounts, using other internet services and more. However, TechCrunch noted that Aadhaar numbers are not absolutely confidential as they are treated similarly to Social Security or National Insurance numbers in the U.S. Other Issues Surrounding Aadhaar Numbers As we have reported last month, to prevent misuse, the UIDAI's regional office warned users that unlicensed private businesses such as hotels and theater halls are "not permitted to obtain or maintain copies of Aadhaar. Individuals, on the other hand, were adversely affected by the warning. Because this was the "first time they were hearing about such a possibility," they hinted that many establishments in India now have a copy of their Aadhaar. As a result, India has removed this warning requesting users not to share photocopies of their national biometric ID after widespread criticism on social media. Related Article: UK Cinemas Now Accepting Digital ID Cards To Verify Age - Why? A Gold Coast mum won't receive a birthday present from her shattered family in time as the parcel continues to rack up thousands of kilometres between two states along Australia's east coast. It's been almost three weeks since Nick ordered the gift online from Western Australia for his wife Kirsten from their children. The parcel was sent to a delivery centre in western Sydney and has since travelled back and forth between Sydney and Brisbane four times via Australia Post, according to the delivery tracker notice. It even made it to the Gold Coast, its intended destination, before being sent back to Sydney. Nick has little hope his wife's gift ordered on May 31 will arrive in time for her birthday on Wednesday. He described the ongoing debacle as ridiculous. Australia Post has since responded with a spokesman telling Daily Mail Australia the delay was caused by the customer providing the wrong address. A Gold Coast family have waited three weeks for Australia Post to deliver a parcel (pictured, a Australia Post employee sorting through packages) 'It's gotten to the stage where it's laughable, it's like a guessing game of where it will be each day,' Nick told 2GB's Ben Fordham. 'Australia Post needs to change their song on their ads to 'we've been everywhere man' because it doesn't get to us.' 'When you look at the tracking number the first time, it says because of Covid-19, there could be delays. 'It's been to Brisbane three times in the last few weeks! 'I might see it one day.' Nick may be forced to go out and buy a back-up gift unless the parcel miraculously turns up on Wednesday. He said the tracker notice states the parcel is currently in Sydney en route back to Queensland. 'It was a present from the children who wanted to get it for her,' Nick said. 'Unfortunately, the kids are a bit upset. They wanted the present to give to their mum today. But what can you do?' Australia Post says the delays over the parcel were due to the wrong address being provided Nick has gone to Australia Post demanding answers about the wandering parcel's whereabouts but it was unable to help because the package isn't classified as lost. 'You can see exactly where it's going, they've obviously scanning it every time but it's not getting to us,' he said. The saga astounded Fordham, who said the parcel has covered more territory than Burke and Wills on their expedition of Australia in 1860-61. 'The parcel has done more travel in the last two weeks than I have in the last years,' he quipped. 'It might arrive in time for her birthday next year!' Australia Post has since claimed the customer provided the wrong delivery address. 'After the matter was brought to our attention this morning, we have been able to track the parcel today and will ensure it is forwarded to the correct address by tomorrow,' a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday. 'We encourage our customers to ensure all details, including the correct postcode and PO Box numbers are correct before sending their parcels to avoid delays.' The parcel originally sent from Western Australia has travelled back and forth between Sydney and Brisbane four times in the last two weeks Australia Post estimates parcels from Western Australia to Queensland should arrive within 6-8 business days but says deliveries are still being impacted by Covid-19. 'While we will endeavour to meet this timetable, the actual delivery speed will depend on where in each state/territory the item is being posted from/to, and the level of restrictions and congestion in our delivery network at the relevant time,' the website states. 'Most parcels are arriving on time, but delays may be experienced. 'Our operations are being affected by very high numbers of Covid-19 cases in the community. Covid lockdowns and travel restrictions have left Australians with low immunity as the country faces a record-breaking flu season. Chair in Epidemiology at Deakin University Professor Catherine Bennett told Daily Mail Australia Covid restrictions coupled with unseasonable weather are responsible for the 87,989 flu cases reported early this season. 'After two low flu seasons, in fact virtually no season in 2021, we dont have the usual cross immunity from recent exposure,' she said. 'We had an early start to the flu season this year, partly because as international border restrictions and isolation requirements eased, travellers brought the virus from other countries still coming out of winter. Australia's massive spike in flu cases is likely due to low immunity because of Covid restrictions and wet weather keeping people indoors 'We also had a very wet summer along parts of the east coast which may have helped create indoor mixing conditions that lead to more local spread than usual.' Dr Bennett added that low flu vaccination rates after mass Covid vaccination schemes could mean people will get more sick, more often. 'Some people have stopped their flu shots over the last two years,' she said. 'This means we have less immunity against infection and may experience more severe illness than in pre-Covid years.' Doctors recommend people stay on top of their flu and Covid vaccination (above) to avoid catching a severe flu as medicine shortages continue Chair in Epidemiology at Deakin University Professor Catherine Bennett (above) said eased border restrictions saw the flu begin spreading in Australia earlier than usual Victorian President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia Anthony Tassone and Woolworths have warned a sudden surge in flu cases has led to a flu and pain medicine shortage 'Super-cold' v Covid: What's the difference? The 'super-cold' can be difficult to differentiate from the Omicron strain of Covid-19. The main difference is the flu-like 'super cold' should not result in a loss of taste or smell. Those are Covid-only symptoms. The 'super-cold' usually involves an extreme sore throat, a hacking cough and migraines. The similarities with Covid are aches, pains, fever and fatigue. Rapid antigen or PCR test results are the best way of identifying Covid. Advertisement With flu medicine running in low supply, Dr Bennett recommends people make the most of available flu vaccines and focus on their general health. 'The main thing is to get vaccinated for the flu, if you're not already. It's a good match to the current circulating strains so it works well,' she said. 'If you get an infection you should watch you dont get dehydrated and take pain relief for headaches or sore muscles. 'If you are feeling very unwell, seeking doctor's advice early is important.' Victorian President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia Anthony Tassone said the sudden high demand for flu and pain medication has created a shortage in pharmacies. 'There have been shortages for medications used for pain and fever such as paracetamol and ibuprofen - in products for children and adults,' he said. 'These shortages happened intermittently throughout the Covid pandemic and may be due to sudden increases in demand which supply cannot keep up with.' Mr Tassone said he'd seen the shortage first-hand in his Victorian pharmacy where cases are 278 times higher than this time last year. 'Pharmacy teams are trying their best to obtain stock as soon as possible and may be able to suggest an alternative,' he said. A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the supermarket giant is also experiencing a shortage of flu essentials including cold and flu tablets, throat lozenges and tissues. The contagious 'superflu' began making the rounds in March but started to spread rapidly in late May with 47,860 cases recorded in just two weeks between May 23 and June 5. Covid cases also remained high heading into winter with NSW reporting 7,260 new cases and 14 deaths on Tuesday and Victoria 8,687 new cases and 18 deaths on Wednesday. Sydney GP Kean Seng Lim has called for mask mandates to be reinstated to avoid a flu and Covid combination outbreak (pictured: shoppers in Sydney) Sydney GP Kean Seng Lim recommended mask mandates be reinstated to avoid a flu and Covid combination outbreak that would put massive pressure on Australia's already strained public health system. 'I think we have a big problem coming,' he told the Today Show in late May. 'You have got the Covid and influenza viruses both coming on together. 'We are also going to have fewer staff. It isn't just because staff are off because they themselves are sick, but also because their kids and grandkids are sick at schools and or schools are reducing because teachers are sick... everything interconnects.' The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee has recommended mask mandates be lifted from airport terminals (pictured: Sydney Airport) Despite this advice the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) announced its recommendation on Wednesday to scrap mask mandates in airports by Friday, June 17. Travellers will no longer be required to wear masks while inside the airport, only once they board their flight. Health minister Mark Butler and infrastructure minister Catherine King said the AHPPC 'anticipate the travelling public will notice this change in the days following Friday' as states and territories make changes to their public health orders. 'This changed advice comes after the AHPPC has reviewed the current Covid-19 situation in Australia and considers it no longer proportionate to mandate mask wearing in the terminals.' Police chiefs have taken their eye off the ball on crime detection, according to the new Chief Inspector of Constabulary. Andy Cooke urged officers not to be nervous of making arrests even if it was not seen as the right thing to do at the time, saying they needed to get out and catch more criminals. The former Merseyside Police chief said the top ranks needed to focus on what the public expected catch the bad people and place them before the criminal justice system. Just 5.8 per cent of crimes in England and Wales resulted in a summons or a suspect being charged in 2021. Newly appointed Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke (pictured) said police chiefs need to focus on crime detection and officers should not be afraid to make arrests Ex-Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Tom Winsor (pictured) said police must 'rebuild public trust' just before he left the role Mr Cooke has called for a return to targets to boost the rate of crimes being solved. There has been an element of taking the eye off the ball in relation to detection, he said. It is only right that the public should expect that policing is arresting the right people, is charging the right people and its reducing crime where necessary and driving that performance is really important. The detection rates of all crimes are too low, the rates of burglary in a dwelling too low, the rates of car crime detections are too low, you name it. He suggested forces should have performance measures set locally to benchmark the volume of cases being solved. He added: People need to understand what is important to our communities and people need to be measured against what the requirement is to succeed. It needs to be qualitative as well as quantitative targets, it needs to be driving police in the right way to keep our communities safest. Mr Cooke, who was appointed by Home Secretary Priti Patel in April, said: The public expect police to be proactive and doing all they can to reduce crime in their areas. He said the recruitment of 20,000 officers was an opportunity to make this happen: I dont expect forces to have bobbies walking up and down high streets and local estates every minute of the day but the balance needs to be there. Reassurance isnt a police vehicle whizzing through the streets. Reassurance is knowing there is someone there locally who is looking after your local neighbourhood... He argued that officers should never be nervous about making an arrest: When people need arresting, they should be arrested. Police officers shouldnt shy away from that. Im not saying they do, but at times arrest is not always seen as the right thing... He added: Policing shouldnt take the easiest option, it should take the right option, if that option is to arrest they should be arresting people. Former President Donald Trump failed to persuade New York's highest court to halt depositions in a state probe into his family real estate business, clearing the way for the former U.S. president to testify next month. In a brief order, the state Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal because 'no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.' Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump are scheduled to testify under oath starting on July 15, and continuing the following week, in state Attorney General Letitia James three-year-old civil probe. Former President Donald Trump failed to persuade New York's highest court to halt depositions in a state probe into his family real estate business, clearing the way for the former U.S. president to testify next month Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump are scheduled to testify starting on July 15 in state Attorney General Letitia James (pictured) three-year-old civil probe. James is pictured at New York's 'March for Our Lives' demonstration Saturday A lawyer for the Trumps and James' office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. James is investigating whether the Trump Organization misled lenders and tax authorities, by inflating real estate values to get better loan terms and lowering those values to save on taxes. The Trumps had argued that testifying would violate their constitutional rights because their words could be used against them in a related criminal investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. They had agreed to testify so long as the Court of Appeals did not issue a stay. Trump, a Republican, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. He has also called James' probe a politically motivated witch hunt, and James a racist. James is a Democrat, and is Black. Two spacious rooms in a sprawling Queensland home furnished with comfortable beds sit empty after the Australian government rejected the visas of a Ukrainian family desperately trying to flee their war-ravaged homeland. Gold Coast doctors Timur Navruzov and Ines Baptista felt driven to help refugees trying to escape the European conflict after Russia invaded its southern neighbour in February. The couple found a website dedicated to connecting people with those impacted by the war and met Tetiana 'Tanya' Kovalova, 37, and her two children Vlad and Veronica, inviting the trio to come live with them in Queensland. But despite the doctors helping with their applications and informing Home Affairs they would provide accommodation and cover all expense, the Kovalovas' learnt two weeks ago their tourist visas had been rejected. 'I didn't believe it, in the first place I felt that there was a mistake,' Dr Navruzov told A Current Affair. Doctors Timur Navruzov and Ines Baptista (pictured) offered up two rooms in their home for Ukrainian refugees, but the Australian government has rejected their visas 'They [the Kovalovas'] were just low, you couldn't see any sort of emotions or any expressions on their faces, they were completely demoralised.' The Kovalovas live in the port city of Odessa, which has been obliterated over the past month as missiles have rained down on apartment buildings, killing dozens and leaving thousands displaced. Russian ships have also flocked into the Black Sea, surrounding the city, with Ms Kovalova desperate to find safety with her kids while her husband Oleh, like other Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60, is conscripted to stay and fight. In preparation for their guests' arrival, the doctors decked out their two spare rooms - one with a double bed and the other with a set of bunk beds for the teenagers. For Ms Kovalova, they decorated the room with a colourful elk-themed bed spread and hung an artwork of an iconic Australian mammal - a koala - on the wall. The children's beds were adorned with printed doonas and stuffed toys, while a feature wall was dressed with an animated world-map overlaid with animals. Tetiana 'Tanya' Kovalova, 37, is trying to flee Ukraine with her two children, leaving behind husband Oleh at the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. The family is pictured together during happier times Dr Navruzov, who was born in what is now Uzbekistan, but formerly part of the Soviet Union, can speak Russian, which is a common second language for Ukrainians. He said his ability to speak in a language the Kovalovas understand would have proved extremely useful in helping them to adjust to the different systems and ways of life Down Under. Instead, the rooms remain bare and the doctors have been left 'disheartened' after learning the government did not accept their offer to accommodate the family. Dr Navruzov said the department did not provide an explanation for the rejection and the couple are now calling on the government to grant the Kovaslovas' visa so they can wait out the war in a peaceful country. 'I think it must be really hard as a mother to make a decision to go to a different country; to live in a house of strangers with your kids and then to be denied that opportunity of safety by the Australian government,' Dr Baptista said. A spokesperson for the Home Affairs department said it does not comment on individual cases. The two bedrooms prepped for the family's arrival now sit empty after their visas were rejected Dr Baptista wipes away tears as she stares at the empty bunk beds the couple set up for the teenagers However, it said it had so far granted 8000 migration and temporary visas to Ukrainians. 'The Department is seeking to engage directly with applicants and their representatives, as a matter of urgency where we need additional information to finalise applications,' the spokesperson said. It is understood the department applies closer scrutiny to cases where financial support is provided by individuals who were not previously known to the applicant. According to the United Nations, more than 14 million people have fled their homes since Vladmir Putin ordered troops to invade Ukraine four months ago. Of that figure, more than six million have sought shelter in neighbouring countries, while eight million people are displaced inside the war-ravaged nation. MSNBC anchor Katy Tur has revealed the moment she finally stood up to her legendary broadcaster father - who later came out as transgender in 2013 - and punched him back as a teenager after years of abuse. In her new memoir, Rough Draft, Katy offers a close look into her parent's turbulent marriage and dives into how the former power couple of broadcasters, Marika Gerrard and Zoey Tur - formerly Bob Tur - came undone. In a heart-wrenching excerpt published in New York Magazine, Katy, 38, recounts the moment she decided she had had enough from her chopper journalist father, who had allegedly beaten her and Gerrard regularly. 'F*** off,' Katy, then a high-school senior, recalls telling her father. 'Get out. We don't want you here. LEAVE!' The MSNBC anchor said he then proceeded to take 'two or three hard strides' in her direction and hit her, breaking her lip. 'How dare you,' she remembers screaming at him. 'I'm your daughter.' She then recalls punching him back in the chest, her knuckles cracking on impact. He left shortly after. Tur writes that she and her mother entertained the idea of calling the police, but ultimately decided against it because it would ruin Bob's career and image. The pair were well-known Los Angeles-area television journalists who together as a team helped to popularized helicopter coverage - Bob behind the controls and Marika behind the camera. 'My mom shot all the footage but my dad was the brand,' Tur writes. Tur offers a deeply layered characterization of her father, who is perhaps best known for covering the 92' LA riots and the infamous OJ Simpson low-speed chase from the sky. He was also abused by his own father as a child, she notes. Bob Tur was both 'the hero and the harm,' at home. He threw 'keys, plates, batteries, cell phones, two-way radios, and flight helmets,' at his wife, only to bandage her injuries afterwards. He punched holes in the wall that Gerrard would plaster after his fits of rage, Tur wrote. The holes that were too big to plaster, the family would hang pictures over. In her new memoir, Rough Draft, Katy Tur, ecounts the moment she decided she had had enough from her chopper journalist father, who had allegedly beaten Gerrard Katy offers a deeply layered characterization of her father, known for covering the 92' LA riots and the infamous OJ Simpson low-speed chase from the sky, who was also abused by his own father as a child Katy has a deal with One Signal Publishers/Atria Books for the memoir 'Rough Draft' Tur also offers an insight into her father's own history of domestic violence as a child at the hands of her gambling-happy grandfather, Jack Tur. An excerpt of the passage reads: 'Nose broken by his father's fist. Hand stabbed with his father's fork. Face slashed by his father's keys. He is missing a piece of his ear because his father sliced it off. In his mid-teens, my dad ran away. 'Everything he did after that was a continuation of that first attempt to find safety. When there's no going home, no going back, nothing but the future, you find a way to make it, or you fall apart trying.' In her memoir, Tur reminisces about her childhood flying over Los Angeles with her helicopter reporter parents. In her memoir, Katy reminisces about her childhood flying over Los Angeles with her helicopter reporter parents Zoey Tur came out as transgender in 2013 But following her paternal grandmother Judy Tur's death, Katy also recalls how the family business, the Los Angeles News Service, declined. She then became uncomfortably aware that money was tight after her parents had to cut their health insurance, she wrote. Katy wrote: 'My parents tried to stay on top of their business. But those were Judy's deals. My parents had her files but not her relationships.' 'Their monthly revenue slid southward. From six figures to five figures to four figures, even less. Difficult decisions loomed. Move into a smaller house? Lose the fancy cars? The private school? The health insurance? The hangar and the helicopter? The math didn't work on all of it. Something had to go.' Over the weekend, Katy shared about her last call with her now-estranged father, who has never met her two children with 'CBS This Morning' co-host Tony Dokoupil Katy has not seen her father, Zoey Tur, since 2013 Over the weekend, Katy shared her last call with her now-estranged father, who has never met her two children with 'CBS This Morning' co-host Tony Dokoupil. 'My dad said, ''I am a woman.' And I said ''What?'' And my dad said, ''I'm a woman, I'm transitioning, I'm going to become a woman,'' Katy told CBS Sunday Morning. 'And I remember being at first puzzled and saying, ''You gotta be joking. You're kidding, what are you talking about?''' Katy said her father confessed to her during the call that her volatility and violence during the turbulent marriage with Gerrard stemmed from Zoey not being able to be her true self. Zoey has acknowledged that working in the demanding journalism industry had affected her behavior at home. 'She [Katy] really looked up to me, and I failed her. No father wants to fail their daughter ... Throwing batteries? Probably, yeah. Punching walls? There were a couple,' she told CBS. Speaking to CBS ahead of her new memoir Rough Draft, Katy reminisced about her childhood canvassing the sky of Los Angeles with her helicopter reporter parents, the former power couple of broadcasters Marika Gerrard and Zoey Tur - formerly Bob Tur The MSNBC anchor also accused her father of throwing batteries at her, her brother and mother, and punching walls when she was growing up. Katy, who went on to become an award-winning journalist of her own right, told CBS she was puzzled when she received a call from her father in 2013, the last time she spoke with her. 'And my dad was adamant. ''I'm the wrong person. I'm going to become the right person. Don't you see? This is why I've been so angry'' And it was really just, it was a lot,' Katy said. Zoey had previously said that Katy has not spoken to her since she made the decision to transition. Zoey has also said in the past that she does not consider Katy as 'transphobic.' 'It's that her hero father has become this. And it's the fear of not fitting in. It's the pressure of being on network television. It's the conservatism that she's forced to endure,' she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. '... You have to appreciate that her image of me has been torn apart,' said Tur. Speaking to CBS, Zoey admitted that he had let her daughter down and blamed her past fits of rage on the stress she experienced in the business. 'I was in the news business and we were under extraordinary pressure. I could be very intimidating for sure. And if the kids felt I was intimidating, I apologize. I did the best I could,' she said. Zoey, who is famously known for covering the 92' LA riots and the infamous OJ Simpson low-speed chase from the sky, acknowledged that working in the demanding journalism industry had affected her behavior at home Katy told CBS due to her work ethic, she felt compelled to share both the good and bad sides of her parent's marriage in her new memoir. 'And part of the story is the violence. If I only wrote the good stuff it would have been a lie. It's a business where you're not supposed to lie. You're supposed to tell the truth and this is the truth,' she told the outlet. In her memoir Rough Draft, Katy opens up about everything from childhood to journalism to becoming a parent. She is also the author of 'Unbelievable: My Front Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in History,' a best-selling account of covering Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for NBC. 'Rough Draft is for me not a story of the last four years, but the last 40,' Katy said in a statement last year. 'I watched my parents revolutionize the breaking news business, then break apart themselves, a fact I ran from until I had no choice: write this book or walk away. I chose to write.' Katy told CBS due to her work ethic, she felt compelled to share both the good and bad sides of her parent's marriage in her new memoir Zoey has previously said that her daughter's reaction is 'not unusual,' and has claimed that she was a huge influence in Katy's life and the reason she got into journalism. Above, a young Katy Tur Zoey Tur is famously known for covering the 92' LA riots and the infamous OJ Simpson low-speed chase from the sky Zoey has said she made the decision to transition while sitting in a Florida hotel room and working on a George Zimmerman documentary, telling herself she either had to do something or her life would end in suicide. She began watching videos on YouTube which inspired her so much she wrote personal letters to her son and daughter, sharing her news and explaining her future plans. 'There's no coming back from that,' she said in 2016. 'And I got down on the ground and my phone started lighting up. It was my son. And his reaction was, 'Well, if it's going make you happy, I'm happy.'' Katy though 'did not like it for a moment at all' said Zoey, adding: 'They knew I was bisexual. That was acceptable. The transgender stuff, no. No, that crossed the line.' Zoey has previously said that her daughter's reaction is 'not unusual,' and has claimed that she was a huge influence in Katy's life and the reason she got into journalism. Katy joined the NBC team back in 2009 and steadily rose the ranks. In 2009, she received the AP's Best Spot News Award for her coverage of the 2008 crane collapse in Manhattan. Advertisement Emergency crews scrambled on Tuesday to reopen roads and restore utility service in isolated communities of Montana and Wyoming cut off by historic floods that forced the first summertime closure of Yellowstone National Park in more than three decades. The Governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, declared a statewide disaster, with rescue and relief efforts focused in three counties following days of record rainfall that triggered unprecedented flooding, mudslides and rockfalls in the greater Yellowstone region. Gianforte said in a statement that rapid snowmelt and recent heavy rains have brought 'severe flooding that is destroying homes, washing away roads and bridges, and leaving Montanans without power and water services.' 'I have asked state agencies to bring their resources to bear in support of these communities,' he said. The upheaval followed one of the region's wettest springs in many years and coincided with a sudden spike in summer temperatures that has hastened runoff of melting snow in the park's higher elevations from late-winter storms. Videos shot by shocked locals and bystanders captured the devastating effects of the severe weather, including a home that was swept away by surging floodwaters on the banks of the Yellowstone River, a bridge collapse, and cars on a mountain pass narrowly being missed by falling rocks dislodged by the storm. Residents of Red Lodge, Montana, are seen clearing mud, water and debris from the small city's main street on Tuesday after flood waters courses through a residential area with hundreds of homes Debris is seen blocking a street in Red Lodge, Montana. Residents were cleaning up after record floods in southern Montana Micah Hoffman is seen in his mud-covered yard as a pump removes water from his basement, on Tuesday In this aerial view, flooding is seen on Tuesday in Livingston, Montana The Yellowstone River hit has a historic high flow from rain and snow melt from the mountains in and around Yellowstone National Park The Yellowstone River is seen having burst its banks on Monday Record flooding and rockslides prompted park officials on Tuesday to close all five entrances to Yellowstone to inbound traffic for the first time since catastrophic wildfires roared through the area in 1988. The park could remain closed as long as a week, and northern entrances may not reopen this summer, Superintendent Cam Sholly said. 'The water is still raging,' he said, who said more wet weather was forecast this weekend that could cause additional flooding. Authorities were also working evacuate stranded visitors from the park, which is expected to remain closed at least through mid-week. At the request of local law enforcement agencies, the Montana National Guard sent helicopters to assist in search and rescue efforts in the small towns of Roscoe and Cooke City. The only road out of Gardiner, home to approximately 900 people, including many park employees, was partially cleared Tuesday, after multiple rockslides and washouts had isolated the community. Residents and visitors were allowed out, while only delivery and emergency traffic was allowed in. Flooding is seen oin Livingston, Montana. The Yellowstone River hit has a historic high flow from rain and snow melt from the mountains in and around Yellowstone National Park Many roads and bridges are inaccessible, along with some railroad tracks. A few roads and bridges remain open to emergency traffic A resident's front driveway is seen completely deluged by floodwaters Flood damage is seen along a street Tuesday, in Red Lodge, Montana In this photo provided by Sam Glotzbach, the fast-rushing Yellowstone River flooded what appeared to be a small boathouse in Gardiner, Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park Floodwaters inundated property along the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River near Bridger, Montana Floodwaters inundate property near the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River in between Edgar and Fromberg, Montana The flooding across parts of southern Montana and northern Wyoming forced the indefinite closure of Yellowstone National Park just as a summer tourist season that draws millions of visitors annually was ramping up Floodwaters along the Yellowstone River were nearly a meter higher than their previous record highs measured more than a century ago, according to the National Weather Service. Officials were still seeking to assess the condition of roads and bridges that wind through Yellowstone park and around Yellowstone Lake, the largest alpine lake in North America. Covering a surface area of 132 square miles, an area roughly the size of Las Vegas, the lake is fed by more than 141 rivers and streams, with its only outlet flowing north into the Yellowstone River. The winding North Entrance Road between Gardiner and park headquarters in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming, was carved away in multiple places by surging floodwaters - washouts that will likely take months to fully repair. Many of the Montana communities hit hardest by the flooding rely heavily on summer tourism, and were gearing up to celebrate Yellowstone's 150th anniversary this year, with travel officials counting on a rebound following COVID-19 restrictions over the past two summers. More than 10,000 visitors were ordered out of Yellowstone as unprecedented flooding tore through the northern half of the nations oldest national park. Remarkably, no one was reported injured or killed. A road is closed from floodwaters along the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River near Bridger, Montana This photo provided by Katherine Schoolitz shows flooding in Red Lodge, Montana. Raging floodwaters that pulled houses into rivers and forced rescues by air and boat began to slowly recede on Tuesday across the Yellowstone region The highway between Gardiner and Mammoth in Montana is washed out trapping tourists in Gardiner, as historic flooding damages roads and bridges and floods homes along area rivers on Monday The Boulder River south of Big Timber floods roads and homes on Monday as major flooding swept away at least one bridge, washed away roads and set off mudslides in Yellowstone National Park in Montana In this photo provided by the National Park Service, is a washed out bridge from flooding at Rescue Creek in Yellowstone The only visitors left in the massive park straddling three states were a dozen campers still making their way out of the backcountry. The flooding hit historic levels in the Yellowstone River after days of rain and rapid snowmelt and wrought havoc across parts of southern Montana and northern Wyoming, where it washed away cabins, swamped small towns, knocked out power and flooded homes. It hit the park just as a summer tourist season that draws millions of visitors was ramping up. Instead of marveling at grizzlies and bison, burbling thermal pools and the regular blast of Old Faithful's geyser, tourists found themselves witnessing nature at its most unpredictable as the Yellowstone River crested in a chocolate brown torrent that washed away anything in its path. 'It is just the scariest river ever,' Kate Gomez of Santa Fe, New Mexico, said Tuesday. 'Anything that falls into that river is gone.' Gomez and her husband were among hundreds of tourists stuck in Gardiner. The town was cut off for more than a day until Tuesday afternoon, when crews reopened part of a washed away two-lane road. Waters were only starting to recede on Tuesday, and the full extent of the destruction wasn't yet known. Sholly said the backpackers who remained in the park had been contacted. Crews were prepared to evacuate them by helicopter, but that hasn't been needed, he said. Sholly added he didn't believe the park had ever shut down from flooding. While the flooding can't directly be attributed to climate change, it came as the Midwest and East Coast sizzle from a heat wave and other parts of the West burn from an early wildfire season amid a persistent drought that has increased the frequency and intensity of fires that are having broader impacts. Smoke from a fire in the mountains of Flagstaff, Arizona, could be seen in Colorado. Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said a warming environment makes extreme weather events more likely than they would have been 'without the warming that human activity has caused.' 'Will Yellowstone have a repeat of this in five or even 50 years? Maybe not, but somewhere will have something equivalent or even more extreme,' he said. Heavy rain on top of melting mountain snow pushed the Yellowstone, Stillwater and Clarks Fork rivers to record levels Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Officials in Yellowstone and in several southern Montana counties were assessing damage from the storms, which also triggered mudslides and rockslides. Some of the worst damage happened in the northern part of the park and Yellowstones gateway communities in southern Montana. National Park Service photos of northern Yellowstone showed a mudslide, washed out bridges and roads undercut by churning floodwaters of the Gardner and Lamar rivers. In Red Lodge, Montana, a town of 2,100 that's a popular jumping-off point for a scenic, winding route into the Yellowstone, a creek running through town jumped its banks and swamped the main thoroughfare, leaving trout swimming in the street a day later under sunny skies. Residents described a harrowing scene where the water went from a trickle to a torrent over just a few hours. The water toppled telephone poles, knocked over fences and carved deep fissures in the ground through a neighborhood of hundreds of houses. The power was knocked out but restored by Tuesday, though there was still no running water in affected neighborhood. In this image from a National Park Service webcam, is the empty west entrance to Yellowstone National Park, in Montana in what should be the start of tourist season Flood waters rise around a house in Red Lodge, Montana Heidi Hoffman left early Monday to buy a sump pump in Billings, but by the time she returned her basement was full of water. 'We lost all our belongings in the basement,' Hoffman said as the pump removed a steady stream of water into her muddy backyard. 'Yearbooks, pictures, clothes, furniture. Were going to be cleaning up for a long time.' On Monday, Yellowstone officials evacuated the northern part of the park, where roads may remain impassable for a substantial length of time, but the flooding affected the rest of the park, too, with park officials warning of yet higher flooding and potential problems with water supplies and wastewater systems at developed areas. The rains hit just as area hotels have filled up in recent weeks with summer tourists. More than 4 million visitors were tallied by the park last year. The wave of tourists doesn't abate until fall, and June is typically one of Yellowstone's busiest months. It was unclear how many visitors to the region remained stranded, or how many people who live outside the park were rescued and evacuated. Mark Taylor, owner and chief pilot of Rocky Mountain Rotors, said his company had airlifted about 40 paying customers over the past two days from Gardiner, including two women who were 'very pregnant.' Taylor spoke as he ferried a family of four adults from Texas, who wanted to do some more sightseeing before heading home. 'I imagine theyre going to rent a car and theyre going to go check out some other parts of Montana - somewhere drier,' he said. At a cabin in Gardiner, Parker Manning of Terre Haute, Indiana, got an up-close view of the roiling Yellowstone River floodwaters just outside his door. Entire trees and even a lone kayaker floated by. This photo provided by Katherine Schoolitz shows flood waters in Red Lodge Raging floodwaters that pulled houses into rivers and forced rescues by air and boat began to slowly recede on Tuesday Floodwaters from the the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River surround a home near Bridger, Montana In early evening, he shot video as the waters ate away at the opposite bank where a large brown house that had been home to park employees, who had evacuated, was precariously perched. In a large cracking sound heard over the river's roar, the house tipped into the waters and was pulled into the current. Sholly said it floated 5 miles (8 kilometers) before sinking. In south-central Montana, flooding on the Stillwater River stranded 68 people at a campground. Stillwater County Emergency Services agencies and Stillwater Mine crews rescued people Monday from the Woodbine Campground by raft. Some roads in the area were closed and residents were evacuated. The sheriff's office said it would assess damage when waters receded. The towns of Cooke City and Silvergate, just east of the park, were also isolated by floodwaters. In Livingston, residents in low-lying neighborhoods were told to leave and the city's hospital was evacuated as a precaution after its driveway flooded. Officials in Park County, which includes Gardiner and Cooke City, said extensive flooding throughout the county had made drinking water unsafe in many areas. The Montana National Guard sent two helicopters to southern Montana to help with the evacuations. In the hamlet of Nye, at least four cabins washed into the Stillwater River, said Shelley Blazina, including one she owned. 'It was my sanctuary,' she said Tuesday. 'Yesterday I was in shock. Today I'm just in intense sadness.' The Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs crested at 13.88 feet higher than the previous record of 11.5 feet set in 1918, according the the National Weather Service. Yellowstone received 2.5 inches of rain Saturday, Sunday and into Monday. The Beartooth Mountains northeast of Yellowstone got as much as 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The flooding across parts of southern Montana and northern Wyoming forced the indefinite closure of Yellowstone National Park just as a summer tourist season that draws millions of visitors annually was ramping up Flooding from the Yellowstone River is seen in front of Livingston HealthCare's hospital in Livingston, Montana. Livingston HealthCare evacuated its patients and staff on Monday because water over the driveway made access to the building unsafe President Joe Biden said Tuesday that temporary silos would be built along the EU border with Ukraine in a bid to help export more grain and address a growing global food crisis described as Vladimir Putin's 'hunger plan'. Since the Russian invasion and blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports, grain shipments have stalled and more than 22 million tons are stuck in silos. Ukraine says it faces a shortage of silos for a new crop. The war is stoking prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer, which may lead to starvation in the developing world, which relies on Ukrainian grains. Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies. Ukraine is also a major exporter of corn and sunflower oil and Russia a key fertilizer exporter. 'Russia is planning to starve Asians and Africans in order to win its war in Europe,' Yale historian and author Timothy Snyder said. But Biden told a Philadelphia union convention that he hopes his plan can circumvent this outcome. President Joe Biden speaking at the 29th AFL-CIO Quadrennial Constitutional Convention in Pennsylvania (pictured) said that temporary silos would be built along the EU border with Ukraine in a bid to help export more grain and address a growing global food crisis described as Vladimir Putin's 'hunger plan' The Banha wheat grain silos in Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt. Joe Biden has proposed building new silos on the Ukrainian border with Poland in order to freight Ukrainian grains out through Europe and avoid the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies. The war is stoking prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer, which may lead to starvation in the developing world, including in Egypt and Iraq, which relies on Ukrainian grains Bulk Carrier cargo ship Smarta in the cargo sea port of Mariupol. Since the war started, Ukraine and Russia have both laid sea mines along coastal areas and further out in the Black Sea Finnish cargo-ship Alppila, carrying 18,000 tonnes of grain for animals from Ukraine, is unloaded at the port of A Coruna on Monday. Some 84 foreign ships are stuck in Ukrainian ports - many with grain cargoes onboard, and they fear they will be sunk by the Russian Black Sea Fleet should they try to export Ukraine's grain despite being from non-aggressor third countries Historian Timothy Snyder believes Vladimir Putin (pictured) is preparing to starve much of the developing world as the next stage in his war on Europe 'I'm working closely with our European partners to get 20 million tons of grain locked in Ukraine out onto the market to help bring down food prices,' Biden said. 'It can't get out through the Black Sea because it'll get blown out of the water.' Since the war started, Ukraine and Russia have both laid sea mines along coastal areas and further out in the Black Sea. Some 84 foreign ships are stuck in Ukrainian ports - many with grain cargoes onboard, and they fear they will be sunk by the Russian Black Sea Fleet should they try to export Ukraine's grain despite being from non-aggressor third countries. Biden said Washington was developing a plan to get grain out by rail, but noted Ukrainian track gauges were different from those in Europe, so the grain has to be transferred to different trains at the border. 'So we're going to build silos, temporary silos, on the borders of Ukraine, including in Poland,' Biden said. Grain could be transferred from Ukrainian railway cars into the new silos, and then onto European freight cars to 'get it out to the ocean and get it across the world,' he said, adding the plan was taking time. 'This is just one of the possibly useful steps in ensuring food security. But we also need a green corridor for our ports,' Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in an online post. The Russian military stands accused to deliberately targeting Ukraine's grain production capacity, which accounts for one-tenth of global wheat exports. Pictured: A combine harvests wheat in a field near the village of Hrebeni in Kyiv region, Ukraine. Biden said Washington was developing a plan to get grain out of Ukraine by rail, but noted Ukrainian track gauges were different from those in Europe, so the grain has to be transferred to different trains at the border Pictured: Wheat farmers in a wheat farm outside Bashtanka, Mykolaiv region of Ukraine. Grain could be transferred from Ukrainian railway cars into the new silos, and then onto European freight cars to 'get it out to the ocean and get it across the world,' he said, adding the plan was taking time. Pictured: A view of the damaged Nika-Tera grain terminal in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. The Russian military stands accused to deliberately targeting Ukraine's grain production capacity, which accounts for one-tenth of global wheat exports Yet there are also reports that Russia has been exporting Ukraine's grain to African countries itself, effectively profiting from selling stolen goods. Kyiv has accused Russia of stealing up to 500,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat, worth $100 million, since Russia's invasion in February. Many African countries are unlikely to hesitate before buying Russian-supplied grain, such is their dire need to feed their citizens. But Ukrainian officials said the solution to Africa's food problem is greater global pressure to end the war, not purchases of looted grain. There is a 'simple answer,' Taras Vysotsky, Ukraine's deputy minister of agriculture, said: 'Stop the fighting.' Historian Timothy Snyder believes Vladimir Putin is preparing to starve much of the developing world as the next stage in his war on Europe. As it stands, the Russian blockade of Ukrainian exports will result in tens of millions of tons of food rotting in silos, and tens of millions of people in Africa and Asia starving. Yale historian and author Timothy Snyder believes Vladimir Putin is preparing to starve much of the developing world as the next stage in his war on Europe 'The horror of Putin's hunger plan is so great that we have a hard time apprehending it,' he wrote on Twitter. 'Putin's hunger plan is, I believe, meant to work on three levels. First, it is part of a larger attempt to destroy the Ukrainian state, by cutting off its exports. 'Putin's hunger plan is also meant to generate refugees from North Africa and the Middle East, areas usually fed by Ukraine. This would generate instability in the EU.' The final and 'most horrible' level of Putin's plan, according to Snyder, is to generate a world famine as the necessary backdrop for Russian propaganda to campaign against Ukraine. Food riots and mass death will be blamed on Ukraine by Russia's adept use of propaganda, proxy media and official cut outs, with the solution being a recognition of Russia's territorial gains and sanctions being lifted. Ukraine's agriculture ministry on Tuesday said European countries were considering providing temporary silos to 'preserve the harvest and secure future grain supplies'. Ukraine says the best way to get grain exports moving again is through Black Sea shipments. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is trying to broker what he calls a 'package deal' to resume Ukrainian Black Sea exports and Russian food and fertilizer exports, which Moscow says had been hit by sanctions. The U.N. has so far described talks with Russia as 'constructive.' Grace Tame has hinted the wolves on the cover of her upcoming memoir represented three media bosses she's clashed with. Ms Tame, an activist and 2021 Australian of the Year, previewed the cover of her book on her social media last week ahead of its September 27 launch. She revealed she illustrated the cover herself, using a $1 ballpoint pen from Woolworths. On the bottom left of the complex design are three wolves, two snarling towards her face and one bowing its head to the ground. Grace Tame hints the wolves on her new book cover refer to media bosses Kerry Stokes, Rupert Murdoch and Peter Costello Grace Tame has hinted the wolves on the cover of her upcoming memoir represented three media bosses she's clashed with 'Three guesses who the wolves on my book cover are lol,' she commented underneath a picture of Kerry Stokes, Rupert Murdoch, and Peter Costello posted on Twitter by Crikey writer Bernard Keane. The trio's media empires - Seven West Media, News Corp, and Nine - frequently cover Ms Tame's activities and she often butts heads with them. Ms Tame took aim at Mr Murdoch on Twitter in May, criticising News Corp's coverage of the federal election. She complained that 59 per cent of Australia's national and metropolitan print news media was owned by Mr Murdoch, and 23 per cent by Nine. 'Between these two corporations alone, 82 per cent of the total readership share is subliminally influenced by a right-leaning bias,' she wrote. Ms Tame complained that 59 per cent of Australia's national and metropolitan print news media was owned by Mr Murdoch, and 23 per cent by Nine. Ms Tame previewed the cover of her book on her social media last week ahead of its September 27 launch 'There's bad politics, and then there's blatant abuse. Corruption. 'It's an odd coincidence that the chosen leadership style of a man whose career began in an industry that often benefits from 'planned obsolescence' is: wrecking crew politics. That is, failure by design.' Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has even piped up on News Corp's treatment of Ms Tame, supporting the activist on Twitter after the Courier Mail published an article questioning her criticism of Scott Morrison. 'There goes Murdoch, trying to bully Grace Tame like they have so many voices for progress over the years,' he wrote. 'They whine about 'cancel culture' but they will try to cancel anyone who doesn't share their reactionary worldview. We need more diversity, not less.' One of Keir Starmer's top shadow ministers privately revealed, that if Labour gained power they would try to undo Brexit. Last week Cardiff MP Anna McMorrin admitted to party supporters that a Labour-controlled Government would need to 'renegotiate the deal'. She said Labour getting into office could potentially allow them to renegotiate a closer deal with Brussels and even rejoin the EU. She was recorded telling activists: 'I hope eventually that we will get back into the single market and customs union, and who knows then.' Ms McMorrin rejoined the frontbench in 2020 when Sir Keir took over, after resigning in protest at Labour's support for leaving the single market in 2018. Shadow minister Anna McMorrin (pictured) said she hoped for a return to the single market but acknowledged this couldn't happen unless Labour won Ms McMorrin quit the frontbench in 2018 but 2020 rejoined when Keir Starmer became leader Home Office minister Tom Pursglove (pictured) said Labour were trying to pull the wool over the public's eyes by plotting to undo Brexit At the Labour Communications group on June 8 Ms McMorrin was asked: 'Could we ever return to the single market?' She replied: 'I really hope so.' She added: 'Customs union and single market at the very least I think, in future.' She accepted 'there is not really scope for having that conversation at the moment', but said all that could change if Labour won power. The Sun reported that they understand the party have scolded her. A spokesman said: 'Policy is clear. 'We need a strong relationship with EU partners but that does not involve membership of the customs union or the single market.' But Home Office minister Tom Pursglove accused Labour of deceiving the public. He said: 'Sir Keir said there wasn't scope for major renegotiation, now Labour are plotting to rejoin in all but name. 'That would mean open-door immigration and Parliament being overruled by Brussels.' Elon Musk, the CEO and founder of Tesla, has been making numerous headlines regarding its electric vehicle company. Not so long ago, Musk announced the mandatory return to work and immediate halt of work from home set up for his Tesla employees. The CEO, in an email, stated that if employees choose not to return, the car company will consider the absence as a form of resignation. Following that, in a tweet exchange online, he admitted that he has a super bad feeling about the economy and that he might consider cutting off 10% of jobs at Tesla. He replied to a follower of his, stating he indeed believes that a recession is about to come. From the looks of it, it seems like the cutting of jobs has begun. Tesla Employees Cut Off Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, announced earlier this month that he planned to reduce the staff by 10 percent because he had a very awful feeling about the economic situation. With that, Tesla has begun the process of reducing its employment in earnest. Business Insider has reported that it has discovered 11 LinkedIn posts on Wednesday morning from former Tesla employees stating that they had been fired as a result of the company's cutbacks. The LinkedIn posts reveal that the company is well underway in the process of downsizing its employment. The terminations seem to have started happening last week and have picked up speed since then. This week, nine of the posts were published, while the other two were released toward the end of the previous week. The LinkedIn posts were contributed by a diverse group of employees from across the organization, including a regional warehouse manager, a lead for a CGI animation project, staff trainers, and a project lead. It seemed like the Tesla employees that posted on LinkedIn had a variety of different experiences working for the company. As a result of the job reduction, senior roles have also been affected. Christopher Bousigues, who worked as the national manager for Tesla in Singapore, shared on LinkedIn over the weekend that he had been let go as part of the company's efforts to reduce the number of employees. According to Bousigues post, he stated, "In the past year the team and I built the business from the ground up, made of the Model 3 a common sight in the Singapore car landscape, set up 2 showrooms, 1 service center (that I affectionately call the Jewel of Asia), developed a network of 7 superchargers across the island, and successfully launched Model Y yesterday with overwhelming response." Read Also: Tesla Cancels Three-Day Hiring Event in China This June-Will The Company Still Offer Jobs? Tesla's Hiring Event in China Just recently, in line with the ongoing layoff, Tesla has reportedly called off three online recruitment events that were slated to take place in China this month. This is the most recent turn of events that have taken place after Musk vowed to cut jobs at the company after openly remarking on Twitter that there was a possibility that a recession would take place. Late on Thursday, notifications were sent on the messaging platform WeChat indicating that the three events for positions that were initially scheduled for June 16, 23, and 30 had been canceled by the company. On the other hand, as previously reported here in iTechPost, the manufacturing operation of Tesla in China is still collecting resumes for the over one thousand openings that have been published on social media sites. These jobs are for a variety of positions, including laborers, managers of supply chains, engineers specializing in aerodynamics, retail managers, and supply chain managers. Related Article: Elon Musk Mandates Tesla Workers' Return To Office-Requiring At Least 40 hours a Week A private schoolboy who alleged he was molested at least 11 times by a headmaster at his $37,000-a-year college will not be able to pursue legal action. Andrew Smith was seeking damages against Trinity Grammar Preparatory School in Strathfield in Sydney's inner west for injuries he claims to have suffered in 1981 when he was in Grade 6, aged 11. The now 52-year-old alleged he was sexually touched by Reverend Keith Sandars - who was headmaster of the junior school at the time - in his office on 11 occasions. Mr Smith did not make the allegations known to the school until 2017, some five years after Reverend Sandars had died. Trinity Grammar contended in court there was no way to prove the allegations and that they'd never had a complaint of a similar nature against the late reverend. The Supreme Court of NSW on Tuesday upheld a decision to prohibit Mr Smith from pursuing legal action against the school given the accused is not alive to defend himself. The now 52-year-old alleged he was sexually touched by Reverend Keith Sandars (pictured) - who was headmaster of the junior school at the time - in his office on 11 occasions. Trinity Grammar contended in court there was no way to prove the allegations and that they'd never had a complaint of a similar nature against the late reverend Andrew Smith was seeking damages against Trinity Grammar Preparatory School for injuries he claims to have suffered in 1981 when he was in Grade 6, aged 11 The court determined the school would be 'unable to meaningfully deal with the claim' and continuing in proceedings would be 'manifestly unfair to the defendant'. Similarly, potential witnesses - including four staff members who were employed at the school during the alleged offending - have also since died. Mr Smith's school records could not be located and 'there is no report of any alleged sexual abuse by Reverend Sandars in relation to the plaintiff or any other student'. 'This is a regrettable conclusion, however these are exceptional circumstances,' the judge said. But the court did hear Reverend Sandars was notified of abuse allegations levelled against his staff and chose not to report or document the claims. Neil Albert Futcher was imprisoned for at least 11 years for offences he committed against six children during his tenure at Trinity Preparatory Grammar between 1974 and 1981. Neil Albert Futcher was imprisoned for at least 11 years for offences he committed against six children during his tenure at Trinity Preparatory Grammar between 1974 and 1981 One of the complainants, former student Rob Anderson, and his parents made a complaint directly to Reverend Sandars which went unanswered. The court determined students likely believed Reverend Sandars was their contact point for any issues and, even if they did complain about untoward conduct by any teacher, 'Reverend Sandars would likely not make a record of the allegations, especially if they were leveled against him'. Futcher was known amongst students as 'Futcher the Butcher' and would lure boys back to his inner-west apartment after school camps and sporting events to molest them. In 2017, he was convicted of 22 sex offences. 'Having him in prison, it goes a long way to us on having a better outlook on life,' Mr Anderson said of the outcome. In total six students came forward with allegations against Futcher, and the $37,000-a-year college spent $1million fighting the claims in court. Even after being found guilty Futcher has maintained his innocence. He says his victims colluded against him so they could sue the organisations he worked for. It's understood Reverend Sandars received complaints about at least four staff members during his tenure. Mr Smith expressed disappointment that he could not seek damages from the school, noting the alleged abuse had changed the course of his life. The single father-of-two said he had difficulty maintaining relationships and starting smoking marijuana to cope with the 'recollections'. 'I smoked dope for a long time, everyday for about 25 years, but stopped in 2017. I only smoke dope to dull the mental pain of what had happened to me. I drink Wild Turkey, about six per day,' he told the court. More recently, senior staffer Alexander David Simpson was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment for sending sexually explicit images of himself to a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl He also claims he was unable to maintain any meaningful employment as a result of his mental health issues. When Mr Smith contacted Trinity Grammar in 2017 to report the abuse, he was offered counselling. But the school maintains there is no evidence of misconduct on Reverend Sandars' behalf and contends he was well liked by students and old boys alike. The headmaster who first dealt with Mr Smith's complaint says he considered Reverend Sandars 'a charismatic and energetic person who was well respected. 'He did not consider Reverend Sandars to be a moral risk to students. So far as he can recall, no one ever previously raised concerns of this nature about Reverend Sandars,' the court heard. A second staffer, who was a teacher at the time of the alleged offences, described Reverend Sandars as 'a bit of a toucher'. Simpson sent messages (above) to an undercover police officer believing it was a 13-year-old girl Simpson sent explicit messages to an undercover police officer who was pretending to be a 13-year-old girl 'He would put his arm on the boys, around them, and touch them. I heard talk from some of the kids about this. I may have seen it myself. He was a bit of a toucher,' Gregory James Cluett said in a statement provided to the court. 'He was a very imposing sort of man. Even as a teacher at the senior school I found him a bit imposing, I got the impression from seeing him with some of the boys that he was a touchy feely person. I thought it was innocent.' The court determined Trinity Grammar investigated the matter to the best of its ability given limited access to witnesses, the accused or school records at the time. More recently, senior staffer Alexander David Simpson was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment for sending sexually explicit images of himself to a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. The court determined he was 'unlikely to reoffend' after seeking rehabilitation at the first possible opportunity and expressing deep remorse. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse also addressed a notorious incident at the school in which a boy was sexually abused by a wooden sex toy dubbed 'the anaconda' that was made in a woodwork class. Covid sufferers who caught the Omicron variant will not be protected from catching it again, according to scientists at Imperial College London. The investigators say Omicron and its evolutions could explain why Covid cases remain higher than predicted in the UK. Earlier studies found that past illnesses with Covid provided some immunity against re-infection - but the latest research indicates that is not the case with the Omicron variant, The Telegraph reports. Prof Danny Altmann from the Imperial College's Department of Immunology and Inflammation, said: 'The message is a little bleak. Omicron and its variants are great at breakthroughs but bad at inducing immunity, thus we get reinfections ad nauseum and a badly depleted workforce. 'Not only can it break through vaccine defences, it looks to leave very few of the hallmarks we'd expect on the immune system. 'It's more stealthy than previous variants and flies under the radar, so the immune system is unable to remember it.' Covid sufferers who caught the Omicron variant will not be protected from catching it again, according to scientists Earlier studies found that past illnesses with Covid provided some immunity against re-infection - but the latest research indicates that is not the case with the Omicron variant Researchers have been attempting to understand why people become reinfected with omicron, often soon after recovering from a previous spell of the disease. Blood samples were collected from UK healthcare workers who were triple-vaccinated and with different infection patterns with Covid in order to understand antibody, T and B cell immunity. The research uncovered that among those who were triple-vaccinated with no past infection, Omicron provided an immunity boost against earlier variants such as alpha, beta, gamma and the original ancestral strain - but practically none against Omicron itself. Covid sufferers first affected during the first wave of the virus and then again with Omicron were also found to lack any immunity - a trend labelled 'hybrid immune damping' by researchers. '[Omicron] is more stealthy than previous variants and flies under the radar, so the immune system is unable to remember it,' said Prof Danny Altmann from the Imperial College's Department of Immunology and Inflammation Covid-19 deaths registered in England and Wales have continued to fall, though the size of the drop has been affected by the Jubilee bank holidays. A total of 186 deaths registered in the seven days to June 3 mentioned coronavirus on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is down 55% week-on-week and is the lowest number since July 2021. The latest total covers a period that includes the bank holidays marking the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on June 2 and 3, when most register offices were closed. This means fewer deaths were registered than would normally be the case. The woman accused of burning alive an entire family while they slept in their home will not go down for their murders. Abbey Forrest, 19, Inda Sohal, 28, and their baby daughter Ivy had no chance of escaping the raging inferno that claimed their lives in December 2020. On Wednesday, their killer Jenny Hayes indicated she will accept a sweetheart deal with Victoria's Office of Public Prosecutions to plead guilty to the lesser charge of arson causing death. The family were killed in the blaze at Point Cook in Melbourne south-west in the early hours of the morning. Jenny Hayes, 46, was arrested in December and charged with three counts of murder The bodies of Abbey Forrest, 19, Inda Sohal, 25, and their baby daughter Ivy (pictured together) were found inside a Point Cook townhouse after a blaze tore through the property Police tape remained across the gutted remains of the Point Cook property where three people died in December 2020 The 47-year old appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria via videolink from Dame Phyliss Frost Centre where the court heard a plea deal had been struck between prosecutors and the defence. Hayes had sobbed throughout her previous hearing in the magistrates' court in April last year when she pleaded not guilty to the young family's murders. It remains unclear why Victoria's Director of Public Prosecutions Kerri Judd QC offered up the deal. Prosecutors told the court Hayes would now only plead guilty to arson causing death, which carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in jail. If convicted of murder, Hayes faced up to life in prison. She had been arrested the morning after the killings amid claims she had an argument with a house guest of the family. The exact allegations put against Hayes by police still remain a mystery. At the time of the fire, the Herald Sun reported police were investigating whether it was in fact an alleged fight over sexual services that led to the fatal fire. The newspaper alleged a dispute broke out over sexual services which were to be provided by Hayes before she returned and set the house on fire. Police later confirmed Hayes did not know the family she has been charged with murdering. Abbey Forrest, 19, Inda Sohal, 25, and their baby daughter Ivy had no chance of escaping the inferno amid allegations the only exit had been torched Jenny Hayes, 46, was arrested and charged with three counts of murder Shattered friends and family attended the Point Cook property for days after the tragedy Detectives had alleged Hayes used an accelerant to douse the stairwell of the Point Cook home before setting it alight. A source has told Daily Mail Australia that just hours earlier a 28-year old male and close friend of Mr Sohal had allegedly kicked her out of the property before heading out for the night. He was not even home when police allege Hayes got into the home and set her deadly trap. 'They had no chance of escape. They were trapped,' the source said. Emily Forrest visited the scene of the fatal house fire on Friday morning to lay flowers and a toy outside the remains of the home (Pictured left to right: Abbey Forrest, her sister Emily Forrest and their parents) Neighbours had tried to rescue the family, but the family perished in the house fire The death of the young family sent shockwaves across the nation in the lead-up to Christmas 2020. Mum and baby were farewelled at St Mary of the Angels Basilica in Geelong, south of Melbourne just days before Christmas. Baby Ivy would have been just three weeks and not even have a chance to be baptised before her life was so cruelly cut short. Her grandfather Alan Forrest - Abbey's father - bravely paid tribute to the pair. He choked back tears as he spoke of the fun loving and generous Tomboy his daughter was. Mr Forrest said his family would not get a chance to gather at his daughter's 21st birthday and he would not be able to provide a speech as father of the bride. She wont make it to her 21st birthday speech, or her father of the bride speech. So this is one speech that I must take the honour of Abbey, Ivy and Indi. The shattered parent described his daughter's love of horses and her hopes of one day becoming a paramedic. 'She was a generous kid,' he said. 'She was always grateful to and respected all of her teachers.' hayes will appear back in court later this month. Tributes poured in for the deceased family with Ms Forrest's (left) sister Emily (right) An American visiting Sydney has been blown away by 'very regular' cars seen everyday on Australian roads. Self-confessed revhead Wasteland Firebird from Arizona posted a video of himself 'freaking out' after seeing so many strange vehicles. But his excitement about work utes and basic model Fords, Holdens, Toyotas, Suzuki's and Citroens was lost on most Aussies - although they appreciated his 'enthusiasm'. The American was buzzing about this Suzuki Swift he found on a Sydney sweet 'I'm so excited about all the cars that there are in Sydney, Australia,' the cowboy-hat wearing American says in the video. 'Holden Astra! The reason I am so excited about these is that we got these in the US briefly and I bet most of you don't even know that. 'I know this because I went to a Saturn dealer and they had the Astra. I've never seen one since.' The content creator currently living Down Under on a four-year working visa also made a fuss about the wide range of imported vehicles. Firebird said the US had a few coverable MGs back in the 1970s but they've largely disappeared (MG pictured) Wow - a Holden Astra! The content creator said he's only ever seen the car on one occasion in the US This Peugeot compact van was a bit hit with the American revhead who said they don't get French vehicles in the US 'Citroen, Peugeot, we don't get anything French in the US,' he said. 'Toyota Hi-Lux. We kinda have that but it's different. Firebird was also taken aback by Australia's range of small cars. 'Suzuki Swift! We got a couple of these in the 1990s and they were really cool, but we don't get these anymore,' he said. 'MGs, we had a few convertibles back in the 1970s but that's about it.' The American revealed that living in Australia he's been driving a Suzuki Jimny because he wanted to drive something in Australia that you 'can't get in the US'. An American visiting Sydney has been blown away by 'very regular' cars seen everyday on Australian roads The American revealed that living in Australia he's been driving a Suzuki Jimny (pictured) because he wanted to drive something in Australia that you 'can't get in the US' During the video he goes on to explain that people in America think only a car with a flat bed tray - not a 4WD - is called a ute. 'But they also call a pick-up truck here a ute as well.' 'So when someone says pick-up truck in Australia you actually don't know if they are talking about a pick-up truck or a car.' 'And what is it with the beds in Australia? The trays are all different. In the US it would all just come with the truck, but here they have this aftermarket thing.' Firebird revealed he's still coming to terms with driving on the left hand side of the road after spending his entire adult life motoring on the right. 'The weirdest thing about driving on the other side of the road is that I accidentally say right turn when I mean left turn and I accidentally say left turn when I mean right turn,' he said. 'That's because when I say make a left, I mean make a turn that crosses the traffic.' During the video he goes on to explain that people in America think only a car with a flat bed tray - not a 4WD - is called a ute Firebird is excited to see a classic Australian-made Ford GT in the window of a car dealership He also took aim at Australia's strict rules around speeding and modifying cars. 'You really can't modify your cars here,' he said. 'There are so many laws against modifying your cars and you can't speed.' 'In the US people just go at whatever speed they want to go at and what is the worst thing that will happen, you'll get a ticket? Here they crush your car if you speed.' While no Australian state is permitted to turn a driver's car into a cube for going over the speed limit, New South Wales police do have the power to impound vehicle for three months if you're car caught street racing or driving 45km/h above the limit. Modifying cars is permitted but strict rules do apply. Self-confessed revhead Wasteland Firebird from Arizona (pictured) posted a video of himself 'freaking out' after seeing so many strange vehicles on Sydney streets Confused Aussie commenters welcomed his excitement but couldn't resist poking fun at the visitor. 'Not surprised he's fascinated by cars considering he arrived on horseback with a Smith & Wesson in his britches' one person joked. Another wrote: 'Really love that you're excited for all the cars, not just the 'cool' ones, absolutely infectious enthusiasm.' A third said: 'A big V8 or a Suzuki. It doesn't matter what it is. A genuine motoring enthusiast. This is such an awesome video.' Border patrol agents who were caught on camera in September herding Haitian migrants on horseback are to disciplined by the Department of Homeland Security after false claims they 'whipped' the migrants circulated widely, according to a report. The agents were seen in the Del Rio, Texas area charging the migrants while on horseback. Initial reports said the migrants were being 'whipped' - a claim that was quickly debunked. It was later clarified that the agents were swirling their long reins, to control the horses, and were not actually raising the leather straps to beat the migrants. But before the corrections could be issued, the images caused widespread outrage. President Joe Biden himself promised that those responsible would be brought to justice, and that he would 'make them pay'. In November the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) declined to press criminal charges. But on Tuesday, it was reported DHS was set to hand out punishments for the border patrol agents involved in the incident, with the agency citing their 'administrative violations'. Photos of agents on horseback corralling Haitian migrants away from the US-Mexico border drew sharp condemnation from Democrats who claimed the images depicted them whipping migrants Border Patrol agents and Republicans said agents were swinging their reins to control their horses The agents' leather reins could be seen flying through the air, leading people to wrongly claim the migrants were being whipped A source inside the federal government told Fox News that an announcement on the matter is expected within the coming days. The decision comes nine months after the incident - counter to statements made by DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who said in September the investigation would be completed in 'days, not weeks.' The OPR, the border patrol's Office of Personnel Responsibility, has spent the intervening months reviewing photographs and interviewing witnesses and agents. The agents whose behavior is in question will be awarded 'due process,' according to OPR, and given a chance to respond. A large number of migrants are seen wading over the Rio Grande into the United States on September 19 - the day of the 'whipping' incident The mounted agents and the border patrol agents in their vehicles are seen confronting the migrants on September 19 Biden, before an investigation was underway, claimed that migrants were being 'strapped' at the border. 'It was horrible to see, to see people treated like they did, with horses nearly running them over. People being strapped,' he said in September. 'It's outrageous. I promise you those people will pay. There will be investigation underway now and there will be consequences. There will be consequences. It's an embarrassment. 'But beyond an embarrassment is dangerous, it's wrong, it sends the wrong message around the world, and sends the wrong message at home. It's simply not who we are.' Soon after the dustup, the White House announced that agents would no longer be allowed to chase down migrants on horseback. Mayorkas also reassigned the agents in the photos to desk duty - where they remain. He said the photos 'correctly and necessarily were met with our nation's horror.' 'They do not reflect who we are as a country nor do they reflect who the United States Custom and Border Protection is,' Mayorkas said. Photographer Paul Ratje, who took some of the images, said he didn't see anyone being whipped. 'I've never seen them whip anyone,' Ratje told KTSM-TV. He said the still images actually depict the mounted agents swinging the long reins of their horses, not holding whips. 'He was swinging it, but it can be misconstrued when you're looking at the picture,' said Ratje, who shot the photos from the Mexican side of the Rio Grande river. A California gas station manager was fired after accidentally putting the wrong price up for a gallon of premium fuel - just 69 cents, rather than the $6.99 it was supposed to cost. John Szczecina, the manager of a Shell station in Rancho Cordova, admitted later that he simply misplaced the decimal point. 'Well, it was a mistake that I did, you know,' said Szczecina. 'And I thought, 'this is a nightmare. I put all three prices on there except the diesel, but the last one kind of didn't go right.' Soon after it went up, people started spreading word about the low prices on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - and people started lining up to take advantage of the rare respite from skyrocketing fuel costs. 'So I just took responsibility for it and I said 'yeah it's my fault, and I'm to blame,' Szczecina said. The mistake ended up costing the Shell station nearly $20,000 - and cost Szczecina his job as well. John Szczecina, the manager of a Shell station in Rancho Cordova, put the price - which should have been $6.99 for a gallon of premium - at just 69 cents He admitted later that he simply misplaced the decimal point - causing the price to be lowered tenfold Szczecina's sister, Paula Jackson, has started a Gofundme to help her brother pay back the money the Shell station lost and avoid her brother being sued. As of Wednesday morning, the efforts had raised just under $3,500 of their initial goal of $16,000. Business attorney Craig Zimmerman told KOVR that people like Szczecina are usually protected from these types of errors in legal matters. 'The only way he would be responsible, absent a written agreement, is if he was acting outside the scope of his employment,' Zimmerman said. 'For instance, if his boss said, 'Whatever you do, don't ever set the price on that gas pump.' And then he did.' As of Tuesday morning, the average price per gallon of gas in the U.S. is $5.02, according to AAA. In some areas of the country, there are reports that the price is nearing or surpassing $7.00 per gallon. The mistake ended up costing the Shell station nearly $20,000 and cost Szczecina his job Biden has already tapped into the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, which has so far had a negligible effect on gas prices. While the White House has repeatedly said it is open to ideas on how to relieve rising costs on a number of consumer goods, Biden's Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo admitted last week that the administration can't do anything to help alleviate the effects of higher fuel costs. She also blamed the war in Ukraine for spiking prices - a familiar refrain from administration officials. 'Unfortunately, that is the brutal reality,' Raimondo told CNN when asked what Biden can do. 'This is, in large part, caused by Putin's aggression,' Raimondo added. 'You know, since Putin moved troops to the border of Ukraine, gas prices have gone up over $1.40 a gallon, and the President is asking for Congress and others for potential ideas.' 'But as you say, the reality is that there isn't very much more to be done,' she said. Szczecina's sister, Paula Jackson, has started a Gofundme not to help her brother but to help pay back the money the Shell station lost and to avoid her brother being sued As of Tuesday morning, the average price per gallon of gas in the U.S. is $5.02, according to AAA . In some areas of the country, there are reports that the price is nearing or surpassing $7.00 per gallon The default of the Biden administration has been to blame the prices on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, dubbing the resulting domestic crisis the 'Putin price hike' and claiming prices will continue to soar and remain high as long as the assault in Eastern Europe continues. The blame has also been placed on oil companies, which the administration say are making a killing with keeping prices high. Following a speech at the Port of Los Angeles on Friday, Biden said: 'Exxon made more money than God this year.' He accused oil companies of purposefully not increasing production to meet the demand so they can charge more per gallon. Biden is preparing to visit Saudi Arabia during a trip to the Middle East in the coming weeks, which many believe will include pleas for the country to ramp up production of oil to increase the global supply. A suburban Chicago mother discovered her three children dead in the home of her estranged husband on Monday after the trio had spent the weekend with their father. Debra Karels found the bodies of her children, five-year-old Bryant, Cassidy, three, and Gideon Karels, two. Preliminary autopsy results showed all three died after being drowned, Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton of the Lake County Coroner's Office said. Their father, Jason E. Karels, 35, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the three young children. Debra Karels found the bodies of her children, five-year-old Bryant, Cassidy, three, and Gideon Karels, two Jason E. Karels, 35, from suburban Chicago faces three counts of first-degree murder after police say he killed his three children and then fled Karels was arrested after leading police on a 17-minute car chase that ended in a crash on Monday after driving off an Interstate 80 bridge in Joliet, Illinois, Round Lake Beach Police Chief Gilbert Rivera said at a news conference. Karels had to be extricated from the vehicle by firefighters and was hospitalized after the crash. Officers wearing bodycams recorded Karels admitting to killing his three young children before fleeing in his car. Rivera said the children's mother, Debra, asked police to perform a well-being check at her husband's home on Monday afternoon. Bryant, five, Cassidy, three, and Gideon two, center, died by drowning The three children are pictured after the birth of their baby brother Jason Karels had been reported missing and was identified as a person of interest in the case. The three children had been with their father over the weekend as part of his visitation rights. She found the trio lying dead in a bedroom. 'They were excited to hear from me. They were excited to chat,' Karels told The Daily Beast. 'They were not doing anything special, they just seemed excited that I was going to pick them up the next morning. 'I am just in disbelief. You never think something like this is going to happen to you. I never thought he would do this to his kids, but now I know, if you have any inkling of doubt, don't ignore it and stick to your guns.' Karels was missing and identified as a person of interest in the case. An alert was broadcasted to police departments across the Chicago area. Estranged wife, Debra, said despite the couple's separation, she had wanted her children to still have a relationship with their father The couple are pictured on their wedding day together with their first child Rivera said the parents shared custody of the children but did not live together. Authorities say the killings appear to have been 'motivated from a domestic situation' with Debra's sister-in-law explaining how Jason 'had severe mental issues and refused to get help.' 'Unfortunately, there was domestic abuse in their relationship and Debbie was finally getting the strength to leave him and proceed with a divorce,' her sister-in-law Christina Neuman Berg, explained to the Daily Beast. 'Debbie wanted to maintain a relationship with her kids' father and let him visit them, and now we know that was a horrible mistake.' Karels paid tribute to her three children, describing them as 'wonderful', each with their own personality. Karels was arrested after leading police on a 17- minute car chase that ended in a crash on Monday after driving off an Interstate 80 bridge in Joliet Police are pictured on the scene of Jason Karel's home in the northern suburbs of Chicago where the children's three bodies were found Bryant, who was about to start kindergarten in September 'was a very smart' kid . 'He used to say, "Don't worry mommy, I'll always take care of you," Karels explained. Daughter, Cassidy, was the 'little middle child' while Gideon 'was a sweet little momma's boy' who loved dinosaurs and Mickey Mouse. After the car crash in Joliet, Jason Karels told first responders he was responsible for the deaths of his children and had attempted to kill himself several times before fleeing the home. Officers found the man's blood in the house from his attempts to hurt himself. Karels remains hospitalized and is expected to be discharged into police custody soon. A GoFundMe has raised more than $45,000 toward a $100,000 goal, with the money going to the family of the three children. 'This tragedy happened in my own neighborhood, and I need to make certain that this mother has everything she needs to not have to worry about money at this terrible time,' Lake County Board member Dick Barr wrote. A superannuation company previously majority owned by Commonwealth Bank was fined $1.7million for deducting service fees from dead members' accounts. Avanteos Investments, a subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank until its sale to a US private equity group last year, pleaded guilty to deducting advisory service fees totaling almost $700,000 from 499 deceased members' superannuation funds between January 2016 and May 2018. The offences had come to light during the banking and finance Royal Commission conducted between 2017 and 2019. Melbourne County Court heard the members had not been informed in disclosure statement by Avanteos that they would continue to be charged advisory fees after their death. Avanteos Investments, which was majority owned by Commonwealth Bank (above) until last year, was fined $1.7million on Wednesday for collecting almost $700,000 worth of advisory fees from deceased members between January 2016 and May 2018 Senior management at the super investment company were advised in early 2016 the continued charges were illegal but Avanteos Investments's documentation was not updated until 28 months later. During that time the company had collected almost $700,000 worth of service fees from 499 deceased members who had not been informed they would be charged after their death. At that time the company would continue to charge advisory fees until the superannuation account was closed or until it was advised to cease payment. The court found Avanteos had not informed its members they would continue to pay fees to the company after their death Avanteos Investments pleaded guilty to 18 criminal charges relating to the continued fees in December 2021 and was fined $1.7 million on Wednesday. The company has repaid the deducted fees and the lost earnings on the funds invested. County Court Judge Trevor Wraight said the company had not been seeking to profit from the deceased members. 'It's a case where (the) company, knowing of a defect, focused on itself and its own business model rather than its obligations to its members, whose funds they were entrusted with,' he said. Avanteos Investments will also pay financial regulator ASIC $1.3 million to cover the cost of investigations. Avanteos Investments told Daily Mail Australia it 'unreservedly apologises to those affected by this issue'. A request for a recount in the NSW seat of Gilmore has been knocked back by the Australian Electoral Commission. Liberal candidate for the seat, Andrew Constance, wrote a letter to the commission asking for the recount, citing concerns about the scrutineering of informal votes. 'Given the close result, I believe there are strong grounds for a recount and I have submitted a request to the Australian electoral commissioner,' Mr Constance said on Tuesday. Mr Constance, who was NSW transport minister until he quit state politics to run for Gilmore, lost to Labor incumbent Fiona Phillips by just 373 votes. Andrew Constance has been denied recount of razor tight federal seat of Gilmore (pictured on election day there) Mr Constance, who was NSW transport minister until he quit state politics to run for Gilmore, lost to Labor incumbent Fiona Phillips (pictured) by just 373 votes The seat was set to be formally declared on Tuesday, but the declaration was postponed in light of the recount request. However, Ms Phillips said the request had not been accepted. 'The AEC have advised me this morning that Andrew Constance's application for a recount in Gilmore has been denied,' she said on Twitter. 'The details for the AEC Gilmore poll declaration will be announced shortly.' An electoral commission spokesman said the request for a recount was carefully considered, with the counting process for Gilmore carried out in line with electoral laws. Former prime minister Scott Morrison visited a local business in Gilmore with Mr Constance, a star Liberal candidate, on the first day of the election campaign The Liberals had a 2.44 per cent swing in the NSW south coast seat, which bucked the national trend, however, Mr Constance fell 0.2 per cent short. A recount in the electorate would have automatically been triggered if there were fewer than 100 votes between first and second placed candidates. The final result in the House of Representatives is expected to be 77 seats for Labor, 58 for the coalition, four Greens, 10 independents, one Katter's Australian Party MP and one Centre Alliance MP. Anthony Koletti has surrendered his court battle for millions of his conwoman wife Melissa Caddick's ill-gotten millions. The unemployed hairdresser on Wednesday asked for the Federal Court case to be stopped due to the 'horrible' media attention he received as it went along. Caddick, 49, disappeared after stealing more than $23 million to fund a glamorous lifestyle and her demise is one of Australia's great unsolved mysteries. The fraudster was last seen leaving the eastern suburbs mansion she shared with her husband on November 12, 2020, after her home was raided by police. Melissa Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti asks Federal Court proceedings to be stopped citing 'horrible' media attention he received as a result of the court case Anthony Koletti who was married to Melissa Caddick has not been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to Caddick or her business The he only trace of her since was a a severed foot that washed up on Bournda Beach, about 500km south of Sydney, three months later. Caddick's disappearance came a mere day after police and investigators from the Australian Investment and Securities Commission raided her Dovers Heights mansion as part of a fraud probe. Koletti, 39, through his lawyer Judy Swan said his claimed property, which was removed from the mansion to pay creditors, was not worth the 'horrible' media attention he received as a result of the proceedings. This isn't the first time Koletti has made headlines this month, dropping a diss track taking aim at journalists a fortnight ago. The unemployed hairdresser on Wednesday asked for the Federal Court case to be stopped due to the 'horrible' media attention he received as it went along While Kolettis lawyer said he was abandoning his claim relating to possessions, it was not clear whether this included his claim on the Dover Heights home his wife purchased for $6.2 million in 2014 using funds stolen from her investors Koletti filed a claim over his wifes $30 million proceeds of crime, including her wedding dress, $7 million in shares, five John Olsen paintings and jewellery The track hit out at journalists' coverage of his wife's fraud case and took digs at media personalities such as Kyle and Jackie O. In the song he also tells 2GB host Ben Fordham to 'keep my wife's name out of your mouth' in reference to the infamous Will Smith Oscars episode. Court documents estimated Caddick owed more than $23 million to investors at the time of her disappearance. Many of them were relatives or close friends, whom she recruited as part of a Ponzi scheme using their money to fund her lavish lifestyle. To attempt to recoup some money Caddick stole, ASIC seized some of her assets, including the Dover Heights mansion. His request for the proceedings to be stopped is currently being considered, with it likely to be resolved by the time the matter returns to court on July 25 Koletti originally applied for his share of the asset pool, which included their Dover Heights mansion, a $4 million Edgecliffe apartment, shares, jewellery and clothes Melissa Caddick 'flaunted a $250,000 necklace' featuring a huge 83 CARAT black sapphire as while she was under investigation for swindling 'millions' from investors Mr Koletti has not been accused of any wrongdoing and in May finally agreed to move out of their home. But he contended that he was entitled to a portion of their assets including the mansion, a $4 million Edgecliffe apartment, $7 million in shares, $2 million worth of jewellery and clothes. and proceeds from $360,000 of sold-off cars. Mr Koletti also sought an order that $100,000 worth of 'personal property', including five John Olsen paintings, his $26,500 wedding ring, a Gucci wedding dress, a Louis Vuitton watch, and several items of white-gold jewellery, be delivered to him for his 'exclusive use'. His request is being considered, with the case likely to be resolved by the time it returns to court on July 25. The logo of NongHyup is seen in this file photo. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyung An employee at a regional NongHyup office in Gyeonggi Province was arrested Wednesday for allegedly embezzling 4 billion won ($3 million) from the office. According to Gwangju Police in Gyeonggi Province, the worker is suspected of having transferred the corporate capital into a bank account of his accomplice multiple times since April. The regional NongHyup office is classified as a secondary financial group unlike NongHyup Bank, which is a first-tier financial firm. The employee, who worked as a cashier, is suspected to have embezzled the money to offset his losses from gambling and cryptocurrency investment. The financial office found the suspicious activity of the worker recently and reported the case to police Tuesday. Financial circles are enhancing vigilance against such criminal acts, with employees of other financial firms making headlines after committing similar crimes in recent months. Last week, an employee from KB Savings Bank was arrested for allegedly embezzling 9.4 billion won in corporate funds by forging documents. The worker was suspected of fabricating documents for six years between May 2015 and October 2021 to embezzle the money. More than 90 percent of the money was gambled away. Early last month, a Woori Bank employee was also arrested for allegedly embezzling 61.4 billion won between 2012 and 2018, weakening the lender's credibility as the nation's fourth-largest commercial bank. After the scandal erupted, a series of similar embezzlement crimes took place at other financial firms, which raised the need for them to enhance their internal inspection systems to prevent further embezzlement cases. Bank industry officials, however, said it is realistically tough for each financial firm to catch every suspicious move of their employees. "It is very tough for sales offices of any banks or financial firms to keep track of every single activity of their employees if they decide to fabricate documents on purpose," an official from a commercial lender said. Financial firms have no choice but to enhance internal inspection systems and offer more education to employees to mitigate moral hazard risks, according to the official. A private beach club offering roped off access and waterfront cocktails has been slammed by locals after an 'idiotic' council decision to allow it to operate for the next three years. Kurrawa Beach Club has been operating on a trial basis on the Gold Coast since late last year, drawing the wrath of those who fear it could lead to further privatisation of beloved Australian beaches. The club offers private sun-loungers and even ocean-view cabanas on Kurrawa Beach to guests wanting a VIP experience, with drinks and food on offer. But the local mayor insisted the club would not open the door for similar businesses to operate, after some locals feared it would open a 'Pandora's box'. Kurrawa Beach Club (pictured) has been granted permission by the Gold Coast council to operate for six months every year for the next three years The decision was made by a majority of councillors which were in favour of allowing the club to continue running (pictured, a woman enjoying a day out at Kurrawa Beach Club) President of Wildlife Queensland's Gold Coast and Hinterland Branch, Sally Spain, branded the decision 'idiotic'. 'I think council is out of touch with the community on this decision,' Ms Spain told ABC News. 'It opens the slippery path downwards for shops on the beach and that is something that the public are signalling they don't want.' 'The Australian icon of our free and open, non-paying, non-excluding beaches has been breached,' Ms Spain added. Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate insisted it will not provide opportunities for other operators. 'It is not for everyone'...'This is a measuring, planning instrument that we'll be using specifically for the bar,' Mayor Tom Tate (pictured) said Mr Tate noted that the bar was situated at the back of the beach which has minimal impact. 'We've got 55km of beach, I hardly think 150m is an enormous amount of stretch.' While Mr Tate is not concerned about potential environmental impacts, Ms Spain believes more bars will pop up throughout the 'beautiful state, thanks to the idiotic decision of councillors.' This idea was further criticised by several local residents, who said the bar was 'ugly' and that there was a 'stench' nearby from the portable toilet. Two police officers were 'murdered by a coward' Tuesday in a motel shootout while investigating a reported stabbing in suburban Los Angeles, the suspect also dying at the scene, authorities said. The El Monte officers, a veteran of more than 22 years and a rookie with less than a year on the job, went to the Siesta Inn in El Monte, east of Los Angeles, around 4:45pm, authorities said. The officers 'confronted the suspect' and gunfire erupted inside a motel room, Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide Captain Andrew Meyer said at a news conference Tuesday night. There were reports that the suspect fired through the door at the police officers. He said the gunman then fled into the parking lot where more gunfire was exchanged. Three officers opened fire during the encounter, a source in the Sheriff's Department told the LA Times. Meyer said he didn't know whether the officers were shot inside the motel or outside. Police and emergency responders on the scene at the Siesta Inn in El Monte, east LA at 4.45pm yesterday after two cops were shot and killed The El Monte officers, a veteran of more than 22 years and a rookie with less than a year on the job were involved in a shootout which also killed the suspect around 4:45pm The Siesta Inn in El Monte, east of Los Angeles, where the killing of two police officers and a suspect took place The officers were taken to LA County-USC Medical Center - which is renowned for treating gunshot wounds - where they died from their injuries. The alleged gunman was shot and died at the scene. Meyer said a gun was recovered next to the suspect. El Monte interim Police Chief Ben Lowry called the officers heroes. 'Men and women the El Monte Police Department as well as the community of El Monte is grieving,' said Lowry. 'I've heard that the only way to take the sting out of death is to take the love out of life. Believe me, they were loved. These two men were loved. They were good men. 'They paid the ultimate sacrifice, serving their community trying to help somebody.' 'Today, they were murdered by a coward and we are grieving and that hurts,' he said. Police declined to release more details about the officers, including their names. El Monte Mayor Jessica Ancona said the officers died 'while trying to keep a family safe.' Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide Captain Andrew Meyer spoke to the press Tuesday night to give some details on the shocking murders The officers 'confronted the suspect' and gunfire erupted inside a motel room. There were reports that the suspect fired through the door at the police officers. The gunman then fled into the parking lot where more gunfire was exchanged The officers were taken to LA County-USC Medical Center - which is renowned for treating gunshot wounds - where they died from their injuries El Monte interim Police Chief Ben Lowry called the officers heroes. 'They paid the ultimate sacrifice, serving their community trying to help somebody' The veteran cop was 'raised in El Monte, went through our schools, and was excited to serve and protect his friends,' she said. Meyer said investigators were interviewing a woman from the hotel who they believe was the suspect's girlfriend. She wasn't stabbed, he said. Other details weren't immediately released. El Monte resident Mayra Lomeli, 49, said she heard three shots, causing her to leap under a table at El Perico Market, a block away from the Siesta Inn. One user on Facebook commented: 'I was proud to stand alongside El Monte Officers over the years while working LA County Sheriff's Department Industry and as the Field Lieutenant overseeing El Monte Court. 'Rest In Peace, Fallen Heroes.' Another wrote: 'My heart is hurting as this is such devastating news. Its such a tragedy. 'Im so very sorry for your loss and praying for the healing for all of you that are touched by this heinous act.' The killings came just one day after a California Highway Patrol officer was shot and critically wounded during a traffic stop in the Studio City area of Los Angeles. The 27-year-old officer was shot several times. He was in critical but stable condition at a hospital but was expected to recover, the CHP said. A bloodhound helped police track down a suspect and Pejhmaun Iraj Khosroabadi surrendered to police Tuesday morning in a homeless encampment in the Van Nuys area of the San Fernando Valley, authorities said. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. A US Air Force sergeant has made a shocking accusation of rape against a fellow service member in a viral TikTok video after she said she was let down by civilian authorities investigating the incident. Kacie Suchanek, 23, said she decided to share her story online after law enforcement failed to thoroughly investigate the October incident. Suchanek, who is stationed at the 125th Fighter Wing in the Jacksonville, Florida Air National Guard, said she had recently moved to the post and was trying to meet new friends. After meeting her attacker at his off-base apartment, where two other people were present, Suchanek said she was brutally raped and beaten. 'He started hitting me with open fists. I couldn't hear out of my left ear for two days. And when I brought myself out of that disassociation state I was in, I got up and started putting my clothes on,' she told DailyMail.com. 'He rolled over and pretended to fall asleep. I couldn't believe that you would do that to someone and then go to sleep so peacefully.' Suchanek said last month she was told by the Duval County State Attorney's Office and Prosecution Office that despite providing a rape kit, photos of her ripped-out hair and bruises and three witness statements, the case was unlikely to be moved to court. She said she was advised to accept a plea deal that would have seen her attacker's felony sexual battery charges downgraded to a misdemeanor. Kacie Suchanek, 23, said she decided to share her story online after law enforcement failed to thoroughly investigate the incident October incident Suchanek, who is stationed at the 125th Fighter Wing in the Jacksonville, Florida Air National Guard, said she had recently moved to the post and was trying to meet new friends. After meeting her attacker at his off-base apartment, where two other people were present, Suchanek said she was brutally raped and beaten Because the attack happened off-base, and she is on duty while the alleged attacker is a technician on reserve, the case was handled by civilian law enforcement. Suchanek had just moved to that post and says she was trying to make friends. After sending a 'friend' request to her attacker on Facebook, she agreed to come to a get-together at his apartment, which two other people attended. Once inside the apartment, the man shoved his hand down her pants in front of the two other people, she said. 'I tied to stop it. I was confused as to why he was doing so, especially so publicly,' she recalled. Suchanek said all four of the attendees went to the pool of her alleged attacker's building, where he smacked her buttocks. When they returned upstairs, he grabbed her hand and led her to his bedroom. 'As soon as he closed the door, he became aggressive towards me. Shoved me down to my knees and forced me to perform oral sex. He continued to vaginally and anally penetrate me. I was able to get myself out of the bed and out the room,' Suchanek said. Because the attack happened off-base and she is on duty but he attacker is a technician on reserve, the case has been handled by civilian law enforcement Suchanek said that she was in a state of shock and panic and did not want to engage in the actions. 'As soon as I sat down [on the couch], he tried to shove his hands down my pants again. And I told him no and he got angry. He went to the bedroom door again and grabbed me by the back of my neck and threw me at the wall,' Suchanek told DailyMail.com. 'Nobody came inside. That's when I realized that I was going to have to fight for myself again. This one time was very aggressive.' Suchanek said she was left covered in bruises and couldn't hear out of her left ear for two days after the brutal attack. After she ran outside the apartment, one of the two people at the reunion followed her and called her best friend, Anthony Hauser. Hauser also called a female superior who went to his apartment and spoke with Suchanek, convincing her to go to a clinic and get a rape kit. 'After talking with her, I decided it was be the best idea. I am so thankful she convinced me. I wouldn't have been able to stand this case otherwise,' Suchanek said. After she ran outside the apartment, one of the two people at the reunion followed her and called her best friend, Anthony Hauser (pictured). Two weeks after she was assaulted, Suchanek also lost Hauser, who she said was a pivotal support in the aftermath of her traumatic experience. He died of an overdose Two weeks after she was assaulted, Suchanek also lost Hauser, who she said was a pivotal support in the aftermath of her traumatic experience. He died of an overdose. 'He felt a lot of guilt for not being there that night. For not being able to protect me and get me out of that situation. He was really struggling with it and his divorce,' Suchanek said. 'His support to me meant more than anything in this world.' Suchanek said she initially received support from the National Guard, and spent three months receiving treatment at inpatient and outpatient facilities in Texas. However, she said that upon returning to Florida in April, she has had a setback in her recovery. Suchanek said she has not received psychological treatment in two months and had to seek medication from a civilian provider after she ran out of it and did not take it for a week. Suchanek said she has not received psychological treatment in two months and had to seek medication from a civilian provider after she ran out of it and did not take it for a week According to Suchanek, the Duval County State Attorney's Office has reached out to her seven times within the past 24 hours, after her video went viral According to Suchanek, the Duval County State Attorney's Office has reached out to her seven times within the past 24 hours, after her video went viral. Before that, she had been told that her only option to get justice was agreeing to downgrade her attacker's felony charges to a misdemeanor. 'It was never an option before I [posted the video]. Now it's an option because they are afraid. And that is one of the things i wanted to put the pressure on them to do better and to think twice before dismissing these cases,' Suchanek said. 'Every sexual assault survivor who has enough courage to report in the first place, deserves their day in trial to fight for justice despite the outcome.' Suchanek said she is ready to fight not only to obtain justice for her but for many other military and civilian assault victims who have been let down by the legal system. 'I'm not going stop until I see changes, even after my case is done. I am going to advocate for any person that needs it,' she said. A spokesman for the Florida National Guard, confirmed to Task & Purpose that Suchanek had filed the sexual assault reports. 'The 125th Fighter Wing has provided continuous assistance, using all available resources, since being informed of the assault in October 2021,' Manely said. 'We continue to work with the victim on all aspects of this case including finding a compatible transfer. In order to protect the victim, the suspect was moved to a geographically separated unit and given a 'no contact order' with the victim. We continue to monitor the progress of the suspect's civilian case.' Former MP Craig Kelly's office manager promised young female staffers career development and mentoring but instead used his 'power and control' to allegedly sexually touch them, a court has heard. Francesco Zumbo, 55, faced Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday accused by five women of 20 charges including sexual touching and indecent assault between 2014 and 2020. Zumbo has pleaded not guilty to all charges with his barrister Carolyn Davenport SC saying he tried to create a collegial atmosphere but no sexual contact ever occurred. But prosecutor Shaun Croner said Zumbo invited young women 'into a world of his own design'. 'He had the control and power and what he did was touch them deliberately in a sexualised way but also in a way that it might appear completely out of context, innocuous,' he told the court. Francesco Zumbo (pictured left, arriving at court) allegedly his 'power and control' to allegedly sexually touch young female staffers, a court heard on Wednesday The first complainant gave evidence on Wednesday that she was 22 when she was introduced to Zumbo by a friend after graduating from the University of NSW. She met up with him at a Max Brenner cafe on campus for career pointers but the conversation 'took a bit of a strange turn', she said. After asking her to speak in her mother tongue, he said something like: 'That's very sexy, if you keep talking like that I'm going to fall in love with you'. Describing her as the 'whole package with a few rough edges' to sort out, Zumbo offered her a job at Mr Kelly's Sutherland Shire electoral office on the spot. She quit after one day. It began in the middle of winter with carpooling where she noticed Zumbo kissing and hugging one of the other young workers as he greeted her. That evening Zumbo drove the same girls home after work, and she said he hugged and kissed another young colleague goodbye before he turned 'temperamental and aggressive'. Zumbo is accused of allegedly sexually touching and indecently assaulting five women between 2014 and 2020 (stock image) 'Why were you hovering, why were you watching me and (her) we were having a special moment,' she recalled Zumbo saying before she apologised. 'You came across as a Labor spy in the office today,' Zumbo also told her before driving off. The inappropriate comments continued throughout the evening, she said. At one point he parked at South Juniors in Kingsford and asked if she would sleep with anyone to stop a terrorist attack, told her to delete personal recordings from her phone, and accused her of being an ASIO spy. He then drove them to a pizza store in Kirribilli and said: 'The way you talk is really sexy'. 'No wonder all the boys want to get in your pants, maybe having a friend with benefits would solve all your problems.' 'At that moment he grabbed my thigh,' she said, adding that he gave it a solid shake. Francesco Zumbo has pleaded not guilty to all charges of sexual touching and indecent assault Zumbo was the office manager of former Hughes MP Craig Kelly (pictured) who lost his seat at the recent federal election Eventually, they ended up taking away pizza and sitting at his 'favourite spot' overlooking Sydney Harbour. 'I was cold ... I was convulsing and physically shaking and he said, 'I like to keep people in the cold it makes them fess up more'.' He then drove them to an abandoned car park at Little Bay and asked if she was 'bisexual ... or a lezzo,' and that he was worried she would break his heart. When he finally dropped her home about 10pm she went inside and broke down to her mother. She denied submissions by defence barrister Timothy Kent that she would not have got back into his car after eating pizza if she was scared, and that Zumbo touched her leg for no more than a second. The special hearing continues. A young man accused of killing an Indigenous pedestrian with his car allegedly moved her body twice after running her down near Darwin. Joshua Gary Mason, 23, allegedly called his mother, Deborah Karen Mason, 50, to help dispose of the Aboriginal woman's body. But the pair left the dead woman's dismembered leg on the Northern Territory's Stuart Highway, triggering a massive police investigation. Joshua Mason allegedly hit the woman with a car on the busy roadway in Darwin's outskirts about 8.30pm on May 30. A massive police investigation was triggered when a motorist found a leg on the side of the highway in the N (pictured police at the scene) The Aboriginal pedestrian was hit about 8.30pm on the Stuart Highway between Darwin and Alice Springs (pictured) Deborah Mason then allegedly helped collect, move and conceal the woman's body in bushland 15km south of the collision site. Her body was later found partially buried in scrub in Bees Creek on June 1 after the pair were arrested and Deborah Mason took detectives to the grave. But the dead woman wasn't in the spot Deborah Mason and her son had initially dumped it, prosecutor Tami Grealy told the NT Local Court in Darwin on Tuesday. 'She has indeed taken police to the area where they left the body only to find, perhaps to her surprise, it's not clear, but to find the body had been moved a second time, at least by the co-offender,' she said. The pair face a slew of charges, including misconduct with a corpse, destroying evidence and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Ms Grealy said the destruction of evidence charge Deborah Mason is facing stems from the mother of three's alleged attempt to clean the woman's blood from the back of a ute used to move the body using water and her son's t-shirt. Deborah Mason was granted bail on Tuesday with strict conditions. These include wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, a curfew and reporting to police three times per week. The former Woolworths worker also has to supply a $10,000 bond or have a caveat placed over her home before she can be released from custody. Her bail application previously heard Joshua Mason called his mother after the collision and she allegedly went to the scene to help him. The pair looked for the dead woman in the darkness with a member of the public who had stopped to help, but failed to find her body. Joshua Gary Mason, 23, allegedly called his mother, Deborah Karen Mason, 50, and they hid the body (pictured: police where the leg was found) The Masons left the site empty-handed before returning later in the night when they again searched and allegedly found the dead woman. The pair then put the woman's body in the back of a ute and drove into bushland where they allegedly dumped it. Police have not released details of the victim's identity or her age. A forensic pathologist who examined the partial leg determined the woman was either a teenager or an adult. A traveller driving on the four-lane highway linking Darwin to Alice Springs and Adelaide spotted the limb. Police later spotted Joshua Mason in his damaged car. Defence lawyer Peter Maley previously said Deborah and Joshua Mason would likely plead guilty to the charges. The maximum penalty for misconduct with a corpse in the NT is two years imprisonment. Destroying evidence and attempting to pervert the course of justice carry three and 15-year terms respectively. The pair are scheduled to reappear in Darwin Local Court on July 27. Joshua Mason has not applied for bail and remains in custody. Footage of a woman dragging a cat by the leash across a road as she clutches a box of fried chicken has caused outrage. The pet owner, donning headphones and wearing track pants, is captured strolling outside KFC at Brentford Square, Forest Hill, in Victoria with the reluctant grey and white feline in the rain. Those filming the incident from their car across the street can be heard laughing hysterically as the woman drags the helpless animal along the footpath before eventually crossing onto the bitumen. Social media users called the behaviour an act of abhorrent animal cruelty. The pet owner, donning headphones and wearing track pants, is captured strolling outside KFC at Brentford Square, Forest Hill in Victoria with the reluctant grey and white feline in the rain 'People in the car laughing are right up there with the b***h dragging the cat,' one person wrote. Another said: How do you sit there and laugh at that? A third called the unknown cat owner a 'putrid slob' for her treatment of the animal. The RSPCA is now investigating the video after it was brought to the organisation's attention by Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday. Anyone who has been witness to animal cruelty is urged to come forward and report the incident to the RSPCA. Social media users called the behaviour (pictured) an act of abhorrent animal cruelty The RSPCA is now investigating the video after it was brought the organisation's attention by Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday The animal welfare group said it is legal to walk a cat on a leash - and in many cases preferred - as the animals can prey upon native birds if they're allowed to roam. 'If you do decide to walk your cat on a leash, it is crucial that you attach this to a harness rather than a collar,' the RSPCA recommends. 'Cats can easily slip out of collars or may choke if they escape and become entangled.' Advertisement Emergency workers in Odessa, Texas were dishing out bottled water on Tuesday as a burst pipeline emptied the city's taps - a catastrophic situation that came amid 102 degree temperatures in a powerful heatwave. Schools, businesses and even hospitals in the city closed, with Medical Center Hospital cancelling all planned surgeries and shuttering for the day for non-emergencies. The hospital said it was installing temporary 'port-a-potties' in its wards because none of the toilets would work until the city's water system is back online, according to MyHighPlains.com. Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, said the state was providing support to Odessa, including shipments of bottled water. The massive heatwave and accompanying storms also knocked out power across swathes of Ohio on Tuesday night thanks to the grid being overloaded and storm damage, leaving at least 230,000 without power. Columbus, the state capital, had extensive outages. Andrew Ginther, the mayor, tweeted that American Electric Power was working to restore the power to 169,000 homes in the Columbus area. 'AEP is dealing with the damage from last night's storms plus high demand because of excessive heat,' he said. 'They are working to restore power to everyone. I know it's tough I'm without power at my house as well.' AEP tweeted: 'AEP Ohio customers in the Columbus area who are currently without power should prepare for the outage to potentially continue into Thursday. 'We know it's hot and understand how uncomfortable and inconvenient this is for our customers, especially in this extreme heat.' The intense heat across much of the central United States is being created by a 'heat dome' - an area of high pressure creating a lid which traps any escaping radiation and sends it back to the ground, while the sun's rays continue to penetrate through. Crews are seen at work in Odessa, Texas on Tuesday, trying to repair the burst water pipe that has left many in the city of 113,000 without water, as temperatures reached 102 degrees The burst water pipe came at a terrible moment, with a 'heat dome' above much of the central United States Volunteers are seen handing out emergency cases of water to Odessa's residents on Tuesday Odessa Fire Rescue cadet Benjamin Magallanez, right, loads a cart with a box of emergency drinking water for an Odessa resident on his bicycle as city officials distribute emergency water supplies to those in need on Tuesday Officials are working to try and provide bottled water to all of those in the Texan city without water A man can be seen handing out a crate of bottled water to an Odessa resident on Tuesday, at one of several distribution centers across the city On Monday night into Tuesday, 125 million people - a third of the population - were under heat alerts across much of the central and eastern states. Cities such as Tulsa, Memphis, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Raleigh and Charlotte were all under the heat warnings. Chicago residents on Monday fled to their basements and nearby shelters when a surprise tornado ripped through the city as it experienced 100F weather for the first time in a decade. About 44,000 people were left without power after a tornado hit during Monday's afternoon rush hour, bringing 80 mph winds and powerful storms throughout the area that knocked the lights out for residents. The National Weather Service forecast that Wednesday will see 'dangerously hot and humid conditions' in parts of Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, as the heat dome moved north. In some of the hottest areas, thunderstorm warnings on Tuesday night replaced heat warnings. The NWS warned those living in the central Plains and Upper Midwest to ready themselves for large hail and damaging gusts of wind. Odessa, which sits 350 miles west of Dallas, was entirely crippled after the city's water supply cut off. 'PUBLIC NOTICE !!!' the city's fire and rescue wrote on Facebook on Tuesday morning. Javier Joven, the mayor of Odessa, spoke to local media amid the ongoing water shut down The burst pipeline was creating havoc in Odessa on Tuesday, as the temperatures soared Ector County resident Jose Hernandez fills up jugs of water from a fire hydrant that was opened to reduce pressure on the system on Tuesday The teams can be seen at work on Tuesday, trying to repair the burst pipe. Those who did have tap water were being told to boil it Crews are seen overhead in Odessa working to stem the leak City of Odessa Water Distribution employee Michael Pena, right, puts on a pair of waders as he prepares to assist in the repair of a ruptured water main A sign is displayed in the window of the Permian Basin Hamburger Company notifying customers that the restaurant is closed due to a water shortage 'The City of Odessa currently has no water that also includes all Fire Stations. 'Please Note: No bottle water is being distributed out of the fire stations. Stay tuned for future updates of distribution of bottle water locations.' Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, said the state was providing support to Odessa. Those in the city of 113,000 who did have water in their homes were told to boil it, to kill any bacteria. Tom Kerr, Odessa's director of public works and utilities, said at 4pm local time that the burst pipeline was being repaired, but he did not give a timeline for the water being back on. The central cities were sweltering on Monday and into Tuesday, with record highs on Monday in Columbia, South Carolina, of 103F - breaking their old June 13 record of 102, set in 1958. Temperatures will be above 100 degrees in Odessa and other parts of Texas and Arizona on Wednesday by midday, with Georgia and the Carolinas also seeing scorching temperatures More than 100 million Americans are under heat warnings. Pictured: Zach Ward of South Bend, Indiana, wipes sweat off his face using his shirt while building a fence. He said he is drinking a gallon of water to stay hydrated In Chicago, parents and kids are cooling off the Crown Fountain children's park in Michigan Avenue, pictured Emese Kovacs Taylor is pictured playing with her 5-year-old daughter, Aliz, in the park on Tuesday The heat advisory in Chicago is expected to last until Wednesday night as the city temperatures hit 100F The mercury in North Platte, Nebraska, hit 108F, breaking the record set in 1952; St Louis's record of 98 degrees from the same year was also broken on Monday, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees. Charlotte, North Carolina, hit 98 degrees and Nashville, Tennessee, was at 97F - tying the previous record set in 2016. 'To have an excessive heat warning this early in the year is kind of unusual,' Mike Johnson, a meteorologist with the Memphis NWS, told CNN. 'We issue excessive heat warnings maybe once or twice a year. 'It's pretty rare because it requires a heat index of 110 degrees.' Travellers flying with Qantas will soon be allowed to go without face masks on some international flights. As of Saturday masks will no longer be mandated in airport terminals under recommendations by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC). While masks are still required on flights, Qantas is hoping to go one step further and relax the rules around face coverings altogether. This would see travellers able to go mask-free on flights to foreign destinations where masks aren't required. 'Global studies show the risk of transmission inside aircraft cabins is very low due to the air being refreshed every few minutes, in addition to forward facing seats and HEPA filters which capture 99 per cent of airborne particles,' a spokesperson said. 'The Qantas Group intends to soon update our on-board mask policy for international flights to align with the rules at the destination. 'For some outbound international flights where masks are not required at the destination, such as flights to the US, UK and Europe, this means masks will no longer be mandatory on board.' Travellers flying with Qantas may no longer have to wear masks on international flights The changes may mean passengers would have to wear masks for certain legs of their flights. 'We'll continue to make masks available on board all our flights and appreciate that some customers may wish to continue wearing them for the duration of their journey regardless of the international rules that apply,' Qantas added. Qantas passengers travelling overseas must still show proof of vaccination. The AHPCC said it will issue further advice on mask mandates on flights in the future. Health minister Mark Butler and infrastructure minister Catherine King said they 'anticipate the travelling public will notice the change to masks at airports in the days following Friday' as states and territories make changes to their public health orders. Mask wearing in Australia's airports will no longer be compulsory from Friday. Pictured are are passengers checking in at Melbourne Airport on Friday, June 10, 2022 'This changed advice comes after the AHPPC has reviewed the current Covid-19 situation in Australia and considers it no longer proportionate to mandate mask wearing in the terminals,' the ministers said in a joint statement. They said AHPPC had 'noted all states and territories have relaxed mask mandates in most community settings'. Australians are recommended by AHPPC to continue to wear masks as a key measure to help minimise the spread of Covid and influenza. 'Masks help us protect the most vulnerable in our community who are unable to get vaccinated and people who have a higher risk of developing severe illness,' the ministers said. The European Union stopped enforcing mask wearing on flights in May, though application of the rule change was down to individual member states. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it hoped ditching masks would mark 'a big step forward in the normalisation of air travel'. The step was taken after considering vaccination levels and naturally acquired immunity, as well as the lifting of restrictions in a growing number of European countries. EASA executive director Patrick Ky cautioned that passengers should still behave responsibly. 'A passenger who is coughing and sneezing should strongly consider wearing a face mask, for the reassurance of those seated nearby,' he said. Airlines welcomed the changes and called for a consistent approach to mask mandates. 'We believe that mask requirements on board aircraft should end when masks are no longer mandated in other parts of daily life, for example theatres, offices or on public transport,' said Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association. Australia's loosening of rules will be welcomed by Australian airport operators who have been calling for the mandate's removal. The entire national electricity market has been suspended for the first time ever in a bid to avoid mass blackouts after prices soared during freezing winter weather. The Australian Energy Market Operator has temporarily suspended the spot market in NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. The operator blamed planned and unexpected coal power station outages, scheduled transmission outages, the early onset of winter and periods of low wind and solar output for the crisis. Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean on Wednesday evening asked that residents in NSW reduce their electricity usage from 5:30pm to 8:00pm. The national electricity market has been suspended for the first time ever. Pictured: Bondi residents wrapped up warm on a cold morning Of the renewable sources, solar makes up about 37 per cent and wind 36 per cent. Pictured: A Wind farm in Tasmania 'If there is an opportunity for people to reduce their energy usage, so perhaps not using the dishwasher until you go to bed, that would help,' Mr Kean said. 'This is the result of a number of our coal-fired power stations not working when we need them to do so. 'The number of the generators that were expected to be working tonight have not come on. This has changed the amount of supply that's going into the system.' The minister blamed the state's 'ageing infrastructure' for the unfolding energy crisis that has seen electricity trading suspended along the east coast for an entire day. Mr Kean said the suspension proved why NSW needed to modernise its electricity system but said for now the focus would be on fixing the coal-fired stations. 'We are focused on making sure we get through tonight and the next couple of days,' he said, adding he would continue to work closely with the AEMO. Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean on Wednesday evening asked that residents in NSW reduce their electricity usage from 5:30pm to 8:00pm About 60 per cent of Australia's electricity comes from coal while 32 per cent comes from renewable sources. Of the renewables, solar makes up about 37 per cent and wind 36 per cent, meaning the nation can be left short of power when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow as much as usual. The suspension means the operator will take control of directing supplies to the east coast power grid from the energy generators. The generators are expected to make themselves available and will be paid a set price. It is the first time the whole market has been suspended since creation in 1998. The market in South Australia was suspended in 2016 after a state-wide blackout. In a press conference in Adelaide on Tuesday afternoon, AEMO CEO Daniel Westerman said the drastic step was needed because it had become 'impossible to operate the spot market'. Why did AEMO suspend the market? A large number of generation units out of action for planned maintenance - a typical situation in the shoulder seasons. Planned transmission outages. Periods of low wind and solar output. Around 3000 MW of coal fired generation out of action through unplanned events. An early onset of winter - increasing demand for both electricity and gas. Advertisement He warned conditions would 'remain tight' and urged Australians, particularly in NSW, to conserve power. 'Today, AEMO has suspended the national electricity market. This decision was made because it was impossible to operate the system under current conditions while ensuring reliable, secure supply of electricity to Australian homes and businesses,' he said. 'By suspending the market, we are creating a simple process where AEMO has true visibility of which generators are available and when in advance. 'That visibility will help us to manage the system in real-time as well as to understand the balance of supply and demand in the period ahead. 'Despite this, conditions remain tight in the coming days, in particular in New South Wales where we would urge consumers to conserve energy where it is safe to do so.' On Monday night parts of Sydney's northern beaches were briefly plunged into a blackout while Queenslanders narrowly avoided the same fate. On Tuesday AEMO had to direct five gigawatts of generation through direct intervention to prevent blackouts after generators stopped supplying power because a price cap meant they would have lost money. The suspension of the market is temporary and will be reviewed daily. Western Australia and the Northern Territory are not part of the national electricity market (NEM). The ACT is included in NSW for the purposes of the NEM. Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said blackouts would probably be prevented. 'AEMO advises me that that will likely continue to be the case that we will be able to avoid any load shedding events or any blackouts,' he told reporters in Gladstone. 'Of course, that is subject to any unexpected outages in the system... which is under pressure.' Mr Bowen said he supports any action AEMO chooses to take. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged energy companies to meet their responsibilities to customers. 'If they're not doing the right thing, the regulator will take appropriate action,' he said. The chair of the Australian Energy Regulator Clare Savage said talks were taking place on Wednesday to ensure there was enough power supply. A lack of solar power has been blamed for the energy shortfall. Pictured: A house with Solar Power in Oran Park in Sydney Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he was pleased blackouts had been avoided so far and was confident they could be prevented Despite shortages in some of the market, Ms Savage said generators were doing everything they could to keep the power running. 'Supply is very tight right now, but we do know there is more generation available that is being bid into the market,' she told the Seven Network. 'The Australian Energy Market Operator is working around the clock with generators to make sure we have enough supply to keep the lights on.' Ms Savage said she wrote to every generator in the east coast on Tuesday to make sure they understood their responsibilities. 'We saw the situation evolve over the weekend where there was a price cap put into the wholesale market and a number of generators who said they were available suddenly withdrew their capacity,' she said. It was impossible to operate the system under current conditions AEMO CEO Daniel Westerman 'We wanted to be quick off the mark to communicate with these generators to put them on notice and make sure they understand their obligations.' South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the country's energy market structure was broken. He said his state was spending $600million on a hydrogen power plant to stabilise energy supply. 'We are in a first-world country that is energy rich, and the fact we've now got Australians being told to turn porch lights off to keep the system going, that is somewhat of an embarrassment,' he told ABC Radio. 'We are witnessing market failure on a grand scale.' Australian Energy Council chief executive Sarah McNamara said the current crisis in the sector was unprecedented. 'It's very challenging for generators to be expected to bring supply online,' she told ABC Radio. 'It's costing them $400/MWh. If they're only going to get paid $300/MWh, that's running at a deep and significant loss.' The new Labor government is urging coal power plants to increase output as soon as possible. At least 25 per cent of coal power is offline. European nations have also ordered increased coal production as a temporary measure to wean themselves off Russian gas following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Germany has drafted laws to prevent coal power stations destined for the scrapheap from being axed, ordering them to be kept on standby instead. Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and the Czech Republic also plan to burn more coal and the UK is drilling for more gas in the North Sea. China has taken another big step towards building a military base on the Solomon Islands, a country less than 2000km from Australia's coast. State-run media in China announced on Wednesday that the nation had expanded military operations in the region. It comes amid increasingly hostile tensions between China and the West, with the Communist nation asserting 'sovereignty' and 'jurisdiction' over the international waters of the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan hit back saying its domestic cruise missile could hit Beijing and said it should start preparing for an inevitable conflict. The Asian superpower has also laid claim to the South China Sea where the strategic Paracel and Spratly Islands are located, with the defence minister saying this week China is prepared to 'fight at all costs' for the territory. Australian Policy Institute senior analyst Malcolm Davis warned the expansion to the Solomon Islands was China's next step in asserting its presence in the Pacific. Under new trial guidelines from Chinese President Xi Jinping, effective from Wednesday, 'armed forces operations' are to be expanded in a non-warfare capacity. China claimed the new guidelines were directed at peacekeeping, disaster relief and humanitarian efforts. The China-Solomon Islands security pact could see Chinese military ships dock on Australia's doorstep (pictured: The guided-missile frigate Nantong of the escort taskforce leaves a military port in Zhoushan, China in May) But Mr Davis said the announcement would allow for an increased military presence outside of Chinese waters under the guise of providing aid to other countries. 'China is laying the groundwork for a military base in the Solomon Islands... something it could establish quite quickly,' Mr Davis told 9News. The Solomon Islands and China recently signed a security pact that would see troops from the communist superpower deployed in the Pacific nation in a peacekeeping role. The agreement also included provisions that Chinese ships can dock and refuel in the Solomon Islands and that China could take an active role in regional instabilities and securing shipping routes. Critics have claimed a military base could be secretly built piece by piece - first with troops, then small ships, larger ships, and infrastructure - and that this was China's underlying intention. Foreign Minister Penny Wong will visit the Solomon Islands on Friday, her third Pacific trip since being sworn in last month. She previously called the Solomon Islands-China security pact the Australian government's 'biggest foreign policy failure since WWII'. Senator Wong said her trip to New Zealand and the Solomons will reinforce Australia's 'close friendships and cooperation in our region'. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, right, poses for a photo with Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa in Apia, Samoa on June 2. Ms Wong has also met with Cook Islands leaders The foreign minister will meet with her New Zealand counterpart Nanaia Mahuta, where regional security will be discussed alongside the country's First Nations foreign policy experience. 'Our countries are tied together by the deepest bonds of friendship, shared values, history and sacrifice,' Senator Wong said. 'As part of our discussions, we will consider ways we can work together, to make the most of the new energy and resources the Australian government is bringing to the Pacific.' Senator Wong will then meet with Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and a number of his cabinet ministers on Friday. 'We are committed to deepening our cooperation with Solomon Islands, as we work together to face shared challenges and achieve our shared goals, including on climate change,' she said. 'I look forward to discussing the ways we can continue to make progress on pandemic recovery, economic development and labour mobility priorities, and addressing our shared security interests.' The regional agreement has raised concerns among Australia and its allies, which argues regional security should remain in the remit of the 'Pacific family'. The trip also comes ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum in mid-July, when the regional security agreement is due to be discussed, with nations like Fiji pushing for regional consensus. China's security agreement with the Solomon Islands could see military bases built by Beijing within 2,000km of Australia New Zealand is working towards a maritime security plan with the Solomons following its security agreement with China. New Zealand Defence Minister Peeni Henare met with Solomon Islands National Security Minister Anthony Veke at the Shangri La security dialogue held in Singapore over the weekend. Indo-Pacific security remained a key focus on the dialogue with United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin addressing the conference about US Indo-Pacific defence policy, while China's Minister of National Defence Wei Fenghe spoke about Beijing's vision for the Asia-Pacific. Mr Henare told media outlet Newsroom that maritime security was the top priority for the Solomons delegation. 'That's what was the number one theme in our conversation, so I said, 'Okay, how do we help?', and that was the creation of the work plan I just described,' Mr Henare is quoted as saying. 'We went in making sure that they (China) knew our stance on making the Pacific safe, secure, and supporting the independence of those sovereign nations in the Pacific and I made that point very clear on a number of occasions.' Oh Se-hoon Lee Chang-yang Bob Sternfels The Korea Times will host a forum, titled "Policy Suggestions to Yoon Government," at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) building in Seoul, June 21. The forum will discuss the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's economic vision and offer suggestions to help businesses enjoy sustainable growth. The event has been jointly planned with global consulting firm McKinsey&Company in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang will give an opening speech on the Korean government's policies, followed by a keynote speech by McKinsey Global Managing Partner Bob Sternfels. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will deliver a congratulatory speech. Two special lectures will be provided by two McKinsey partners: Choi Seung-hyuk on corporate sustainability and ESG values, and Pooya Nikooyeh on digital transformation. The panel discussion on "What Korea needs to become a global business hub" will be conducted and moderated by McKinsey partner Park Joong-ho. Both Korean and English interpretation services will be available. Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes says Australia has itself to blame for the current energy crisis. 'At some point we have to admit we have made this problem ourselves,' he told a business summit on Wednesday. 'We got into this with 10-plus years of inaction.' He said the cause is simple - not enough renewable energy in the grid, broken generators, and coal and gas are very expensive. Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes (pictured at the ESG Summit on Wednesday) claimed Australia created the energy crisis issue due to an inefficient amount of renewable energy, using broken generators and relying on expensive coal and gas The disruptive investor in Australia's biggest energy company AGL earlier this year thwarted the company's planned demerger, saying it was bad for shareholders, customers and staff, and ousted the leadership team. Mr Cannon-Brookes wants to accelerate the closure of coal-fired power plants and, despite the failed buyout of AGL, is pushing ahead as the biggest shareholder in Australia's biggest emitter. 'It's horribly shameful and we're going to fix it,' Mr Cannon-Brookes said. 'We need to rebuild the board with a much more ambitious, forward-thinking, progressive board, for shareholders, for the environment and for workers,' he said. But the co-founder of Atlassian was coy about whether he would become a director. He says he is putting forward strong candidates, but warned 'this is not your standard ASX board job' eating sandwiches and drinking coffee in the board room on the top floor. 'This is the largest decarbonisation project in the world,' Mr Cannon-Brookes said. A clear closure plan for AGL's coal-fired power plants could allow other projects to attract capital and become viable. 'Somewhere in the 2030 to 2035 range is the likely date,' he said. He said large customers had already told the generator they want 100 per cent renewable energy when their contracts come up in 2028 and 2029. The Atlassian co-founder wants to accelerate the closure of coal-fired power plants and is pushing ahead as the biggest shareholder at AGL. (Pictured: Callide coal fired power station in Queensland) Mr Cannon-Brookes was coy when asked if he would become a director for AGL. However, he said at the summit that he would be putting forward strong candidates A partner in a separate giant solar project in the north that will connect to Asia, he said Australia also has an opportunity to create the country's largest export industry with renewable energy. Also speaking at the AFR ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) summit, investment banker Catherine McCormack said a big pillar of the campaign to buy out AGL was the opportunity to support the energy transition. She said companies had moved from having an 'exit strategy' to being part of decarbonising economies. But there's a real lack of policy from government on transition, she said. 'It's about bringing stakeholders together to at least try to put a policy framework in place.' Mr Cannon-Brookes rejected more gas extraction and new gas-fired power plants as a solution to the energy crisis. There is enough existing gas generation to support a grid that is 85 per cent powered by renewables, he said. He also ridiculed nuclear energy on the grounds it's an expensive source of energy that takes decades to build, compared to solar, wind and battery storage. 'Especially in this country, it makes no sense, absolutely illogical,' he said. The tech entrepreneur predicted a dire future for surging power bills earlier this month as electricity companies cautioned their customers of rising costs Mr Cannon-Brookes forecast a dire future for rising power bills earlier this month as electricity companies cautioned customers of imminent rising costs. 'I estimate, unfortunately, that your power prices are going to go up quite significantly this year,' he said to 7News. As he did at the summit, the Atlassian co-CEO placed the blame on the cost of coal and gas, which Australia heavily relies on. 'For two fundamental input reasons: the cost of coal and gas has gone up, and 65 per cent to 70 per cent of our grid is generated by coal and gas,' he said. Mr Cannon-Brookes referred his second reason to the 'unreliable generators' being operated by companies that have aged and gone 'well beyond their useful life'. He pointed out that he doesn't 'blame' those using the machines but said as long as companies rely on aged generators they will gradually become 'more unreliable'. 'If it was all coal-generated, your bill would be going up even more,' he added. Jetstar has announced an extraordinary mid-year sale with flights as low as $29 to help holiday-hungry Aussies escape the winter gloom. The budget airline will release more than 500,000 low fares over 62 domestic and 20 international routes, that can be snapped up from midnight on Wednesday. Highlights include flights from Darwin to popular holiday destination Bali for just over $100, while routes from Adelaide to Melbourne will start from just $29. The mid-year bonanza comes as Aussies shiver through the first two weeks of winter, with many looking to escape the cold for some much-needed sunshine. Jetstar has announced an extraordinary mid-year sale with flights as low as $29 to help holiday-hungry Aussies escape the winter gloom (pictured, Perth International Airport) The budget airline will release more than 500,000 low fares over 62 domestic and 20 international routes, that can be snapped up from midnight on Wednesday Travel dates vary per route and include from late July to late September, early October to early December and early January to late March. Aussies looking to explore more of their own backyard can score domestic flights from the Gold Coast to Canberra for $59 and Melbourne to Western Australia's picturesque Margaret River for under $100. Those looking to go international can pick up flights from $124 from Darwin to Denpasar, Indonesia and $159 flights from the Gold Coast to New Zealand. Jetstar will also offer flights from Perth to Bali for just $135, Sydney to Fiji for just $169 and Sydney to Phuket from $175. The mid-year sale will end at 11:59pm on June 21, or until flights are sold out. Highlights include flights from Darwin to popular holiday destination Bali (pictured) for just over $100, while routes from Adelaide to Melbourne will start from just $29 The announcement comes just one day after Virgin Australia announced a new direct route from the Gold Coast to Bali will launch in March 2023. The route came in response to 'massive demand and increased growth' in South East Queensland with the carrier the first to connect the two destinations. Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the airline was seeing increased travel demand from the Gold Coast, with up to 180 domestic flights leaving each week. 'In May alone our Gold Coast bookings were up 55 per cent compared to 2019, with bookings on our existing Bali flights up 48 per cent for the same period and growing every week,' Ms Hrdlicka said in a statement. The mid-year bonanza comes as Aussies shiver through the first two weeks of winter, with many looking to escape the cold for sunshine (pictured, a woman soaks up the sights in Fiji) Mike Dwyer from Main Beach Travel on the Gold Coast told Daily Mail Australia he thinks the flights out of the Coolangatta airport will be welcomed. 'One of the challenges for Gold Coast people is driving to Brisbane airport, you never know when its going to take an hour, or three hours,' Mr Dwyer said. 'Bali is really popular with broad demographics, young people, families, people looking for health resorts in the hills, spas - it's a real mixed bag.' Flights can be booked from March 29 onwards, with more than 2,200 seats available each week and some going for a low $399 return. A taxpayer-funded carbon scheme has turned out to be a waste of money that does nothing to help the climate, and it's foisting fridges on people with no use for them. The Victorian government's energy upgrades program gives approved installers a carbon credit for installing energy efficient appliances in businesses and homes. The idea is the new appliances help achieve a net zero target by preventing carbon from being released, but the value of the credits is so high, companies can buy fridges in bulk, give them away free and still make a tidy profit. Installers sell the credits they've earned onto electricity retailers who are liable for huge fines if they don't buy enough carbon credits to lower emissions. As the government plans to quickly fix the loophole, some in the industry say those who tried to do the right thing will be unfairly affected. A taxpayer-funded carbon scheme has proven to be a waste of money that does nothing to help the climate, and it's foisting fridges on people with no use for them. Pictured is a stock image of a man inspecting fridges Since the loophole was discovered, Victorian businesses and householders have been flooded with offers of free fridges, the Herald Sun reported, and the state government is desperately seeking to end the error by halving the credits available. The government found some businesses got free fridges despite having no food or drink for sale, and others got fridges they had no use or space for. The scheme awarded credits that did nothing to reduce carbon emissions - earlier this year about half Victoria's renewable energy certificates were for fridges. The loophole is understood to only relate to fridges, with no other appliances covered by the Victorian Energy Upgrade (VEU) program affected. No other appliances covered by the Victorian Energy Upgrade program are thought to be affected by the bungle. With the flaw in the regulation discovered and dealt with, some in the industry say the change will affect those who tried who tried to do the right thing. One man, who wished to remain anonymous, said installers should not be punished because the Victorian government made a mistake. 'There are plenty of small companies who have been playing by the rules and upgrading from old energy-draining appliances,' he said. New fridge installers sell the carbon credits they've earned onto electricity retailers who are liable for huge fines if they don't buy enough credits to lower emissions. Pictured are workers on a high tension electricity pylon in suburban Sydney Some businesses had already ordered fridges from abroad that won't arrive until after the rules may have been changed. 'For some, that's $100,000 they will have spent which they will now lose money on and which will put them under severe financial stress,' he said. The man added that it would have been better for the government to look at 'stronger compliance to take on the installers who did the wrong thing'. The Victorian government found some businesses got free fridges despite having no food or drink for sale, and others got fridges they had no use or space for. Pictured are fridges in a warehouse A state government spokeswoman said the VEU program 'helped two million Victorian households cut their energy bills and created local jobs while we aim to halve emissions by 2030'. She said the government is constantly reviewing the program to ensure it's 'delivering good value for Victorians and delivering the intended emission reductions'. In the 2020-21 financial year, more than 284,000 households and 14,900 businesses got upgrades through the program. An alleged cocaine kingpin who was one of Britain's most-wanted men has been captured in Bulgaria. Benjamin Macann, 32, was arrested at a hotel in the city of Plovdiv on Monday while carrying a fake passport and a genuine passport in someone else's name. Macann, originally from Norfolk, is wanted by local police accused of conspiracy to supply multiple kilograms of cocaine in 2020 using encrypted mobile handsets. Benjamin Macann, 32, is wanted by police in his home country of Norfolk for conspiracy to supply several kilograms of cocaine using encrypted mobile handsets The Briton was thought to be hiding out in Spain and had connections to Barcelona but was traced to Bulgaria after a joint operation by the UK's National Crime Agency, Bulgarian police and the Spanish Guardia Civil. He is now in custody in Bulgaria where he is awaiting extradition back to the UK following the tip-off from an elite Spanish anti-fugitive unit which led to his arrest. The maximum sentence for supplying Class A drugs is lifetime imprisonment. Macann was identified as one of Britain's most-wanted on a list of names published by Crimestoppers in January. Well-placed Spanish sources revealed today he had been holed up in southern Spain when the appeal was launched and fled a month later. Five of the 12 people - all men - named on the list have since been arrested. The officers that discovered Macann was in Bulgaria were the same involved in the arrest in February of fraudster Sarah Panitzke in a small Catalan village where she had spent most of her nine years on the run. They also captured Irish fugitive gang boss Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch last August near his hideaway in the Costa del Sol resort of Fuengirola. University graduate Panitzke was flown back to the UK late last week to start an eight-year prison sentence over a multimillion-pound VAT fraud. A Spanish police insider said: 'After Macann was named in the appeal in January information started to come in and he was pinpointed to a flat in Marbella and then another property in another municipality in Malaga province. 'The problem was that he managed to stay one step ahead of the police and had disappeared by the time the information came in and officers were dispatched to check it out. Macann was though to be hiding out in Barcelona but was tracked to the city of Plovdiv, southern Bulgaria, where he was arrested on Monday 'It was then discovered he had escaped the country with a false passport, in the month of February, to an unknown destination. 'With a lot of hard work it was established he was in Bulgaria and that information was passed on to police there so they could work on it.' Steve Reynolds, NCA regional manager in Spain, said: 'Benjamin Macann's arrest was made possible after some great work by our international liaison officers, the Guardia Civil fugitives team, Bulgarian Police and our counterparts in Bulgaria's international cooperation directorate to whom we are very grateful. 'Macann is the fifth fugitive to be arrested from the Most Wanted list. We won't stop until the remainder are caught.' Detective Sergeant Eddie Hammond of the Norfolk and Suffolk Serious Organised Crime Unit said: 'We continue to work with partners and law enforcement agencies around the world to locate our most wanted. 'We would like to thank them all for their continued determination and meticulous hard work as they continue to disrupt criminal networks around the world, meaning nowhere is safe to hide.' Lord Ashcroft, founder and chair of the charity Crimestoppers, said: 'Our charity is here to support people to speak up anonymously when they know about crime and that includes passing on the whereabouts of fugitives who are wanted by law enforcement both here and abroad. 'It is incredibly encouraging to learn that another fugitive has been caught, proving the success of our joint Most Wanted campaign with the NCA. 'I urge anyone else who has information on one of the individuals named on our list to call our charity anonymously or contact us via our website crimestoppers-uk.org. 'Your information could make all the difference.' NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has called for more heavy weapons to be delivered to Ukraine ahead of a meeting with members today. Earlier this week, Volodymyr Zelensky's top adviser told the West to dramatically step up deliveries, demanding 1,000 howitzers, 300 rocket artillery systems, 500 tanks, 2,000 armoured vehicles and 1,000 drones 'to end the war'. Stoltenberg said at The Hague: 'Ukraine should have more heavy weapons. And Nato allies and partners have provided heavy weapons for a long time, but they are also stepping up.' NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has called for more heavy weapons to be delivered to Ukraine ahead of a meeting with members today The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System, operated by the Finnish Defence Forces, is pictured during NATO exercises. Zelensky's adviser said 300 multiple-launch rocket systems are required Ukrainian servicemen ride BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk He added the matter will be addressed on Wednesday in Brussels at the NATO headquarters of the contact group for support to Ukraine, saying: '(Ukrainians) need to be prepped for the long haul, as there is no way to predict how and when this war will end.' The general secretary added that Ukrainian forces 'absolutely depend on that to be able to stand up against the brutal Russian invasion'. Ukraine claims it has received just 10 per cent of the weapons promised by its Western allies. Deputy defence minister Anna Maylar said: 'No matter how hard Ukraine tries, no matter how professional our army is, without the help of Western partners we will not be able to win this war.' She called for a 'clear timeframe' for deliveries because every delay risks further losses to Russia. The Leopard 2 tank, which Spain has considered sending to Ukraine, is seen during NATO military exercises in Lithuania last month Ukraine's 'shopping list' - 1,000 howitzers, chambered in 155mm NATO-standard shells - 300 multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) - 500 tanks - 2,000 armoured vehicles - 1,000 drones Advertisement She added: 'We can't wait very long, because the situation is very complicated.' Zelensky meanwhile told reporters that he regretted what he called 'the restrained behaviour of some leaders' which, he said, had 'slowed down arms supplies very much'. He said: 'If there's no speeding-up of weapons deliveries... people will continue dying. If we are given weapons, we'll move forward.' Kyiv's forces face an increasingly desperate situation in Severodonetsk, with Ukrainian authorities estimating the Russians now control up to 80 percent of the city as they seek to encircle it. Zelensky advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said Monday that Kyiv needs 1,000 howitzers, 300 rocket artillery systems, 500 tanks, 2,000 armoured vehicles and 1,000 drones. The eye-watering shopping list amounts to an army's-worth of Western equipment and goes well beyond both what has been supplied so far and what Ukraine itself has been requesting. Put in context, 500 new tanks would be more than the UK and Germany have in active service combined, while 1,000 howitzers and 300 rocket launchers is more than the US currently has in active service. The US has supplied a little over 100 howtizers to Ukraine so far while the US and UK combined are thought to have sent seven rocket systems. Ukraine has asked its Western allies to supply an additional 1,000 artillery guns in order to put them on a level footing with Russian forces in the Donbas (pictured, a US M777 howitzer) Ukraine also wants another 500 tanks which it says are needed to 'win' against Russia (pictured, the German Leopard 2 tank which Spain was considering sending to Kyiv) Zelensky's adviser said 300 multiple-launch rocket systems are also required, with the US and UK having sent just seven so far (pictured, M270 MLRS) Berlin has committed to supplying weapons to Kyiv - including cutting edge anti-air systems and howitzers - but they have still not arrived in the country. Chancellor Scholz has also blocked or delayed supplies of other equipment, such as Marder armoured vehicles which manufacturer Rheinmetall has offered to donate, and German-made Leopard 2 tanks which Spain offered last week. Joe Biden has not placed hard limits on what the US is willing to give, only saying his objective is to achieve 'a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression.' Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte added: 'In terms of weaponry, we stand united here that it is crucial for Russia to lose the war. 'And as we cannot have a direct confrontation between NATO troops and Russia, what we need to do is make sure that Ukraine can fight that war, that it has access to all the necessary weaponry.' Asked about Sweden and Finland's applications to join the alliance, Stoltenberg said he was seeking 'a united way forward' to resolve opposition from Turkey, which has been angered by what it deems as Swedish support of Kurdish militants. A British woman raped while on holiday in Crete has lashed out at Greek police after they charged her father with the crime. The 33-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, accused cops of allowing her rapist to 'roam free' while wrongly charging her 62-year-old dad with the attack. Police say the elder man made lewd gestures towards his daughter in a bar where they were both drinking last week, hit her in the face, then dragged her to a deserted beach and raped her. He was arrested on Saturday, and appeared in court yesterday. But she has now exclusively told MailOnline that her father was actually back in their hotel at the time of the attack, and that she is '100%' convinced CCTV evidence and DNA samples collected from the pair will clear him. A 62-year-old British man has been arrested on the Greek island of Crete accused of raping his own 33-year-old daughter on an abandoned beach (file image) She said: 'I can tell you 100% that he did not rape me. I live with my dad in the UK, I was on holiday with him in Greece and he's the best dad in the world. 'There is no way he would do something so disgusting. I've told the Greek police this, but they are just ignoring me. 'This is an incredibly stressful, traumatic situation but there is hope for us. 'We've been told by the judge that if my dad's DNA test clears him, then he will be free to go.' The woman went to police on Thursday last week to report that she had been raped. She admitted being drunk at the time, and police say she cannot remember anything about her attacker save that he was wearing all-white clothes. Cops are said to have gathered CCTV evidence that shows the woman's father - wearing all white - beating and then sexually attacking her. But she says bungling officers have got it wrong - insisting she told them her father, and not the attacker, was wearing all-white. She adds that, when all the CCTV evidence is finally gathered, 'it will show he was back in the hotel when I was attacked. 'I have given police a description of the attacker, but they haven't done anything about finding him,' she added. 'As far as they are concerned, my dad is guilty and it's up to him to prove his innocence. But I know that the DNA results will clear him. 'I can't wait for them to come because I just want to get back to the UK as quickly as possible.' The man appeared in court in Crete's capital of Heraklion on Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence. The attack happened last week in the resort town of Malia, with the man appearing in court in the island capital of Heraklion today He shared a hug with his daughter before telling the judge: 'I could never rape my own daughter. No one could do such a thing. I am not guilty.' The father was remanded in custody, with his trial now set to take place within the next 18 months according to Greek law. His daughter has said that she will remain on the island of Crete until the case is sorted out. She added: 'I'm only going to go home with him. My mind is all over the place at the moment and I can't even think straight. 'But once this is all settled, I will tell my story about how we've been treated by the Greek authorities. It's shameful what they've done to my father while allowing the man who raped me to roam free.' His daughter told MailOnline after the hearing: 'The Greek police have got this horribly wrong. 'I told them that my father was wearing white clothes, not my attacker. But they misunderstood and thought it was my attacker who had white clothes on. 'That's just one example of what a mess they've made of the investigation.' After reporting the attack to the police, medical examiners told local newspaper Neakriti that the woman was 'covered' in injures that were consistent with stones and branches found on the beach. They added that she also had injuries consistent with rape, and that DNA samples have been collected. In her complaint to police, the woman claimed that an unknown man stopped and raped her in the early hours of last Thursday morning in a narrow street close to a bar where she had been drinking with her father earlier. Advertisement The first deportation flight of migrants to Rwanda which had been due to take off on Tuesday was cancelled at the last-minute following a major intervention from the European Court of Human Rights. All migrants were removed from the plane at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire after the court granted an urgent interim measure in regards to an Iraqi national, and was considering a number of further requests. Home Secretary Priti Patel described the European Court of Human Rights intervention as 'very surprising', adding that 'many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next'. As Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted the Government would not be deterred from its policy, here are some of the key questions surrounding the European court and how it relates to the UK and this case: Why does a European court have jurisdiction in the UK after Brexit? The European Court of Human Rights is an international court set up in 1959 to rule on individual or state applications alleging violations of the civil and political rights in the European Convention on Human Rights. While Britain officially left the European Union on January 1, 2021, it did not leave the European Convention on Human Rights. That means judgements by the European Court of Human Rights are still binding on Britain, because it is one of the 46 Council of Europe member states that have ratified the Convention. While Brexit stopped European Union law superseding UK law, including on areas such as agriculture, it did not affect the standing of the European Convention on Human Rights in Britain. The Human Rights Act of 1998 - when Tony Blair's New Labour government was in power - enshrined the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, allowing the rights guaranteed by the Convention to be enforced in UK courts. The Government has previously vowed to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a new Bill of Rights scrapping the supremacy of the European Court, after a pledge to reform human rights laws was included in the Tory manifesto in 2019. So why did the European Court of Human Rights intervene in the Rwanda flight? Left-wing lawyers appealed through the UK court system in the case of an Iraqi asylum seeker, referred to as KN, who was due to be on the first flight to Rwanda last night. They appealed on the grounds of whether Britain's policy is in accordance with the Human Rights Act, whether the Home Secretary has the right to carry out the removals, the rationality of her claim that Rwanda is generally a 'safe third country' and whether there is enough malaria prevention in the country. Their central argument was that the flights should not take place before a judicial review into the legality of the Rwanda policy has been completed. UK judges rejected these appeals, accepting government assurances that migrants will be brought back to the UK if their deportation is found unlawful. Having exhausted High Court and Supreme Court routes in the UK to prevent KN being put on the flight, the man's lawyers went to the European Court of Human Rights, which they could do because Britain is still a member of this despite Brexit. The European Court of Human Rights then issued an interim measure in a last-ditch intervention, which said KN should not be sent to Rwanda until a full decision on the legality of the Government's policy has been reached in the domestic courts. The court also said it was effectively barring KN from being sent to Rwanda under its rules which apply when there is an 'imminent risk of irreparable harm'. The appeals are understood to have been considered by an out-of-hours judge on papers, overruling the UK rulings. It is understood the European Court of Human Rights was considering a number of further requests. The European Court of Human Rights added that the UK Government must not remove KN until three weeks after a full judicial review by the UK High Court has taken place into the legality of the policy - which is due in late July. What happens next in the courts? A full High Court review of the Rwanda policy is expected in July. In its ruling, the European Court of Human Right acknowledged concerns about access to 'fair and efficient procedures for the determination of refugee status' in Rwanda. It also considered the fact that Rwanda is not part of the European human rights framework and the absence of 'any legally enforceable mechanism' to return KN to the UK if there is a successful legal challenge to the policy. The court ruled that KN should not be removed until three weeks after the delivery of the 'final domestic decision in the ongoing judicial review proceedings' - something which could put the Government's Rwanda policy on ice for months. Is more legal action likely? Yes, almost certainly. More actions may be brought against the Rwanda policy as a whole, while others will be focused on claims by individual migrants. If Home Secretary Priti Patel, as she has pledged, begins gearing up for a second attempt at flying migrants to east Africa, the whole legal process could start again. Could other migrants make copycat applications? Very likely. Government sources said they fear migrants lawyers will now just bypass UK courts and go straight to Strasbourg. Such a move could further inflame Tory backbenchers, who are questioning whether the UK should remain within the terms of the human rights convention. Can the UK ignore the European Court of Human Rights? Some ministers are calling for the UK to ignore the ECHR ruling, arguing that its ruling can simply be overidden. Previously, the UK ignored ECHR rulings on prisoner voting. One Cabinet minister told MailOnline: 'The ECHR decisions, unlike the European Court of Justice, do not have direct effect so can simply be overridden.' 'When our own courts accept something is legal we should not allow an oddly constituted international court to overrule the democratic process. We should assert Parliamentary sovereignty.' A decision to ignore the ECHR could prompt further legal challenges and protests. The grounded Rwanda deportation flight EC-LZO Boeing 767 at Boscombe Down Air Base in Wiltshire last night What will happen to the next Rwanda flight? The Government still intends to go ahead with the next deportation flight to Rwanda - with Home Secretary Priti Patel saying that preparation 'begins now', adding that she will 'not be deterred from doing the right thing'. Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said she is 'highly confident' that the Government will be able to go ahead with the policy of deporting migrants to Rwanda. She told how the Home Office is 'already getting ready for the next flight and we will to continue to prepare and try and overturn any future legal challenges as well'. Ms Coffey also said ministers were 'surprised and disappointed' by the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights and she has 'never known such a quick decision made by somebody at the ECHR'. But human rights lawyer Frances Swaine, who represents a man due to be flown to Rwanda, said the Government should wait until a judicial review is heard before attempting another deportation flight to the country. 'The European Court of Human Rights has recommended that there are no other flights proposals put together until the substantial judicial review hearing into the whole policy is heard', she told the BBC. 'We're expecting that that would take place in about six weeks time during July although we don't have a firm date for it yet. 'And I think if I was the Government, which obviously I'm not, but if I was, I would be sitting back and thinking was it worth it, either from a financial or a legal perspective, to organise one of these very expensive flights again when they've been so unsuccessful this time around on legal grounds. 'Because there will be a decision in July as to whether or not this policy can be extant, or whether there would need to be some changes to the law if the Government was absolutely determined to see it through. But wait until we have the decision first and then decide whether to go ahead.' What is the European Convention on Human Rights? The European Convention on Human Rights was developed amid the Second World War to ensure that governments would never again be allowed to dehumanise and abuse people's rights with impunity. It came into full effect in 1953 and intends to serve as a simple and flexible roundup of universal rights, which could be adapted over time. Articles listed in the Convention include the right to a fair trial, right to liberty and security, and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. How does the European Convention relate to the UK's Human Rights Act? The UK was the very first nation to ratify the convention in March of 1951. The Human Rights Act of 1998 enshrined the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, allowing the rights guaranteed by the Convention to be enforced in UK courts. However, the Government has vowed to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a new Bill of Rights, after a pledge to reform human rights laws was included in the Tory manifesto in 2019. The Government said the changes will strengthen 'freedom of speech' and bring 'proper balance' between the rights of individuals and effective politics. Could the UK leave the European Convention on Human Rights to get the policy through? The Government has already committed to a shake-up of human rights laws but the intervention of the European court will fuel demands for the UK to leave the convention entirely. The Prime Minister did not rule out such a drastic measure when questioned about it on Tuesday, ahead of the Strasbourg court's injunction. But leaving the ECHR - which emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War - would be a significant step which could have major knock-on effects on other international agreements. Under the Good Friday Agreement, the ECHR underpins human rights guarantees in Northern Ireland. Remaining signed up to the ECHR also helps ensure judicial and legal co-operation with the EU under the terms of Brexit. Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said she doesn't know of any moves for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, saying: 'Right now I am not aware of any decisions or even hints about that.' Ms Coffey told how she instead expected the Government would contest the ruling, saying: 'The most important thing is that we tackle this issue right now. We will go back, I am sure, to the ECHR to challenge this initial ruling.' Does this mean the Rwanda migrants plan is illegal? This is a major issue of contention. Campaigners for the individuals selected for the first flight have already argued in court that if the policy is eventually ruled unlawful, anyone sent to Rwanda would have to be brought back. The United Nations refugee agency warned the Home Office twice that the move to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful, saying that this was because of the risk of refugees being refouled by the African country. Refoulement is where refugees or asylum seekers are forcibly sent back to a country where they could face persecution, and is illegal under international law something the UN has responsibility for overseeing. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has also described the policy as 'potentially unlawful', but the Home Office has defended it and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Government had anticipated 'a lot of teething problems'. Court of Appeal president Lord Reed said on Tuesday there had been an 'assurance' that, if the Government's policy is found to be unlawful, steps would be taken to bring back any migrants flown there in the interim. Will the government have to pass a new law? Passing a new law enacting the Rwanda policy through the Commons and Lords could bypass the current legal challenges to the policy. But left-wing lawyers could still try to argue that the Human Rights Act supersedes the new law. What will happen to the asylum seekers who were meant to be on the flight? The migrants are likely to have been returned to a detention centre after being taken off the flight, and Home Secretary Priti Patel said that 'many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next'. The ECHR ruling said the migrant known as KN should not be removed until three weeks after a full judicial review by the UK High Court has taken place into the legality of the policy What would have happened to the migrants sent to Rwanda? The first migrants to arrive in Rwanda were expected to have been flown into a private terminal at Kigali's international airport before being taken straight to accommodation at Hope Hostel - where they will be given a chance to rest, eat and settle in, as well as being tested for Covid-19, before they are processed. The Rwandan government said this is the only facility being used for initial accommodation under the plan so far. Hope Hostel can sleep 100 people, although plans for expansion could see another block built on the site. A large tent has been erected next door and is understood to be where the processing will take place. Within 24 hours of arrival, migrants will get a three-month residency in Rwanda while their immigration status is decided. The immigration department will submit a file for the consideration committee within 15 days, after which a decision is expected to be reached within a further 45 days, the Rwandan Ministry of Justice said. The new arrivals will not need to submit an asylum claim, but those who do will have this considered in the first instance. Anyone without an asylum claim, or one that is rejected, will then be considered under wider immigration rules with a view to provide a right to residency and to work. The government said it had boosted staff numbers and resources to make the process as efficient as possible and hopes to consider claims within three months. While their immigration status is determined, migrants will take part in an 'orientation' programme to help them adjust to their new life in Rwanda - if they choose to stay - with information about the country such as the weather and geography as well as a tour of the area. Food and accommodation will be provided and paid for. Migrants will also be given a monthly allowance of 100,000RWF a month (roughly 90) to help pay for essentials. Meanwhile they will be given access to language classes and translation services as well as legal advice. What does Rwanda say about last night's cancelled flight? Rwandan government spokesman Yolande Makolo said that the country is 'not deterred by these developments'. She added: 'Rwanda remains fully committed to making this partnership work. The current situation of people making dangerous journeys cannot continue as it is causing untold suffering to so many. Rwanda stands ready to receive the migrants when they do arrive and offer them safety and opportunity in our country.' The Rwandan government has already hit back at 'insulting' criticism of plans to send migrants there, saying opponents were 'missing the bigger picture' about efforts to improve the standard of living and offer better opportunities so their young people do not move to Europe as well as provide a safe haven for refugees. Schoolchildren walk along a street among pedestrians in Kigali, Rwanda, yesterday following the dramatic flight cancellation Why does the UK government want to fly the migrants to Rwanda? The Government says it welcomes refugees who come by approved immigration routes, but wants to put the criminal smuggling gangs who operate dangerous Channel crossings out of business. Home Secretary Priti Patel has said that the 'Migration Partnership' with Rwanda aims to 'see those arriving dangerously, illegally, or unnecessarily into the UK relocated to build their lives there'. The Government has spoken about breaking the business model of people smugglers amid concerns over the demands on the current system and the cost to the taxpayer of regular crossings over the Channel. At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that what the 'criminal gangs are doing and what ... those who effectively are abetting the work of the criminal gangs are doing, is undermining people's confidence in the safe and legal system, undermining people's general acceptance of immigration'. Speaking earlier this week, Mr Johnson told LBC radio: 'I think it's very important that the criminal gangs who are putting people's lives at risk in the Channel is going to be broken - is being broken - by this Government. 'They are selling people a false hope, they are luring them into something extremely risky and criminal.' Ms Patel has said the 'vast majority' of those who arrive in the UK through means deemed 'illegal' - such as on unauthorised boats or stowed away in lorries - will be considered for relocation. More than 28,000 migrants entered the UK across the Channel last year, up from 8,500 in 2020, and about 10,000 have arrived so far this year. Dozens have died, including 27 people in November when a single boat capsized. Why do some people object? Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said the threat of removal will cause 'human suffering, distress and chaos' with 'far reaching consequences for desperate people who are simply in need of safety'. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, said the policy is 'inhumane', while Prince Charles is also understood to have privately condemned the scheme as 'appalling'. The Archbishop of Canterbury and other senior bishops suggested the Rwanda scheme breached Christian values, writing in a joint letter to the Times: 'Whether or not the first deportation flight leaves Britain today for Rwanda, this policy should shame us as a nation. 'The shame is our own, because our Christian heritage should inspire us to treat asylum seekers with compassion, fairness and justice, as we have for centuries.' The letter went on to describe those facing removal as 'the vulnerable that the Old Testament calls us to value' and urged the creation of safe migration routes to combat 'evil' traffickers. Migration and refugee groups point out that there are no approved legal routes for most people, with the exception of those fleeing Afghanistan and Ukraine. What did the judge decide? A interim measure like an injunction was granted by the court on Tuesday, under Rule 39 which allows judges to act when there is an imminent risk of irreparable harm. It was brought by lawyers for an Iraqi asylum seeker and passenger, KN. The judge said KN should not be removed until three weeks after British courts reach a decision on the legality of the UK policy. Two other migrants applications were granted, so the Home Office abandoned the flight. Why has the UK chosen Rwanda? The Government's plans to some extent mirror Australia's approach of offshore processing of asylum seekers. Various destinations are said to have been mooted, from Morocco and Moldova to the Isle of Wight. Some were dismissed as unviable whilst others were rejected by the host country. For example, Gibraltar had been ruled out as a location because it is too small, it is understood. Rwanda's President Paul Kagame is said to be keen on the arrangement because his country is in desperate need of young male workers. The country's government will receive 120million as part of the trial scheme, with the potential for increasing these payments if it proves a success. Millions of young men have left Africa in recent decades for Europe and the US. A collection of early English laws preserved in a manuscript at one of the UK's oldest cathedrals has been added to a prestigious international register of historic documents. The document, known as the Textus Roffensis, predates the Magna Carta by nearly 100 years. It was compiled in the early 1120s by a monk of St Andrew's Priory at Rochester Cathedral in Kent. The first half of the 12th century manuscript - named 'Rochester book' when translated from Latin - contains copies of pre-Norman Conquest law codes written in Old English, many of which are unique. Among the texts is a copy of the earliest known set of English laws, called thelberht's Code, which dates back to the Kingdom of Kent in the 7th century. It is also the earliest datable work of any genre composed in the English vernacular and contains rules including that if anyone 'slays' someone in the 'King's house' they should pay '50 shillings'. Two later 7th century Kentish laws, Hlothere and Eadric's Code, which were penned between 679AD and 685AD, and Wihtrd's Code from the year 695AD, are also unique to Textus Roffensis. The codes date from before England was united as a single kingdom in 927, when individual fiefdoms were brought together by King thelstan. The document has been added to UNESCO's UK Memory of the World Register, recognising its national significance. A collection of early English laws preserved in a manuscript at one of the UK's oldest cathedrals has been added to a prestigious international register of historic documents. The document, known as the Textus Roffensis, was compiled in the early 1120s by a monk of St Andrew's Priory at Rochester Cathedral in Kent The UNESCO Memory of the World programme was established by UNESCO in 1992 to protect and catalogue significant documentary heritage from being lost to future generations. The register includes a collection of documents, manuscripts, oral traditions, audio-visual materials, library, and archival holdings of universal value. There are a total of 35 early English law codes in the first half of the manuscript, spanning a period of five hundred years - including laws written by Alfred the Great, thelred 'the Unready', and William the Conqueror. The latest of these is the oldest surviving copy of the Coronation Charter of Henry I, the fourth son of William the Conqueror. Written in Latin, it spells out the responsibilities and limits of the King toward the Church and the king's noblemen. As such, it has been interpreted as a precursor to the Magna Carta of 1215, the landmark document signed by King John that established for the first time that neither monarch nor government was above the law and set out principles of liberty which echoed through the centuries. The Textus Roffensis offers an insight into the lives of those living in an evolving England and its adjoining regions, from the beginning of the seventh century through to the beginning of the twelfth century. Among the texts is the earliest known set of English laws, called thelberht's Code (pictured), which dates back to the Kingdom of Kent in the 7th century The Textus Roffensis also contains a the foundation charter of Rochester Cathedral, written primarily in Latin. It announces that King thelberht grants land and privileges to the Church of St Andrew - the early name of Rochester Cathedral in the year 604 The Textus Roffensis is on display at Rochester Cathedral (pictured), which is the second oldest in the UK after Canterbury Dr Christopher Monk, a cultural historian of medieval England, said: 'The collection of early English laws that has been preserved in Textus Roffensis rightly deserves its place in UNESCO's UK Memory of the World Register; it is an essential group of texts for any historian of the early medieval period in Britain. 'The insights these law codes offer us, not only into the ideals and practices of rulership of the various kings of the era but also the social structures within which their subjects lived, are nothing short of extraordinary. 'That we can have access to the collection today via the custodianship of Rochester Cathedral is truly special and exciting.' Dean of Rochester, Philip Hesketh said: 'Textus Roffensis is without question one of the most important of all medieval British manuscripts. 'It contains the largest medieval collection of early English law codes written in the original Old English. thelberht's Code are the judgements laid down by King thelberht (depicted above), who ruled Kent between 589 and 616AD The document has been added to UNESCO's UK Memory of the World Register, recognising its national significance 'Complied at Rochester Cathedral between 1120-23 it was at the very heart of the emerging monastic community. 'Returned home to the Cathedral in 2016, Textus now resides, once again, at the heart of the Medway towns and is displayed, free of charge, in the ancient crypt. 'This announcement by the UNESCO UK Memory Register rightly acknowledges that Textus is one of Britain's greatest treasures.' Founded in 604, Rochester Cathedral is the UK's second oldest cathedral. It is only younger than the nearby Canterbury Cathedral, which was founded in 597. Rochester was founded by by Bishop Justus, one of the missionaries who accompanied St Augustine when he arrived in Britain with the aim of spreading Christianity. thelberht's Code comprises the judgements laid down by King thelberht, who ruled Kent between 589 and 616AD. Written in Old English but translated by historians, it lays out rules including: 'If the king is drinking at someone's home and one does anything corrupt there, one should pay double restitution'. The text also contains the oldest copy of Henry Is Coronation Charter, which more than a hundred years before the Magna Carta granted freedom to the English Church Another adds: 'If one slays someone in the king's house, one should pay 50 shillings.' In total, the Textus Roffensis contains 238 folios (476 pages) and 484 images including the fly leaves and covers. As well as the copies of the old English laws, the manuscript also contains the earliest charters of Rochester Cathedral. A number of pages in the manuscript display signs of water damage after it became submersed, possibly, in either the River Medway or the River Thames, sometime between 1708 and 1718. Textus Roffensis is currently on display in the crypt of Rochester Cathedral and is available to read online at rochestercathedral.org/textus. Vladimir Putin lost his second colonel to be revealed in a single day in the war in Ukraine. Highly decorated Colonel Sergei Krasnikov, 56, a renowned action man who had parachuted at the North Pole, died in an ambush on a reconnaissance mission. A trained paratrooper, he had switched in the criminal justice system before volunteering to fight in the Russian army in Ukraine, say reports. Krasikov had been head coach of the Russian national parachuting team. Highly decorated Colonel Sergei Krasnikov, 56, a renowned action man who had parachuted at the North Pole, died in an ambush on a reconnaissance mission He died as the volunteer commander of an invading mortar crew in a battle in the village of Ternove, in Kharkiv region Earlier, the death of Colonel Sergei Postnov - in his 40s - was disclosed He died as the volunteer commander of an invading mortar crew in a battle in the village of Ternove, in Kharkiv region. He was a colonel in the Investigative Committee, seen as an equivalent of the FBI. Earlier, the death of Colonel Sergei Postnov - in his 40s - was disclosed. The losses mean Putin had now seen the deaths of 54 confirmed colonels in Ukraine - a shocking toll that probably underscores the true scale of losses among these high ranking officers . Putin has also lost at least 11 generals. Russia - like Ukraine - had failed to disclose its true losses in the debilitating war. Postnov was part of a military propaganda unit in the Russian National Guard, which reports directly to Putin. He had been on active duty with Russian forces close to Kyiv, in Kharkiv as well as more recently in the Luhansk region. It is unclear exactly how and where he was killed. An official statement said that his life was 'cut short' while on a mission in Ukraine. It said he had 'performed service and combat missions in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine' from the start of Putins active campaign on February 24. 'He was distinguished by high professionalism, organisation and diligence, and a creative approach to solving problems,' said the Russian Interior Ministrys council of veterans. He was a graduate of the Yekaterinburg Suvorov Military School in 1997. The deaths are the latest in a huge toll of Russian top brass to be wiped out in Putins war in Ukraine. Overall Russian losses are believed to be in excess of 30,000. Postnov leaves behind a widow Ekaterina and daughter Ukrainian servicemen ride BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle in the Donbas as fighting continues to rage More than 500 civilians and an unknown number of soldiers are trapped inside the Azot factory after sheltering from a Russian bombardment (pictured last week) Ukrainian troops holed up in a chemical plant in Severodonetsk have been told to lay down their arms and surrender as Russia makes further ground in the Donbas. More than 500 civilians and an unknown number of soldiers are trapped inside the Azot factory after sheltering from a Russian bombardment. Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia's National Defence Management Centre, told the Interfax news agency that Ukraine should 'stop their senseless resistance and lay down arms'. The Russian defence ministry announced a humanitarian corridor would be established for evacuations from the plant, saying it was 'guided by the principles of humanity'. Evacuees would be transported to the city of Svatovo in the separatist-held region of Lugansk, Moscow said. A soldier of Ukraine's special operations unit runs while another covers his back on a forest road after they installed anti-tank mines Black smoke is seen over the city of Lyman, Donetsk region, moving from the territory of the Luhansk region Homes and buildings are destroyed by a Russian military strike in the town of Dobropillia in Donetsk There was no response from Kyiv to the announcement, and in a video address Tuesday evening, Volodymyr Zelensky lamented 'painful losses' in the ongoing fighting. 'But we must stay strong. This is our nation... Hanging in there in Donbas is crucial. Donbas is the key to deciding who will dominate in the coming weeks.' Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said the civilians in Azot 'can no longer stand it in the shelters, their psychological state is on edge'. He said Russia controls 80 per cent of Severodonetsk and mass evacuations are now 'simply not possible'. Capturing Severodonetsk has become a key goal, as it would open the road to Sloviansk and another major city, Kramatorsk. An estimated 12,000 civilians remain in the city which has a population of 100,000. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has lost his 53rd colonel in the war in the latest heavy blow to his savage campaign. Colonel Sergei Postnov (pictured) was killed on a combat mission earlier this week, according to reports He was a graduate of the Yekaterinburg Suvorov Military School in 1997, and believed to be in his 40s. He leaves behind a widow Ekaterina and daughter He was part of a military propaganda unit in the Russian National Guard, which reports directly to Putin He had been on active duty with Russian forces close to Kyiv, in Kharkiv as well as more recently in the Luhansk region Colonel Sergei Postnov was killed on a combat mission earlier this week, according to reports. He was part of a military propaganda unit in the Russian National Guard, which reports directly to Putin. He had been on active duty with Russian forces close to Kyiv, in Kharkiv as well as more recently in the Luhansk region. An official statement said that his life was 'cut short' while on a mission in Ukraine. It said he had 'performed service and combat missions in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine' from the start of Putin's active campaign. 'He was distinguished by high professionalism, organisation and diligence, and a creative approach to solving problems,' said the Russian Interior Ministry's council of veterans. A dog is seen near his building destroyed by Russian military strike, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine in the town of Dobropillia A Ukrainian service member walks at a position on the front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine Ukraine has only received 10 per cent of the arms it had requested from the West, Kyiv's deputy defence minister said He was a graduate of the Yekaterinburg Suvorov Military School in 1997, and believed to be in his 40s. He leaves behind a widow Ekaterina and daughter. His death was the latest in a huge toll of Russian top brass to be wiped out in Putin's war in Ukraine. He is the 53rd colonel known to have died, while a minimum of 11 generals have also been slain. Overall Russian losses are believed to be in excess of 30,000. Speaking in The Hague, NATO chief Stoltenberg urged Western countries to send the Ukrainians more heavy armaments, as they 'absolutely depend on that to be able to stand up against the brutal Russian invasion'. Addressing a press conference after meeting the leaders of seven European NATO allies, he added that NATO officials would discuss coordinating further support including heavy weaponry at a meeting in Brussels Wednesday. Zelensky meanwhile told reporters that he regretted what he called 'the restrained behaviour of some leaders' which, he said, had 'slowed down arms supplies very much'. Ukraine has only received 10 per cent of the arms it had requested from the West, Kyiv's deputy defence minister said. A Ukrainian service members eat at a position on the front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine Capturing Severodonetsk has become a key goal, as it would open the road to Sloviansk and another major city, Kramatorsk Ukrainian servicemen ride BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk Lysychansk pensioner Valentina sat on the porch of her ground floor apartment, where she lives alone, her two walking sticks to hand. 'It's scary, very scary,' said the 83-year-old former farm worker. 'Why can't they agree at last, for God's sake, just shake hands?' Along the road from Lysychansk to Kramatorsk, Ukrainian forces were transporting more weapons systems to the front, while specialist vehicles carried tanks for repair. In the town of Novodruzhesk, close to Lysychansk, there was still a smell of burning and smoke from houses that had been destroyed by fire from shelling at the weekend. 'It's not safe anywhere, it just depends on the time of day, that's all,' said a soldier standing at a fire station with a skull logo on his sleeve. As tensions soar with the West, Russia announced it was blacklisting 49 British citizens, including defence officials and prominent reporters and editors from the BBC, The Financial Times and The Guardian. Ukrainian soldiers carry out demining works, removing shells and unexploded rockets in Kharkiv The inside of a wreckage of a burned out van that triggered an anti-tank mine, killing its three occupants, lies by the side of a dirt track in Andriyivka Russian soldiers guard an area next to a field of wheat as foreign journalists work in the Zaporizhzhia region The Russian foreign ministry said that the journalists targeted were 'involved in the deliberate dissemination of false and one-sided information'. In New York, a senior UN official warned Tuesday that Ukrainian children should not be adopted in Russia, where several thousand young people are believed to have been moved since Moscow's February invasion. 'We're reiterating, including to the Russian Federation, that adoption should never occur during or immediately after emergencies,' Asfhan Khan, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) regional director for Europe and Central Asia, told reporters. Such children cannot be assumed to be orphans and their movement must be voluntary, Khan added. The Kremlin, meanwhile, said it had not received a request from London to intervene in the case of two Britons sentenced to death by pro-Moscow separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine. Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, along with Moroccan Brahim Saadun, were convicted of acting as mercenaries for Ukraine by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. Advertisement Airline staff laid off during the pandemic have taken up better paying jobs with less responsibility in other industries and are now reluctant to come back, industry experts have warned MPs. The industry is currently in the grips of a staffing crisis - sparking chaotic scenes of long queues and abandoned luggage at airports and resulting in hundreds of flights being cancelled. Amid the continuing chaos, including long queues at Manchester Airport today, MPs were warned how travel firms were struggling to bring back staff following mass redundancies last year. One employment expert, Danny Brooks, founder and CEO of Virtual Human Resources, said airline firms had been forced to axe thousands of workers in the gap between the end of the Government's furlough scheme and the end of all Covid travel restrictions. Comparing the situation to 'like an alien spaceship removing staff from the supply chain', he said many former airline staff had now settled in new jobs including as heat-engineers or in Amazon warehouses. His comments came as figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) today reveal how travel firms were now facing stiff competition in the labour markets, with job vacancies reaching a record high. According to the figures, companies across Britain sought 1.3million new members of staff in the three months to May, a record high number of vacancies to fill. Meanwhile figures show how employment levels have fallen in the air transport industry. ONS data shows there were some 81,000 people employed in March 2020, compared to just 70,000 in March this year - a fall of 14 per cent. At the lowest point last year just 66,000 people worked in air travel. It comes as airlines were last night told to rip up their summer schedules to ensure the recent 'unacceptable scenes' at British airports do not drag on into summer. The regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the Government urged carriers to review their timetables until the end of September - and even cancel flights that are not feasible - to ensure they are 'deliverable'. Any cancellations should be done at the earliest possible opportunity, according to officials. The warning came as consumer group Which? said firms were 'blatantly flouting' passenger rights through practices such as taking bookings for flights which may not be able to run. Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by flight cancellations and long queues at airports in recent months, particularly during Easter and last month's half-term school holiday. And today holidaymakers said they were facing 'chaos' once again at Manchester airport, with 'three hour' queues and hundreds of passengers being funnelled through 'just two' security desks. Pictures and video show a huge line of people snaking around the airport terminal as the wait to go through airport security at the under-pressure airport. Holidaymakers say they are facing 'chaos' once again at Manchester airport (pictured left and right today), with 'three hour' queues and hundreds of passengers being funnelled through 'just one' security desk. Some passengers say they arrived three hours early for their flights, only to have to be pulled from the queues and fast-tracked through to the gate to avoid missing their flights Pictures and video at Manchester Airport (pictured today) show a huge line of people snaking around the airport terminal as the wait to go through airport security at the under-pressure airport Others say hundreds of passengers were being funnelled through just two security desks. Another passenger described the situation as a 'fiasco'. It comes after weeks of disruption at the airport, and others such as Birmingham and Bristol, and also on occasion Heathrow and Gatwick. Pictured left and right: Queues at Manchester Airport today According to the figures, companies across Britain sought 1.3million new members of staff in the three months to May, a record high number of vacancies to fill. Pictured: A graphic from ONS data showing the number of active vacancies across all industries (red), compared to those in the Transport and Storage industry (blue) One employment expert, Danny Brooks (pictured), founder and CEO of Virtual Human Resources, said airline firms had been forced to axe thousands of workers in the gap between the end of the Government's furlough scheme and the end of all Covid travel restrictions Yesterday MPs were briefed on the travel staffing situation at a meeting of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee. Danny Brooks, founder and CEO of Virtual Human Resources, told the BEIS committee that the chaos was mainly due to the a skills gap in the aviation jobs market. Manchester Airport has up to FIVE HUNDRED job vacancies as recruitment drive is launched for baggage handlers, security staff and cabin crew - after CEO was awarded 25% pay boost Manchester Airport Group CEO, Charlie Cornish, was awarded a 500,000 pay rise in 2021 compared to 2020 Bosses at Manchester airport have launched a mass recruitment drive to fill 500 vacancies after scenes of airport chaos over half-term, while its CEO has been awarded a 2.5million salary. Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic leading to widespread staff redundancies, pay cuts and absences, the CEO of the Manchester Airport Group Charlie Cornish was allocated a 2.5million salary last year - an increase of 500,000 on 2020. It is understood however that part of his remuneration is dependent on business performance over the next four years, meaning that his full bonus may never actually be paid out. Families last week were faced with hours of queues, hundreds of flight cancellations and an absence of staff at airports across the UK - with Manchester Airport being one of the worst affected. Things got so bad on the ground in Manchester that one TUI pilot actually helped load bags onto their plane when there were no ground staff available. The flight had already been pushed back from May 29 to May 30, and after passengers were delayed once again they praised the pilot for taking matters into their own hands. The group which owns Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports made 900 redundancies during the pandemic, as well as making all staff take a 10% pay cut, which is understood to have included Mr Cornish, despite his overall rise in remuneration due to projected bonus earnings. Additionally a further 1,500 jobs were cut across the three airports by external agency staff, which has exacerbated the problems faced by customers so far this year. Travel and consumer champion Martyn James told the Sun: 'The only thing that has been taking off lately with this company seems to be the chief executive's perks. 'For the thousands of people queuing round the block it is an insult.' The CEO's troubles look far from over as the summer is set to see more delays - as Manchester airport tries to urgently hire 500 staff to plug the gaps. Most of the roles are being advertised as immediate starts, with anyone who signs up being instantly given 250 in cash if they refer a friend. Although the airport announced in April it had recruited around 200 new staff, with a further 250 going through security screening, the problems caused by the huge spike in demand post-coronavirus shows no sign of letting up. But it is believed this still leaves the group short by hundreds of workers. During the half-term week thousands of passengers were left stranded at UK airports or abroad as the aviation industry descended into chaos. According to the Manchester Airport Group, demand for travel has been rapidly rising since the start of this, rising from 37% of pre-covid demand in January to 80% in April. Advertisement He said: ''A lot of the workers were furloughed, furlough came to end in September last year. A lot of the aviation restrictions were lifted earlier this year. So there is a big disconnect in the period. 'A lot of the airlines and operators of the aviation supply chain had to protect themselves to survive to fight another day, which resulted in a lot of redundancies. BA laid of 10,000 people, easyJet 5,000, Swissport I believe a third of their workforce. 'These people have left the industry for good. For a number of reasons, necessity, they've gone to competitor industries, maybe some of the things like Amazon warehouses at the lower-skilled end. At the skilled end people have become heating engineers. 'It is almost like an alien spaceship has come along and taken several million people out the supply chain, but that is not the case - they've just gone into different areas and are reticent to come back, because of boom bust cycles, because of regards to furlough and work life balance, aviation working is anti-social hours and they can earn comparative rates of pay with less responsibility.' His comments align with those of Tony Wilson, at the Institute for Employment Studies, who says airlines handled their workforces poorly during the pandemic. He told the Daily Telegraph: 'They made use of furlough, but I am not sure they did enough to keep in touch with staff when they were furloughed, and they were quite quick to lay people off and to try to change their contracts when they came back. With the benefit of hindsight, they probably couldn't have handled it worse.' Meanwhile, Oliver Richardson, national officer for civil aviation at trade union Unite, told the BEIS committee that a ranking of airlines based on their number of cancellations 'almost exactly corresponds' with how many jobs they cut during the pandemic. He said Ryanair, which made no compulsory redundancies, is in a 'different position from the likes of British Airways', which has been forced to cancel more than 100 daily flights in recent weeks due to staff shortages after implementing severe job losses in 2020. 'They did get rid of too many people in a number of instances,' Mr Richardson said. But British Airways corporate affairs director Lisa Tremble refused to acknowledge that the job cuts are contributing to cancellations. Labour MP Darren Jones, who chairs the committee, repeatedly pressed her on the issue. He asked: 'Do you think there was a connection between sacking 10,000 members of your staff using aggressive fire-and-rehire tactics, and now cancelling the most flights per day?' Ms Tremble said 'it's very complicated', stating that the company 'had to protect as many jobs as possible'. Mr Jones responded: 'We've asked you a very direct question, I think three times, and you've chosen not to answer it.' EasyJet chief operating officer Sophie Deckers insisted that the Luton-based airline - which is also making a large number of cancellations - did plan for the spike in demand for travel but delays in new cabin crew recruits receiving security passes 'caught us by surprise'. She said the process is typically taking around 14 weeks, compared with 10 weeks before the pandemic. The delay is due to difficulties many individuals are having obtaining reference for all the jobs they have done in the past five years, with the pandemic often creating complicated employment histories. 'In many cases, people have had 10 jobs in the last couple of years,' Ms Deckers said. 'Maybe some of them were only for a couple of weeks, but we're required to get a reference from each of those, so that's what's taking the length of time. 'We have today 142 crew ready and trained to go online that don't have their ID passes.' Meanwhile, airlines were told last night to ensure the recent 'unacceptable scenes' at British airports do not drag on into summer. The regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the Government urged carriers to ensure planned flights are 'deliverable'. The letter by Rannia Leontaridi, head of aviation at DfT, and Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the CAA, warned there will be more 'unavoidable cancellations' in the weeks and months ahead. But they told airlines to 'take all possible steps to prepare for and manage passenger demand' to 'avoid the unacceptable scenes we have recently witnessed'. The warning came as consumer group Which? said firms were 'blatantly flouting' passenger rights through practices such as taking bookings for flights which may not be able to run. Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by flight cancellations and long queues at airports in recent months, particularly during Easter and last month's half-term school holiday. The disruption has been blamed on aviation firms struggling to recruit enough staff to cope with demand for travel after thousands of jobs were cut during the pandemic. Meanwhile new Home Office data made clear the scale of the passport backlog earlier this year, revealing that more than 35,000 people waited longer than ten weeks for their document in the first three months of 2022. WH Smith sales soar past pre-pandemic levels with sharp increase at travel stores as holidaymakers return to international flights and commuters return to the office WH Smith has seen sales soar thanks to a 'particularly sharp recovery' at its travel stores following the revival of international flights and the return of the office commute. It comes after months of travel chaos have seen thousands of travellers spend much more time at airports than usual, as they arrived extra early to avoid the hours-long queues and faced painfully-long delays and cancellations. Meanwhile the number of passengers travelling through the likes of Heathrow in May increased by eight-fold compared to last year, when Covid travel restrictions were still in place. Millions more workers have also begun commuting again as they are increasingly asked to return to the office, providing higher footfall at train stations and motorway services - although the number of people working from home (WFH) remains higher than before Covid. WH Smith said its total sales were at 107 per cent of pre-pandemic levels over the 15 weeks to June 11, with travel sales - meaning stores in airports and train stations - at 123 per cent of 2019 levels over the same period. While its travel stores are booming, its high street trading reported a slowdown to 79 per cent of 2019's levels over the same 15-week period. The London-listed firm highlighted that this included a negative impact from its Funky Pigeon online greeting cards business which saw orders halted by a cyber attack. The retailer, which sells everything from books and magazines, to food, drink and stationery, has branches in 29 UK airports and in more than 100 airports internationally. It also boasts 120 stores at train stations across the UK and Europe and more than 125 franchises operating at services on Britain's motorways. The retail firm told shareholders on Wednesday that it now expects annual trading to be at the top end of analyst expectations. Its sales boom has been buoyed by expansion in the travel sector, having purchased US-based airport technology retailer InMotion in 2018. Advertisement Yesterday, Heathrow Airport's Terminal Four reopened for the first time in two years ahead of the peak summer season, with the first airline flying out being Qatar Airways to Doha - and 30 others are set to join soon. As passengers again reported huge queues yesterday morning at Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast airports - and others tweeted pictures of chaos overnight at Gatwick and Bristol, easyJet made further flight cancellations. It axed 16 flights at Gatwick yesterday - eight departures to Almeria, Catania, Belfast, Preveza, Krakow, Madrid, Prague and Montpellier; and eight arrivals from Belfast, Montpellier, Milan, Catania, Preveza, Prague, Madrid and Krakow. Sue Davies, head of consumer rights at consumer group Which?, said the cancellation of thousands of flights and long queues at airports in recent months were caused by the impact of staffing shortages being 'underestimated'. She said: 'Both the industry and the Government need to shoulder the responsibility for the chaos that we've seen.' Ms Davies acknowledged that the sector has been 'particularly affected' by the coronavirus pandemic, but stressed that consumers have 'lost money and suffered huge emotional stress'. She went on: 'Particularly appallingly, we've been hearing from lots of people who have just had very little information about actually what's happening on the ground. 'The airlines and the Government were encouraging people to travel again, and we think they've just underestimated the capacity issues, and the shortages both within the airlines and the airport services, including baggage handlers.' Ms Davies accused airlines of selling tickets when 'they don't know for sure that those flights are actually going to be able to go'. She told the committee that passengers 'haven't really been given proper information about their rights', adding: 'We feel that obviously there's some really specific issues at the moment in this case, but this is just symptomatic of some of the issues that we've seen in the industry for a long time. 'There's just blatant flouting of consumer rights and a failure to put passenger interests first.' She also told MPs: 'Both the industry and the Government need to shoulder the responsibility for the chaos that we've seen.' Meanwhile, for passengers, the chaos continued today. Passengers at Manchester Airport say they arrived three hours early for their flights, only to have to be pulled from the queues and fast-tracked through to the gate to avoid missing their flights. Others say hundreds of passengers were being funnelled through just two security desks. Another passenger described the situation as a 'fiasco'. It comes after weeks of disruption at the airport, and others such as Birmingham and Bristol, and also on occasion Heathrow and Gatwick. On Tuesday morning, former Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague was caught up in the disruption. The influencer, who was returning from a trip to Dubai, posted pictures of long queues at the airport, describing the scenes in her post as 'immaculate'. This morning, one passenger, taking to Twitter, wrote: 'If you're travelling from Manchester Airport then get to the airport at least three hours early. 'We got here three hours early this morning and have had to be pulled out of the queue and fast-tracked as otherwise would have missed our flight'. Another wrote: To say Manchester Airport T1 is a s*** show would be an understatement! 3.40am joined security queue only three rows deep, still not got through hour later. Only two security bays open. If joining queue now and have flight in next two hours good luck to you. ' Andrea McCarthy wrote: 'Manchester airport this morning dreadful. 50 mins for bags to arrive from Atlanta flight. Now stuck at security for over an hour. Needs sorted. She later added: 'Update on Manchester airport fiasco. Security totally unhelpful and would not expedite us.' However others appeared to avoid the chaos. One wrote: 'Flew from Manchester Airport. Yes there were queues but they were well managed and there was no free-for-all. 'Plane left on time and landed early. Thank you to the very helpful and patient and staff.' A spokesperson for Manchester Airport today told MailOnline: 'Nearly 40,000 passengers will depart Manchester Airport today and the great majority of these will pass through security in under half an hour, but we apologise to those who have faced a longer-than-usual wait at times this morning. 'We continue to advise passengers to arrive three hours before their flight is due to depart, and to check their hand luggage is packed in accordance with security rules to ensure their journey through the airport is as smooth as possible'. It comes as bosses at Manchester airport have launched a mass recruitment drive to fill 500 vacancies after scenes of airport chaos over half-term, while its CEO has been awarded a 2.5million salary. Manchester Airport Group CEO, Charlie Cornish, was awarded a 500,000 pay rise in 2021 compared to 2020 Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic leading to widespread staff redundancies, pay cuts and absences, the CEO of the Manchester Airport Group Charlie Cornish was allocated a 2.5million salary last year - an increase of 500,000 on 2020. It is understood however that part of his remuneration is dependent on business performance over the next four years, meaning that his full bonus may never actually be paid out. Families last week were faced with hours of queues, hundreds of flight cancellations and an absence of staff at airports across the UK - with Manchester Airport being one of the worst affected. Things got so bad on the ground in Manchester that one TUI pilot actually helped load bags onto their plane when there were no ground staff available. The flight had already been pushed back from May 29 to May 30, and after passengers were delayed once again they praised the pilot for taking matters into their own hands. The group which owns Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports made 900 redundancies during the pandemic, as well as making all staff take a 10% pay cut, which is understood to have included Mr Cornish, despite his overall rise in remuneration due to projected bonus earnings. Additionally a further 1,500 jobs were cut across the three airports by external agency staff, which has exacerbated the problems faced by customers so far this year. Travel and consumer champion Martyn James told the Sun: 'The only thing that has been taking off lately with this company seems to be the chief executive's perks. 'For the thousands of people queuing round the block it is an insult.' The CEO's troubles look far from over as the summer is set to see more delays - as Manchester airport tries to urgently hire 500 staff to plug the gaps. Most of the roles are being advertised as immediate starts, with anyone who signs up being instantly given 250 in cash if they refer a friend. Last night Ray Ellis, 54, who worked at the airport but quit, claimed he resigned over the 'chaotic' operations at his former workplace. Ray, who was a baggage handler, explained to the Sun: 'Experienced staff left during Covid. The new staff haven't been in the job long enough to deal with problems.' Although the airport announced in April it had recruited around 200 new staff, with a further 250 going through security screening, the problems caused by the huge spike in demand post-coronavirus shows no sign of letting up. But it is believed this still leaves the group short by hundreds of workers. During the half-term week thousands of passengers were left stranded at UK airports or abroad as the aviation industry descended into chaos. According to the Manchester Airport Group, demand for travel has been rapidly rising since the start of this, rising from 37% of pre-covid demand in January to 80% in April. The CEO said in April: 'The UK aviation sector is now recovering quickly but for most of the last two years we have effectively been in survival mode. 'When the pandemic struck, we were faced with almost no income and huge fixed costs. Doing nothing was not an option. 'We had to cut costs just to survive it was as simple as that. 'We reduced expenditure wherever we could, and as a last resort we had to offer colleagues the option of voluntary redundancy because of the uncertainty about when international travel would resume. 'The simple fact is that we don't currently have the number of staff we need to provide the level of service that our passengers deserve. 'Despite our efforts since last Autumn, the tight labour market around the airport has meant we have just not been able to hire people quickly enough to establish a full-strength team.' Industry experts have warned the public that problems are set to continue into the summer and it will not be a smooth season for air travel. CEO Charlie Cornish apologised to customers in April: 'I cannot apologise enough for the disruption people have faced' - but has not made a statement on the group's site since. An air traffic controller operates an air traffic communication system at Gimpo International Airport's control tower, Tuesday. Courtesy of Korea Airports Corp. Air traffic controllers busier as international travel resumes By Lee Hae-rin Distractions are not allowed for air traffic controllers, as one tiny mistake can lead to catastrophe. The safety of passengers and crew members of flights flying in and out of Gimpo International Airport hinges on them. Due to the pressure, they are attentive all the time. Strangely, however, few of them say they are stressed out. Their intense concentration while on duty pays off as they are given an extra perk: they feel an immense thrill when things go well. "As air traffic controllers, we see hundreds of aircraft flying in and out every day, but we never get bored," Do Jin-yeol, the general manager of apron control management at Korea Airports Corp. (KAC) said at the control tower, Tuesday. "It still gives us a thrill, especially on days with a beautiful sunset." Forty meters off the ground, the control tower has a panoramic view of the airport's runways and apron, which is where planes are parked, fueled and boarded. A team of three controllers communicate with pilots via a voice-based radio system to confirm approval for their landing and departure. Their job is to make sure planes fly in and out of the airport safely and quickly and thereby convene the passengers' travel behind the scenes. The tower is run by a crew of 18 air traffic managers and controllers, divided into four teams and split between two shifts. The job requires professional education at the aviation training center and national qualifications for air traffic control. Less than 500 people in the country are licensed to do this work. Their responsibility to guard the airport's safety involves intense concentration. While on duty, the controllers keep their guards raised, leaving no room for stress or second thoughts. Also, the key to their particular duty is teamwork, according to KAC apron control department manager Kim Se-eun. "Controllers need to have their eyes and ears open to one another at all times and work together. Only with good teamwork can air traffic control go smoothly, like the river flows." Thus, the greatest reward for the controllers comes at the end of the day with no accidents or complaints. "To keep everything normal and under control at the airport, that's our job," Do said. The airport and its controllers have seen the airport unprecedentedly empty in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the organization is preparing to return to busy days as international flights resume. Seen is a view from Gimpo International Airport's control tower showing planes parked at the apron, Tuesday. Courtesy of Korea Airports Corp. Brussels threatened a trade war with Britain today as it launched a legal battle over Boris Johnson's plans to abandon parts of the Brexit agreement to ease political pressure in Ulster. The European Commission announced fresh legal action this morning as part of a series of measures in response to the Government's move to unilaterally scrap parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The European Commission is also resuming legal proceedings against the UK that were shelved last year to facilitate negotiations on post-Brexit trade. The Government has been given two months to respond before the case goes to the European Court of Justice. Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic warned Mr Johnson today that the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, tabled on Monday, had 'no legal or political justification whatsoever', adding: 'Let's call a spade a spade: this is illegal.' The European Commission vice-president said: 'It has created deep uncertainty and casts a shadow over our overall co-operation, all at a time when respect for international agreements has never been more important. 'That is why the Commission has today decided to take legal action against the UK for not complying with significant parts of the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.' The plan would mean 'breaking an agreement that protects peace and stability in Northern Ireland, an agreement reached together only three years ago' by Boris Johnson's Government and the EU. The bill aims to sweep away key parts of the Protocol - including a check-free 'green channel' for goods from mainland Britain and stripping control from the EU court. It would also ensure that VAT changes from Westminster apply to the province, permit state subsidies, and give ministers wide-ranging powers to cancel more of the divorce terms later if required. The PM's spokesman said ministers were 'disappointed' by the EU decision, adding: 'The EU's proposed approach, which doesn't differ from what they have said previously, would increase burdens on business and citizens and take us backwards from where we are currently. 'The infractions are related to the implementation of the protocol in our recently published Bill. It is difficult to see how scrapping grace periods and adding additional controls and checks would be the situation better.' European Commissioners will gather today to draw up plans for fresh legal action against the UK after the publication of the Government's proposals to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said it was 'clear that the UK broke the law' and said it new law was 'unjustified' Belgian Green MEP Philippe Lamberts told BBC Radio4's Today programme: 'Everyone knows this is not about solving problems. It's about political posturing and deviating attention from other problems in the United Kingdom and therefore our patience has been tested to the extreme by Boris Johnson.' How the Northern Ireland row threatens to undo Brexit deal The row over the Northern Ireland Protocol began almost as soon as the Brexit agreement with the EU came into force. The two sides had to find a way of avoiding a hard border while maintaining the integrity of the UK, and avoid undermining the integrity of the EU customs union and single market. The Protocol manages this by effectively keeping Ulster inside the EU's single market. However, Brussels has been adamant that means checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea from Britain. Unionists are implacably opposed to the idea, arguing it 'others' an integral part of the UK. The UK began talks seeking to alter the terms of the agreement just months after it was signed by the PM. The toughest parts have never come into force, due to a series of delays brought in by both camps. In March last year the UK unilaterally extended the agri-food exemptions, something that triggered the EU to start breach proceedings. However, despite experts suggesting there is a landing zone available, political tensions have made a deal impossible. The UK has threatened to trigger Article 16 of the Treaty, which is available to suspend the provisions if they are causing major social upheaval. However, a command paper previously suggested using legislation instead as a more permanent solution. The UK insists that the problem lies with the negotiating mandate given to vice-president Maros Sefcovic, which does not allow enough scope to find a settlement. The Bill has now finally been published, spelling out the arrangements that the UK believes are feasible. But it will take time to pass the law, and it is not likely to come into force immediately even when on the statute books. As a result the government has more time - and it hopes more leverage - to hammer out an agreement. The legislation could make it trickier though as the British demands are now spelled out in black and white, meaning potentially less scope for compromise. The Biden administration has also taken a dim view, urging continued talks to solve the problem. One carrot in the process is the chance to restore powersharing in Northern Ireland. DUP first minister Paul Givan resigned in February in an effort to force movement. That left the Executive unable to function, due to the way it was set up to share power under the Good Friday Agreement. While ministers remained in post, they were restricted in the actions they could take. Since 1998, when the governance system was devised as part of Northern Ireland's historic peace accord, the first minister has always been a Unionist. That all changed last month, when Sinn Fein became the largest party at Stormont for the first time ever. However, the DUP has insisted that it will not return until its demands over the Protocol are met. Ministers have made clear to the DUP that the new legislation will not be implemented unless they agree to resume powersharing first. Advertisement The Government is arguing the move does not break international law because there is an established 'doctrine of necessity' for changing treaties if they are causing serious harm. The EU has described the legal steps as a 'proportionate' response to the Government's tabling of domestic legislation which would give ministers the power to axe large parts of the deal governing the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The bloc has insisted its 'door remains open' for talks with the UK to find an agreed resolution to the furore over the so-called Irish Sea border. The stalled legal action related to the UK's unilateral extension of protocol grace periods in 2021. Resuming the proceedings, the EU is issuing the UK with a 'reasoned opinion' and giving it two months to respond. If the UK does not respond to the bloc's satisfaction, it will refer the matter to European Court of Justice. The two new infringement proceedings announced on Wednesday relate to alleged UK failures around Sanitary and Phytosanitary rules which are checks on agri-food produce entering NI from GB. It came as a Belgian MEP accused the PM of using the row to cover up for problems he is facing in the UK over the soaring cost of living and Partygate. Green politician Philippe Lamberts told BBC Radio4's Today programme: 'Everyone knows this is not about solving problems. It's about political posturing and deviating attention from other problems in the United Kingdom and therefore our patience has been tested to the extreme by Boris Johnson.' But Tory MPs said it should be the EU in the dock for its heavy-handed implementation of post-Brexit trade checks in NI that have been blamed for fuelling political tensions in the Province. Former Cabinet minister Sir John Redwood said it was 'absurd' that the UK was being threatened with legal action for defending the Protocol. 'Why don't they own up to the way they have broken the law by undermining the Good Friday Agreement?' he said. 'They are the lawbreakers, not the UK.' The Government's proposals would allow it to introduce a new 'green lane' that would avoid all checks on goods destined for use in Northern Ireland. British Ambassador to Ireland Paul Johnston has said that the UK Government is tabling a Bill to amend the Northern Ireland Protocol because it 'isn't working as well as we would want'. 'We'd like to make changes, ideally through negotiation with the European Union... We haven't got there yet, so we're introducing this legislation,' he told RTE Radio. Mr Johnston said that in taking the legislation forward, the British Government does so 'still in the hope that as we take the legislation forward, there will also be scope to take negotiation forward'. In relation to the European Commission's proposals published in October on how to improve the protocol, Mr Johnston said it was an 'important effort', but that they had proposed mitigating parts of the protocol that had not yet been implemented, which the ambassador said 'no-one is talking about any more'. 'It's really important that each side continues to clarify misunderstandings, address points that are in dispute, and also discuss the way forward,' he added. Stripping the European Court of Justice of its oversight role in the Northern Ireland Protocol is 'out of the question', an EU official has warned. The proposal is included in the contentious UK Government Bill empowering ministers with the ability to scrap the bulk of the protocol. The UK wants to tear up the existing governance arrangements, removing the ECJ as the final arbiter in protocol-related trade disputes and replacing it with an independent international arbitration mechanism. While it still envisages a reference procedure whereby the ECJ would retain a role for issues specific to EU law, Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants UK courts to oversee the operation of the protocol regime within Northern Ireland. The EU official said it would be impossible to remove the ECJ's role, as it was the only court with competency to deal with single market rules that apply in Northern Ireland. The Bill aims to sweep away key parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, including a check-free 'green channel' for goods from mainland Britain and stripping control from the EU court 'The effect of the protocol is to say that EU rules related to the single market for goods apply in Northern Ireland and it just takes that body of law and says it applies in the United Kingdom, in respect of Northern Ireland,' said the official. 'And the only court which is competent to rule on the interpretation of those laws, for the benefit of operators in the EU as well as in Northern Ireland, is the Court of Justice. 'And so removing the role of the Court of Justice is out of the question. 'And, in fact, it would be found illegal by the court itself, so it is kind of pointless to try.' Germany's ambassador to the UK has said the EU's trust in Britain has been damaged. Miguel Berger told the BBC's World At One programme: 'I think the most important issue is really to have a relationship of trust in everything we are doing together. That's also why this draft on Northern Ireland is so disappointing. 'We have this excellent cooperation on Ukraine where we have worked together, in Nato, in the G7, bilaterally, and in such a circumstance to have a dispute between the UK and the European Union is totally unnecessary. 'And I think the main issue is really how can trust be re-established?' Pressed on whether the UK is no longer trusted, Mr Berger said: 'I would not go so far to say that, but obviously it has had a negative effect.' WH Smith has seen sales soar thanks to a 'particularly sharp recovery' at its travel stores following the revival of international flights and the return of the office commute. It comes after months of travel chaos have seen thousands of travellers spend much more time at airports than usual, as they arrived extra early to avoid the hours-long queues and faced painfully-long delays and cancellations. Meanwhile the number of passengers travelling through the likes of Heathrow in May increased by eight-fold compared to last year, when Covid travel restrictions were still in place. Millions more workers have also begun commuting again as they are increasingly asked to return to the office, providing higher footfall at train stations and motorway services - although the number of people working from home (WFH) remains higher than before Covid. WH Smith said its total sales were at 107 per cent of pre-pandemic levels over the 15 weeks to June 11, with travel sales - meaning stores in airports and train stations - at 123 per cent of 2019 levels over the same period. While its travel stores are booming, its high street trading reported a slowdown to 79 per cent of 2019's levels over the same 15-week period. WH Smith said its total sales were at 107 per cent of pre-pandemic levels over the 15 weeks to June 11, with travel sales - meaning stores in airports and train stations - 123 per cent of 2019 levels over the same period. While its travel stores are booming, its high street trading reported a slowdown to 79 per cent of 2019's levels over the same 15-week period. (Stock image) It comes after months of travel chaos have seen thousands of travellers spend much more time at airports than usual, as they arrived extra early to avoid the hours-long queues and faced painfully-long delays and cancellations. (Long check-in queues at Manchester Airport this week) The London-listed firm highlighted that this included a negative impact from its Funky Pigeon online greeting cards business which saw orders halted by a cyber attack. The retailer, which sells everything from books and magazines, to food, drink and stationery, has branches in 29 UK airports and in more than 100 airports internationally. It also boasts 120 stores at train stations across the UK and Europe and more than 125 franchises operating at services on Britain's motorways. The retail firm told shareholders on Wednesday that it now expects annual trading to be at the top end of analyst expectations. Its sales boom has been buoyed by expansion in the travel sector, having purchased US-based airport technology retailer InMotion in 2018. The group added that it is due to expand further across the travel retail sector, with agreements on 125 new stores which have yet to open. 'In addition, there are a large number of ongoing tenders across our markets,' the company added. Rail stores also reported a recovery in trade as more people return to offices and spend more time commuting, although these sales on their own remained below pre-pandemic levels. Heathrow passenger numbers increase by 800% in a YEAR as sun-starved Brits look to get away for post-pandemic break The number of passengers passing through Heathrow Airport continues to rise as it emerges from the Covid pandemic. A total of 5.3million holidaymakers travelled through the west London travel hub in May, representing a 1.1million increase compared to March - and a staggering eight-fold surge compared to May last year, when Covid restrictions were in place. It opened its Terminal 4 for the first time in two years on Tuesday in a bid to cope with the summer surge in bookings. Advertisement In a statement, WH Smith said: 'While the broader global economy remains uncertain, the group is well positioned to capitalise on the ongoing recovery in our key markets and take advantage of the many opportunities ahead, including the 125 new stores won and yet to open, and our new store formats and category development across multiple geographies. 'Travel continues to perform strongly across all three divisions and we expect this to be maintained into the peak summer trading period. 'As a result, we now anticipate the full year outturn to be at the higher end of analysts' expectations.' Other airport retailers are also reporting gains, with Dufry, which runs World Duty Free at Heathrow, reporting 73 per cent of its 2019 European sales in the first quarter of this year. It enjoyed an overall boost of 144 per cent compared to last year, while its European arm enjoyed a 283 per cent surge in sales, making it the best performing region. CEO Julio Diaz said last month: 'Comparing February year-to-date and April year-to-date, Dufrys turnover has more than doubled. 'Within EMEA (Europe), the best performing region has been the Mediterranean, but also Southern Europe and the UK have significantly progressed.' It comes as airlines were told last night to ensure the recent 'unacceptable scenes' at British airports do not drag on into summer. The regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the Government urged carriers to ensure planned flights are 'deliverable'. The warning came as consumer group Which? said firms were 'blatantly flouting' passenger rights through practices such as taking bookings for flights which may not be able to run. Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by flight cancellations and long queues at airports in recent months, particularly during Easter and last month's half-term school holiday. The disruption has been blamed on aviation firms struggling to recruit enough staff to cope with demand for travel after thousands of jobs were cut during the pandemic. A joint letter from the CAA and Department for Transport said schedules should be 'resilient for unplanned and inevitable operational challenges'. Air industry representatives told the Commons business, energy and industrial strategy committee that staff shortages may not be fixed by the summer. It came as easyJet revealed it is taking four weeks longer than normal for new cabin crew recruits to receive security passes because of delays in references for people who have had so many different jobs in recent years. The airline said it was taking about ten weeks pre-pandemic to get ID passes, but this was now at 14 weeks due to a requirement for potential staff to obtain references for all the jobs they have done in the past five years. Elsewhere, rail bosses are expected to warn commuters not to travel by train during the most disruptive strike action in more than 30 years next week. Members of the RMT union at Network Rail and 13 train operators are to strike on June 21, 23 and 25 over pay, while the RMT and Unite are also striking on London Underground on June 21 in a separate row over jobs and pay. Southeastern, which runs trains between London, Kent and East Sussex, has now issued a map showing what limited services will be running during the period of industrial action on June 21, 23 and 25 Train operating companies are expected to instruct customers to avoid travelling when the strikes begin next Tuesday. Rail chiefs are understood to be 'fine-tuning' a pared-back timetable which could see services cut by up to 80 per cent and only operating for 11 hours, as negotiators grow increasingly doubtful of reaching a deal before next week's walkouts. Industry sources told the Telegraph that operators were under substantial pressure from ministers to avoid putting out 'do not travel' notices because Transport Secretary Grant Shapps 'doesn't want to give in to the union'. Planned rail strikes during 'summer of discontent' June 21 : RMT and Unite strike on London Underground : RMT and Unite strike on London Underground June 21, 23 and 25 : RMT strike on Network Rail and 13 train operators : RMT strike on Network Rail and 13 train operators June 26 : Aslef strike on Hull trains : Aslef strike on Hull trains June 28-29 and July 13-14 : Aslef strike on Croydon Tramlink, London : Aslef strike on Croydon Tramlink, London From July 25 : When Network Rail strike action could take place if TSSA members vote for it in ballot Advertisement But a source added: 'We will have to tell [passengers] not to travel because if we have people turning up as normal to stations expecting to get on a train, we will have a major problem.' Meanwhile, union sources told the newspaper the entire network would have to shut down during the strikes for safety reasons because of the number of safety-critical staff going on strike. Southeastern and Northern have both already instructed customers to avoid travelling next week and it is understood South Western will issue similar advice today while more are expected to follow suit before the strike. Up to 50 per cent of services may run on key inter-city routes such as the east coast and west coast main lines on which signalling has been automated, under emergency plans for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday next week. But these trains will only run between 7.30am and 6.30pm and rural areas will be cut off because they have no automated signalling and rely on signallers from the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union who are walking out. Passengers who choose to travel run the risk of being left stranded if their journeys involve a station change and they leave it too late in the day, because the last trains to cities such as Glasgow from Birmingham or further south are likely to leave in the early afternoon. It threatens to cause chaos for millions, affect key events such as Glastonbury and Armed Forces Day and even stop students attending school or sitting exams. Bird researchers have tracked a holidaymaker's every move even to a pizza restaurant in London after they went home with a tracking device from an oystercatcher. The GPS device had been set up to track the bird's flight from Dublin to Orkey but fell off somewhere on the island on Sanday. Researchers believe a holidaymaker then picked it up and took it home, via a campsite, a pizza restaurant and then a residential street in Ealing, west London. The GPS device had been set up to track the bird's flight from Dublin to Orkey but fell off somewhere on the island on Sanday. Pictured: PhD student Steph Trapp, who says the tag fell off the bird on April 7 Do YOU know the mystery holidaymaker? Email tips@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement A 100 reward is now being offered for return of the device, which is usually worth 1,000. The trackers, which look like plastic bricks and are powered by a solar panel, are superglued to oystercatchers so researchers can study the birds and designed to fall off in the spring. Professor Stu Bearhop, from the College of Life and Environment at the University of Exeter, told BBC Radio Orkney: 'They're really interested in how best to conserve those birds, and which habitats they need to put most effort into preserving.' The research is being carried out by PhD student Steph Trapp, who says the tag fell off the bird on April 7. It remained on a beach in Sanday until the end of May when it began moving again until reaching its destination in west London. A 100 reward is now being offered for return of the device, which is usually worth 1,000. Pictured: The device's tracking from Dublin via Orkney islands to west London The tracker (pictured on a bird) remained on a beach in Sanday until the end of May when it began moving again until reaching its destination in west London Ms Trapp said: 'We think someone must have found the tag whilst on holiday in Sanday, and taken it down with them.' She added that she would have done the same thing if she'd found something like the little tracker on a beach but has requested its return so it can be put on another bird. ***Do YOU know the mystery holidaymaker? Email tips@mailonline.co.uk*** Grief-stricken parents have slammed the 'inadequate' sentence handed to a teenage driver who fatally mowed down their beloved son and his pregnant wife. Kate Leadbetter, 31, and her partner Matthew Field, 37, were about to become parents for the first time, to a son they named Miles, when they were run over in Alexandra Hills in eastern Brisbane on Australia Day. The teenager, who cannot be named because he was 17 at the time, ran a red light in a stolen Landcruiser and collided with a truck before rolling and hitting the couple. Last week the teen, now aged 18, was jailed for ten years but Justice Martin Burns ordered that he be eligible for parole after serving six years. Ann and Russell Field (pictured in Brisbane on Friday) have spoken out for the first time against the 'inadequate' sentence handed to the teen driver that fatally mowed down their beloved son Kate Leadbetter, 31, and her partner Matthew Field, 37, were about to become parents for the first time, to a son they named Miles, when they were run over in eastern Brisbane last year The sentence has sparked controversy over whether six years is enough, with Matthew's heartbroken parents Russell and Ann Field slamming the sentence. The couple said they couldn't go to their graves without 'trying to keep this monster off the streets' and insisted even a life sentence wouldn't be long enough. Both the Field and Leadbetter families want the sentence reviewed and appealed, with a petition also garnering thousands of signatures. The campaign has called for changes to the Juvenile Justice Act to ensure juvenile delinquents who have offended several times are not granted bail. Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman has since referred the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions to receive advice on an appeal. In the last lines of his victim impact statement, Mr Field addressed the teenage offender who ended his son's life and said he would never accept his apology. 'May you rot in hell my dear man, may you rot in hell,' he wrote. The grieving father told the Courier Mail the sentence for the series of crimes committed by the troubled teen would never be enough. The couple (pictured arriving to a Brisbane court on June 7) insisted a life sentence wouldn't be long enough for the teen driver who killed their son and his pregnant partner 'Six years for killing three people, we classify Miles as a person, is totally incomprehensible and not acceptable on any person's terms,' he said. The couple also reminisced on the final memories of their son, which were spent watching an ultrasound of his unborn baby Miles on FaceTime. Mr Field warned that if the government 'sits on their hands on this' that they would be held accountable and said Queensland's justice system was flawed. 'It's a joke. In our hearts, lock him up for life. He took three lives that day. Three lives gone in an instant,' he said. 'Our lives will never be the same with this tragic loss, and has affected me, my family and friends in every possible way.' The Field's had been watching the evening news when they heard a couple in Alexandria Hills had been killed while walking their dogs. Immediately, they had a gut-feeling that it was Matthew and Kate, but had to wait three gruelling hours for their suspicions to be proven right by police. The convicted teenager was found to have a blood alcohol content between 0.151 and 0.192 per cent at the time of the crash. He had been drinking and using cannabis from about 10am that day. The 18-year-old - who was first charged with murder, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and a raft of other charges. The Field's (pictured on June 8) had been watching the evening news when they heard a couple in Alexandria Hills had been killed while walking their dogs Ann Field (pictured in Brisbane on June 10) has reminisced on the final memories of her son which were spent watching an ultrasound of his unborn baby Miles on FaceTime At his sentencing last week, the teen stood stony-faced as he was told he would be spending at least the next six years in prison. The court heard his upbringing was 'marked by significant deprivation and neglect'. The child safety department intervened when he was aged nine because he was self-harming, left unsupervised, unfed, and exposed to domestic violence and abuse. At times he used cannabis and methamphetamine every day, was frequently absent from school and sometimes living in parks. Justice Martin Burns said the tragedy was as an 'almost inevitable consequence' of the teen's actions in the lead up to the crash. He said taking into account the teen's protracted period of extremely dangerous driving that culminated in a grossly negligent final act, he regarded the manslaughter offences as 'particularly heinous'. 'No sentence will be adequate ... (and) can't do justice to the suffering you have caused,' he told the teenager. Pictured is the Toyota Land Cruiser that the teenager was driving at the time of the crash Ms Leadbetter's mother Jeannie Thorne described her only child as 'the light of our lives, the hope for our future' and broke down while describing the 'unbearable ... gaping hole in our everyday existence'. I should be in my other life, the one that's been ripped away, the life of a mother and a grandmother, I should be holding her baby boy,' Ms Thorne said. 'We will never see our girl again, never have grandchildren. Our family is destroyed.' Justice Burns noted the teen had showed genuine remorse for his actions. He will be eligible for parole in 2027. A 22-year-old pregnant woman has been found decapitated, just weeks before her family were set to surprise her with a baby shower. Liese Dodd, who was eight months pregnant with her first child, was discovered by her mother in her apartment in Alton, Illinois, on Thursday. Her decapitated head was found in a dumpster outside the building in a murder police have described as 'abominable'. Dodd's ex-boyfriend Deundrea Holloway, 22, has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of the expectant mother and her unborn baby girl. Dodd, who fondly called her unborn child 'my little bean', has been described by her family as a 'bright light that cared for everyone'. Her mother, Heidi Noel, said the family were planning a baby shower for Dodd for the end of this month - and were gathering gifts together ahead of the birth in late July. Noel, who is now instead planning a funeral for her daughter and granddaughter, said she had sent out the invitations and the family were gathering gifts together. She said Holloway was not the father of the baby, but the pair had been in an on-and-off relationship for two years. Liese Dodd, 22, was found decapitated outside her apartment in Alton, Illinois The murdered woman's ex Deundrea Holloway, 22, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of intentional homicide to an unborn child, dismembering a human body, offenses relating to motor vehicles, and concealment of a homicide death 'We were planning her baby shower for the end of this month,' Noel told KMOV. 'I had just sent out invitations the prior Saturday for the baby shower. We were just excited and gathering the items you need to have a baby. 'She wasn't set on a name yet. [She] said "my little bean". So, we essentially were calling the baby "baby bean".' Noel is now planning to hold a 'celebration of life' for her daughter and grandchild after finding Dodd's decapitated body. 'It's not something I wish on anybody. So, yeah, I'd rather not speak on that,' she said. The suspect has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of intentional homicide to an unborn child, dismembering a human body, offenses relating to motor vehicles, and concealment of a homicide death. Holloway is being held in jail on a $2,000,000 bond. Liese Dodd, who was eight months pregnant with her first child, was discovered by her mother in her apartment in Alton, Illinois, on Thursday Dodd grew up and went to school in Jerseyville, Illinois, and had just recently moved into a home in Alton. Noel said that because of the 'nature' of Dodd's relationship with Holloway, she would contact her daughter every day to check-in. But when she hadn't responded for a while, she decided to check on her. A neighbor told local news outlet 5 On Your Side that Noel 'looked so broken' after discovering her daughter's body. 'She turned around, she looked at us, me and my boyfriend were standing in the doorway and she said, "He [expletive] killed her",' the neighbor said. April Wooten, Dodd's next-door neighbor, said: 'I have a 3-year-old daughter, and I could not imagine, anybody putting their hands on her in any type of way, or having to find my daughter like that. 'Im praying for her mom and her family as well, hoping one day they can get some type of peace.' Noel said that knowing that Holloway had been charged had given her some relief. 'Im glad that hes off the streets, and that is my big hope is that hes no longer able to do this to anyone else,' she said. Noel, paying tribute to her daughter, said she had a 'beautiful smile'. 'She was just a bright light that cared for everyone,' Noel continued. 'She had a big heart. Shed do anything for anyone. Shed go out of her way to help people.' Alton Police Chief Marcos Pulido said in an emotional video that the murder of Dodd is 'abominable', adding that she was 'decapitated by a freaking savage monster'. Chief Pulido issued a statement regarding Murder charges being issued today, describing the crime as 'beyond reprehensible' He added: 'This daughter, this mother to be, and her family, were in the planning stages of a baby shower that was supposed to be at the end of June. 'Instead now the family is planning a funeral because of what a monster did. Irreprehensible. What a savage monster did to her. 'Her mother had to go through something that nobody should ever have to go through. First of all no parent should ever have to bury their child. 'But her mother had not heard from her in a little bit and wanted to go check on her to see if she was ok and found her in a way that you can't imagine.' The suspect was transferred to the Macoupin County Jail where he was later identified as wanted for questioning by the Alton Police Department. Madison County State Attorney Thomas Haine said: 'We believe the evidence will show that the defendants gruesome actions here killed both a young woman and the child she carried in her womb. 'In the eyes of the law, both these killings are equal and he will now face justice for both.' Neighbors told KMOV that they are praying for Dodds family. Some of Noels classmates are planning a display to commemorate her daughter. 'I truly appreciate the support, and I just wish she wouldve known how loved she was,' said Noel. 'That she wouldnt have ever been alone, [and] that she couldve gotten out of this relationship and had a full life.' Elon Musk today said he wants to create a 'Super Moderate Super PAC' that would raise money for candidates with centrist views - regardless of their political party. The world's richest man is registered as an independent voter and has described himself as a 'moderate'. Musk said he wanted to create a PAC that would 'support candidates with centrist views from all parties'. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also revealed he was leaning towards voting for Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely believed to be weighing a bid for the White House in 2024, in the next presidential election. DeSantis has for the last two years deftly used the COVID-19 pandemic as a springboard to GOP stardom by portraying Florida as a beacon of freedom - even as public health experts have slammed as reckless and dangerous his hostility to basic public health precautions. Musk also said he had voted Republican for the first time in the primary elections, casting his vote in favor of Mayra Flores, who last night made history by becoming the first Mexican-born Congresswoman to serve in the House after beating a Democrat in Texas. Whilst Musk describes himself as a moderate, in recent years - and particularly while publicly discussing his on-hold $44 billion takeover of Twitter - he has demonstrated he leaning more towards the political right. Elon Musk today said he wants to create a 'Super Moderate Super PAC' that would raise money for candidates with centrist views - regardless of their political party Musk said he wanted to create a PAC that would 'support candidates with centrist views from all parties' The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also revealed he was leaning towards voting for Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely believed to be weighing a bid for the White House in 2024, in the next presidential election On Wednesday, Musk tweeted: 'I'm thinking of creating a "Super Moderate Super PAC" that supports candidates with centrist views from all parties.' Meanwhile, Musk said he voted for Flores in the primary elections. 'First time I ever voted Republican,' he tweeted. 'Massive red wave in 2022.' Flores will now represent a once solidly Democratic district in South Texas after she beat Democrat Dan Sanchez in a special primary election to finish the term of former Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela, who resigned this year to become a lobbyist. When Musk was asked by a follower if he would be voting for a Republican in the next presidential election, Musk said he was still undecided. But when Musk was asked who he was leaning towards, he responded: 'DeSantis'. Musk was also asked what he thought of Andrew Yang, who ran in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. He said: 'I supported Yang last time, but DeSantis has a better chance of winning.' A follower also asked him: 'Is this the first time that has happened... where you're receiving massive amounts of hate by the top Democrat leaders?' The Tesla CEO responded 'yes'. Musk also said he had voted Republican for the first time in the primary elections, casting his vote in favor of Mayra Flores, who last night made history by becoming the first Mexican-born Congresswoman to serve in the House after beating a Democrat in Texas. He also said he was leaning towards voting for DeSantis in the presidential election Last month, Musk confirmed he will switch political allegiances and vote for the Republican party in the next election, after casting his ballot 'overwhelmingly' for the Democrat party in the past. Speaking via video link at a tech summit in Miami, Florida in May, hosted by the All-In podcast, Musk confirmed he would be changing his vote. 'The reality is that Twitter at this point, you know, has a very far left bias,' Musk told attendees. 'I would classify myself as a moderate, neither Republican nor Democrat. 'I have voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, historically. Like I'm not sure, I might never have voted for a Republican, just to be clear,' Musk continued, adding: 'Now this election I will.' Insider reported that he did not clarify whether he meant he would vote for the eventual Republican candidate during the 2024 presidential election, or for a GOP candidate in the up-coming November mid-terms. Musk's political views have been thrust into the spotlight since he announced his intention to purchase Twitter. His offer to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share was made public on April 14. He has since said the deal is on hold, arguing - without presenting evidence - that there are too many automated accounts for the $44 billion deal to move ahead. Speaking via video link at a tech summit in Miami in May (pictured), hosted by the All-In podcast, Musk confirmed he would be changing his vote from Democrat to Republican At the end of April, Musk hinted his political sentiment had shifted rightward over the past 14 years, by posting a meme showing a moderate liberal driven into the arms of conservatives. The image depicted a stick figure labeled 'me' remaining stationary relative to another labeled 'conservative', as the figure at the 'liberal' end of the spectrum moves further and further to the left. By the final diagram, labeled 2021, the 'me' figure is to the right of the center line - as the conservative chuckles and the liberal - now labeled 'woke progressive' - accuses the centrist of bigotry. Many Democrats and liberals are concerned that Musk's vision for Twitter will allow for the spread of more misinformation on the platform. Meanwhile, GOP politicians and those that are more right-leaning have hailed his potential takeover as a victory for free speech. Some Republican figures are hopeful that they may see GOP accounts reinstated on the platform, having been previously banned - such as the Twitter account belonging to former President Donald Trump. However, those hopes were stifled when Musk announced that his takeover had been put on hold, citing concerns over fake accounts on Twitter. A midwife who tried to save a baby girl who was later allegedly murdered by her parents told a court that a social worker she alerted was 'generally disinterested' and even demanded 'why are we even discussing her'. Lily-Mai Saint George was just ten weeks old when she died from a serious head injury and had also suffered 18 rib fractures, two fractures in her leg and severe bruising. Lauren Saint George and Darren Hurrell, both 25, are accused of shaking their ten-week-old daughter to death eight days after she was released into their care despite the objections of hospital staff. Medics made a total of three referrals to social services expressing concern for Lily-Mai before she was discharged. The parents both deny murder, manslaughter, causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16 years old. Saint George - who was described in a report by neonatal sister Deborah Hodge as 'getting angry very easily' - and Hurrell had been homeless for several years and staff had tried to stop them taking Lily-Mai home, believing they were incapable of looking after her, jurors heard. Staff were horrified when Saint George told them she 'hated' the noises Lily-Mai made and wished she would 'cry instead of groaning'. But when medics told one social worker they were worried the parents would not look after the baby, they said they felt they were not being taken seriously. Midwife MarieCreighton said the council worker had 'sauntered in with a miserable look on her face' and had insisted 'everything was fine'. Lily-Mail died at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital on 2 February 2018, after being found unresponsive by her parents at their home in Belmont Road, Haringey, two days earlier. She had been born prematurely in November 2017 and spent the first two months of her life in Barnet Hospital, before she was discharged into her parents' care on 25 January 2018. She was 10 weeks and two days old and only two weeks past a normal pregnancy term at the time of her death. Lauren Saint George, pictured arriving at court today, and Darren Hurrell, both 25, allegedly shook their ten-week-old daughter to death Darren Hurrell arrives at Wood Green Crown Court, London, where he and Lauren Saint George are charged with the murder of their baby daughter Midwife Creighton told jurors, in a statement, about the attitude of the social worker in a professionals meeting on 16 January 2018 in which hospital staff discussed safeguarding Lily-Mai in the event of her discharge. 'I remember hersauntering in with a miserable look on her face. 'She said she had been to Lauren and Darren's flat and everything was fine and she didn't understand why she was called into the meeting, "why are we even discussing her?" 'She displayed a generally disinterested attitude. 'We explained our concerns. 'The social worker then began to change her attitude.' Ms Creighton could not remember who the social worker was. Saint George and Hurrell arrived halfway through the meeting and the doctor present questioned them about how they would look after Lily-Mai if and when she was discharged, jurors heard. Ms Creighton said: 'I just sat there and realised that they would not cope. Lauren Saint George smiles broadly as she leaves Woodgreen Crown Court yesterday Darren Hurrell arrived at Wood Green Crown Court, London, yesterday where he and Lauren Saint George are charged with the murder Neonatal sister Deborah Hodge (pictured) confirmed in court that she had written in a report: 'Mum was very open about the fact that she gets angry very easily' A life just 73 days long: The tragic dates in little Lily-Mai's too-short childhood November 21, 2017 - Lily-Mai is born prematurely and spends the first two months of her life in Barnet Hospital. January 16, 2018 Staff at the hospital Staff hold meetings with the parents when they talk about the care of Lily-Mai January 21, 2018 Another meeting is held where 'concerns about the possibility of neglect' are aired. January 24, 2018 Police are called to a domestic incident at Saint George and Hurrell's flat in Haringey. Social worker Theresa Ferguson is informed and she makes a referral for a 'legal gateway meeting' which was the first step in intervening in Lily-Mai's care. January 25, 2018 Lily-Mail is released into the care of both of her parents, despite medics' concerns. Theresa Ferguson goes on holiday. January 26, 2018 Duty social worker Muriel Caboste visits the flat and decides there are not increased child protection issues. This is despite her noticing the parents were not following the feeding and medication chart that they had been provided with on discharge. January 31, 2018 Theresa Ferguson has returned from holiday and visits them at their flat to discuss the 'legal gateway meeting' and how to safeguard Lily-Mai. Saint George refuses to engage and storms out. Four hours later Saint George rings 999 and says Lily-Mail is seriously ill and she is rushed to hospital. February 2, 2018 Lily-Mail is pronounced dead at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Advertisement 'During this meeting while they were both in the room the smell of their body odour became apparent and became increasingly worse.' Prior to this meeting, Ms Creighton expressed 'grave concerns' about Lily-Mai and the couple's parenting skills, jurors heard. Ms Creighton said she first met Saint George and Hurrell at Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield, north London. 'I did immediately think they came across as a couple who needed extra care,' she told the court in a statement. 'They were both scruffy in appearance.' After this first meeting, the midwife thought Saint George's history 'didn't add up'. 'Alarm bells were ringing in my head,' she said. Saint George attended all of her appointment pre-birth with Hurrell, the court heard. 'Both came across as wanting the baby and seemed happy in the situation,' Ms Creighton said. After Lily-Mai's birth, Ms Creighton alleged that Saint George showed 'little interest' in her baby. On 21 November 2017, four days after Lily-Mai was born, Ms Creighton paid Saint George and Hurrell a visit at Barnet Hospital. 'I told her well done for getting to 31 weeks,' the midwife said. 'I said to her, 'Let's go and see Lily-Mai.' 'Lauren replied something like, 'No I'm having my dinner.' 'Darren then told her dinner could wait and Lauren said, 'Oh alright then come on.' The trio went to see the baby, jurors heard. Ms Creighton continued: 'Lauren however just stood there with her back to the babymoaning about finding housing, money. 'Both myself and Darren told her to look at the baby and she may have glanced at her but I'm not sure.' The midwife said she contacted the special care unit afterwards to enquire about how Saint George was getting on with Lily-Mai. The trial continues. Jacob Rees-Mogg is facing a Cabinet backlash against his plans to axe all remaining EU laws on the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote. The Brexit Opportunities minister has proposed a 'sunset clause' be activated on 23rd June 2026. At this point, all Brussels rules retained from the UK's EU membership would no longer be part of British law. Mr Rees-Mogg is preparing a 'Brexit Freedoms Bill' to be presented this summer to make it easier to remove or amend retained EU laws. But his proposal for a cliff edge in four years' time, at which remaining laws would fall away, is being met by opposition among other ministers. The are also said to be concerns within Whitehall about departments having to wade through hundreds of retained EU laws to decide which need to be replaced with a domestic variation. This would occur during a time when the Government has pledged to slash 91,000 civil service jobs. In a letter to Mr Rees-Mogg, seen by the Guardian, Environment Secretary George Eustice expressed fears that officials' time would be 'wasted on minor issues' when he had been 'trying to focus my officials' time on the flagship bodies of EU law that have the greatest impact'. Jacob Rees-Mogg is preparing a 'Brexit Freedoms Bill' to be presented this summer to make it easier to remove or amend retained EU laws Environment Secretary George Eustice expressed fears that officials' time would be 'wasted on minor issues' Mr Rees-Mogg has proposed a 'sunset clause' be activated on 23rd June 2026 - the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote The Cabinet minister said the 'pressure of an early sunset cliff edge would mean that officials would be spending too much time' looking at laws of lesser importance. He added that 'messing around' with the minutiae of some retained EU laws 'costs businesses money and is unlikely to make much difference'. According to the newapsper, Mr Rees-Mogg is also considering alternative dates 'significant in the Brexit calendar' for the date of a sunset clause. These include 31st January 2030 - a decade since Britain formally left the EU. Catherine Barnard, a professor of EU law at Cambridge University, said: 'A sunset clause is an effective but crude mechanism for bringing to an end whole swathes of retained EU law, much of which still serves a valuable function. 'Replacing worthwhile EU rules with a domestic variation will take significant civil servant and parliamentary time when the country has other pressing priorities.' In the Queen's Speech last month, which set out the Government's legislative agenda, ministers pledged the Brexit Freedoms Bill would 'end the supremacy of European law and seize the benefits of Brexit'. The legislation will ensure that 'retained EU law can be amended, repealed or replaced with legislation which better suits the UK, without this taking decades of parliamentary time to achieve'. Ministers also promised to cut 1billion of 'burdensome EU red tape' for businesses. A Government review of retained EU law identified more than 1,400 pieces of EU-derived law that had been transferred into UK law. A high-flying barrister was stalked by his ex-girlfriend, who sneaked into his home, demanded cash and plagued him with unwanted phone calls. Charles Bear, QC, said 52-year-old Helen Faure developed an 'extremely unhealthy obsession' with him following their break-up during a summer holiday. At the peak of the harassment, Faure followed Mr Bear into his home in upmarket Highgate, northwest London, and refused to leave as his family cowered in their bedrooms. Faure also sent a barrage of offensive emails to him making derogatory remarks about him and family members. She turned up to his home repeatedly and waited outside his chambers in central London, Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court heard. Faure, who lives in fashionable Camden Mews where properties can fetch up to 1.8m, denied but was convicted of stalking the lawyer between September 29 and October 20 last year. Mr Bear, 59, told the court he dated Faure for eight months before their relationship ended abruptly during a holiday in France last August. He said an argument erupted when Faure sent a postcard to Mr Bear's ex-partner. Charles Bear, QC, said 52-year-old Helen Faure, pictured, developed an 'extremely unhealthy obsession' with him following their break-up during a summer holiday Mr Bear, 59, told the court he dated Faure for eight months before their relationship ended Mr Bear said: 'I said it would cause a great deal of distress to send that card. To my horror a few days later I received a WhatsApp picture from my ex of the card saying 'what's this?' 'I made it quite clear that was the end between us. I said to her that what you have done is completely wrong.' Mr Bear said following the break-up Faure turned up uninvited at his home at all hours and called him up on his phone through he night. He claimed she also turned up 'begging' for cash and even hand-delivered a letter to his former partner with a list of texts between Mr Bear and herself. Mr Bear, based at Fountain Chambers in Temple, specialises in 'commercial litigation and arbitration, fraud, shareholder disputes, aviation work, and judicial review' according to his firm's website. The QC is described in The Legal 500 as 'Probably the most outstanding trial and appellate advocate of his generation'. Mr Bear told the court Faure had an 'unhealthy obsession' with his ex-partner. 'I did feel harassed very much so by the fact that Faure knew my ex's address.' The Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court case saw Faure get a 12 month community order After sneaking into his home Faure sat smiling on the sofa for 20 minutes until police officers arrived to take her away. 'It was an unhealthy obsession' said Mr Bear. Adam Croft, defending, suggested Mr Bear was 'picking and choosing which matters to tell the court' and claimed the lawyer gave Faure more cash 'than she asked for' on 4 October. Mr Croft claimed there were 'gaping holes' in the prosecution case, adding: 'There are two sides to every story.' Giving evidence Faure claimed her behaviour was justified as their relationship had not ended. In cross examination she agreed her conduct was not acceptable but told the court: 'In this world it is very common.' Faure, who appeared in court wearing a blue dress and grey cardigan, denied but was convicted of stalking without fear, alarm or distress. Magistrate Judge Anna Kaposi told Faure: 'The matter is not disputed that the defendant had previously been in a relationship which has now ended. 'The complainant received about 40 emails from you in October after you had been asked not to contact the complainant.' Ms Kaposi said the barrister's evidence was 'clear and consistent' but Faure was 'not clear or specific' in many of her answers. Faure was sentenced to a 12 month community order with one requirement of 25 rehabilitation activity days. She was fined 100 fine, ordered to pay 200 in prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of 95. Ms Kaposi also made a restraining order preventing Faure from going within 200 metres of the victim's home and to not directly or indirectly contact Mr Bear or his ex-partner, adding: 'If you breach the restraining order it is a very serious offence and you can go to prison for up to five years.' Advertisement A 10-year-old deaf and mute boy who was stuck down an 80ft well in India with a snake and a frog for four days has been found alive. Rahul Sahu fell down the waterhole on Friday while playing in the backyard of his house in the central state of Chhattisgarh. The incident sparked a massive rescue operation of over 500 people, including army, police and disaster relief officials, who were plagued by bad weather, venomous snakes and scorpions. But they succeeded in digging a 15-feet tunnel with earth movers and cranes to connect the pit with the borewell and rescue the boy on Tuesday night after 104 hours. He is currently in hospital in intensive care but is 'stable' and expected to recover soon, local media reported. Rahul Sahu pictured coming out of the hole with an oxygen mask while being carried by rescuers. Rahul was taken to Bilaspur Apollo Hospital where he is intensive care under the supervision of a team of specialist doctors, local media reported A 10-year-old deaf and mute boy who was stuck down an 80ft well in India with a snake and a frog for four days has been found alive. The tragedy sparked a massive rescue operation of over 500 people, including army, police and disaster relief officials, who were plagued by bad weather, venomous snakes and scorpions Rahul Sahu fell down the waterhole on Friday while playing in the backyard of his house in the central state of Chhattisgarh Army soldiers and members of India's disaster response agency lent their assistance in the rescue mission. But bad weather and venomous snakes and scorpions unearthed by the dig had hampered rescue efforts, local officials said In another post Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel also wrote: 'Understandably, the challenge was huge. But our team stands calm in the face of adversity. If the path is tricky, our will is strong' Rahul Sahu was brought out thanks to 'blessings and dedicated efforts of the rescue team', Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel said Announcing the news of Sahu's recue, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel paid tribute to the 'brave' 10-year-old who he said was found with a snake and a frog. And Mr Baghel added: 'We all wish [that he] returns completely from the hospital soon. Congratulations and thanks again to all the team involved in this operation.' Rahul was taken to Bilaspur Apollo Hospital where he is intensive care under the supervision of a team of specialist doctors, local media reported. In another post he also wrote: 'Understandably, the challenge was huge. But our team stands calm in the face of adversity. If the path is tricky, our will is strong. 'With blessings and dedicated efforts of the rescue team, Rahul Sahu has been brought out. We hope and pray he gets better soon.' While in the tunnel, Sahu was 'responding well' to rescuers and a camera was used to monitor his condition and movements, Janjgir district police chief Vijay Agrawal told AFP by phone from the scene A huge rescue team is seen staring down the entrance of the deep well as they continue their mission to free the trapped young boy Rahul is pictured down the well after a camera was sent down the hole as rescuers try to pull him to safety. Janjgir district police chief Vijay Agrawal told AFP by phone from the scene: 'Since the boy cannot speak or listen, we have a bigger challenge' Announcing the news of Sahu's recue, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel paid tribute to the 'brave' 10-year-old who he said was found with a snake and a frog Bilaspur Collector Jitendra Shukla said to local media: 'His condition is stable and he will recover soon. He is being shifted to Apollo hospital in Bilaspur district in an ambulance under the observation of specialist doctors, for which a green corridor has been created for about 100 km to facilitate speedy movement.' Army soldiers and members of India's disaster response agency lent their assistance in the rescue mission. But bad weather and venomous snakes and scorpions unearthed by the dig had hampered rescue efforts, local officials said. While in the tunnel, Sahu was 'responding well' to rescuers and a camera was used to monitor his condition and movements, Janjgir district police chief Vijay Agrawal told AFP by phone from the scene. 'Since the boy cannot speak or listen, we have a bigger challenge,' he added. Earth movers and cranes were helping dig a tunnel next to the well, which is only a couple of feet wide. Also seen is rescuers with tools as the dig was underway from Friday to Tuesday night Army soldiers and members of India's disaster response agency were also lending their assistance in the rescue mission Bad weather and venomous snakes and scorpions unearthed by the dig have hampered rescue efforts, local officials said An oxygen pipe was feeding Sahu fresh air, but a government spokesman did say the tunnelling effort had been slowed down by hard stone underneath the ground. Mr Baghel said before Sahu was recued he was hopeful he would be brought up from the well alive and tweeted that the boy had eaten a banana sent down to him by rescuers. Uncovered wells are a common feature of Indian farming villages but are frequently implicated in fatal accidents involving young children. In 2019, a two-year-old toddler was pulled out dead from a well after a four-day rescue effort in the northern state of Punjab. The same year a one-and-a-half-year-old child was rescued in neighbouring Haryana state after being trapped for two days. In February, tragedy struck in Morocco when five-year-old Rayan who was trapped 100ft underground for four days was found dead by rescue teams. In February, tragedy struck in Morocco when five-year-old Rayan who was trapped 100ft underground for four days was found dead by rescue teams Rescuers worked to reach the five-year-old boy trapped in a well in the northern hill town of Chefchaouen, Morocco Just days later, Haidar, a five-year-old boy who was stuck for three days down a well in a remote Afghan village also died Rayan Awram fell into a 32-metre (105ft) well outside his home in Ighran village, in the northern province of Chefchaouen, sparking a race-against-the-clock rescue mission. After digging vertically and then horizontally - all the while risking a landslide - rescuers finally reached the boy as they were filmed removing his body before rushing him away to be treated by doctors, as thousands of gathered villagers shouted prayers and well wishes. But government officials then confirmed that the young boy could not be resuscitated, adding that he had tragically died before rescuers could reach him. Just days later, a five-year-old boy who was stuck for three days down a well in a remote Afghan village also died. Haidar was wedged 33ft down the well and rescuers spent three days desperately digging in an attempt to reach the boy in Shokok village, Zabul province, southern Afghanistan. Singapore Changi Airport / gettyimagesbank The southern resort island of Jeju welcomed the first direct flight from Singapore, Wednesday, as part of efforts to revive its pandemic-hit tourism industry. Singaporean budget carrier Scoot's Airbus A321neo aircraft arrived at Jeju International Airport early in the morning as the airline inaugurated its non-stop service between Singapore and the island. The regular service will run three times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. It is Korea's second direct flight service with the Southeast Asian country, after one linking the city-state and Incheon, west of Seoul, which is also operated by the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. Scoot's flight TR812, nearly packed to capacity with 201 passengers, touched down on Jeju at 8:45 a.m. after a roughly six-hour journey from Singapore's Changi Airport. They were greeted by jubilant officials from the local government, the airport and tourism organizations. They received a safety travel kit and a bouquet of flowers and took photos under the welcome banner. "I am very happy to be back to Jeju after two years. I visited last time in fall and was curious about what Jeju would be like in summer," a 28-year-old Malaysian woman said. Singaporean Ambassador to Korea Eric Teo welcomed the launch of the flight service and expressed the hope that it would help promote tourism and exchanges between Jeju and Singapore. All the visitors will take COVID-19 tests within three days of arrival and take trips to major tourist destinations on the island, Jeju officials said. Among the passengers were tourism industry officials from Malaysia and marketing managers of global online travel agency Klook.com, they said. Scoot had planned to launch the Jeju flight in 2020 but delayed the plan due to COVID-19. Jeju, the nation's most popular tourist destination, reopened its border to vaccinated international tourists earlier this month, as the government loosened travel restrictions with infections sharply declining. About 180 people visited the island on a flight from Bangkok, June 3. They were first foreign tourists to land on Jeju after international flights were suspended in April 2020. The island also resumed its visa waiver program this month, which it had halted Feb. 4, 2020. It was introduced in 2002, allowing international travelers to stay for up to 30 days without obtaining a prior visa. "Ahead of the summer vacation season, online searches for Scoot's Jeju routes and hotel reservation websites have increased," Kim Ae-sook, head of the tourism bureau of the provincial government, said. "We hope the launch of the regular flight will serve as a catalyst to blow away the worries of the international tourism industry," she added. (Yonhap) A hardworking single mother has been asked to make a choice nobody should have to make - put her special needs son in a care home or have a roof over her family's head. Mother-of-three Bec Darby, 33, has been struggling to find a rental property suitable for her disabled son Hunter, 14, who is wheelchair-bound. Ms Darby was told by a government agency that she should consider putting Darby into a care facility to increase her chance of finding a home. 'It's very stressful right now and it just isn't right,' she told A Current Affair. Bec Darby, 33, is pictured operating a hoist to help her son Hunter, 14, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy Hunter was born with a muscle wasting disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy. 'It is a terminal illness, there is no cure. So he needs to be hoisted. He needs (a) wheelchair, he's completely wheelchair bound,' Mrs Darby said. 'He needs self help with self care. As well as caring for Hunter and his two younger sisters, Ms Darby also works full time in aged care. She recently found out that after seven years, their landlord wanted the house they are renting back. But with rental vacancies at less than 1 per cent in regional areas - the family lives south of Sydney - finding a replacement home suitable for a disabled child in a wheelchair is no easy matter. There are matters to consider that most people never have to think of, such as wide doors to accomodate a wheelchair, no stairs and being able to get Hunter into a bath with a hoist. Ms Darby has already looked at more than 100 properties, but has not been able to find anything suitable. She sought help from a government agency, but was shocked by their response. 'I've been told ... there is a chance that ... Hunter may need to go to a home to be able to get housing for us, which is really, really scary. Bec Darby (pictured) has two months to find a new home for her and her three children, one of whom is in a wheelchair 'That's the life that we're living at the moment.' But there is no way she is leaving Hunter, from whom she has never been separated. 'Definitely not. That is not what I'm about. We stick together, my family.' Ms Darby said she is 'mentally struggling a little bit just because I'm really worried that the kids are going to be separated'. 'I rang the public housing system thinking surely I would be entitled to come on some priority list,' Ms Darby said. Hunter Darby (right) is pictured with his two sisters. Hunter has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and the family needs a house suitable for his wheelchair 'You know, a single mum with kids, one with additional needs. But unfortunately I earn too much money ... 'So I do not qualify to be eligible for anything, which is sickening.' It was suggested to her that a way around the system was to get public housing by quitting her job. But that is not the kind of person she is. 'For me to quit my job to then have no money and live off the government to live in government housing... You want to work, You don't want to rely on the state. 'It's just obscene. It's absolutely ridiculous. It's not what I want to do,' said Ms Darby. 'It's not what I want to show my kids, you know, I want to show them that you can work and you can, you know, you can do all those things.' She said she is publicising her housing difficulties 'not only to help me, but it's to help other people because it's not fair on anybody that has to go through (this). 'I know people that have been living in their cars because they've got nowhere to go and they're a single person on their own with no responsibilities.' Ms Darby said the family needs 'Something so that (Hunter) can get throughout the house like everybody else would be (able to). 'So he feels part of the family, and a suitable bathroom is essential.' The family has just over two months left to find a suitable house between Shellharbour and Gerringong in NSW - the location is needed due to Ms Darby's work and the children's before and after school care. What is Duchenne muscular dystrophy? Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder characterised by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness due to the alterations of a protein called dystrophin that helps keep muscle cells intact. DMD symptom onset is in early childhood, usually between ages two and three. The disease primarily affects boys, but in rare cases it can affect girls. Source: Muscular Dystrophy Association Advertisement 'Trying to figure that out is really really scary because I don't know what I'm going to do once the 10 weeks is up and if I will be able to find something that's suitable for myself and my family,' she said. Ms Darby doesn't want to think about what will happen if she can't find a house. 'As a mother you have to provide, you have to do everything you can to keep the family together and when you're pushed back time and time again, it's hard. It's tiring,' she said. If anyone knows of an appropriate rental property for the Darby family that is wheelchair accessible for Hunter and between Shellharbour and Gerringong, they are asked to get in touch through Channel 9's A Current Affair. A teacher who allegedly put a prosthetic penis down his trousers and made 'suggestive movements' towards his colleagues is facing being struck off. Derek Turkington is accused of making lewd gestures towards another member of staff between August 2017 and May 2018. He is also accused of shouting at a pupil at the Newbattle Community High School in Dalkeith, Midlothian, in front of a colleague in January 2018. Mr Turkington allegedly said: 'Colleague A, can you please tell him that his dad clearly doesn't care about him and that he needs to move on and get a grip.' A member of staff described him as a 'kind of Benny Hill character in his regards to sexual actions or language.' Mr Turkington, from Glasgow, is also accused of placing his finger through the zipper of his trousers to mimic male genitals. Derek Turkington, a Personal and Social Education teacher in Midlothian, could be banned from teaching following the tribunal. He is accused of making lewd comments towards several members of staff He reportedly also shouted at a pupil in January 2018 in front of another member of staff before sending round an email. Turkington is also accused of scaring pupils by nailing wood over a school door A tribunal at the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) also heard that he caused pupils distress after nailing a piece of wood over a school door. He now faces being removed from the teaching register GTCS following a three day hearing this week. Eilidh Keeble joined Newbattle Community High School in late 2017 and was made aware of rumours involving Derek Turkington's alleged behaviour. She told the hearing today that she was not shocked by his behaviour, as she had witnessed him harass other colleagues in the past. Mrs Keeble alleges that people were uncomfortable being in the same room as Mr Turkington, and claimed that he called a colleague gay. She said: 'It didn't really surprise me as I had seen how he was towards Martin Newcombe and saying Martin was gay, I witnessed him making comments towards Martin and towards Andrea, you could see Martin was uncomfortable. 'I can't say for sure that any pupils witnessed this but I felt uncomfortable being in the room, Derek is quite an intimidating man and nobody wanted to speak up and cross him.' However another colleague, Martin Newcombe, claimed that Turkington's actions with the prostetic was just 'Derek being Derek'. The Personal and Social Education teacher reportedly used the artificial item to make suggestive movements towards other staff at the school. Mr Newcombe told the hearing: 'There was a big box of prosthetic penis in the box room just off the guidance room and people would store their coffee and tea in there. 'Derek would often play about with these [prosthetics], I took no offence to what he did, other staff laughed at it too. 'I was very rarely in contact with Derek, he would interact with pupils but he had a sense of humour that the pupils liked, he broke down barriers and pupils seemed to respond well. 'It was all just the way he was, to someone who did not know him it was probably different but that was Derek, he was a kind of Benny Hill character in his regards to sexual actions or language. 'When he was messing around it was just Derek being Derek, it meant nothing to me, if I thought he had been deliberately offensive I would have reported it.' Ms Keeble added that she was left 'upset' following an incident with a pupil and Mr Turkington, as she felt that he should not have screamed at the boy. The student had been wandering the corridors when he was shouted at by Mr Turkington in front of Ms Keeble, who described him as 'ranting'. She told the hearing: 'Pupil A used to frequent the corridors of the school, he was quite open about wanting to find his dad but when he did, his dad did not want to have contact. 'It was hard for Pupil A, he was a teenager and he felt rejected. Derek was getting annoyed by the situation and he banged on the door to the boy and said "Mrs Keeble can you please tell Pupil A that his dad clearly doesn't care about him and that he needs to move on and get a grip". While teaching at Newbattle Community High School, in Dalkeith, Turkington also reportedly placed his finger through the zipper of his trousers to mimic male genitals 'I didn't know the boy and had no relationship, all I said was I did not know the situation and you should go to classes and work hard to prove people wrong. 'He was ranting, his voice was raised, the tone of voice, in this incident can you tell him this, tell him this and I just thought I'll tell him what I want to tell him, it's not really up to you to tell me. 'I think it was more towards the pupil, the boy did not speak at all, he was quite upset with the situation, to tell his personal business is quite upsetting.' She added that she was also upset when Mr Turkington sent round an email in the following days to all members of staff about the student encouraging them to 'send him back to class'. Ms Keeble said: 'I felt this was inappropriate, I could not believe that Derek was in this role as he did not care. 'Derek wouldn't turn up for guidance meetings and how little compassion he had, one minute he would be joking and playing and then he would absolutely change. 'I would witness him always winding kids up to try and get them to flip, my concern was the way he was towards pupils. 'The way he behaved towards staff and his general lack of care and compassion towards pupils, you are going deeper than just teaching them a subject. 'At no point do I feel that he tried to support any pupils that were in his care.' The hearing continues. Advertisement Britain's Covid resurgence was inevitable, according to leading experts attempting to quell panic about the 'new wave'. Cases have crept up over the past fortnight while hospitals have seen an increase in the number of virus-infected patients, sparking fears that the worst may not be over. Experts fear it could put even more pressure on an already overwhelmed health service. Left-leaning scientists, who were critical of No10's decision to ease restrictions, have already called for a return of mask-wearing and urged Britons to meet outside because of the uptick in infections, thought to be driven by even more transmissible versions of Omicron. But an ex-Government adviser today argued concerns were premature, given the virus no longer poses anywhere near the same threat it once did because of the country's sky-high levels of immunity from numerous waves and vaccination campaigns. Professor Robert Dingwall, a sociologist at Nottingham Trent University, told MailOnline: 'It's important not to let ourselves be panicked by any increase in positive tests unless it is clear these are actually resulting in increases in severe illness. 'The population has very high degree of immunity from vaccination and previous infection. 'The revival of restrictions like mask mandates would be premature particularly as the fragility of evidence that there is any general benefit is not obvious.' Other experts warned cases of the virus which many believe is morphing into another cause of the common cold will continue to periodically flare-up. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which swabs a representative sample of the UK every fortnight to estimate Covid infection rates UK-wide, shows cases are on the rise for the first time since April. In the week to June 2, 797,500 people in England were thought to be infected. The figure is 1.7 per cent higher than the 784,100 who were thought to be carrying the virus in the week to March 27. The uptick follows two months of tumbling cases from record-high levels at the end of March, when 4.1million in England were thought to be infected The prevalence of the Omicron subvariants has nearly doubled every week, according to data from the Sanger Institute one of the UK's largest Covid surveillance centres. The strains' combined 41.7 per cent share of infections in the week to June 4 is up from 21.2 per cent in the week to May 28 and 11 per cent in the week to May 21. Dominant strain BA.2, which was behind nearly all cases when infections hit a record high in March, now accounts for just 57 per cent of cases Could 'TRIPLE infections' sweep Britain this winter? Experts warn pandemic lockdowns have left society vulnerable to flu and other common seasonal illnesses striking at same time as Covid More Britons than ever are at risk of triple-infections this year because lockdowns have suppressed our immune systems, scientists warn. Leading virologists fear a bad flu outbreak ahead because the virus was effectively drowned out by restrictions deployed to fight Covid, meaning the nation has little immunity against it. But the endless cycle of virus-controlling curbs have also left society vulnerable to other seasonal illnesses, such as RSV and adenovirus. And Covid is also expected to continue circulating. Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, said a bad flu year would inevitably 'raise the risk of triple infections'. It comes after US doctors claimed children were turning up to clinics infected with three viruses at the same time, in what was claimed to be a result of Covid policies weakening their immune system. One expert said it was 'not typical for any time of year'. Advertisement Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the only trust-worthy infection data, shows cases have started to rise for the first time since April, when the final batch of restrictions were dropped and No10 officially ushered in the post-pandemic era. In its most up-to-date weekly report, 797,500 people in England were thought to be infected the equivalent of one in 70. The figure was 1.7 per cent higher than the 784,100 thought to be carrying the virus in the week to May 27. The uptick follows two months of tumbling cases from record-high levels at the end of March, when 4.1million in England were estimated to be infected. And the latest estimate, for the week ending June 2, was still the second-lowest since September. Meanwhile, the number of Covid admissions in England has increased 24.1 per cent over the past week. Some 659 patients were hospitalised on June 12, compared to 531 one week earlier. The number of ventilator beds occupied with infected patients has also risen, but it still stands at less than 150 up to 25 times lower than levels seen during the darkest days of the pandemic. But data suggests two-thirds of patients in hospital with Covid aren't primarily ill with the virus, and just incidentally test positive. The increase in cases has been blamed on the spread of BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants thought to be even more infectious than the currently dominant strain BA.2. Some have pointed to the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations over the bank holiday weekend, which saw millions across the country gather for street parties and 22,000 attend a concert at Buckingham Palace. Members of Independent SAGE, a pressure group that previously called for a zero-Covid policy, took to Twitter to call for a return to wearing masks indoors and meeting outdoors. Dr Kit Yates, a mathematician at the University of Bath and member of Indy SAGE, said: 'There is another wave of Covid kicking off. 'The good news is the same things that previously worked will work against new variants. Wear a mask in indoor spaces. Meet outdoors rather than indoors if you can. Ventilate indoor spaces.' Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist at Queen Mary University London, said: 'We can expect the current UK wave to add to pressures on an already struggling NHS sadly, as hospitalisations increase (as they are now), predictably so will deaths with a lag. 'And so will long Covid, which has already increased substantially during the Omicron waves. 'Given transmission is high, and increasing (and the fact that with lagged surveillance only, we don't know what current infection rates are) it's worth taking precautions. 'Even people who're boosted can get long Covid. The incidence is still significant.' The UK Health Security Agency classifies BA.4 and BA.5 as variants of concern. Their prevalence has nearly doubled every week, according to data from the Sanger Institute one of the UK's largest Covid surveillance centres. Both strains combined made up a 41.7 per cent share of infections in the week to June 4, up from 21.2 per cent in the week to May 28 and just 11 per cent in the week for the seven-day spell before that. Dominant strain BA.2, which was behind nearly all cases when infections soared to pandemic highs in March, now accounts for just 57 per cent of cases. The number of people infected with Covid admitted to hospitals in England increased 24.1 per cent in the week to June 12. Some 659 patients were admitted on Sunday, compared to 531 one week earlier (top graph). And the number of virus patients in hospital increased 14.1 per cent in the week to June 14, from 4,108 to 4,722 (middle graph) while people with Covid requiring ventilators increased 12.1 per cent, from 116 to 130 (bottom graph) Is Covid on its way BACK? Cases creep up for first time since MARCH as hospital admissions also start to rise Englands Covid outbreak has risen in size for the first time since March, according to official figures that have prompted doom-mongering experts to warn the next wave is on its way. Analysts at the Office for National Statistics, tasked with tracking the virus in the post-pandemic era, estimate 797,500 people were infected on June 2. The figure which suggests one in 70 people are currently infected is up roughly 1.7 per cent on the previous projection and marks the first increase since before free testing was axed at the end of March. Back then, cases breached 4.1million a pandemic high. Separate NHS statistics show admissions are also rising, in another sign that the virus is bouncing back. Experts fear it could put more pressure on an already overwhelmed health service. Despite the uptick sparking alarm in certain quarters, Boris Johnson pledged not to reinstate any economically-crippling restrictions when he made the decision to treat Covid like flu in the spring. Statisticians believe the increase is due to the spread of BA.4 and BA.5, Omicron sub-variants thought to be even more infectious. A similar increase in cases was observed in Northern Ireland, and while a rise in cases was also seen in Wales and Scotland the ONS described this as being 'uncertain'. The ONS survey is the last remaining official surveillance programme used by the Government to track the state of the epidemic. It randomly tests tens of thousands of people every week. Advertisement UKHSA scientists believe the two strains can better dodge immunity gained from previously being infected and vaccinated, compared to BA.2. Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist based at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline the demise of BA.2 made it 'inevitable' that cases would rise and the bank holiday weekend may have boosted infections. But Professor Hunter said the recent uptick in England's hospital admissions is 'probably too soon' to be due to the BA.4 and BA.5 strains. March's spike in cases also failed to translate into crippling ICU pressure or deaths, highlighting the success of the innoculation drive. However, the NHS warned the increase in patients left them struggling to juggle tacking the Covid-fuelled backlog of routine care. Millions of the most vulnerable have already had four vaccines, following the spring rollout. Another campaign will launch this autumn, with the over-65s, care home residents, frontline NHS workers and at-risk over-16s set to be given the top-up jabs to shield them against an expected winter resurgence. Despite the uptick sparking alarm in certain quarters, Boris Johnson pledged not to reinstate any economically-crippling restrictions when he made the decision to treat Covid like flu in the spring. It comes as researchers from Imperial College London today warned that catching Omicron does not protect against catching the strain again which could explain why cases 'remain stubbornly high'. Studies throughout the pandemic have warned that catching earlier strains such as Alpha, Beta and Delta offered cross-protection against other strains. This meant those who had previously been infected were less likely to catch the virus again if they came into contact with someone carrying the virus. But the Imperial researchers said Omicron gives 'virtually no extra immunity' leaving people at risk from getting Omicron again. To find out why so many people have been reinfected with Omicron, the team analysed blood samples from 731 NHS workers who were tripled jabbed with Pfizer or Moderna. Among medics who had never tested positive for Covid, an Omicron infection boosted immunity against earlier strains of the virus but not against Omicron itself. And in the group who had previously been infected and then caught Omicron, there was a lack of 'any immune boosting'. But even with these findings, experts said that the UK is in a 'good place' with Covid due to high vaccine uptake and Omicron's mild nature. Professor Keith Willison, a chemical biologist at Imperial College London, who was not involved in the study, told MailOnline: 'It's important to understand the various behaviours of the immune system and this is a careful research study. 'It is still the case that vaccination protects people against severe disease and hospitalisation and fortunately the Omicron variant triggers only mild disease anyway. 'Life must carry on here without masks and isolation. The UK is in a good place compared to China, with its disastrous zero Covid policy and poor vaccine quality and uptake in old people.' Data for England shows 93.1 per cent of people have had their first Covid jab, while 87 per cent are double-jabbed and 68.4 per cent have had three doses. Meanwhile, China's capital Beijing on Monday launched a new crackdown amid a 'ferocious' Omicron outbreak that is believed to have spread from just one person. Authorities in China's capital traced the reveller to a raucous 24-hour bar known for cheap liquor and big crowds, with millions now facing mandatory testing and thousands put under targeted lockdowns. Nearly 200 cases have now been linked to the centre Heaven Supermarket Bar, which had just reopened as curbs in Beijing eased last week. About 10,000 close contacts of the bar's patrons have been identified, and their residential buildings put under lockdown, and some planned school reopenings in the district have been postponed. Queues snaked around some testing sites on Monday for more than 100 metres, according to Reuters' eyewitnesses. Large metal barriers have been installed around several residential compounds, with people in hazmat suits spraying disinfectant nearby. WhatsApp users are being warned of a fake contest which offers entrants the chance to win 5,000 Heineken beer cans 'in time for Father's Day', in the latest scam to be circulated on the messaging app. The 'competition', which has already been debunked by the Dutch beer giant, appears with the title: 'Heineken Beer Father's Day Contest 2022', underneath and image of an 18 pack of coolers. The caption, which forms part of a link, continues: '5,000 coolers full of Heineken for your dad,' with 'heineken.com' written underneath to make it appear genuine. It then urges users to share the link in five chat groups or with 20 friends, before telling them to 'tap continue and claim your gift.' But those who click on the image will be taken to a fraudulent website. The site is being used in so-called phishing and scamming operations, created by cybercriminals to ensnare unknowing users into traps that claim to offer vouchers, according to onlinethreatalerts.com. Heineken took to social media to warn its customers of the scam. The 'competition', which has already been debunked by the Dutch beer giant, appears with the title: 'Heineken Beer Father's Day Contest 2022', underneath and image of an 18 pack of coolers. Heineken took to social media to warn its customers of the scam Cybercriminals have long used messaging services like Whatsapp to lure in victims. (stock image) It wrote on Twitter: 'This is a scam. Thank you for highlighting it to us. 'Please don't click on links or forward any messages.' Cybercriminals have long used messaging services like Whatsapp to lure in victims. It comes after chocolate lovers were warned in April to ignore a convincing scam offering a free Easter basket, as it was linked to a data harvesting operation inside Russia. The offer, which was again being shared on Whatsapp, contained a link to a Russian URL which has since been taken down. Victims were asked to 'Join the Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt' with the offer of up to 5,000 free gifts. Entrants were asked to click on a link which asked for personal information such as passwords. Chocolate fans were warned against clicking on this Russian-hosted link which had been circulated by fraudsters offering free Cadbury Easter baskets Action Fraud investigated the suspicious link after being alerted by Cadburys who urged customers to ignore the bogus offer Cadburys confirmed they were aware of the criminals using the firm's name and warned customers against clicking on the social media link. Action Fraud, which is based at the City of London Police, said: 'Cyber criminals use fake messages as bait to lure you into clicking on the links within their scam email or text message, or to give away sensitive information (such as bank details). 'These messages may look like the real thing but are malicious. 'Once clicked, you may be sent to a dodgy website which could download viruses onto your computer, or steal your passwords.' Action Fraud said people should 'take a moment' to think before entering personal information onto a website. According to their experts: 'It is okay to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.' If someone thinks they have been hit by a fraud, they should contact their bank immediately to block all payments and report the matter to Action Fraud, or call 0300 123 2040. Emmanuel Macron has told Ukraine to negotiate with Vladimir Putin in order to bring about an end to the war. The French president arrived in Romania yesterday for a three-day trip to Ukraine's eastern neighbours including Moldova, before possibly heading to Kyiv on Thursday on a visit with leaders from Germany, Italy and Romania. 'The Ukrainian President and his officials will have to negotiate with Russia,' he said today. Emmanuel Macron has told Ukraine to negotiate with Vladimir Putin in order to bring about an end to the war (pictured today in Romania) The French leader has been criticised by Ukraine and eastern European allies for maintaining a dialogue with Putin The French leader has been criticised by Ukraine and eastern European allies for what they perceive as his ambiguous backing for Ukraine in the war against Russia. But French officials have in recent days sought to strengthen the public messaging, while Macron appeared to take a tougher line with his troops. 'We will do everything to stop Russia's war forces, to help the Ukrainians and their army and continue to negotiate,' he told French and NATO troops at a military base in Romania. Last week, Macron caused outrage when he said Russia should be treated fairly in a negotiation process. He said: 'We must not humiliate Russia so that the day when the fighting stops we can build an exit ramp through diplomatic means. A Russian serviceman patrols on the promenade in Berdyansk, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine 'I am convinced that it is France's role to be a mediating power.' Ukraine's foreign minister Dmitro Kuleba hit back, saying Macron's position 'can only humiliate France'. Macron has sought to maintain a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February. His stance has been repeatedly criticised by some eastern and Baltic partners in Europe, as they see it as undermining efforts to push Putin to the negotiating table. Macron has spoken with Putin regularly since the invasion as part of efforts to achieve a ceasefire and begin a credible negotiation between Kyiv and Moscow, although he has had no tangible success to show for it. His symbolic visit to Kyiv would come a day before the European Commission makes a recommendation on Ukraine's status as an EU candidate. The biggest European nations have been lukewarm about Ukraine's membership and are set to discuss at a leaders' summit on June 23-24. Macron and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis meet with NATO forces during their visit at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base 'We are at a point when we (Europeans) need to send clear political signals, us Europeans, towards Ukraine and its people when it is resisting heroically,' Macron said, without giving details. France leads a NATO battle group in Romania of about 800 troops, including 500 French troops alongside others from the Netherlands and Belgium. Paris has also deployed a surface-to air missile system. Macron heads to Moldova later on Wednesday to support a country many fear could be drawn into the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine. The focus may turn to Kyiv on Thursday, with diplomatic sources saying the European leaders may head to Ukraine's capital. Macron declined to comment on 'logistical matters', but said it was important to hold new talks with Ukraine on military, financial matters and issues related to exporting grains from the country. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said support should include offering Ukraine candidate status in the European Union. 'In my opinion, the candidate status must be granted as soon as possible, it is a correct solution from a moral, economic and security perspective,' Iohannis said, adding that there were efforts to find a feasible solution to differences among European powers. Britain could be as tightly aligned to the EU as if it had never left with 20 years due to economic damage caused by the decision to quit, former chancellor George Osborne has claimed. The ex-Tory politician, who helped lead the Remain campaign in 2016, said the referendum 'caused a lot of damage to Britain's economy'. In radio interview, David Cameron's former right-hand man slammed Brexiteers who refused to acknowledge the negative as well as positive aspects of what has happened in the past six years. He told LBC: 'Politics can't defy reality it's not unimaginable in 20 years time, to have a set of economic arrangements with the EU which aren't too distant from the economic arrangements we had when we were in the EU.' The ex-Tory politician said the referendum 'caused a lot of damage to Britain's economy'. In radio interview, David Cameron's former right-hand man, who helped lead the Remain campaign in 2016, slammed Brexiteers who refused to acknowledge the negative as well as positive aspects of what has happened in the past six years. He added: 'In many ways the people I respect most are the Brexiteers who say there's an economic cost to Brexit, but there are other benefits, such as parliamentary control, sovereignty over our borders. 'What was nonsense and remains nonsense are the people who say Brexit was a great economic move to benefit the British economy, or a great act of free trade. It was the biggest act of protectionism in British history, and that is only now really, now it's fully implemented, becoming clear, and that's why free trade with Europe has got to be a priority for whoever the government in the next few years.' Brussels threatened a trade war with Britain today as it launched a legal battle over Boris Johnson's plans to abandon parts of the Brexit agreement to ease political pressure in Ulster. The European Commission announced fresh legal action this morning as part of a series of measures in response to the Government's move to unilaterally scrap parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The European Commission is also resuming legal proceedings against the UK that were shelved last year to facilitate negotiations on post-Brexit trade. The Government has been given two months to respond before the case goes to the European Court of Justice. Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic warned Mr Johnson today that the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, tabled on Monday, had 'no legal or political justification whatsoever', adding: 'Let's call a spade a spade: this is illegal.' The European Commission vice-president said: 'It has created deep uncertainty and casts a shadow over our overall co-operation, all at a time when respect for international agreements has never been more important. 'That is why the Commission has today decided to take legal action against the UK for not complying with significant parts of the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.' The plan would mean 'breaking an agreement that protects peace and stability in Northern Ireland, an agreement reached together only three years ago' by Boris Johnson's Government and the EU. The bill aims to sweep away key parts of the Protocol - including a check-free 'green channel' for goods from mainland Britain and stripping control from the EU court. Four Britons have been arrested in a raid on a luxury Greek villa after police seized 660lbs of cocaine in a major drugs bust, sparking a global manhunt for their kingpin. The suspects from London and Liverpool, aged 38, 45, 48, and 52, allegedly smuggled the huge 12million haul in a banana shipment from Colombia to the port city of Thessaloniki, intended for distribution across Europe and Australia. One of the men in the alleged ring is the brother of a major British drugs baron known as a 'modern Pablo Escobar', 41, who is said to be responsible for 10 per cent of the global cocaine trade. Four Britons have been arrested in a raid on a luxury Greek villa after police seized 660lbs of cocaine in a major drugs bust (pictured outside court) The suspects from London and Liverpool, aged 38, 45, 48, and 52, allegedly smuggled the huge 12million haul (pictured) in a banana shipment from Colombia The four suspects were arrested at the 1,700-a-month rental property (pictured) where one of them allegedly tried to snatch an officer's gun Footage shows armed police arriving on the property where one of the suspects tried to grapple a gun The four suspects were arrested at the 1,700-a-month rental property where one of them allegedly tried to snatch an officer's gun before police overwhelmed him. Police said along with the drugs, which had been divided into 260 packages, a pistol loaded with nine rounds, a box of 41 cartridges, 1,000 Euros in cash, 11 mobile phones and portable radios were seized in the bust. Two of those arrested are 'leaders of an international drug trafficking ring' and a fifth person is wanted in connection with the seizure, police said. The suspects appeared in court today but made no comment on their arrests. Police also found a pistol loaded with nine rounds, cartridges and 1,000 Euros in cash in the raid Two of those arrested are 'leaders of an international drug trafficking ring' and said a fifth person is wanted in connection with the seizure, police said The huge haul of cocaine was sent in a shipment of bananas from South America, intended for distribution across Europe and Australia The drugs had been divided into 260 boxes and police also found radio equipment and mobile phones The wanted cocaine kingpin is already wanted by American authorities and he is believed to have recently travelled to Africa and Mexico before he disappeared. Sources told Ethnos he has previously been arrested in the UAE. Footage from the raid shows armed police arriving at the villa ahead of the arrests, while separate drone footage shows a shipment being transferred from one white van to another at the property. The arrests follow a six-month international law enforcement operation that involved Italian customs authorities and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. The arrests follow a six-month international law enforcement operation that involved Italian customs authorities and the US Drug Enforcement Administration The suspects have been charged with trafficking in the form of import, transport and possession, and being part of a criminal organisation Police say the 660lbs of cocaine is linked to the 1,440lbs haul found by Italian police in Calabria in April The suspects have been charged with trafficking in the form of import, transport and possession, and being part of a criminal organisation. Police say the 660lbs of cocaine is linked to the 1,440lbs haul found by Italian police in Calabria in April. Authorities believe the latest bust was a different arm of the same international trafficking ring. In both cases, the narcotics came from South America in banana shipments for distribution in Europe. Advertisement A 'secret justice' row erupted today after Strasbourg officials refused to identify the nameless judge who torpedoed last night's Rwanda deportation flight. What is the European Court of Human Rights? Is it linked to the EU and why does the UK have to abide by its decisions? What is the European Court of Human Rights? The European Court of Human Rights is an international court set up in 1959 to rule on individual or state applications alleging violations of the civil and political rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. Its judgments are binding on the 46 Council of Europe member states that have ratified the Convention. What is the difference between the Council of Europe and the European Union? The Council of Europe is the continent's leading human rights organisation, while the European Union is an economic and political partnership. While Brexit represented the UK's departure from the European Union, it is still a member of the Council of Europe and therefore bound to the European Court and European Convention on Human Rights. What is the European Convention on Human Rights? The European Convention on Human Rights was developed amid World War Two to ensure that governments would never again be allowed to dehumanise and abuse people's rights with impunity. It came into full effect in 1953 and intends to serve as a simple and flexible roundup of universal rights, which could be adapted over time. Articles listed in the Convention include the right to a fair trial, right to liberty and security, and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Advertisement A spokesman for the ECHR told MailOnline they would not be naming the judge, claiming this was their policy on interim injunctions such as these. Today, furious Tory MPs blasted the anonymous judges in Strasbourg for 'telling us how to run our own country'. Adding fuel to the fire, a Conservative source pointed out that it could have been Russian judge, Michael Lobov, who still sits on the ECHR and will continue to hear cases until September, despite the war in Ukraine. A Home Office source expressed disbelief that the ECHR will not reveal who made the ruling. 'It could have been the Russian,' they swiped. The source also slated the lack of detail in the decision, adding: 'The Court of Appeal took three judges and over an hour to deliver grounds. Europeans just whack out half a page of A4 in a press release.' Later, a second Home Office source added : 'We cannot find out who this judge is. They won't tell us... it is this absurd area where we don't know who made the decision and why and on what grounds. I am not a tin hat person, but it could be the Russian.' Tory MP Mark Francois, chair of the Eurosceptic ERG group, told MailOnline: 'Now that we have left the EU it is deeply frustrating to see another group of European judges - sometimes even anonymous ones - telling us how to run our own country. 'The Lord Chancellor, Dominic Raab, has been planning a new Bill of Rights to restrict the reach of European judges, and if no other legal means is available then they should accelerate that Bill in order to tell these judges where to stop.' Former MEP and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage told MailOnline: 'There is no such thing as open justice there. It's astonishing they haven't named the person who made the decision - you have to wonder if they are trying to hide it. We will see if the judge is even legally trained. 'The ECHR judgement is a kick in the teeth for all Brexit voters. We must leave the ECHR and take back control of our borders.' MPs are calling for the UK to withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after the 'out of hours' intervention to stop an Iraqi citizen being deported - just before the Boeing 767 was due to leave a Wiltshire airbase. The dramatic move came after days of wrangling in Britain's highest Supreme Court over the plans, which upheld the government's right to go ahead with the flight. Ministers have insisted the deal with Rwanda can deter migrants from coming to the UK and save lives - pointing to the fact that yesterday 444 more people crossed the Channel in flimsy dinghies. Priti Patel has vowed to start preparing another flight immediately, and will make a defiant statement to MPs later. But the bold strategy has been condemned by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as 'immoral', while Prince Charles is said to have privately branded it 'appalling'. The injunction from the ECHR - which is not connected to the EU - meant lawyers representing the remaining six migrants on board including more Iraqis, an Iranian, a Vietnamese and an Albanian, then lodged their appeals to judges in London before the Home Office ultimately scrapped their removal orders. The ECHR decided to suspend Russian judge Michael Lobov in March after his country was expelled from its governing body, the Council of Europe, following the invasion of Ukraine. However, he is still listed among the court's members and will continue hearing cases until September. Tory MPs have blasted the anonymous judges in Strasbourg 'telling us how to run our own country'. Pictured: The European Court of Human Rights Adding fuel to the fire, a Conservative source pointed out that it could have been Russian judge, Michael Lobov, who still sits on the ECHR and will continue to hear cases until September, despite the war in Ukraine Crew members board the Rwanda deportation flight Boeing 767 at Boscombe Down Air Base. Legal wrangling continued throughout Tuesday evening before the first flight due to take UK asylum seekers to Kigali was dramatically grounded Why did the ECHR step in to block the flight? The Rwanda flight was cancelled after the ECHR ruled in favour of a 54-year-old Iraqi man, understood to have travelled to the UK by boat in May and thought to have been tortured in the past. An unnamed judge effectively barred the man, identified only as KN, from being sent to Rwanda under its rules which apply when there is an 'imminent risk of irreparable harm'. The court pointed out that Rwanda was outside its jurisdiction, stressing 'the fact that Rwanda is outside the Convention legal space (and is therefore not bound by the European Convention on Human Rights) and the absence of any legally enforceable mechanism for the applicant's return to the United Kingdom in the event of a successful merits challenge before the domestic court'. It added that the UK Government must not remove KN until three weeks after the full judicial review by the UK High Court has taken place into the legality of the Rwanda policy. The ruling effectively overturned a series of decisions by British courts including the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court that had allowed the Rwanda flight to go ahead. Advertisement At 10pm the final migrant was on board the plane, which cost the taxpayer an estimated 500,000 to charter, when he was told he was not flying to Africa. Boris Johnson had already floated the idea of walking away from the ECHR earlier in the afternoon - a step that has previously been taken by Greece, who have since rejoined, and Russia. The UK helped found the international body, which now has nearly 50 members. Mr Johnson - who will take PMQs later - is understood to have met Tory MPs last night and made no secret of his ire. 'To say he is frustrated is an understatement,' one of those present told MailOnline. However, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey played down the prospect of the UK quitting the ECHR this morning, saying there were 'no decisions or even hints about that'. Pensions minister Guy Opperman said the ruling had merely been a 'setback'. 'I don't believe it is our policy, nor would it be something I will be advocating for withdrawing from the ECHR.' Another Cabinet minister told MailOnline that the best solution was simply to ignore the ECHR. 'The ECHR decisions, unlike the European Court of Justice, do not have direct effect so can simply be overridden. 'When our own courts accept something is legal we should not allow an oddly constituted international court to overrule the democratic process. 'We should assert Parliamentary sovereignty.' The government has previously looked at the possibility of leaving the body but shied away from it. One major stumbling block is that the ECHR is written into the text of both the Good Friday Agreement and the EU trade deal. A dinghy sails perilously close to a massive tanker in the Channel yesterday as judges in Strasbourg intervened in the row over flights to Rwanda Home Secretary Priti Patel last night defiantly vowed to plough ahead with her Rwanda relocation plan despite a European judge's extraordinary 11th-hour intervention blocked the first flight from ever leaving the runway Ministers face a struggle to contain outrage on Tory benches, with the MP WhatsApp groups on fire last night. Who is Michael Lobov? Columbia graduate and ECHR veteran Lobov was born in 1971 in Chelyabinsk, a city in central Russia close to the Ural Mountains. An online CV lists his first job as an internship in the diplomatic service at the Russian Embassy in Cameroon. He took this role in 1991, the year in which the Soviet Union finally collapsed. After gaining a degree in Law at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, he gained further qualifications at the University of Strasbourg before becoming a legal officer at the European Court of Human Rights. After further study at Columbia University in New York, he returned for several more roles at the ECHR before being named as a judge on January 2, 2022. Earlier this year he was part of a panel of judges who found Russia had violated the rights of one of its citizens by subjecting them to secret surveillance. The ECHR decided to suspend Lobov in March after his country was expelled from its governing body, the Council of Europe, following the invasion of Ukraine. However, he is still listed among the court's members and will continue hearing cases until September. Advertisement One said of the ECHR: 'It's time we kicked these b*****ds into touch. For once I won't apologise for my French'. James Sutherland, an aide to Environment Secretary George Eustice, is said to have told a group: 'Did we expect any less? Outrageous that the UK is still beholden to the ECHR as a sovereign nation'. Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns said: 'Yes let's withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights and stop their meddling in British law.' Another Conservative, Greg Smith, said: 'What last night showed is we now need the same speed and urgency to bring in a UK Bill of Rights and remove all power of the European Court of Human Rights over our sovereign decisions.' A Downing Street source told the Daily Mail: 'It's an abomination that after domestic courts have repeatedly ruled in the Government's favour, that an out-of-hours judge in the European Court has intervened to block the removal of illegal migrants to Rwanda.' Another insider said: 'European judges grounded the whole thing despite the Supreme Court, High Court and Court of Appeal ruling in favour of the Government. It is appalling. One out-of-hours European judge has overruled days and days of debate in the UK courts on the papers alone'. The Ministry of Defence has revealed that a total of 444 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats yesterday. That was the highest since 562 were recorded on April 14. Some 11 boats were detected with an average of 40 people on each. Ms Patel last night defiantly vowed to plough ahead with her Rwanda relocation plan. In a strongly-worded rebuttal of the Strasbourg justice's ruling, she said she would not be 'deterred from doing the right thing'. Ms Patel admitted the policy 'will not be easy to deliver' but expressed optimism that the Government would be able to overcome left-wing lawyers' repeated legal challenges. In a round of interviews this morning, Ms Coffey said she is 'highly confident' the Government will be able to go ahead with other Rwanda flights. A private charter jet (believed to be empty of passengers) leaves MOD Boscombe Down after it was refused permission to take-off for Rwanda Protesters gathered outside Colnbrook Immigration Detention Centre in Heathrow and lay on the ground in an effort to halt Tuesday's first flight transporting UK asylum seekers to Rwanda Ms Coffey said ministers were 'surprised and disappointed' by the ECHR rules - swiping that she had never known it to act so quickly. 'The Government is disappointed by the decision. I have never known such a quick decision made by somebody at the ECHR. 'I think the public will be surprised at European judges overruling British judges,' she told Sky News. 'Nevertheless I know the Home Office is already getting ready for the next flight and we will continue to prepare and try and overturn any future legal challenges as well.' Asked if how confident she was the next flight would be able to go ahead, she said: 'I am highly confident. 'This decision was taken at a rapid pace yesterday. As a consequence it is right that the Government continues to try and make sure we deter unsafe, illegal routes of trying to enter the country because the only people who benefit are unscrupulous people traffickers, often trying to put people into modern slavery as well.' One senior Tory MP told MailOnline that the migrant issue is far bigger than Partygate and Mr Johnson will be in deeper trouble if he does not 'fix' it. 'They have got to do something. If not the government will look incompetent,' the MP said. 'In my inbox, consistently for months, the biggest thing by far has been Channel boats. 'The government has to fix it.' Six people are due to be transferred on tonight's first flight to Rwanda, after one asylum seeker's removal was called off by the European Court of Human Rights Boris Johnson, pictured at Cabinet yesterday, turned his fire on lawyers whom he accused of 'abetting the work of criminal gangs' Although by yesterday just seven migrants were due to be sent to Rwanda, defiant ministers had insisted the flight would go ahead even if there was only one person on board. Home Secretary Priti Patel hits out at European judges thwarting her Rwanda relocation plan at the 11th hour Home Secretary Priti Patel has insisted the Rwanda policy is vital to prevent a repeat of tragedies such as the drowning of 27 men, women and children on November 24 last year. She said: 'Earlier this year, I signed a world-leading Migration Partnership with Rwanda to see those arriving dangerously, illegally, or unnecessarily into the UK relocated to build their lives there. 'This will help break the people smugglers' business model and prevent loss of life, while ensuring protection for the genuinely vulnerable. 'Access to the UK's asylum system must be based on need, not on the ability to pay people smugglers. The demands on the current system, the cost to the taxpayer, and the flagrant abuses are increasing, and the British public have rightly had enough. 'I have always said this policy will not be easy to deliver and am disappointed that legal challenge and last-minute claims have meant today's flight was unable to depart. 'It is very surprising that the European Court of Human Rights has intervened despite repeated earlier success in our domestic courts. 'These repeated legal barriers are similar to those we experience with other removals flights and many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next.' Advertisement The High Court is due to hold a judicial review in July to decide on the legality of the Rwanda scheme. However, the Supreme Court had refused to step in to block the flights in advance. Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy dismissed the idea of leaving the ECHR, saying it would be a 'grave thing' to do. He told BBC Breakfast: 'It protects all of our rights, our rights to privacy, our rights at work, our rights if we're in rented accommodation with landlords, all sorts of things that affect all of our lives. 'And it's a very grave thing to suggest that those courts should not look at this scheme properly.' London's Labour mayor Sadiq Khan immediately celebrated the news as it was confirmed the flight had been called off. He tweeted: 'Tonight's inhumane deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda has been stopped by the ECtHR - minutes before it was due to depart. 'Sending people fleeing violence to a country thousands of miles away was already cruel and callous. It's now potentially unlawful too.' Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon added: 'Whilst we are relieved to hear the flight to Rwanda did not take off as planned tonight it is clear that the Government remain determined to press on with this deal. 'The fact that the final flight could not take off is indicative of the inhumanity of the plan and the Government's complete refusal to see the face behind the case.' A group of protesters had gathered outside Colnbrook Detention Centre in Heathrow yesterday afternoon and lay on the ground in an effort to halt the flight. But the cancellation was eventually forced after the ECHR ruled in favour of a 54-year-old Iraqi man, understood to have travelled to the UK by boat in May and thought to have been tortured in the past. An unnamed judge effectively barred the man, identified only as KN, from being sent to Rwanda under its rules which apply when there is an 'imminent risk of irreparable harm'. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and demonstrators protest outside the Home Office in London against plans to send migrants to Rwanda Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted: 'Sending people fleeing violence to a country thousands of miles away was already cruel and callous' Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper highlighted the 120million fee paid to the Rwanda government over the scheme, which has so far failed to resettle any migrants Demonstrators gathered in George Square, Glasgow, earlier today against the government plans to send migrants to Rwanda The court pointed out that Rwanda was outside its jurisdiction, stressing 'the fact that Rwanda is outside the Convention legal space (and is therefore not bound by the European Convention on Human Rights) and the absence of any legally enforceable mechanism for the applicant's return to the United Kingdom in the event of a successful merits challenge before the domestic court'. It added that the UK Government must not remove KN until three weeks after the full judicial review by the UK High Court has taken place into the legality of the Rwanda policy. The ruling effectively overturned a series of decisions by British courts including the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court that had allowed the Rwanda flight to go ahead. Left-wing activists and lawyers had launched a string of legal challenges against the Home Office. Some had prevented individuals being placed on the passenger list, but attempts to win an injunction blocking the whole policy resoundingly failed. At that stage, lawyers for KN went to Strasbourg. As the complex series of last-minute legal wrangles unfolded, hundreds of migrants crossed the Channel on small boats yesterday. The controversial plans are due to undergo a Judicial Review in July and have attracted criticism from church leaders, lawyers and left-wing politicians (Pictured: today's protest in Glasgow) Protesters gathered at the perimeter of MoD Boscombe Down, near Salisbury, where the Boeing 767 aircraft was due to embark on a flight to Rwanda with seven asylum seekers The protesters waved banners saying'refugees welcome' and gave interviews to the media assembled outside the military base Timeline of defeat: How the first flight to Rwanda failed to take off Tuesday was meant to mark the first flight of the Government's much-vaunted Rwanda resettlement scheme for UK asylum seekers. At the start of the day, just seven names remained of the 130 on the original passenger list after a series of legal challenges. So how did the day unfold? 12.42pm - The Supreme Court rejected an appeal over a judge's refusal to call off the removal of an asylum seeker due to be deported. 2.05pm - The first of four appeals before the High Court was rejected by Lord Justice Swift. 2.30pm - The second and third asylum seekers' appeals were also refused at the High Court by Lord Swift. 3.30pm - The Prime Minister admits it may be 'necessary to change some laws' in an interview with Sky News to allow the Rwanda resettlement scheme. 4.30pm - A fourth asylum seeker's claim is also rejected at the High Court by Lord Swift. 4.35pm - A Boeing 767 aircraft is spotted on the runway at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. 4.40pm - Rwanda government spokeswoman Yolande Maloki defends the resettlement scheme in a press conference and insists it is not a punishment. 6.10pm - Protesters from 'Stop Deportations!' block the exit routes from Colnbrook Immigration Detention Centre in Heathrow. 6.40pm - In a decisive turning point, the European Court of Human Rights passes an injunction preventing a 54-year-old Iraqi man from being transferred on the flight. 6.55pm - Around five Home Office vans are spotted at MoD Boscombe Down. 7.20pm - Speculation mounts whether the flight will go ahead after the ECHR's ruling. 7.45pm - Demonstrators gather at the front of Mod Boscombe Down waving banners. 9.30pm - There are reports of just three asylum seekers on the plane, which was due to take off shortly. 10pm - Reports emerge that there is just one asylum seeker left on the plane amid confusion over whether it will depart. 10.10pm - The final asylum seeker is removed from the Boeing 767 aircraft, at which point it is announced the flight has been cancelled. Advertisement An estimated 400 people including a heavily-pregnant woman, babies and small children risked their lives to reach Dover in the perilous crossing from northern France. Yesterday's unconfirmed number of arrivals is thought to have brought the total since the start of the year to more than 10,600. Ms Patel has insisted the Rwanda policy is vital to prevent a repeat of tragedies such as the drowning of 27 men, women and children on November 24 last year. In her statement last night she said: 'Our legal team are reviewing every decision made on this flight and preparation for the next flight begins now... 'Access to the UK's asylum system must be based on need, not on the ability to pay people smugglers. The demands on the current system, the cost to the taxpayer, and the flagrant abuses are increasing, and the British public have rightly had enough. 'I have always said this policy will not be easy to deliver and am disappointed that legal challenge and last-minute claims have meant today's flight was unable to depart. 'It is very surprising that the European Court of Human Rights has intervened despite repeated earlier success in our domestic courts. 'These repeated legal barriers are similar to those we experience with other removals flights and many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next.' In an interview with BBC's Newsnight, former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption said it was unclear if the Strasbourg ruling should stop flights and that the enforceability of the interim Strasbourg judgement is a controversial question. Lortd Sumption added: 'This isn't a final judgement of the Strasbourg court, it's an interim judgement and what is more, that particular article is not one of the ones incorporated into UK law of the Human Rights Act. A more difficult question is what position is there in international law. 'On the face of it there is nothing in the convention that gives effect to orders of the Strasbourg court.' Four men who challenged their removal at the High Court in London had their cases dismissed yesterday, while a fifth man lost a bid to bring an appeal at the Supreme Court. Baroness Chakrabarti, former director of Liberty and former Labour shadow attorney general, condemned the Government for going ahead with the plan before the Court of Appeal's final verdict on the lawfulness of offshore processing, because of an ongoing 'culture war'. She said: 'Would it not have been open to the Home Office to hold off removals until then or is it a confected culture war so that other ministers make these remarks about 'leftie lawyers' thwarting the will of the people, and that these souls, these seven or so souls, are collateral damage in that culture war.' Lord Coaker, shadow spokesman for home affairs and defence, branded the Government's Rwanda policy 'unethical, unworkable and expensive, and flies in the face of British values'. Why are European judges ruling in Britain despite Brexit? What will happen to the next Rwanda flight? Your questions about today's migrant drama answered By Mark Duell for MailOnline The first deportation flight of migrants to Rwanda which had been due to take off yesterday was cancelled at the last-minute following a major intervention from the European Court of Human Rights. All migrants were removed from the plane at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire after the court granted an urgent interim measure in regards to an Iraqi national, and was considering a number of further requests. Home Secretary Priti Patel described the European Court of Human Rights intervention as 'very surprising', adding that 'many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next'. As Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted the Government would not be deterred from its policy, here are some of the key questions surrounding the European court and how it relates to the UK and this case: Why does a European court have jurisdiction in the UK after Brexit? The European Court of Human Rights is an international court set up in 1959 to rule on individual or state applications alleging violations of the civil and political rights in the European Convention on Human Rights. While Britain officially left the European Union on January 1, 2021, it did not leave the European Convention on Human Rights. That means judgements by the European Court of Human Rights are still binding on Britain, because it is one of the 46 Council of Europe member states that have ratified the Convention. While Brexit stopped European Union law superseding UK law, including on areas such as agriculture, it did not affect the standing of the European Convention on Human Rights in Britain. The Human Rights Act of 1998 - when Tony Blair's New Labour government was in power - enshrined the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, allowing the rights guaranteed by the Convention to be enforced in UK courts. The Government has previously vowed to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a new Bill of Rights, after a pledge to reform human rights laws was included in the Tory manifesto in 2019. So why did the European Court of Human Rights intervene in the Rwanda flight? Left-wing lawyers appealed through the UK court system in the case of an Iraqi asylum seeker, referred to as KN, who was due to be on the first flight to Rwanda last night. They appealed on the grounds of whether Britain's policy is in accordance with the Human Rights Act, whether the Home Secretary has the right to carry out the removals, the rationality of her claim that Rwanda is generally a 'safe third country' and whether there is enough malaria prevention in the country. Having exhausted High Court and Supreme Court routes in the UK to prevent KN being put on the flight, the man's lawyers went to the European Court of Human Rights, which they could do because Britain is still a member of this despite Brexit. The European Court of Human Rights then issued an interim measure in a last-ditch intervention, which said KN should not be sent to Rwanda until a full decision on the legality of the Government's policy has been reached in the domestic courts. The court also said it was effectively barring KN from being sent to Rwanda under its rules which apply when there is an 'imminent risk of irreparable harm'. The appeals are understood to have been considered by an out-of-hours judge on papers, overruling the UK rulings. It is understood the European Court of Human Rights was considering a number of further requests. The European Court of Human Rights added that the UK Government must not remove KN until three weeks after a full judicial review by the UK High Court has taken place into the legality of the policy - which is due in late July. What happens next in the courts? A full High Court review of the Rwanda policy is expected in July. In its ruling, the European Court of Human Right acknowledged concerns about access to 'fair and efficient procedures for the determination of refugee status' in Rwanda. It also considered the fact that Rwanda is not part of the European human rights framework and the absence of 'any legally enforceable mechanism' to return KN to the UK if there is a successful legal challenge to the policy. The court ruled that KN should not be removed until three weeks after the delivery of the 'final domestic decision in the ongoing judicial review proceedings' - something which could put the Government's Rwanda policy on ice for months. Can the UK ignore the European Court of Human Rights? Some ministers are calling for the UK to ignore the ECHR ruling, arguing that its ruling can simply be overidden. Previously, the UK ignored ECHR rulings on prisoner voting. One Cabinet minister told MailOnline: 'The ECHR decisions, unlike the European Court of Justice, do not have direct effect so can simply be overridden. 'When our own courts accept something is legal we should not allow an oddly constituted international court to overrule the democratic process. We should assert Parliamentary sovereignty.' A decision to ignore the ECHR could prompt further legal challenges and protests. The grounded Rwanda deportation flight EC-LZO Boeing 767 at Boscombe Down Air Base in Wiltshire last night What will happen to the next Rwanda flight? The Government still intends to go ahead with the next deportation flight to Rwanda - with Home Secretary Priti Patel saying that preparation 'begins now', adding that she will 'not be deterred from doing the right thing'. Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said she is 'highly confident' that the Government will be able to go ahead with the policy of deporting migrants to Rwanda. She told how the Home Office is 'already getting ready for the next flight and we will to continue to prepare and try and overturn any future legal challenges as well'. Ms Coffey also said ministers were 'surprised and disappointed' by the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights and she has 'never known such a quick decision made by somebody at the ECHR'. But human rights lawyer Frances Swaine, who represents a man due to be flown to Rwanda, said the Government should wait until a judicial review is heard before attempting another deportation flight to the country. 'The European Court of Human Rights has recommended that there are no other flights proposals put together until the substantial judicial review hearing into the whole policy is heard', she told the BBC. 'We're expecting that that would take place in about six weeks time during July although we don't have a firm date for it yet. 'And I think if I was the Government, which obviously I'm not, but if I was, I would be sitting back and thinking was it worth it, either from a financial or a legal perspective, to organise one of these very expensive flights again when they've been so unsuccessful this time around on legal grounds. 'Because there will be a decision in July as to whether or not this policy can be extant, or whether there would need to be some changes to the law if the Government was absolutely determined to see it through. But wait until we have the decision first and then decide whether to go ahead.' What is the European Convention on Human Rights? The European Convention on Human Rights was developed amid the Second World War to ensure that governments would never again be allowed to dehumanise and abuse people's rights with impunity. It came into full effect in 1953 and intends to serve as a simple and flexible roundup of universal rights, which could be adapted over time. Articles listed in the Convention include the right to a fair trial, right to liberty and security, and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. How does the European Convention relate to the UK's Human Rights Act? The UK was the very first nation to ratify the convention in March of 1951. The Human Rights Act of 1998 enshrined the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, allowing the rights guaranteed by the Convention to be enforced in UK courts. However, the Government has vowed to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a new Bill of Rights, after a pledge to reform human rights laws was included in the Tory manifesto in 2019. The Government said the changes will strengthen 'freedom of speech' and bring 'proper balance' between the rights of individuals and effective politics. Could the UK leave the European Convention on Human Rights to get the policy through? The Government has already committed to a shake-up of human rights laws but the intervention of the European court will fuel demands for the UK to leave the convention entirely. The Prime Minister did not rule out such a drastic measure when questioned about it yesterday, ahead of the Strasbourg court's injunction. But leaving the ECHR - which emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War - would be a significant step which could have major knock-on effects on other international agreements. Under the Good Friday Agreement, the ECHR underpins human rights guarantees in Northern Ireland. Remaining signed up to the ECHR also helps ensure judicial and legal co-operation with the EU under the terms of Brexit. Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said she doesn't know of any moves for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, saying: 'Right now I am not aware of any decisions or even hints about that.' Ms Coffey told how she instead expected the Government would contest the ruling, saying: 'The most important thing is that we tackle this issue right now. We will go back, I am sure, to the ECHR to challenge this initial ruling.' Does this mean the Rwanda migrants plan is illegal? This is a major issue of contention. Campaigners for the individuals selected for the first flight have already argued in court that if the policy is eventually ruled unlawful, anyone sent to Rwanda would have to be brought back. The United Nations refugee agency warned the Home Office twice that the move to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful, saying that this was because of the risk of refugees being refouled by the African country. Refoulement is where refugees or asylum seekers are forcibly sent back to a country where they could face persecution, and is illegal under international law something the UN has responsibility for overseeing. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has also described the policy as 'potentially unlawful', but the Home Office has defended it and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Government had anticipated 'a lot of teething problems'. Court of Appeal president Lord Reed said yesterday there had been an 'assurance' that, if the Government's policy is found to be unlawful, steps would be taken to bring back any migrants flown there in the interim. Will the government have to pass a new law? Passing a new law enacting the Rwanda policy through the Commons and Lords could bypass the current legal challenges to the policy. But left-wing lawyers could still try to argue that the Human Rights Act supersedes the new law. What will happen to the asylum seekers who were meant to be on the flight? The migrants are likely to have been returned to a detention centre after being taken off the flight, and Home Secretary Priti Patel said that 'many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next'. The ECHR ruling said the migrant known as KN should not be removed until three weeks after a full judicial review by the UK High Court has taken place into the legality of the policy What would have happened to the migrants sent to Rwanda? The first migrants to arrive in Rwanda were expected to have been flown into a private terminal at Kigali's international airport before being taken straight to accommodation at Hope Hostel - where they will be given a chance to rest, eat and settle in, as well as being tested for Covid-19, before they are processed. The Rwandan government said this is the only facility being used for initial accommodation under the plan so far. Hope Hostel can sleep 100 people, although plans for expansion could see another block built on the site. A large tent has been erected next door and is understood to be where the processing will take place. Within 24 hours of arrival, migrants will get a three-month residency in Rwanda while their immigration status is decided. The immigration department will submit a file for the consideration committee within 15 days, after which a decision is expected to be reached within a further 45 days, the Rwandan Ministry of Justice said. The new arrivals will not need to submit an asylum claim, but those who do will have this considered in the first instance. Anyone without an asylum claim, or one that is rejected, will then be considered under wider immigration rules with a view to provide a right to residency and to work. The government said it had boosted staff numbers and resources to make the process as efficient as possible and hopes to consider claims within three months. While their immigration status is determined, migrants will take part in an 'orientation' programme to help them adjust to their new life in Rwanda - if they choose to stay - with information about the country such as the weather and geography as well as a tour of the area. Food and accommodation will be provided and paid for. Migrants will also be given a monthly allowance of 100,000RWF a month (roughly 90) to help pay for essentials. Meanwhile they will be given access to language classes and translation services as well as legal advice. What does Rwanda say about last night's cancelled flight? Rwandan government spokesman Yolande Makolo said that the country is 'not deterred by these developments'. She added: 'Rwanda remains fully committed to making this partnership work. The current situation of people making dangerous journeys cannot continue as it is causing untold suffering to so many. Rwanda stands ready to receive the migrants when they do arrive and offer them safety and opportunity in our country.' The Rwandan government has already hit back at 'insulting' criticism of plans to send migrants there, saying opponents were 'missing the bigger picture' about efforts to improve the standard of living and offer better opportunities so their young people do not move to Europe as well as provide a safe haven for refugees. Schoolchildren walk along a street among pedestrians in Kigali, Rwanda, today following the dramatic flight cancellation Why does the UK government want to fly the migrants to Rwanda? The Government says it welcomes refugees who come by approved immigration routes, but wants to put the criminal smuggling gangs who operate dangerous Channel crossings out of business. Home Secretary Priti Patel has said that the 'Migration Partnership' with Rwanda aims to 'see those arriving dangerously, illegally, or unnecessarily into the UK relocated to build their lives there'. The Government has spoken about breaking the business model of people smugglers amid concerns over the demands on the current system and the cost to the taxpayer of regular crossings over the Channel. At a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that what the 'criminal gangs are doing and what ... those who effectively are abetting the work of the criminal gangs are doing, is undermining people's confidence in the safe and legal system, undermining people's general acceptance of immigration'. Speaking earlier this week, Mr Johnson told LBC radio: 'I think it's very important that the criminal gangs who are putting people's lives at risk in the Channel is going to be broken - is being broken - by this Government. 'They are selling people a false hope, they are luring them into something extremely risky and criminal.' Ms Patel has said the 'vast majority' of those who arrive in the UK through means deemed 'illegal' - such as on unauthorised boats or stowed away in lorries - will be considered for relocation. More than 28,000 migrants entered the UK across the Channel last year, up from 8,500 in 2020, and about 10,000 have arrived so far this year. Dozens have died, including 27 people in November when a single boat capsized. Why do some people object? Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said the threat of removal will cause 'human suffering, distress and chaos' with 'far reaching consequences for desperate people who are simply in need of safety'. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, said the policy is 'inhumane', while Prince Charles is also understood to have privately condemned the scheme as 'appalling'. The Archbishop of Canterbury and other senior bishops suggested the Rwanda scheme breached Christian values, writing in a joint letter to the Times: 'Whether or not the first deportation flight leaves Britain today for Rwanda, this policy should shame us as a nation. 'The shame is our own, because our Christian heritage should inspire us to treat asylum seekers with compassion, fairness and justice, as we have for centuries.' The letter went on to describe those facing removal as 'the vulnerable that the Old Testament calls us to value' and urged the creation of safe migration routes to combat 'evil' traffickers. Migration and refugee groups point out that there are no approved legal routes for most people, with the exception of those fleeing Afghanistan and Ukraine. Australia's energy crisis has deepened, with the National Electricity Market suspended, hospitals ordered to reduce electricity use and millions of people urged not to use basic appliances, despite the freezing winter weather. Anthony Albanese and energy minister Chris Bowen will hold an emergency meeting with industry and union leaders on Thursday to discuss the growing crisis, which has been likened to the situation in 'third world countries'. The potential for mass blackouts has increased with about 1800MW of coal-fired power not operating in Queensland and 1200MW of capacity offline in the states of NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. The Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW, the country's biggest electricity user, was also forced to cut production to reduce the chance of a blackout. NSW Treasurer Matt Kean on Wednesday evening begged residents not to run dishwashers until late at night, and Sydney hospital staff were ordered to conserve power in all non-clinical settings. 'This is the result of two-and-a-half decades of policy failures by all sides of politics,' Victorian state Liberal MP Tim Smith said on Wednesday night. 'Like a third world country, we are rationing power in the two first weeks of winter.' The National Electricity Market has been suspended and hospitals were ordered to reduce electricity use. Pictured is the Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW, which was forced to cut production to reduce the chance of a blackout Millions of households in NSW have been urged not to use appliances such as dishwashers (pictured) in order to conserve electricity and help prevent blackouts Former Victorian Liberal Party President Michael Kroger said Australia had become 'an international laughing stock' over the crisis. 'We've got more uranium, oil, gas, gold, diamonds, whatever. We are the most ... energy rich country on the globe,' he told Sky News on Wednesday night. 'We're exploding with natural resources, yet we have an energy crisis. What a farce.' Mr Bowen said though power outages had been avoided up to now, the grid is still vulnerable to unexpected challenges. 'The system is under pressure,' he said. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) suspended the spot market in NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria for the first time ever at 2.05pm on Wednesday. It blamed the crisis on planned and unexpected coal power station outages, scheduled transmission outages, the early onset of winter and periods of low wind and solar output. AEMO will apply a predetermined pricing schedule for each state, reportedly between $300MWh and $500MWh. The figure will be based on the past four weeks of average wholesale spot prices. Sydney hospitals were ordered to reduce their electricity. Pictured is the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown The National Electricity Market has been suspended for the first time ever. Pictured: Bondi residents wrapped up warm on a cold morning AEMO said the suspension, which will be reviewed daily, was needed to stabilise the National Electricity Market, which it said had become impossible to operate. Poll Who is to blame for Australia's energy crisis? The Coalition Labor Both major parties Climate change doom-mongers Don't know Who is to blame for Australia's energy crisis? The Coalition 217 votes Labor 88 votes Both major parties 262 votes Climate change doom-mongers 542 votes Don't know 45 votes Now share your opinion Thursday morning's emergency meeting will focus on how the market suspension will work, as generators and retailers work under the new regulations. Business leaders have told the newly elected federal Labor government to regain control of the situation. 'Worried energy users need confidence as the situation develops so they know what they will pay, that prices are not being manipulated and whether the lights will go out,' said Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox. 'The detail of the AEMO market suspension will be completely arcane to most business and household energy users. They need confidence that the physical electricity system they depend on will not collapse,' he said. Liberal leader Peter Dutton also criticised the government, saying the crisis is 'completely untenable' and that businesses and families are facing huge pressure. He said Australians should not underestimate how 'precarious the energy market is right now' and warned Labor wants to move power generation to renewables 'too quickly'. As Aussies shiver through the first two weeks of winter, households have once again been asked to conserve electricity for the next few days (pictured, a woman walking along a beachfront) NSW Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes called the crisis 'absolutely appalling', blaming Mr Bowen for power shortages across the country. 'This energy crisis has emerged since the Labor government took over and it's because, if you look at Chris Bowen he has levers in front of him though he doesn't seem to know which one to pull,' she told Sky News. Though there were no blackouts on Wednesday, the crisis is still affecting daily life in several states. Sydney hospitals were ordered to reduce their electricity use and millions of households across NSW were urged not to use their dishwashers. Staff in the Sydney Local Health District were sent an urgent email on Wednesday asking that electricity be conserved in all non-clinical settings. The National Electricity Market was suspended for first time ever on Wednesday. Pictured is the Bayswater coal-fired power station cooling towers and electricity distribution wires in Muswellbrook, in the NSW Hunter Valley region Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean (pictured on June 15) asked NSW residents to reduce their electricity usage from 5.30pm to 8pm on Wednesday night Employees were told to bring air conditioning units down to 20C and close blinds windows to 'keep cool inside', the Daily Telegraph reported. 'Please activate the above measures immediately and we will advise you when these measures can be deactivated. It is likely this protocols will stay in place until 23.59 on Friday 17 June,' the email said. Staff were also asked to turn off electrical equipment not being used and to stop using printers as residents across NSW were earlier issued a similar warning. A NSW Health spokesperson said NSW Health was taking steps to conserve and reduce electricity use where possible in its non-clinical settings but there would be no impact to patient care. NSW Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean asked residents to reduce their electricity usage from 5.30pm to 8pm on Wednesday night. 'If there is an opportunity for people to reduce their energy usage, so perhaps not using the dishwasher until you go to bed, that would help,' he said. Of the renewable sources, solar makes up about 37 per cent and wind 36 per cent. Pictured: A wind farm in Tasmania 'This is the result of a number of our coal-fired power stations not working when we need them to do so,' he said. 'The number of the generators that were expected to be working tonight have not come on. This has changed the amount of supply that's going into the system.' Why did AEMO suspend the market? A large number of generation units are out of action for planned maintenance Planned transmission outages Periods of low wind and solar output Around 3000 MW of coal fired generation out of action through unplanned events An early onset of winter - increasing demand for both electricity and gas Advertisement Mr Kean said the suspension proved NSW needed to modernise its electricity system but said for now the focus would be on fixing the coal-fired stations. 'We are focused on making sure we get through tonight and the next couple of days,' he said, adding he would continue to work closely with AEMO. As Australians shiver through a record breaking cold start to winter, households have again been asked to conserve electricity in the coming days. AEMO CEO Daniel Westerman said 'by suspending the market, we are creating a simple process where AEMO has true visibility of which generators are available and when, in advance. 'That visibility will help us to manage the system in real-time as well as to understand the balance of supply and demand in the period ahead.' Mr Westerman asked NSW residents to 'conserve energy where it's safe to do so'. He said the difference between supply and demand would be tightly balanced in the coming days, particularly in NSW. On Monday night, parts of Sydney's northern beaches were briefly plunged into a blackout while Queenslanders narrowly avoided the same fate. On Tuesday, AEMO directed five gigawatts of generation through direct intervention to prevent blackouts after generators stopped supplying power because a price cap meant they would have struggled to make a profit. Australian Energy Council chief executive Sarah McNamara said the current crisis in the sector was unprecedented. 'It's very challenging for generators to be expected to bring supply online,' she told ABC Radio. 'It's costing them $400/MWh. If they're only going to get paid $300/MWh, that's running at a deep and significant loss.' Are you or do you know the person who made the tannoy? Contact me: james.robinson@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement A disgruntled Ryanair steward has stunned passengers by laying into bosses during an extraordinary mid-flight announcement. Video shows the exasperated staff member lashing out at the budget airline over the tannoy while on a flight from Spain to Manchester. The footage, filmed by a passenger, shows the staff member apologetically informing holidaymakers how they can make a complaint against the company. But his announcement takes a twist when he claims bosses 'don't listen to their staff'. Are you or do you know the person who made the tannoy announcement? Contact me: james.robinson@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement In the video, the steward can be heard saying: 'I do apologise. If you want to file a complaint please do so - go to Ryanair.com. 'They don't listen to their staff, they probably care about you more because you give them money. Instead we're costing them money. 'So give that a go, see how that goes. After four years I literally - I haven't got high expectations for them you know.' A passenger on the flight said the worker seemed 'stressed' They said: 'I had a feeling [the steward] was going to blow, and sure enough a few minutes later he made the announcement. I felt really sorry for him to be honest, he seemed really stressed out.' It was reported earlier this week that cabin crew working for Ryanair in Spain have voted to hold six days of strikes at the end of June and early July. The Spanish-based staff in the USO and SITCPLA unions will walk out for two three-day strikes from 24 June to 26 June and 30 June to 2 July. Today a Ryanair spokesperson refused to comment on the video. A disgruntled Ryanair steward has stunned passengers by laying into his bosses during a candid mid-flight announcement. Video shows the exasperated staff member lashing out at the budget airline over the tannoy while on a flight from Spain to Manchester Airlines are told to fix delays and chaos so 'unacceptable scenes' at airports don't drag into summer - as Which? blasts firms for 'taking bookings for flights which may not run' Airlines were told last night to ensure the recent unacceptable scenes at British airports do not drag on into summer. The regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the Government urged carriers to ensure planned flights are deliverable. The warning came as consumer group Which? said firms were blatantly flouting passenger rights through practices such as taking bookings for flights which may not be able to run. Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by flight cancellations and long queues at airports in recent months, particularly during Easter and last months half-term school holiday. The disruption has been blamed on aviation firms struggling to recruit enough staff to cope with demand for travel after thousands of jobs were cut during the pandemic. A joint letter from the CAA and Department for Transport said schedules should be resilient for unplanned and inevitable operational challenges. Air industry representatives told the Commons business, energy and industrial strategy committee that staff shortages may not be fixed by the summer. It came as easyJet revealed it is taking four weeks longer than normal for new cabin crew recruits to receive security passes because of delays in references for people who have had so many different jobs in recent years. The airline said it was taking about ten weeks pre-pandemic to get ID passes, but this was now at 14 weeks due to a requirement for potential staff to obtain references for all the jobs they have done in the past five years. EasyJet chief operating officer Sophie Deckers told a hearing of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee today that the airline has 142 crew ready and trained to go online who do not have their ID passes. Advertisement It comes as industry experts today warned MPs how airline staff laid off during the pandemic have taken up better paying jobs with less responsibility in other industries and are now reluctant to come back. The industry is currently in the grips of a staffing crisis - sparking chaotic scenes of long queues and abandoned luggage at airports and resulting in hundreds of flights being cancelled. Amid the continuing chaos, including long queues at Manchester Airport today, MPs were warned how travel firms were struggling to bring back staff following mass redundancies last year. One employment expert, Danny Brooks, founder and CEO of Virtual Human Resources, said airline firms had been forced to axe thousands of workers in the gap between the end of the Government's furlough scheme and the end of all Covid travel restrictions. Comparing the situation to 'like an alien spaceship removing staff from the supply chain', he said many former airline staff had now settled in new jobs including as heat-engineers or in Amazon warehouses. His comments came as figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) today reveal how travel firms were now facing stiff competition in the labour markets, with job vacancies reaching a record high. According to the figures, companies across Britain sought 1.3million new members of staff in the three months to May, a record high number of vacancies to fill. Meanwhile figures show how employment levels have fallen in the air transport industry. ONS data shows there were some 81,000 people employed in March 2020, compared to just 70,000 in March this year - a fall of 14 per cent. At the lowest point last year just 66,000 people worked in air travel. It comes as airlines were last night told to rip up their summer schedules to ensure the recent 'unacceptable scenes' at British airports do not drag on into summer. The regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the Government urged carriers to review their timetables until the end of September - and even cancel flights that are not feasible - to ensure they are 'deliverable'. Any cancellations should be done at the earliest possible opportunity, according to officials. The warning came as consumer group Which? said firms were 'blatantly flouting' passenger rights through practices such as taking bookings for flights which may not be able to run. Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by flight cancellations and long queues at airports in recent months, particularly during Easter and last month's half-term school holiday. And today holidaymakers said they were facing 'chaos' once again at Manchester airport, with 'three hour' queues and hundreds of passengers being funnelled through 'just two' security desks. Pictures and video show a huge line of people snaking around the airport terminal as the wait to go through airport security at the under-pressure airport. Holidaymakers say they are facing 'chaos' once again at Manchester airport (pictured left and right today), with 'three hour' queues and hundreds of passengers being funnelled through 'just one' security desk. Some passengers say they arrived three hours early for their flights, only to have to be pulled from the queues and fast-tracked through to the gate to avoid missing their flights Pictures and video from Manchester airport today (pictured) show a huge line of people snaking around the airport terminal as the wait to go through airport security at the under-pressure airport Others say hundreds of passengers were being funnelled through just two security desks. Another passenger described the situation as a 'fiasco'. It comes after weeks of disruption at the airport, and others such as Birmingham and Bristol, and also on occasion Heathrow and Gatwick Yesterday MPs were briefed on the travel staffing situation at a meeting of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee. Danny Brooks, founder and CEO of Virtual Human Resources, told the BEIS committee that the chaos was mainly due to the a skills gap in the aviation jobs market. Manchester Airport has up to FIVE HUNDRED job vacancies as recruitment drive is launched for baggage handlers, security staff and cabin crew - after CEO was awarded 25% pay boost Manchester Airport Group CEO, Charlie Cornish, was awarded a 500,000 pay rise in 2021 compared to 2020 Bosses at Manchester airport have launched a mass recruitment drive to fill 500 vacancies after scenes of airport chaos over half-term, while its CEO has been awarded a 2.5million salary. Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic leading to widespread staff redundancies, pay cuts and absences, the CEO of the Manchester Airport Group Charlie Cornish was allocated a 2.5million salary last year - an increase of 500,000 on 2020. It is understood however that part of his remuneration is dependent on business performance over the next four years, meaning that his full bonus may never actually be paid out. Families last week were faced with hours of queues, hundreds of flight cancellations and an absence of staff at airports across the UK - with Manchester Airport being one of the worst affected. Things got so bad on the ground in Manchester that one TUI pilot actually helped load bags onto their plane when there were no ground staff available. The flight had already been pushed back from May 29 to May 30, and after passengers were delayed once again they praised the pilot for taking matters into their own hands. The group which owns Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports made 900 redundancies during the pandemic, as well as making all staff take a 10% pay cut, which is understood to have included Mr Cornish, despite his overall rise in remuneration due to projected bonus earnings. Additionally a further 1,500 jobs were cut across the three airports by external agency staff, which has exacerbated the problems faced by customers so far this year. Travel and consumer champion Martyn James told the Sun: 'The only thing that has been taking off lately with this company seems to be the chief executive's perks. 'For the thousands of people queuing round the block it is an insult.' The CEO's troubles look far from over as the summer is set to see more delays - as Manchester airport tries to urgently hire 500 staff to plug the gaps. Most of the roles are being advertised as immediate starts, with anyone who signs up being instantly given 250 in cash if they refer a friend. Although the airport announced in April it had recruited around 200 new staff, with a further 250 going through security screening, the problems caused by the huge spike in demand post-coronavirus shows no sign of letting up. But it is believed this still leaves the group short by hundreds of workers. During the half-term week thousands of passengers were left stranded at UK airports or abroad as the aviation industry descended into chaos. According to the Manchester Airport Group, demand for travel has been rapidly rising since the start of this, rising from 37% of pre-covid demand in January to 80% in April. Advertisement He said: ''A lot of the workers were furloughed, furlough came to end in September last year. A lot of the aviation restrictions were lifted earlier this year. So there is a big disconnect in the period. 'A lot of the airlines and operators of the aviation supply chain had to protect themselves to survive to fight another day, which resulted in a lot of redundancies. BA laid of 10,000 people, easyJet 5,000, Swissport I believe a third of their workforce. 'These people have left the industry for good. For a number of reasons, necessity, they've gone to competitor industries, maybe some of the things like Amazon warehouses at the lower-skilled end. At the skilled end people have become heating engineers. 'It is almost like an alien spaceship has come along and taken several million people out the supply chain, but that is not the case - they've just gone into different areas and are reticent to come back, because of boom bust cycles, because of regards to furlough and work life balance, aviation working is anti-social hours and they can earn comparative rates of pay with less responsibility.' His comments align with those of Tony Wilson, at the Institute for Employment Studies, who says airlines handled their workforces poorly during the pandemic. He told the Daily Telegraph: 'They made use of furlough, but I am not sure they did enough to keep in touch with staff when they were furloughed, and they were quite quick to lay people off and to try to change their contracts when they came back. With the benefit of hindsight, they probably couldn't have handled it worse.' Meanwhile, Oliver Richardson, national officer for civil aviation at trade union Unite, told the BEIS committee that a ranking of airlines based on their number of cancellations 'almost exactly corresponds' with how many jobs they cut during the pandemic. He said Ryanair, which made no compulsory redundancies, is in a 'different position from the likes of British Airways', which has been forced to cancel more than 100 daily flights in recent weeks due to staff shortages after implementing severe job losses in 2020. 'They did get rid of too many people in a number of instances,' Mr Richardson said. But British Airways corporate affairs director Lisa Tremble refused to acknowledge that the job cuts are contributing to cancellations. Labour MP Darren Jones, who chairs the committee, repeatedly pressed her on the issue. He asked: 'Do you think there was a connection between sacking 10,000 members of your staff using aggressive fire-and-rehire tactics, and now cancelling the most flights per day?' Ms Tremble said 'it's very complicated', stating that the company 'had to protect as many jobs as possible'. Mr Jones responded: 'We've asked you a very direct question, I think three times, and you've chosen not to answer it.' EasyJet chief operating officer Sophie Deckers insisted that the Luton-based airline - which is also making a large number of cancellations - did plan for the spike in demand for travel but delays in new cabin crew recruits receiving security passes 'caught us by surprise'. She said the process is typically taking around 14 weeks, compared with 10 weeks before the pandemic. The delay is due to difficulties many individuals are having obtaining reference for all the jobs they have done in the past five years, with the pandemic often creating complicated employment histories. 'In many cases, people have had 10 jobs in the last couple of years,' Ms Deckers said. 'Maybe some of them were only for a couple of weeks, but we're required to get a reference from each of those, so that's what's taking the length of time. 'We have today 142 crew ready and trained to go online that don't have their ID passes.' Meanwhile, airlines were told last night to ensure the recent 'unacceptable scenes' at British airports do not drag on into summer. The regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the Government urged carriers to ensure planned flights are 'deliverable'. The letter by Rannia Leontaridi, head of aviation at DfT, and Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the CAA, warned there will be more 'unavoidable cancellations' in the weeks and months ahead. But they told airlines to 'take all possible steps to prepare for and manage passenger demand' to 'avoid the unacceptable scenes we have recently witnessed'. The warning came as consumer group Which? said firms were 'blatantly flouting' passenger rights through practices such as taking bookings for flights which may not be able to run. According to the figures, companies across Britain sought 1.3million new members of staff in the three months to May, a record high number of vacancies to fill. Pictured: A graphic from ONS data showing the number of active vacancies across all industries (red), compared to those in the Transport and Storage industry (blue) Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by flight cancellations and long queues at airports in recent months, particularly during Easter and last month's half-term school holiday. The disruption has been blamed on aviation firms struggling to recruit enough staff to cope with demand for travel after thousands of jobs were cut during the pandemic. Meanwhile new Home Office data made clear the scale of the passport backlog earlier this year, revealing that more than 35,000 people waited longer than ten weeks for their document in the first three months of 2022. WH Smith sales soar past pre-pandemic levels with sharp increase at travel stores as holidaymakers return to international flights and commuters return to the office WH Smith has seen sales soar thanks to a 'particularly sharp recovery' at its travel stores following the revival of international flights and the return of the office commute. It comes after months of travel chaos have seen thousands of travellers spend much more time at airports than usual, as they arrived extra early to avoid the hours-long queues and faced painfully-long delays and cancellations. Meanwhile the number of passengers travelling through the likes of Heathrow in May increased by eight-fold compared to last year, when Covid travel restrictions were still in place. Millions more workers have also begun commuting again as they are increasingly asked to return to the office, providing higher footfall at train stations and motorway services - although the number of people working from home (WFH) remains higher than before Covid. WH Smith said its total sales were at 107 per cent of pre-pandemic levels over the 15 weeks to June 11, with travel sales - meaning stores in airports and train stations - at 123 per cent of 2019 levels over the same period. While its travel stores are booming, its high street trading reported a slowdown to 79 per cent of 2019's levels over the same 15-week period. The London-listed firm highlighted that this included a negative impact from its Funky Pigeon online greeting cards business which saw orders halted by a cyber attack. The retailer, which sells everything from books and magazines, to food, drink and stationery, has branches in 29 UK airports and in more than 100 airports internationally. It also boasts 120 stores at train stations across the UK and Europe and more than 125 franchises operating at services on Britain's motorways. The retail firm told shareholders on Wednesday that it now expects annual trading to be at the top end of analyst expectations. Its sales boom has been buoyed by expansion in the travel sector, having purchased US-based airport technology retailer InMotion in 2018. Advertisement Yesterday, Heathrow Airport's Terminal Four reopened for the first time in two years ahead of the peak summer season, with the first airline flying out being Qatar Airways to Doha - and 30 others are set to join soon. As passengers again reported huge queues yesterday morning at Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast airports - and others tweeted pictures of chaos overnight at Gatwick and Bristol, easyJet made further flight cancellations. It axed 16 flights at Gatwick yesterday - eight departures to Almeria, Catania, Belfast, Preveza, Krakow, Madrid, Prague and Montpellier; and eight arrivals from Belfast, Montpellier, Milan, Catania, Preveza, Prague, Madrid and Krakow. Sue Davies, head of consumer rights at consumer group Which?, said the cancellation of thousands of flights and long queues at airports in recent months were caused by the impact of staffing shortages being 'underestimated'. She said: 'Both the industry and the Government need to shoulder the responsibility for the chaos that we've seen.' Ms Davies acknowledged that the sector has been 'particularly affected' by the coronavirus pandemic, but stressed that consumers have 'lost money and suffered huge emotional stress'. She went on: 'Particularly appallingly, we've been hearing from lots of people who have just had very little information about actually what's happening on the ground. 'The airlines and the Government were encouraging people to travel again, and we think they've just underestimated the capacity issues, and the shortages both within the airlines and the airport services, including baggage handlers.' Ms Davies accused airlines of selling tickets when 'they don't know for sure that those flights are actually going to be able to go'. She told the committee that passengers 'haven't really been given proper information about their rights', adding: 'We feel that obviously there's some really specific issues at the moment in this case, but this is just symptomatic of some of the issues that we've seen in the industry for a long time. 'There's just blatant flouting of consumer rights and a failure to put passenger interests first.' She also told MPs: 'Both the industry and the Government need to shoulder the responsibility for the chaos that we've seen.' Meanwhile, for passengers, the chaos continued today. Passengers at Manchester Airport say they arrived three hours early for their flights, only to have to be pulled from the queues and fast-tracked through to the gate to avoid missing their flights. Others say hundreds of passengers were being funnelled through just two security desks. Another passenger described the situation as a 'fiasco'. It comes after weeks of disruption at the airport, and others such as Birmingham and Bristol, and also on occasion Heathrow and Gatwick. On Tuesday morning, former Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague was caught up in the disruption. The influencer, who was returning from a trip to Dubai, posted pictures of long queues at the airport, describing the scenes in her post as 'immaculate'. This morning, one passenger, taking to Twitter, wrote: 'If you're travelling from Manchester Airport then get to the airport at least three hours early. 'We got here three hours early this morning and have had to be pulled out of the queue and fast-tracked as otherwise would have missed our flight'. Another wrote: To say Manchester Airport T1 is a s*** show would be an understatement! 3.40am joined security queue only three rows deep, still not got through hour later. Only two security bays open. If joining queue now and have flight in next two hours good luck to you. ' Andrea McCarthy wrote: 'Manchester airport this morning dreadful. 50 mins for bags to arrive from Atlanta flight. Now stuck at security for over an hour. Needs sorted. She later added: 'Update on Manchester airport fiasco. Security totally unhelpful and would not expedite us.' However others appeared to avoid the chaos. One wrote: 'Flew from Manchester Airport. Yes there were queues but they were well managed and there was no free-for-all. 'Plane left on time and landed early. Thank you to the very helpful and patient and staff.' Manchester Airport Group CEO, Charlie Cornish, was awarded a 500,000 pay rise in 2021 compared to 2020 It comes as bosses at Manchester airport have launched a mass recruitment drive to fill 500 vacancies after scenes of airport chaos over half-term, while its CEO has been awarded a 2.5million salary. Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic leading to widespread staff redundancies, pay cuts and absences, the CEO of the Manchester Airport Group Charlie Cornish was allocated a 2.5million salary last year - an increase of 500,000 on 2020. It is understood however that part of his remuneration is dependent on business performance over the next four years, meaning that his full bonus may never actually be paid out. Families last week were faced with hours of queues, hundreds of flight cancellations and an absence of staff at airports across the UK - with Manchester Airport being one of the worst affected. Things got so bad on the ground in Manchester that one TUI pilot actually helped load bags onto their plane when there were no ground staff available. The flight had already been pushed back from May 29 to May 30, and after passengers were delayed once again they praised the pilot for taking matters into their own hands. The group which owns Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports made 900 redundancies during the pandemic, as well as making all staff take a 10% pay cut, which is understood to have included Mr Cornish, despite his overall rise in remuneration due to projected bonus earnings. Additionally a further 1,500 jobs were cut across the three airports by external agency staff, which has exacerbated the problems faced by customers so far this year. Travel and consumer champion Martyn James told the Sun: 'The only thing that has been taking off lately with this company seems to be the chief executive's perks. 'For the thousands of people queuing round the block it is an insult.' The CEO's troubles look far from over as the summer is set to see more delays - as Manchester airport tries to urgently hire 500 staff to plug the gaps. Most of the roles are being advertised as immediate starts, with anyone who signs up being instantly given 250 in cash if they refer a friend. Last night Ray Ellis, 54, who worked at the airport but quit, claimed he resigned over the 'chaotic' operations at his former workplace. Ray, who was a baggage handler, explained to the Sun: 'Experienced staff left during Covid. The new staff haven't been in the job long enough to deal with problems.' Although the airport announced in April it had recruited around 200 new staff, with a further 250 going through security screening, the problems caused by the huge spike in demand post-coronavirus shows no sign of letting up. But it is believed this still leaves the group short by hundreds of workers. During the half-term week thousands of passengers were left stranded at UK airports or abroad as the aviation industry descended into chaos. According to the Manchester Airport Group, demand for travel has been rapidly rising since the start of this, rising from 37% of pre-covid demand in January to 80% in April. The CEO said in April: 'The UK aviation sector is now recovering quickly but for most of the last two years we have effectively been in survival mode. 'When the pandemic struck, we were faced with almost no income and huge fixed costs. Doing nothing was not an option. 'We had to cut costs just to survive it was as simple as that. 'We reduced expenditure wherever we could, and as a last resort we had to offer colleagues the option of voluntary redundancy because of the uncertainty about when international travel would resume. 'The simple fact is that we don't currently have the number of staff we need to provide the level of service that our passengers deserve. 'Despite our efforts since last Autumn, the tight labour market around the airport has meant we have just not been able to hire people quickly enough to establish a full-strength team.' Industry experts have warned the public that problems are set to continue into the summer and it will not be a smooth season for air travel. CEO Charlie Cornish apologised to customers in April: 'I cannot apologise enough for the disruption people have faced' - but has not made a statement on the group's site since. Rev. Lee Young-hoon, the senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, speaks during a press conference held at The Plaza Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Yoido Full Gospel Church By Park Han-sol Establishing a cardiac hospital in the heart of Pyongyang, North Korea has long remained an unrealized goal for the Yoido Full Gospel Church, the largest church in South Korea. Since the ambitious project to build an eight-story hospital with 280 beds for cardiology and heart surgery began in December 2007, it was met with a series of hurdles, as could be expected. From the sinking of the military vessel, Cheonan, in the West Sea in March 2010 to the North's border closures due the COVID-19 pandemic that barred exchange, numerous hurdles have continually kept the project in limbo for well over a decade. At the end of last October, the megachurch finally received official approval from the United Nations Security Council to resume the hospital's construction, which now allows the cross-border transfer of 1,500 items and materials needed for the project. All medical devices and equipment will be provided by Samaritan's Purse, following the church's signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the U.S.-based Christian humanitarian aid organization in February. "As soon as the North Korean border opens again, it will be the first project that the church will spearhead," Rev. Lee Young-hoon, the senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, said at a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday, expressing hope that the hospital can serve as one of the gateways to bring peace on the Korean Peninsula. According to Rev. Lee, the construction is about 70 percent completed. Once it's resumed, followed by six months of interior work and the transfer of medical equipment from the U.S., the hospital, tentatively named the Cho Yonggi Cardiac Hospital, after the church's founder, will be able to have its grand opening. He added that the North has continuously requested the South Korean church to help build smaller hospitals in its 260 counties, in addition to the Pyongyang hospital, for regions with poor healthcare infrastructure. "The cost of constructing each hospital with such a scale is around $100,000. We plan to establish a consortium of churches across the nation to push it as our next project," Rev. Lee said. He also stated that the church successfully distributed cash handouts worth 10.6 billion won ($82 million) at the beginning of this year to those in South Korea who have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic small business owners, families with multiple children and recipients of basic livelihood security subsidies. "From last December to January this year, we helped those affected who were in blind spots when it came to the government's pandemic-related subsidies," he said. The church plans to set aside an additional 5 billion won for low-income households before the Chuseok holiday in September. Meanwhile, from Oct. 12 to 14, the 26th Pentecostal World Conference (PWC), hosted by Yoido Full Gospel Church, will take place in Korea. Held every three years since 1947, the conference invites representatives and believers of Evangelical Pentecostal churches and denominations from across the world known as Pentecostal World Fellowship. This year is the third time for the event to be hosted in Seoul, after 1973 and 1998. "The climax of the three-day PWC will be on Oct. 14, when around 30,000 people including 5,000 Pentecostal church officials from 170 countries and other Korean participants head to the Pyeonghwa Nuri Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, for a prayer assembly," Rev. Lee said. "It will be a place to pray for the peaceful unification of our nation and the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue." Advertisement The West has been told to 'wake up' to Russia's growing plot to weaponise and monetise the Arctic, turning the once pristine and peaceful polar region into the 'battleground of the future.' For years Vladimir Putin has been building airbases, missile launch pads, radar stations and naval yards north of the Artic Circle - but the region is now set to take on renewed importance after Russia was hammered by Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, which also trashed its reputation as Europe's second-most powerful army. The High North is perhaps the one region where Russia can now lay claim to being the military superpower, a new report from the Civitas think-tank argues, a fact the Kremlin is likely to exploit as it seeks to plunder an estimated $30trillion of natural resources from the frozen earth and open up new trading routes exposed by melting sea ice. Putin, cash-strapped due to sanctions, is almost certain to lean on China for money to achieve his vision - offering Beijing a back-door into a region it has long plotted to control but where it has no territorial claim. Sitting together atop the world, the pair could menace the West across three continents and in its two largest oceans. The UK is now being urged to reach out to allies with rival claims to the region - the US, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Iceland - to form a new CAUKUS alliance similar to the AUKUS deal with Australia, deploying military might including nuclear submarines into the Article Circle as a show of strength to both Beijing and Moscow. Rob Clark, a soldier-turned-military expert who authored the report, said: 'We need to wake up to the threat posed by Russian expansion in the Arctic while all eyes are on Ukraine, Russia is testing new-age nuclear subs and hypersonic missiles in the Arctic and building up its presence in the region. Russia has been building new military bases while opening gas and oil fields across the Arctic, many of them along the North-East Passage - a valuable trading route that is opening up due to melting ice which Putin hopes he will be able to monetise in the years to come, along with $30trillion in natural resources Russia's submarine base at Gadzhivevo has been expanded to include new storage facilities for Poseidon nuclear drones and Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles, two of Moscow's most cutting-edge weapons systems 'Vladimir Putin has already told his Generals that the Arctic is "the concentration of practically all national security" for Russia. By building up a massive military arsenal in the Arctic the Russians can control new so called polar routes to dominate global trade with a Russian ensign. 'Russian energy co-operation with China is well advanced and the potentially massive natural mineral reserves worth up to $30 trillion leave open the door to Vladimir Putin building up Russian wealth with his friends in Beijing while closing down new global trade routes. 'NATO needs to protect its northern flank and the British need to put an Ambassador in the Arctic to keep a close eye on Russian activity.' Russia's presence in the High North is nothing new. Prized by both the Russian Empire and Soviets for its rich natural resources, Josef Stalin once spoke of the 'Red Arctic' and built dozens of military bases there. But interested waned as the Soviet Union crumbled, and in 1987 Mikhail Gorbachev declared it should be a 'zone of peace' - signalling an end to military expansion there and the start of cooperation with the West over scientific research projects. Putin has other ideas. Mirroring the Soviets and Imperialists who went before him - as he so often does - he declared the region to be the 'concentration of practically all aspects of national security military, political, economic, technological, environmental [and] resources' at a summit in 2014. Since then, he has reopened some 50 Soviet-era Arctic bases including airfields, radar stations, cargo ports, missile launch pads and naval yards. Others have been expanded, including at least 18 airfields in the Kola Peninsula which sits around 200 miles east of Finland and houses most of Russia's military forces in the region: The headquarters of its Northern Sea Fleet, a large portion of its nuclear forces including bombers and missiles, and supply stations for bases further north. Some have been adapted to house Moscow's state-of-the-art military technology. The Plesetsk Cosmodrome was used last year for a test-launch of Russia's latest satellite-killer missile and was recently used to launch Sarmat-2, its latest nuclear missile capable of hitting any country on the planet. Other bases have been adapted to house new hypersonic Tsirkon cruise missiles, and submarine ports in the Kola Peninsula are though to play host to Poseidon nuclear drones, reports by the Centre for International and Strategic Studies found. An new airbase on Wragnel Island, near Alaska, is equipped with a sophisticated radar array with US analysts trying to work out exactly what it has been tasked with spying on Kotelny Island military base has been equipped with launch pads for missile vehicles - either air defences or longer-range rockets as Russia relocates more of its nuclear forces further north A new military base on Alexandra Land marks Russia's closest base to the North Pole, and features an landing strip built on sea ice along with missile batteries and barracks A view of the "Arctic Trefoil", or three-lobed leaf, military base on the island of Alexandra Land, which is part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago A view of buildings at Russia's northern military base on Kotelny island, deep inside the Artic Circle The drones are huge - 65ft long and designed to be fired from an even larger submarine that has yet to be finished - that can pilot themselves to a target and detonate with a force of two megatons, thousands of times the size of the bomb that levelled Hiroshima, which is designed to inundate nearby coasts with a radioactive wave. Dozens of new bases have also been built, including at least five major airfields along what is known as the North-East Passage - a shipping route connecting Europe with Asia that is becoming increasingly accessible due to rising global temperatures weakening sea ice that has made it impassible in the past. Russia hopes to turn this into a viable and lucrative alternative to current shipping lanes that run either around the Africa's Cape of Good Hope and across the Indian Ocean, or through the Mediterranean and around the Arabian Peninsula via the Suez. Going north would shave around two weeks off even the fastest journeys further south. China is also eager to open up this route, which would allow its trading ships to bypass the Strait of Malacca - a strategic bottleneck bordered by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, which are partnered with the US. Though the route is not yet a common one, Moscow has proved that it does work: In 2009 two German cargo ships sailed from South Korea to Rotterdam using it, escorted by a Russian icebreaker. In anticipation of opening the sea lanes up to more trade, Moscow passed a law in 2013 stating that all icebreakers using the route had to fly the Russian flag - meaning they have to be registered in Russia, and pay fees there. That is due to be followed by laws requiring Russian captains on board ships navigating the passage, levying tolls, and a requirement for all journeys to be preregistered. Such a move could generate billions in revenue - Egypt earned $6.3billion in tolls from the Suez in 2021 - and give the Kremlin power over a large part of world trade. And that is far from the only way Putin hopes to make money from the region. The Arctic's largest asset, by far, lays buried within its frozen soil: An estimated $30billion in natural resources including vast untapped fields of oil, natural gas and rare earth minerals that are key to the manufacture of modern technologies. Projects are already underway. In 2014, Russia's largest energy firm Gazprom signed a $400billion project with China's CNPC to supply gas along a newly-built Power of Siberia pipe network over the course of 30 years. In 2013, the pair signed another lucrative deal for liquified natural gas extracted from a new field in the Yamal Peninsula to be shipped to Beijing with Moscow set to approve a Power of Siberia 2 pipeline from the same region into China in short order. Beijing agreed to invest some $11.5billion in developing these gas fields in 2013, after which Russia dropped its long-standing opposition to Beijing having 'observer' status at the Arctic Council, the region's primary governing body. China was given the status the same year, despite its nearest territory being 930 miles away, in what is likely to be a sign of things to come. Russia has been increasingly testing its most up-to-date weapons in the Arctic, including a recent test-launch of the Samart-2 nuclear missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome The Arctic Plesetsk Cosmodrome was also the site from which Russia shot down one of its own satellites in November 2021, with debris narrowly missing the International Space Station Naval bases in the Arctic have also been expanded and refitted to house Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles, which Putin claims cannot be stopped by conventional defences Since the 2013 investment, China has also began to expand into the Arctic - including into some of the same areas as Russia. Beijing now has a radar station on Svalbard, a remote island typically recognised as Norwegian territory, where Chechen special forces - deployed by Russia - carried out military drills in 2014. Beijing also has a satellite base in Sweden and an antenna array in Iceland, both of which are ostensibly for scientific research but are now thought to serve a dual military use. Civitas research found that, while Beijing talks to world leaders of scientific cooperation in the Arctic in public, in state media designed for domestic audiences it speaks of a game of great powers over the most competitive resource treasures left on the planet. Academics at Chinas maritime and naval universities have declared that whoever controls the Arctic will likely have the strategic initiative of the world, suggesting Beijing's aims for the region are even bigger than Moscow's. Responding to the report, former UK Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois MP said: 'In the wake of the recent AUKUS Agreement, the idea of a parallel UK, US , Canada (CAUKUS) arrangement would seem to have considerable merit. 'As a fellow Commonwealth country and key five eyes partner, with strong shared interests in the Atlantic and the High North, creating closer ties between the UK and Canada, also incorporating the United States, must make sense, particularly in the face of a resurgent Russia. CAUKUS is an idea whose time has come.' Tobias Ellwood, chair of the House Defence Committee, added: 'Recent developments have shown that the free world, as it has in the past, needs to come more tightly together if we are to face malign and rogue states who represent the antithesis of our shared values. 'Protecting our values, supply lines and access to resources will require many to look further afield than our traditional spheres of influence. CAUKUS would have the strategic flexibility to act multilaterally to protect our shipping lanes, rights of navigation and allies. 'With the Five Eyes the bedrock of global security The Next Front present the pragmatic proposals necessary to ensure peace in an increasingly unstable world.' A 60-year-old financial adviser has lost an age discrimination case after he was made redundant and told he was 'not getting any younger'. Paul Rowan, who was 58 at the time, was told by managing director David Wylde that he had decided to appoint Daniel Tyerman, in his mid-40s, because he was 'younger and more energetic' than Mr Rowan, an employment tribunal heard. The panel heard this was despite Mr Rowan being the company's highest paid employee on 284,000 a year and having worked there for almost 20 years. Mr Rowan was 'unhappy' about this, refusing to report to Mr Tyerman and would not attend meetings he called, the tribunal heard. Later, when the company was struggling financially as the pandemic hit the UK, Mr Wylde decided to cut costs and made Mr Rowan redundant at the age of 59. Paul Rowan (pictured), who was 58 at the time, was told by managing director David Wylde that he had decided to appoint Daniel Tyerman, in his mid-40s, because he was 'younger and more energetic' than Mr Rowan, an employment tribunal heard As a result he made a claim at an employment tribunal for age discrimination and unfair dismissal. But the panel found Mr Rowan had not complained about the comments until he was made redundant, and only was offended that he had been described as less 'energetic' than Mr Tyerman. The tribunal concluded he was unfairly dismissed as his redundancy had been 'premeditated' but it would have happened anyway as he had become the poorest performing member of his team 'in a large number of respects'. Mr Rowan joined DWPF Limited in 2000, with Mr Tyerman joining the small financial advice company based in Finsbury, London, five years later. In October 2019, DWPF Limited went into voluntary liquidation and was bought by DWFS Services Limited, also owned by Mr Wylde. That same year, Mr Wylde announced he was appointing Mr Tyerman as CEO, a newly created role, as he himself planned to step back from the business. The hearing was told: 'Unlike [Mr Rowan], who had a reputation of being somewhat aloof and focused on his own projects, Mr Tyerman had shown an interest in getting involved in other areas of the wider business and introducing new workstreams.' The panel heard this was despite Mr Rowan being the company's highest paid employee on 284,000 a year and having worked there for almost 20 years. Mr Rowan was 'unhappy' about this, refusing to report to Mr Tyerman (left) and would not attend meetings he called, the tribunal heard. Right: David Wylde Mr Rowan was unhappy with this appointment and felt he should have been made CEO as the year before, Mr Wylde had discussed him being part of an executive team, the panel heard. During a meeting discussing his dissatisfaction with the news, the panel heard: '[Mr Rowan said Mr Wylde] told him the reason he had appointed Mr Tyerman as the CEO was because he was 'younger and more energetic' and also said that neither he nor [Mr Rowan] were 'getting any younger'.' At the hearing, Mr Wylde 'adamantly' denied making these comments, but the panel found he did, and had written in emails about 'younger' employees and referring to the 'boys doing the modelling'. In 2020, 69 year old Mr Wylde wrote to Mr Rowan: 'At the moment we are in a savage cash crisis due to the Coronavirus. I am doing everything we can to manage this position but it may result in some redundancies.' The tribunal, held remotely from central London, heard he also told Mr Rowan, who is now aged 60, that 'younger' employees would not be considered as part of the redundancy process. It was then decided that Mr Rowan's team would be scored based on their performance. It was found he was the lowest scoring employee and he was made redundant, the panel heard. The tribunal found 'unanimously' that this decision had 'nothing whatsoever' to do with his age and that although the comments constitute less favourable treatment, it ruled it did not amount to detriment as he was 'not upset'. Employment Judge Emma Burns concluded: '[Mr Rowan] was not upset by the references to age in comments. 'He was upset that Mr Wylde had decided to appoint Mr Tyerman as the CEO and that Mr Wylde had described Mr Tyerman as more energetic than him 'It was entirely plausible that the words were said given the context of the conversation. 'In addition, we find that both men were used to making references to age in the workplace... it was part of their culture of communication and neither considered such language to be offensive or inappropriate.' Top models from across Australia have lifted the lid on the dark realities of the industry and why being genetically gifted can sometimes be a curse. Seven models answered confronting questions from curious members of the public for an episode of the ABC's You Can't Ask That that aired on Wednesday night. The group, which featured a diverse range of models, including plus size models, discussed eating disorders, feeling exploited and suffering tough rejections. One of the models interviewed was Bridget Malcolm, who walked the Victoria's Secret runway in 2015 and 2016 - a time she recalls feeling 'miserable'. Aussie model Bridget Malcolm walked the Victoria's Secret runway in 2015 and 2016 (pictured) Bridget (pictured) recalled it being 'very easy to slip into an eating disorder' and struggled with anorexia as well as panic attacks which she tried to quell using Xanax Bridget said after signing with modelling agency company IMG when she was just 15, she moved to New York and landed the iconic lingerie show. She described walking for Victoria's Secret as a 'huge deal' and recalls seeing famous models backstage and feeling 'so nervous'. The model was constantly told by casting agents she needed to lose an inch from her hips and said if a model was called 'healthy' it meant they had to lose weight. Bridget described modelling like living in a constant state of 'what's going to be wrong with me today' and 'how can I let nobody know that it hurts me'. She recalled it being 'very easy to slip into an eating disorder' and struggled with anorexia as well as panic attacks which she tried to quell using Xanax. 'In a sick way I liked it more when people said I looked sick because I'd be like "yeah I did it, I'm really truly remarkably thin now",' Bridget said. 'It's really difficult to know what is real and what isn't when your physical appearance has been gaslit as much as it has.' Bridget (pictured at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2016) described modelling like living in a constant state of "what's going to be wrong with me today" a The model she was overall happy with how she has been treated in the industry and said if modelling is 'done right' it doesn't feel exploitative. However, she recalled being 'assaulted' by a male photographer after finally agreeing to shoot topless following his persistent requests. 'When it goes wrong, it can be horrific,' Bridget said. Sydney-based model Sarah Stephens said she had suffered anxiety and depression during her career as a model and revealed it wasn't all glitz and glamour. Sarah won Girlfriend Magazine's Model Search in 2006 and walked on the Victoria's Secret runway in 2008 when she was just 18-years-old. She said as a naive teenager she had thought the fashion industry would be a 'beautiful, crazy world' but the reality turned out to be a 'lot different'. Sarah Stephens recalled having to strip down in front of a room of people during a casting and a woman taking one look at her before remarking 'this isn't going to work' Sarah revealed at one point in her modelling career she had just stopped eating entirely and also struggled with bulimia Sarah recalled having to strip down in front of a room of people during a casting and a woman taking one look at her before remarking 'this isn't going to work'. The model left the room and burst into tears, however it was not an isolated incident. The 32-year-old said casting agents had said she had 'too much jiggle' that she 'can't wear that' and that her hips are too wide. 'There was this pressure to be waif-like,' she told the program. Sarah revealed at one point in her modelling career she had just stopped eating entirely and also struggled with bulimia. She struggled with having to play the 'sexy girl' role because it didn't align with who she was as a person and said she was sexualised from a young age. 'People sexualised me before I was even sexual. Before I even had sex,' she said. Plus-size model Mahalia Handley revealed she had been recently diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder. Plus-size model Mahalia Handley revealed she had been recently diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder Chloe Maxwell, a face known to many Australians in the '90s as 'the Jeanswest girl', said she had felt nervous when she was told she was going to be on TV She described her diagnosis as having 'obsessive compulsive thoughts about parts of your body that you believe to be wrong'. Luke Wallace from Lennox Head told the program that while he hadn't struggled with any eating disorders he had been picked on by a gang of thugs. After being beaten within an inch of his life and having his nose and jaw broken the thugs told him he 'wasn't so beautiful now'. Swollen and with a face 'double the size' Luke said he realised his sense of self-worth relied on being attractive to himself and others. 'My sense of self worth was constantly in somebody else's hands,' he said. 'Sometimes you just felt like an object'. Chloe Maxwell, a face known to many Australians in the '90s as 'the Jeanswest girl', said she had felt nervous when she was told she was going to be on TV. Model turned influencer Malaan Ajanng recalled a time she was sent home because her agency decided she had gained weight Sarah landed a coveted spot in the 2008 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show when she was just 18 'I was worried that I was going to be an outcast,' she said, explaining that girls at school had been bullying her at the time. She reflected on being put in a see-through top for a runway show and feeling 'embarrassed' and 'humiliated'. 'There was never any consent, they just did whatever they wanted,' she said. Model turned influencer Malaan Ajanng recalled a time she was sent home because her agency decided she had gained weight. Malaan said models could be assigned a personal trainer who specialises in health and fitness, who would tell the models they looked good. 'If anything they said you were underweight,' she said. The Melbourne-based beauty said she had struggled to break in to the industry because her community paralleled it to 'joining the playboy mansion'. She said photographers could sometimes push models out of their comfort zones. 'Being so young and vulnerable you can get into situations where you just do it for your career,' Malaan said. A millionaire's son who was shopped to police by his parents when he downed two bottles of wine and drove off in his mother's Mercedes 'doesn't bear a grudge' after they paid for him to go to rehab. Edward George, 30, was 'extremely intoxicated' when he got into his mother Alison's car outside her Sandbanks home in December last year. The police caught up with him when he returned to the 2million Poole Harbour flat, just yards away from Harry Redknapp's home, on foot and he was found to be more than twice the drink-drive limit. But George, the son of millionaire Brendan George who owned Wimborne Market, won't face justice until six months after the offence while he undergoes expensive rehab. George pleaded guilty to drink driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance at Poole Magistrates' Court and was due to be sentenced in April. But the hearing was adjourned for two months as his family had paid for him to undergo expensive rehab at a private Midlands clinic. After completing his treatment, magistrates gave him a 46 month driving ban, a 400 fine and ordered him to carry out 150 hours unpaid work. Edward George, 30, (pictured) was 'extremely intoxicated' when he got into his mother Alison's car outside her Sandbanks home in December last year George, the son of millionaire Brendan George (Pictured left with his wife Alison) who owned Wimborne Market, won't face justice until six months after the offence while he undergoes expensive rehab Mark Hensleigh, defending, said Edward George was now sober following treatment. He added that his client bore no resentment towards his parents for calling the police and was indebted to them for paying for his stay in rehab. Mr Hensleigh said: 'George has an alcohol problem. 'He knows he was foolish to drive and cooperated with police. 'The offence was a lightbulb moment and his parents were able to have the resources to get him away (from Sandbanks) because he needed to get away. 'He doesn't bear a grudge against his family for in effect telling police he had gone because no one would have known had they not told police he was driving the car.' Nicola Reece, prosecuting, said George had driven to his ex-partner's house to see their son. When he got there she called a taxi for him to take him home. Mrs Reece said: 'Mr George was disqualified from driving for 36 months in April 2021 for offences of driving with excess alcohol. 'On December 27, 2021, police received a call that Mr George had taken a vehicle from his home address and was heavily intoxicated and the informant had stated he was a disqualified driver. The police caught up with Georgewhen he returned to the 2million Poole Harbour flat, just yards away from Harry Redknapp's home, on foot in the exclusive Sandbanks (pictured) 'Officers attended and he returned to the address on foot. 'He told officers the location of the vehicle and as he appeared heavily intoxicated he was breathalysed and arrested. 'At police interview he gave a full account saying he had drunk two bottles of wine and was not in the right state of mind following the break up of his relationship with the mother of his child. 'He couldn't sleep so he wanted to see his child and deemed himself fit to drive which he now realises was a stupid decision.' George, the son of wealthy market owner Brendan George, was found to have 85ml of alcohol in 100ml of breath, over double the 35ml limit. Former President Donald Trump celebrated toppling 'Impeacher,' Rep. Tom Rice, in Tuesday's South Carolina Republican primary, and boasted that every 'Trump candidate' won except 'long shot' Katie Arrington. 'Every single endorsed by Trump candidate won last night, by big margins, with the exception of one very long shot who did FAR better than anticipated against an incumbent,' the ex-president wrote on his social media site, Truth Social. 'The "Impeacher" was ousted without even a runoff. a GREAT night!' Arrington, who ran for the same Congressional seat in 2018 and lost, failed to take out one-time Trump critic, Rep. Nancy Mace. 'Sir, I'm sorry I couldn't give you the birthday present that I wanted to give to you, but you will always be my number 45, my number 46,' Arrington said in a message to Trump at her watch party Tuesday night. Those two races were the most prominent as voters in South Carolina, Texas' 34th Congressional District, Nevada, Maine and North Dakota went to the polls Tuesday. South Carolina state Rep. Russell Fry, who was challenging Rice, easily beat the incumbent, leading him by more than 26 point when the race was called by The Associated Press at 11:01 p.m. Rice had been one of 10 House Republicans to vote in favor of Trump's second impeachment - that he incited an insurrection on January 6. Trump has gone state-by-state backing primary challengers for the 10 lawmakers or helping motivate their retirements. He's also taken on Republican lawmakers like Mace who made critical statements. Russell Fry, the Trump-backed challenger to Republican Rep. Tom Rice, celebrates his win Tuesday night at the 8th Avenue Tiki Bar in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Fry was beating Rice by more than 26 points when the race was called South Carolina Rep. Russell Fry celebrates his win over U.S. Rep. Tom Rice for his congressional seat in the Republican primary after earning former President Donald Trump's endorsement Rep. Tom Rice was one of 10 GOP House members to vote in favor of Trump's second impeachment. Trump has gone state-by-state fielding challengers against impeachment backers, or motivating their retirements. He is captured smiling before the results were tallied Rep. Nancy Mace speaks to reporters after beating challenger Katie Arrington on Tuesday. Mace was critical of former President Donald Trump after January 6, but campaigned by telling voters she was politically aligned with the ex-president An emotional Katie Arrington reacts after losing to incumbent Rep. Nancy Mace in Tuesday night's South Carolina for the 1st Congressional District House seat. Arrington had the backing of former President Donald Trump, but that wasn't enough to take out Mace The biggest prize for Trump will be taking out Rep. Liz Cheney in Wyoming's primary in August. She's the top Republican lawmaker on the House select committee on January 6. Rice had the help of more traditionally mainstream Republicans, including former House Speaker Paul Ryan and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. But Fry got the coveted endorsement of Trump in February, and the president appeared alongside Fry in a Florence, South Carolina rally in March. In South Carolina, candidates need to get to 50 percent plus one in order to avoid a run-off. Mace criticized Trump after the January 6 Capitol attack, but more recently filmed a campaign video in front of Trump Tower reinforcing that they were politically aligned. Former President Donald Trump's (right) embrace of Katie Arrington (left) still didn't help her unseat Rep. Nancy Mace, who was critical of the ex-president after January 6, but pressed to voters that they were politically aligned Trump-endorsed Republican hopeful Katie Arrington, a former South Carolina state rep, speaks with reporters outside a polling place Tuesday in Summerville, South Carolina. She's challenging Rep. Nancy Mace, who was critical of Trump after January 6 That didn't matter to the ex-president who backed Katie Arrington, despite the fact that she lost the district to a Democrat in the 2018 midterms. 'Don't forget that Katie Arrington, a wonderful person, is running against the terrible Nancy Mace, who really let us down,' Trump said in a statement Sunday ahead of election day. 'Nancy fights Republicans all the time and is not at all nice about it. Frankly, she is despised by almost everyone, and who needs that in Congress, or in the Republican Party?' the ex-president asked. In the past, Mace has publicly feuded with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a top Trump acolyte. But a number of Republicans feared that if Arrington won the seat it would again be lost like it was four years ago when Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham beat Arrington, turning the Charleston-adjacent district blue for the first time since 1981. Cunningham won the Democratic primary Tuesday night in South Carolina's governor's race. Voters in Nevada also went to the polls Tuesday. Trump picked former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt to receive his endorsement among the Republicans running for Senate, though U.S. military veteran Sam Brown was seeing momentum as election day neared. Laxalt - who co-chaired Turmp's 2020 campaign in Nevada - announced a lawsuit in the aftermath of the 2020 election falsely claiming there were thousands of improper votes cast in Nevada. Brown has been running to the right of Laxalt arguing to voters that the attorney general didn't do enough to help Trump contest the race. Still Laxalt had an edge, beating Brown by about 22 points with around 40 per cent of the vote in. The race was called at 1:02 a.m. EST. Another 2020 election denier, Jim Marchant, won the GOP nomination for Nevada secretary of state. The winner of the Republican Senate primary will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, considered one of the most endangered members of her party this year. Cortez Masto easily won her race despite facing several Democratic challengers. hart. North Dakota and Maine also held primaries Tuesday, but with no heavily contested races. Additionally, Republican Mayra Flores made history by becoming the first Mexican-born congresswoman to serve in the House after beating a Democrat in a special election in Texas to fill the seat occupied by retirign Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela. Construction machinery company Caterpillar announced it would relocate its headquarters from Illinois to Texas after 100 years to 'attract new talent.' The company announced the news on Tuesday that it would be moving to Irving sometime this year and would be relocating most of its staff. The company told Fox News that it believes most of its roughly 230 Deerfield corporate employees will move. The company - which boasts more than 100,000 employees globally - has had a presence in the Republican state since the 1960s, but Illinois remained the largest concentration of employees in the world, Fox News reported. Caterpillar, which has been based in Illinois since 1925, has become the next company to join Elon Musk's Tesla in the Lone Star state. The construction company will now be the 54th Fortune 500 to be based in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott happily announced in a statement. Caterpillar announced it would be moving its headquarters to Irving, Texas, this year after 100 years in Illinois. The company said the new move would 'attract more talent' and opportunities (pictured: Illinois headquarters) Governor Greg Abbott celebrated the 'major win' for Texas, announcing the company would be the 54th Fortune 500 company to headquarter in the state Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (left) said h was 'disappointed' with the move, as the company has been in the state since 1925. Abbott (right) said Texas would be a 'perfect fit for this international brand' 'I am proud to welcome Caterpillar's headquarters to Texas and am excited for the economic opportunities this will create for Texans,' Abbott said in a statement. Several companies have recently left liberal states in favor of the lower corporate tax state, including Tesla, Hewlett Packard, Oracle, and venture capital firm 8VC. Amazon also opened a tech hub in Houston. The Fortune 500 company revealed it was moving its headquarters to 'attract new talent and provide additional career opportunities for our current employees to aid in retention,' a spokesperson said. Caterpillar now joins the ranks of Elon Musk's Tesla, which also moved it's HQ to Texas. Since Abbott took office in 2015, more than 200 companies have moved there (pictured: Musk at the 2022 Met Gala) 'We believe it's in the best strategic interest of the company to make this move, which supports Caterpillar's strategy for profitable growth as we help our customers build a better, more sustainable world,' CEO Jim Umpleby said in a statement. It also said the move would allow employees to have access to multiple high-quality school zones as well as suburban and downtown housing areas, Bloomberg reported. Companies that have moved to Texas Tesla Hewlett Packard Oracle 8VC Caterpillar Joe Rogan's production company Aeromax Industries Astura Medical Charles Schwab Green Dot Incora Maddox Defense Pabst Brewing Co Advertisement Many companies have chosen to relocate to Texas as the state boasts low corporate taxes at around 20 percent - one of the lowest in the country. The location is also toward the middle of the country, making it a central hub for communication and travel; corporate rent is also low, especially compared to DC, LA, or Chicago; and it's more affordable for employees, according to Hartman, a Texas office and warehouse leasing management company. The state also does not tax income. Abbott also praised the move and Texas, calling the state the 'perfect fit for this international brand.' Since Abbott took office in 2015, 250 companies moved their headquarters to the Lone Star state, according to a statement. Illonois Governor JB Pritzker, who is seeking reelection, said he was 'disappointed' to see the longtime company leave the Midwest, as 'so many companies are coming' into the state. 'We will continue to support the 17,400 Illinoisans who work for the company in East Peoria, Mapleton, Mossville, Pontiac and Decatur which remains Caterpillars largest manufacturing plant in North America,' he said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. Detectives are hunting two women after the theft of two antique gold coins worth 20,000 for an exhibition at an antiques fair in Essex. Both a five guinea gold coin from 1668 to 1753 - worth a five-figure sum - and a 5 1999 Princess Diana gold coin - worth a four-figure sum - were taken. They were on display by Lockdale Auctioneers and Valuers at a fair at the Brentwood Centre on May 28 when the theft happened. Investigators have pinpointed the time they went missing to being between 2.50pm and 3.20pm. Police say the pair of women were with a man who has been described as wearing a white or cream suit jacket and light-coloured Panama-style hat. The 5 1999 Princess Diana gold coin - worth a four-figure sum - was taken in the brazen theft A five guinea gold coin from 1668 to 1753 - worth a five-figure sum - has been taken too An Essex Police spokesman said: 'We want to speak to two women in connection with the theft. 'The first is described to us as having a tanned complexion, aged between 40 and 50 years-old, around 5ft 8ins tall, of large build, with long brown hair, and possibly wearing a denim jacket. 'The second is also described to us as having a tanned complexion, in her 40s or 50s, around 5ft 6ins tall, with shoulder length hair.' The antiques fair was organised by GNB Fairs who set them up Essex, Kent, Suffolk & Sussex and have another in Brentwood on August 28 and 29 weekend. The antiques fair was organised by GNB Fairs and featured different valuables up for sale These silver items were also on offer at the even in Brentwood, which was held last month Both of the valuables were in the possession of Ipswich-based Lockdales Auctioneers. They are understood to have been exhibiting items as well as offering for sale at the event. Police are hoping people may come forward to the two women's identities. They also are appealing for CCTV, dash cam or other footage. If you can help contact the police using crime reference number 42/137590/22 on 101 or by submitting a report online. Downing Street today played down suggestions that all 26 bishops could be kicked out of the House of Lords after they criticised the Government's Rwanda migration scheme. In an excoriating letter this week, the entire senior leadership of the Church of England claimed the 'immoral' plan to send migrants to Africa 'shames Britain'. The Church, led by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, has been a leading opponent of the 120million scheme. Recent weeks have seen a deepening war-of-words between the Church and Boris Johnson, as well as other senior Government ministers. But Number 10 this afternoon dismissed suggestions that direct action could be taken against the Church. It had been reported that Cabinet ministers were openly talking about expelling the 26 bishops from the House of Lords - with one noting that Iran is the only other country to have religious leaders sitting in their parliament. Yet, asked if the Prime Minister wanted Church leaders ejected from the upper chamber, Mr Johnson's press secretary said: 'There are no plans to do that.' Boris Johnson has 'no plans' to kick 26 bishops out of the House of Lords, Number 10 said today Church of England archbishops and bishops - who criticised the Government's Rwanda plan - sit in the House of Lords as the Lords Spiritual Home Secretary Priti Patel plans to send migrants who enter Britain illegally to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed The entire senior leadership of the Church of England claimed plan to send migrants to Africa 'shames Britain' Under an agreement struck with Kigali in April, Home Secretary Priti Patel plans to send migrants who enter Britain illegally thousands of miles away to have their asylum claims processed. Her scheme has yet to get up and running after the European Court of Human Rights blocked a first flight to Rwanda last night. Church of England archbishops and bishops sit in the House of Lords as the Lords Spiritual. In their letter this week, published in The Times, the 25 current members of the Lords Spiritual claimed the Rwanda policy 'should shame us as a nation'. 'The shame is our own, because our Christian heritage should inspire us to treat asylum seekers with compassion, fairness and justice, as we have for centuries,' they wrote. 'Those to be deported to Rwanda have had no chance to appeal, or reunite with family in Britain. 'They have had no consideration of their asylum claim, recognition of their medical or other needs, or any attempt to understand their predicament.' Their letter added: 'We cannot offer asylum to everyone, but we must not outsource our ethical responsibilities, or discard international law which protects the right to claim asylum. 'We must end the evil trafficking; many churches are involved in fighting it. This needs global co-operation across every level of society. 'To reduce dangerous journeys to the UK we need safe routes: the church will continue to advocate for them. 'But deportations and the potential forced return of asylum seekers to their home countries are not the way. This immoral policy shames Britain.' Following the bishops' intervention, TalkTV presenter Tom Newton Dunn reported that Cabinet ministers were openly talking about expelling them from the Lords. He revealed on Twitter that one minister had told him: 'Only Iran also has clerics that sit in their legislature. They'll go.' Graduating students at a religious university handed the interim school president rainbow pride flags during commencement in protest of the school's ban on hiring LGBTQ+ staff. In an act of defiance graduating student from Seattle Pacific University handed interim president Pete Menjares a rainbow pride flag instead of a handshake during the university's commencement ceremony on Sunday. The Board of Trustees at SPU, a religious educational institution affiliated with the Free Methodist Church USA, voted last month to uphold a policy that bars the hiring of LGBTQ+ people. Scroll Down For Video: In an act of defiance graduating student from Seattle Pacific University handed interim president Pete Menjares a rainbow pride flag instead of a handshake during commencement SPU student and organizer Chloe Guillot told said that the flag protest is just the start and that students were 'not going to stop until the policy changes' According to the university's non-discrimination policy, the institution 'reserves the right to prefer employees or prospective employees on the basis of religion.' The university says it expects employees to hold certain religious beliefs- including that they refrain from same-sex sexual activity, extramarital sex and cohabitating before marriage. Board Chair Cedric Davis said that the board's decision was in line with the school's mission as a Methodist university. 'While this decision brings complex and heart-felt reactions, the Board made a decision that it believed was most in line with the university's mission and Statement of Faith and chose to have SPU remain in communion with its founding denomination, the Free Methodist Church USA, as a core part of its historical identity as a Christian university,' Davis said in a statement last month. According to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, any educational institution that receives federal funds cannot discriminate based on sex or sexual orientation. But the federal law includes a religious exemption and according to former Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, SPU is within their rights as a religious university to ban LGBTQ+ educators. 'It's legal because Seattle Pacific University is a religious organization,' McKenna told KIRO News Radio. Students have been protesting the board's decision for weeks, even holding a sit-in outside Menjares' office since May 24, chanting 'we want gay faculty!' while wearing rainbow masks and carrying signs the read 'Jesus is ashamed.' 'It was a wonderful day to celebrate with our graduates. Those who took the time to give me a flag showed me how they felt and I respect their view,' Menjares (pictured) said in a statement According to the university's non-discrimination policy , the institution 'reserves the right to prefer employees or prospective employees on the basis of religion' The sit-in protests are expected to continue until July 1- the deadline organizers gave the board to re-evaluate the decision before students pursue legal action. SPU student and organizer Chloe Guillot told CNN that the flag protest is just the start and that students were 'not going to stop until the policy changes' 'SPU did teach us students to stand up for what we believe in and so I think that doing a demonstration at graduation is a great encapsulation of what we've been taught here, and we're putting it into action,' Guillot told King5.com On Monday Menjares released a statement addressing the protests, saying he respected students expressing their opinions. 'It was a wonderful day to celebrate with our graduates. Those who took the time to give me a flag showed me how they felt and I respect their view,' the statement said. A primary school in South Yorkshire issued an urgent warning to parents yesterday morning after two men attempted to kidnap two young girls. In an email, Woodfield Primary School in Balby, Doncaster, warned parents that while one of the attempted child snatchers had been arrested, the other remained at large. A spokesman for Woodfield Primary School said: 'We have been informed this morning that yesterday evening two men attempted to snatch two children of primary school age from Weston Road. 'One was caught and arrested and the other got away. 'Thankfully both girls are safe. Two female pupils at Woodfield Primary School (pictured) in Balby, Doncaster, were the victims of an alleged attempted kidnap yesterday evening, with one male having been arrested in connection with the incident 'Please be extra vigilant and ensure you report anything untoward to the police. 'We strongly recommend that all children be collected from school by an adult over the age of 18.' The incident comes just days after a man was arrested for attempted child kidnap in a separate incident. Yorkshire Live have asked South Yorkshire Police for more details. North Korea on Wednesday accused the United States of campaigning to maintain its hegemony in the Indo-Pacific region and putting it in jeopardy of conflicts via its regional security initiatives and upcoming multinational maritime training. In a post on the foreign ministry's website, Ri Myong-hak, a researcher at the ministry-affiliated Institute for Disarmament and Peace, took aim particularly at the U.S.-led Quad forum involving India, Australia and Japan, as well as AUKUS, a trilateral security partnership of Australia, Britain and the U.S. "Due to the aggressive and hegemonic Indo-Pacific strategy of the U.S., the region is being exposed to the constant danger of military conflicts," he said. "This, in turn, is of negative influence to the Korean Peninsula." He also denounced the U.S. for waging "war exercises" on more than 10 occasions in the Pacific Ocean this year and for planning to conduct the world's largest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise in August. "The world should discern who is the real culprit of violating peace and remain vigilant about the military moves of the U.S.," he added. In early August, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan plan to conduct a combined missile search and tracking exercise in waters off Hawaii to bolster their readiness to counter North Korea's evolving missile threats. In a separate piece, Ra Guk-chol, a researcher of the Institute for Studies of Japan, criticized Tokyo's recent bid to revise its guidelines on defense equipment transfers, saying it could "plunge the world into a whirlpool of greater tension." Japan has been seeking to ease its restrictions on defense supply transfers to allow the export of lethal military equipment, including missiles and jets. Ra warned the global community to stay alert to Japan's "reckless moves to participate in the war," calling it "one of the culprits disturbing the global peace and stability." (Yonhap) A former wrestler who strangled his ex-girlfriend and dumped her half-naked body in a duffel bag in woods before kidnapping their toddler son has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Tyler Rios, 28, who weighs about 230 pounds, admitted killing 24-year-old Yasemin Uyar last July in New Jersey with a wrestling move by putting his arm across her throat until she was strangled to death. After killing Uyar in her Rahway home on July 8, Rios fled with their two-year-old son, Sebastian Rios, and drove him to Tennessee with his mother's body in the trunk of the car. The mother and son were reported missing from their Rahway home on July 9, when Sebastian did not show up to his daycare and Uyar did not arrive for her scheduled work shift. Sebastian was found unharmed with Rios in Monterrey, Tennessee, the next day, and Uyar's body was found in a wooded area nearby a few hours later. During the court hearing, Uyar's mother, Karen, told Judge John M. Deitch that Sebastian, now three, says he saw 'Daddy choke Mommy', reports My Central Jersey. Karen told the court that Sebastian remembers what happened and talks about his father killing his mother nearly every day, adding that Rios has given his son 'a lifetime of traumatic memories'. She said Sebastian recalls how cold his mother was after his father strangled her. Tyler Rios, 28, (left) who weighs about 230 pounds, admitted killing 24-year-old Yasemin Uyar last July in New Jersey with a wrestling move by putting his arm across her throat until she was strangled to death After killing Uyar in her Rahway home on July 8, Rios fled with their two-year-old son, Sebastian Rios, and drove him to Tennessee with his mother's body in the trunk of the car Rios pleaded guilty in April to aggravated manslaughter and desecrating human remains and on Friday, the judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison. Under terms of his sentencing, Rios, of East Orange, will have to serve 85% of his 25-year term on the manslaughter count, then serve an additional five-year term for the second count before being eligible for release. After the court hearing in Union County, Uyar's mother said that Sebastian will never be the same after the killing. 'He's a little boy. He shouldn't have to deal with these things,' Karen said. 'As a parent you are supposed to love, cherish and protect your child. Instead, he repeatedly exposed Sebastian to hate, jealousy, violence and ultimately the death of his mother,' Karen said. Earlier, Karen described her youngest daughter as a 'beautiful human' who had a contagious laugh. 'She was a beautiful human being both inside and out,' she said as she sobbed. Karen said her daughter had tried to protect Sebastian by not telling Rios where she was living - but he was able to track her down. Rios admitted to being at Uyar's apartment on July 8, 2021, when they got into an argument about where Sebastian will be living. Rios, who is a former Highland Park High School wrestler, admitted killing Uyar with a wrestling move which strangled her to death. He admitted picking up her body from the floor, putting it in a duffle bag which he then put in the trunk of Uyar's car. Rios then drove in the car to Tennessee with his son beside him, before dumping Uyar's body in a field. Cops are pictured outside of a home in New Jersey after an Amber Alert was issued for the then-missing boy Police were able to track Rios to a Bethel Inn and Suites motel in Monterrey, Tennessee, where he was arrested on July 10 According to court documents obtained by NJ.com, authorities were able to locate Rios after he made two phone calls to people, telling them that he had a dead body in his car. He called a relative on July 9 and told them he had a dead body in the car, who the person assumed was Uyar, with whom he had a tumultuous relationship. A female relative contacted the Highland Park Police Department in New Jersey on July 9 after Rios called her and said he had a dead body in his car. She presumed the body belonged to Uyar. Police also took a statement from another person who said Rios admitted to having Sebastian in his custody, and confessed to killing Uyar, whose body he left in his car for days, according to court filings. Little Sebastian Rios is pictured in a photo After Rios had the 45-minute phone conversation with the person, who NJ.com says was not named in the court documents, police were able to track his location to a Bethel Inn and Suites in Monterey, Tennessee. The local sheriff's department responded to the motel and found Uyar's vehicle in the parking lot, with the license plate discarded nearby. When the officers took Rios into custody, the court documents allege, Uyar's debit card was in the room. He then allegedly led investigators to where he had disposed of Uyar's body - 2,300 feet from the motel, next to a campground. She was found half naked in a duffel bag. An autopsy later revealed that the cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma. Uyar and Sebastian were last seen together on July 8, one day before a widespread Amber Alert was issued for the two-year-old. Members of the Rahway Police Department conducted a welfare check for Uyar and her toddler son at her home on July 9, they reported, but found nobody inside. A witness told police he saw Rios outside of Uyars Rahway apartment around midnight on the night of her disappearance. He was barefoot in a white tank top and jean shorts, and appeared to be angrily staring at the residence, the witness told police. Uyar was reportedly in a new relationship at the time of her death, according to NJ.com. It is unclear what transpired next, but police were able to locate Rios through one of the phone calls he made. At 3am on July 10, officers burst into Rios motel room in Tennessee and arrested him. Uyar and Rios started dating when she was a freshman at Highland Park High School in New Jersey and he was a senior, Uyar's mother, Karen, said at a news conference last month. But their relationship soon turned toxic, Karen said, alleging Rios abused Uyar in recent years. Rios and Uyar had been in a relationship since her freshman year at Highland Park High School, where Rios was a senior. Uyar had been dating someone else at the time of her death, according to court documents Previous court documents obtained by DailyMail.com show Rios was charged with aggravated assault and strangulation of a domestic violence victim in 2018, as well as theft. Rios took a plea deal signed in February 2020 in which he was convicted of the domestic violence assault charge but the theft and strangulation charges were dismissed. The document shows that the court had found 'aggravating factors' that Rios was at risk of committing 'another offense.' He was sentenced to serve 180 days in jail and three years on probation, and was ordered to attend anger management counseling. The court also ordered him to have no contact with the victim, while noting that he already had restraining orders against him issued by Family Court. The victim was not named in the court documents but the dates of the legal troubles align with a post Karen made to Facebook in 2019 in which she called Rios an 'alcoholic, abusive monster.' Karen Uyar detailed how Yasemin had 'become involved' with Rios several years before the post was made in 2019. 'His drunken rages have caused him to choke my daughter till she passed out. Leaving her on the floor, he stole her car and fled,' Karen Uyar wrote. She wrote how Rios had 'given her more black and blues than I can count' and 'continuously pounced on her self esteem with verbal and emotional abuse almost as much as the physical abuse.' 'He would tell her she was crazy and f**ked up and when she would beg to go for help he would walk out for hours and not help/respond to her. Telling her to 'toughen up',' Karen Uyar wrote. The concerned grandmother wrote that her daughter suffered from post-partum depression that included insomnia after her son was born. 'He would leave for hours and not answer her. Take the baby and tell her she wasn't a good mother. Tell her how weak and useless she was. It was heartbreaking to see how he treated her. Yet I needed leaving him to be HER CHOICE,' Uyar wrote. Karen Uyar, Yasemin's mother, has alleged that Rios was abusive to her daughter Karen added that she has feared she would receive phone calls telling her that her daughter is in a hospital or dead. The concerned grandmother said that, at the time, Rios' criminal history extended across a number of states including: New York, New Jersey, Mississippi and Georgia. Yasemin 'finally got the strength to leave' in August 2019 - the results of a 'combined effort' to get her and Sebastian into a hotel, where she spent two 'terrifying days' worried that Rios would find her, the grandmother alleged. 'This enraged him. He stalked her. Through their phones, friends, social media. Any way he could find,' Karen Uyar wrote. At some point, Rios - now seemingly living in Phoenix, Arizona - allegedly convinced Yasemin to let him see their son. Karen wrote that Rios was drinking and 'degrading' on 'day one' of her arriving in Arizona with the young boy. She said she received an alarming text from her daughter around 8 p.m. on October 22, 2019 telling her to 'call 911' and 'give address.' The grandmother, remembering that Rios had allegedly been arrested weeks prior for firing a gun in city limits, worried that her daughter and grandson were dead. Rios finally let Yasemin leave the apartment more than two hours after the call, Karen Uyar alleged in the Facebook post. But before doing so, he allegedly cut up all of Yasemin and Sebastian's identification documents including the little boy's birth certificate, Yasemin's bank cards and social security cards, and her driver's license. 'I love you too much to let you leave' Rios said at the time, the grandmother alleged. She added: 'I need people to see this alcoholic, abusive monster for who he is.' Karen's post included screenshots of the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office inmate search database, showing that Rios had been hit with charges including assault and unlawful imprisonment. Yasemin's sister Marissa told NJ.com that Rios recently broke into her sister's home, and police officers were called. Before Yasemin's disappearance, she 'was pretty busy packing and trying to get herself together' in order to move and once again get away from Rios. 'Man I just want him to let at least my nephew go. I mean I want my sister to come home, but, I mean, something's got to give, you know?' she told the outlet. White House counsel Dana Remus is preparing to leave her post next month at a time when the president's legal team must prepare for the possibility of aggressive Republican probes or even a GOP impeachment. As the head of a team of White House lawyers, Dana Remus has helped the president sort through the uses and limits of executive power on issues like gun control, while helping steer sensitive matters authorizing the National Archives to hand Trump-era records over to the House Jan. 6th Committee. White House counsel Dana Remus is leaving the administration and will replaced by deputy White House counsel Stuart Delery She also helped oversee the selection and confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. She will be succeeded by her deputy, Stuart Delery, who served in the Justice Department in the Obama Administration, according to the White House. White House lawyers are certain to have their hands full if Republicans take over the House or Senate, with polls showing Biden has weak approval even while facing uphill historical trends. House Republicans are publicly vowing to probe Biden, and 147 of them voted not to accept votes certified by states on Jan. 6th. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has introduced a Biden impeachment resolution, stating that he 'abused the power' of his office when he was vice president. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) says Republicans have already drawn up impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (L) takes questions as Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart Delery (R) looks on during a news conference to make a major financial fraud announcement February 3, 2015 White House lawyers will have to contend with Republican efforts to probe his son Hunter if the GOP takes control of the House The House Oversight Committee, where Republican Representative from Ohio Jim Jordan serves, is expected to probe the Biden Administration aggressively if the GOP takes over Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has introduced a Biden impeachment resolution The president's son could be in the GOP's crosshairs, after months of revelations about his business dealings. 'The House Oversight Committee is going to be all over Hunter Biden,' vowed Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who would take over the powerful investigative panel if Republicans seize the House majority. Delery 'has advised on key Administration priorities including the COVID-19 response, the American Rescue Plan, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework. In another staff move, the White House announced that Keisha Lance Bottoms will join the administration as Senior Advisor to the President for Public Engagement. Bottoms is the former mayor of Atlanta and current CNN commentator in just the latest instance of back-and-forth between the White House and cable media. She will be senior advisor to the president for public engagement. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki left to join MSNBC. 'She is a visionary leader in bringing equitable outcomes to the forefront of government and commerce,' according to the White House. She advised his campaign and had been on his short list for vice president. A retired pig farmer accused of killing his wife and dumping her body in a septic tank so he could resume his affair with a nurse went to have sex with his mistress after the murder, a court has heard. David Venables, 89, is on trial accused of murdering Brenda Venables, 48, in May 1982 and then hiding her body in the grounds of their marital home, Quaking House Farm, in Kempsey, Worcestershire. He reported his wife missing, but no trace of her was found until nearly 40 years later, the court was told. Police found remains, including a skull and underwear, in the 5ft 6in deep cesspit behind the former farmhouse when it was being emptied, and Venables was subsequently arrested. Jurors at Worcester Crown Court have heard how Venables suggested serial killer Fred West, who lived in neighbouring Gloucestershire, could have been behind his wife's death. On the third day of his murder trial, a statement from 1984 made by Venables' mistress Lorraine Styles, a married mother-of-three who died of lung cancer in 2017, was read to the jury. She told how Venables had gone round to her house two weeks after Mrs Venables' disappearance where he appeared 'calm' and 'composed' and just watched TV. David Venables arriving in a taxi right to the steps of Worcester Crown Court today A handout photo of Brenda Venables, whose remains were found in a septic tank outside the home she previously shared with David Venables The remains of Brenda Venables were discovered in a septic tank (circled) at the couple's former home in Kempsey, Worcestershire in July 2019 Ms Styles, who was a care assistant for Venable's mother, said: 'I couldn't understand why he was so calm about the whole situation.' The nurse also described how Venables had tried to have sexual intercourse with her the same night but she refused his advances. Prosecutor Michael Burrows QC read the statement to the court which laid out the full details of their 15-year 'on and off' fling. The pair met in 1967 when then-married Ms Styles, a mother of three, was a carer for Venables' mother. Venables, pictured here at his home in Kempsey, Worcestershire in July 2019, denies murdering his wife They began a sexual relationship after 'sociable' Venables began giving her lifts home, she said in her statement - read to the court by prosecuting QC Michael Burrows. She said Venables visited 'three or four nights a week' and that the relationship was 'quite serious'. But, fearing he was seeing someone else, she became 'depressed' and tried to take her own life, leading to a stay in hospital. Weeks later, after learning Mrs Venables knew of the affair, Ms Styles went to the farmhouse 'to clear the air'. 'We discussed the situation quite rationally; there were no raised voices,' she said. 'Brenda pointed out David had no intention of leaving the house or family and my affair had not been the only time - she intimated others (had happened).' Ms Styles resumed a nursing career, thinking of Venables 'as a thing of the past'. But in 1973 or 1974, she arrived home and was 'surprised to see David Venables waiting in a red Triumph outside'. 'He said he'd been looking for me about three months - and this is where our association started again,' said Ms Styles. 'In 1981, again I started having doubts about him and whether he had genuine feelings for me', she added. She met another man but 'finished' the relationship after Venables' 'promises' to divorce his wife. On May 5, 1982, the day after Venables reported his wife missing to police, he rang Ms Styles. 'He seemed quite composed and suddenly told me his wife had disappeared the night before and he was phoning to let me know before I read it in the paper,' she said. Mr Venables now lives in a bungalow about a mile away from the farmhouse where the remains were found Venables, 89, arriving at Worcester Crown Court on June 8, 2022 Ms Styles said: 'He called round about two weeks later but didn't mention it. 'I couldn't understand how he was so calm about the whole episode. He just sat and watched TV. He started making advances to me and it was quite obvious he wanted me to have intercourse.' Ms Styles said she refused but after a few weeks she, 'like a fool', continued the relationship. Her doubts again resurfaced when she saw his car parked outside an address in Worcester. 'He came out the house accompanied by a female. They both got into his car... it was obvious this was the other woman I suspected he was seeing,' she said. Later, over the phone, she claimed 'he bluntly told me he could see nothing in common' with her. 'As far as I was concerned, that was the end of my 14-year relationship.' Though the sexual relationship ended, Ms Styles and Venables continued to have contact virtually right up to her death. After moving to nearby Droitwich, Ms Styles asked family to put a letter through Venables' door in about 2014/15, asking for 'some company', the court heard. Sally Wyllie, Ms Styles' youngest daughter, recalled: 'I heard him apologise for the way he treated her.' Venables visited 'every Friday after that', until weeks before her death they had a row 'about her eating' and he 'didn't visit again'. Pictured, the septic tank where Mrs Venable's remains were found in July 2019 Jurors also heard from retired West Mercia Police officer, Dick Schwab, who went to the farmhouse on May 4 1982 following Mrs Venables' disappearance. He claimed Venables 'told us he and his wife had gone to bed during the previous evening and that sometime during the night she had got up'. The retired officer said: 'He described himself as being half asleep, and he didn't see her again after that.' Mr Schwab was told by Venables' barrister Timothy Hannam QC that his client's case was 'he didn't say that to you'. Describing Venables' manner in his meeting 40 years ago, Mr Schwab said: 'It was very calm, very matter of fact,' he said. 'There was no great sign of any emotion, no wringing of hands, it was just a purely factual report about what had happened.' Venables, who still lives in Kempsey, is on bail and denies murder. The trial, which is scheduled to last six weeks, continues. Hunter Biden went on a profanity-laden tirade against his sister-in-law Hallie Biden and accused her of painting him to the FBI as a 'pedophile with homicidal tendencies', according to text messages obtained by the Washington Examiner from his abandoned laptop. The back-and-forth followed an October 2018 incident where Hallie, Beau Biden's widow, threw Hunter's handgun in the trash at the Janssen's Market in Wilmington, Delaware, which is near a high school. Although no arrests were made as a result of the incident, the president's son said at the time: 'I won't ever recover from all of this.' The duo had a tumultuous romantic relationship following Beau's death in 2015. In the midst of the messages, Hunter questioned why it was a big deal if he owned a gun, saying that 'there are 5 guns at dads house' in what could be a reference to President Joe Biden. President Biden told donors at a Democratic fundraiser Friday that he owns two shotguns. He also said while vice president in 2013 that he owned two shotguns, which he said were a more appropriate weapon for self-defense than an AR-15. He said 'if there were ever a problem' that he recommended his wife Jill 'fire two blasts' off their balcony. Hunter Biden's text exchange with sister-in-law and lover Hallie Biden on the day she threw out his handgun at a grocery store in October 2018 shows the president's son issuing a profanity-laden rant claiming she pegged him as 'an abusive pedophile with homicidal tendencies' to the FBI The conversation was recovered from an iPhone backup of Hunter's laptop by the Washington Examiner and includes him appearing to claim that his father, President Joe Biden, has five guns in his home Hunter (left) and Beau's widow Hallie (right) had a tumultuous relationship after the death of her late husband in 2015 The timing of the revelation of the text messages is ironic considering Biden called recently for a new barrage of gun control measures following two separate mass shootings at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York and at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Among the laws the president called on Congress to pass is a measure that would hold individuals personally liable if they don't lock their weapons up in a safe. Congress is also weighing 'red flag' laws that would incentivize preventing people from purchasing firearms if they are deemed a threat to themselves or others. 'There are f***ing more weapons in your sons room then in an armory,' Hunter said in a separate text to Hallie. 'Beau owned a handgun issued by the state and I[t] was in the front glove compartment of his car. So f*** you,' he wrote to his ex-lover in the texts found on the infamous laptop that he left at a repair shop. The president's son purchased the handgun 11 days prior to the incident. Hunter suggested in the text exchange hours after Hallie discarded the gun on October 23, 2018 that she was trying to ruin his life and was 'invading his privacy.' Hallie went into the glovebox of Hunter's car in October 2018 and took a .38-caliber revolver, which she discarded in the trash outside Janssen's supermarket in Wilmington, Delaware before informing the store what she did. The manager Paula Janssen called police Hunter accused Hallie of ruining his life and asked: 'Do you want me dead' He also reference his late brother and her late husband Beau and the fact that he also owned a gun that he kept in the glove compartment of his car 'I need you to stop doing everything you possibly can to make a life here an unbearable proposition,' he said in a lengthy message to his sister-in-law. 'Do you want me dead?' Hunter, who has struggled with substance addiction, questioned. He said that police and the FBI opened investigations into him over the incident, and, according to other texts from Hunter, claimed that the Secret Service had also gotten involved in the ordeal, even though the agency said last year that it was not involved. Hallie went into the glovebox of Hunter's car in October 2018 and took a .38-caliber revolver before discarding it in the trash outside a local grocery store because she said was trying to keep her brother-in-law 'safe'. 'It was open unlocked and windows down and the kids search your car,' Hallie told Hunter, adding she was scared for his life and, 'I'm scared you would use it hunt.' Hallie informed the store she threw out Hunter's gun in their trash, which prompted Janssen's manager Paula Janssen to call the police. The report, obtained by Politico, noted that the missing gun was particularly of issue since the grocery store was in close proximity to a high school. Hunter told Hallie: 'I'm proven unstable when you put a gun in the trash can at Jansens out of FEAR. What fear. Hunter is either insane. Homicidal. Or just a ducking f*** up drug addict.' 'They think you're scared I would shoot you,' he added. 'You f***ing a**hole' 'You now have me as an abusive pedophile with homicidal tendencies. And that's now in the hands of the FBI,' he added. 'What right do you f***ing have Hallie,' Hunter continued in the near-four-year-old text exchange, which happened just hours after Hallie discarded his gun. 'What's my f*** up. Owning a gun? How Hallie is that wrong.' He told Hallie that her actions made it look like he 'threatened you and your family with a gun.' 'I hate what you've done to me,' Hunter said. The conversation was found on a copy of Hunter's laptop in the possession of the Examiner, which he had used to backup his iPhone XS. The right-leaning news outlet commissioned a cyber forensics experts to examine the hard drive and gain access to the password-protected backup, which revealed the contents of the exchange with Hallie. The duo had an on-again-off-again relationship following Beau's death in 2015. 'Did you take that from me hallie?' Hunter texted her just before noon the day of the incident. 'Are you insane. Tell me now. This is no game. And you're being totally irresponsible and unhinged You really need to help me think right now hallie this is very very serious.' 'You have made my life meaningless,' Hunter told Hallie in the text exchange on October 23, 2018 'I can't believe this, you can blame me all you want, I know it was stupid,' Hallie replied about an hour later. 'But your part is dangerous and negligent. And because of this and my stupidity for being worried about you, im dealing with insanity and possibly I'm the one going to get in trouble. Check yourself into a local rehab hunter, this has all got to stop.' She added: 'Police coming to talk to me now, I'll take full blame.' Hunter messaged her that evening, 'The f***ing FBI Hallie. It's hard to believe anyone is that stupid // so what's my fault here Hallie that you speak of. Owning a gun that's in a locked car hidden on another property?' Hunter messaged her that same night with: 'The police and fbi still want to talk about whether I'm threatening you I now threatened you and your family with a gun You have truly f***ed me over.' According to the paperwork from the gun sale, Hunter responded 'no' to a question on the form asking, 'Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?' Lying on a form to purchase a firearm is a felony. A married doctor who raped a woman he met through Tinder has been jailed for four years. Manesh Gill, 39, convinced his victim to go up to his hotel room in Stirling, Scotland, by telling her a public toilet was broken and she could use his. While in the room, Gill poured the woman a 'really strong' pink gin and lemonade. He was initially accused of spiking his victim's drink before the allegation was deleted. As the woman lapsed in and out of consciousness, Gill raped her in what a court heard was a 'distressing and frightening encounter'. Gill, a qualified GP who told a court he was secretly going on dates behind his wife's back, denied raping the woman. Instead he claimed it was an act of consensual sex. However a jury found him guilty of raping the woman while she was incapable of controlling her movements or providing consent. Today the father-of-three, from Edinburgh, was sentenced to four years in prison. Manesh Gill (pictured), 39, convinced his victim to go up to his hotel room in Stirling, Scotland, by telling her a public toilet was broken and she could use his Today Gill, a father-of-three from Edinburgh, was sentenced to four years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh (pictured) The High Court in Edinburgh, where Gill was sentenced today, heard how he had met his victim after setting up an account on the dating app under the name of 'Mike'. Prosecutors said while he had presented himself as a 'responsible medic', the 'truth was very different' and he had abused the woman's trust in a 'most heinous way'. The married doctor met the woman at a hotel in Stirling in December 2018 and persuaded her to come to his room after telling her the public toilets were out of order. After having a drink in his room, she lapsed in and out of consciousness. She told Gill 'no' and 'stop it' during the attack. She later was able to get to the bathroom and then left the hotel and contacted the police. According to the Daily Record, Gill claimed to police the sex was consensual and said: 'I'm a married man with a professional job and I was meeting women on dates. I didn't want it connected with my job or my wife.' Gill, who admitted bringing a condom, Viagra and a bottle of pink gin to the hotel, was initially alleged to have spiked his victim. A court previously heard how Gill told a colleague after his arrest that he was worried police would find morphine in the woman's system. However jurors deleted an allegation that Gill administered an intoxicating substance. He was found guilty of one count of rape. Speaking after he was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh, Fraser Gibson, Scotland's procurator fiscal for high court sexual offences, said: 'Manesh Gill abused the trust of a young woman in the most heinous way. 'He presented himself as a respectable medic but the truth was very different. His criminal behaviour has been ended by today's sentence.' Mr Robertson praised the woman for helping to convict Gill, saying: 'The woman's bravery in reporting this crime and assisting prosecution is commendable. Her determination and courage brought Gill to justice. 'We would urge any victim of similar offending to come forward and report it. They can be assured that the Crown is entirely committed to the effective prosecution of such crimes.' Gill was also added to the Sex Offenders Register. The High Court in Edinburgh, where Gill was sentenced, heard how he had met his victim after setting up a Tinder (pictured: Library image) account on the dating app under the name of Mike Speaking afterwards, Detective Inspector Forbes Wilson, of Police Scotland's public protection unit, said: 'The conviction and sentencing of Gill sends a clear message to anyone found guilty of sexual offences, you will be brought to justice. 'Gill must now face the consequences for his horrific behaviour. 'The victim has shown tremendous bravery in coming forward and telling her story, and I would like to thank her for her assistance during our investigation. I hope today's outcome will give her some form of closure. 'We remain committed to tackling sexual abuse, we have specially-trained officers and work with partners to provide support to victims. I would encourage anyone to report sexual abuse in any form, as all reports will be thoroughly investigated.' Advertisement Crews worked to restore water service Wednesday to the West Texas city of Odessa, where residents have been without water this week amid triple digit temperatures after an aging pipe broke. The city water system's 165,000 customers' taps lost pressure or went completely dry after the 24-inch main broke Monday afternoon, according to the citys social media pages. The city's water treatment plant was back online by about 8 a.m. Wednesday, and utility officials said it could take 12 to 14 hours for the 'recharging' process, during which workers slowly add water back into the system to ensure there are no more leaks. Temperatures Wednesday were predicted to approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit as Texas - like much of the United States - faced extremely hot and humid conditions as a heat dome affecting 125 million Americans continues to move eastward from the South and Midwest. City of Odessa Water Distribution crews work to repair a damaged water main that left the majority of Ector County with little to no clean running water as residents faced triple digit temperatures Water in Odessa is expected to return by Wednesday night as crews work around the clock It comes as a heat dome settled over the South and Midwest on Monday, slowing moving northeast Odessa Fire Rescue Chief John Alvarez, left, and Central Station Captain Austin Yocham unload pallets of emergency drinking water as they help prepare to hand out cases of water for residents in need Volunteers begin to hand out 12-liter boxes of emergency drinking water on Tuesday after the water line break While Odessa typically sees hot weather in June, the timing of the break made dealing with this weeks heat more difficult. City officials said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that drinkable water could be restored later Wednesday but that the water system needed to be turned back out carefully to avoid any additional breaks. The city, which is located about 330 miles west of Dallas, planned to distribute water to residents at Ector County Coliseum as well as deliver water to nursing homes. Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, said the state was providing support to Odessa, including shipments of bottled water. Water tankers were placed strategically around the city to respond to any fires, said Deputy City Manager Phillip Urrutia. 'It's an aging infrastructure that we're seeing,' he said. 'It's a cast iron pipe, and so those are typically more susceptible to breaks than other new technologies like PVC pipe that's going in the ground.' Temperatures will be above 100 degrees in Odessa and other parts of Texas and Arizona on Wednesday by midday, with Georgia and the Carolinas also seeing scorching temperatures The NWS sent out a warning for severe heat in parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia, Iowa and Michigan as the heat dome moves across the nation Water pools around City of Odessa Water Distribution crews as they work to repair a damaged water main Odessa Fire Rescue cadet Benjamin Magallanez, right, loads a cart with a box of emergency drinking water for an Odessa resident as city officials distribute emergency water supplies The pipeline leak occurred on Monday, with the pipeline fixed on Wednesday morning The clean water will take about 12 hours to recharge and reach residents in Odessa City of Odessa Public Works Director Tom Kerr said residents should have clean water by Wednesday night An Ector County resident, who declined to give their name, loads their car with cases of bottled water after the majority of the county was placed on a boil-water notice early Tuesday Texas has seem some especially brutal heat this week as Waco recorded its fifth consecutive 100F and above temperature on Tuesday, with the trend expected to continue next week. The National Weather Service sent out a warning for severe heat in parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia, Iowa and Michigan. Along with Texas, areas in Arizona, Georgia and the Carolina's are expected to see 100F temperatures or higher on Wednesday. The NWS forecasted that Wednesday will see 'dangerously hot and humid conditions' in parts of Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, as the heat dome moves northeast. In some of the hottest areas, thunderstorm warnings on replaced heat warnings as the heat dome created the perfect catalyst for the storms. The NWS warned those living in the central Plains and Upper Midwest to ready themselves for large hail and damaging gusts of wind. It came after Chicago was bombarded with a sudden tornado and thunderstorms on Monday, which saw residents flee to their basements and nearby shelters as the city also experienced 100F weather for the first time in a decade. As the storm cells have moved out of Chicago, the city is under an excessive heat warning until 8p.m. Wednesday, with temperatures expected to reach 98 to 100F on Tuesday. To residents, it will feel more like 110F. Waco recorded its fifth consecutive 100F and above temperature on Tuesday, with the trend expected to continue next week The heat dome has expanded up north will settle in the states until Wednesday night Dozens of trees fell on the city's rail system as city employees worked to clear the tracks on Monday night In Chicago, parents and kids are cooling off the Crown Fountain children's park in Michigan Avenue, pictured The heat advisory in Chicago is expected to last until Wednesday night as the city temperatures hit 100F Current models show that the heatwave will start to move back west by the end of next week, although central Texans will get no respite as temperatures will stay close to 100F all week in the area. According to The Weather Channel, Phoenix will experience another day of 114F temperatures on Thursday. The city hit that record equaling number already on Sunday. The National Weather Service said that Los Angels County will see 'potentially dangerous' temperatures in the area again by Thursday. Over the weekend, LA County saw temperatures of 100F in some inland areas. On Thursday, weather in Phoenix could reach 113F, just nine degrees cooler than the hottest temperature recorded in the area - 122Fin 1990, according to AZ Family. In Texas, residents are tubing in New Braunfels as they try to beat the scorching heat The Tuesday outing comes as the Lone Star state experiences 96F to 102F temperatures Heat is part of the normal routine of summertime in the desert, but weather forecasters say that doesn't mean people should feel at ease. Excessive heat causes more deaths in the U.S. than other weather-related disasters, including hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined. Meteorologists advise people in these affected areas to drink more water than usual during peak hours of the heat, wherever they may be. Wearing protection, including hats, sunscreen and sunglasses, is also advised. It's not recommended to wear dark clothes as black clothing often transmits heat to the skin, making a person hotter. Scientists say more frequent and intense heat waves are likely in the future because of climate change and a deepening drought. A house collapsing into the Rock Creek after historic flooding turned the creek into a raging river. Numerous houses have been washed away in the flooding Officials have characterized the unprecedented flooding as a once in a millennium occurrence. 'This isn't my words, but I've heard this is a thousand-year event,' said Cam Sholly, the superintendent of Yellowstone While the most the states east of the Rockies suffer from the the tremendous heat, Yellowstone National Park could be closed 'indefinitely' as devastating flooding continues to ravage the towns, roads, and bridges along the Yellowstone River. Park officials characterized the severe flooding tearing through the region as a once in a 'thousand-year event,' that could alter the course of the Yellowstone river and surrounding landscapes forever. Officials say that the river's volume is flowing 20,000 cubic feet per second faster than the previous record measured in the 90s. 10,000 tourists were evacuated - including a dozen trapped campers who were rescued by helicopter - emptying the park completely of all visitors. Officials warned on Tuesday that local drinking water has become unsafe, and to be on alert for displaced wildlife. All entrances to the park were closed on Tuesday, and though park services say some southern roads may open in a week, they predicted that the northern roads will be closed through the fall. Houses in surrounding communities have been flooded or washed away by streams that turned into raging rivers, roads have been carved away, and bridges have collapsed into the torrent. The Governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, declared a statewide disaster. 'All park entrances and roads are temporarily closed due to extremely hazardous conditions from recent flooding,' reads a warning at the top of Yellowstone National Park's website, 'The backcountry is also closed at this time.' People work to keep flooding at bay. Officials noted that the river's volumetric flow has shattered recorded records by a staggering level as of last weekend 10,000 tourists were evacuated - including a dozen trapped campers who were rescued by helicopter - emptying the park completely of all visitors 'All park entrances and roads are temporarily closed due to extremely hazardous conditions from recent flooding,' reads a warning at the top of Yellowstone National Park's website, 'The backcountry is also closed at this time.' In a statement issued Tuesday on its website, the park warned that its northern portion likely to remain closed for a 'substantial length of time,' citing the severe damages to vital infrastructures within the park. The statement describes lengths of road that are 'completely gone,' and will require extensive time and effort to repair or rebuild entirely. 'It is probable that road sections in northern Yellowstone will not reopen this season due to the time required for repairs,' the update read. The statement noted that roads in the southern section of the park appeared to be less damaged, and that authorities would be assessing that damage to determine when a reopening might be possible. A quick-thinking driver has foiled an alleged car thief by using a forklift to trap her inside the vehicle she was attempting to steal. Brendan Mills came home to find a woman inside his red Volkswagen Polo at his Waterford West property, south of Brisbane on June 5. By sheer good fortune he had left the forklift parked beside the car, with the forks facing towards it. So he immediately jumped into his forklift and hoisted the car up six feet in the air, trapping the alleged car thief inside before calling Queensland police. An Australian man has foiled an alleged car thief by using a forklift to trap her inside the vehicle she was attempting to steal Officers arrested the alleged car thief at a Waterford West property and charged her with burglary and unlawful use of a motor vehicle The alleged car thief was unable to open the doors to escape earlier because the position of the forks prevented the car doors from opening. Police video showed an officer opening the door of the car as it is lowered and telling the baffled occupant 'out you get'. Security footage from the property's cameras showed a woman wandering onto the property at 5.20pm on Sunday June 5. Police alleged she went inside the house, had a shower and put on clothes she found inside. A 24-year-old woman was arrested at the property and charged with burglary and unlawful use of a motor vehicle, a Queensland police statement said. Police video showed an officer opening the door of the car as it is lowered and telling the baffled occupant 'out you get' Security footage from the property's cameras showed a woman wandering onto the property at 5.20pm on Sunday June 5 She was granted police bail to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on July 13 Police noted the unusual nature of the Mr Mills' apprehending the alleged car thief and warned the public against trying to prevent crimes in progress. 'To ensure community safety, police recommend members of the public not engage in methods of disrupting criminal activity which may involve risk of personal harm or further legal recourse.' One of the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram jihadists eight years ago in Nigeria has ben found carrying a baby by military forces. Mary Ngoshe, now a married young woman, and her son were seen yesterday near Ngoshe village, some 100 miles from where she was kidnapped by Islamic extremists in Chibok in 2014. The attack on a girls' boarding school and the mass kidnapping that followed sparked international outrage and a global campaign called #BringBackOurGirls. Of the 276 pupils aged 12 to 17 who were abducted by the militants on April 14, 2014, 57 of the girls managed to escape by jumping off trucks they had been herded on. An additional 21 were released after negotiations brokered by the Red Cross and the Swiss Government in October 2016 and another 82 were freed in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects in May 2017 while others have turned themselves in to the police and army. Some of the over a hundred girls that remain missing were married off to jihadists according to propaganda videos released by Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram's late leader. Mary Ngoshe (pictured), now a young woman, and her son were seen yesterday near Ngoshe village, 179km from where she was kidnapped by Islamic extremists in Chibok in 2014 Of the 276 pupils aged 12 to 17 who were abducted by the militants on April 14, 2014, 57 of the girls managed to escape by jumping off trucks they had been herded on. The girls are pictured in a propaganda a Boko Haram video More than a hundred girls remain missing. Some are believed to have been married off to jihadists according to propaganda videos released by Abubakar Shekau (pictured), Boko Haram's late leader The Nigerian military said on Twitter: 'Troops of 26 Task Force Brigade on patrol around Ngoshe in Borno State on 14 June 2022 intercepted one Mrs Mary Ngoshe and her son,' the statement said. 'She is believed to be one of the abducted girls from GGSS (Government Girls Secondary School) Chibok in 2014,' it added, releasing a picture of a young woman and a child. Since the Chibok school mass abduction militants have carried out several mass abductions and deadly attacks on schools in northern Nigeria. Heavily-armed criminal gangs in northwest and central Nigeria often attack villages to loot, steal cattle and abduct for ransom, but since the start of last year have increasingly targeted schools and colleges. In March 2021, 279 girls were abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School in remote Jangebe village. They were all also subsequently released, a governor of Zamfara state told an AFP journalist. Gunmen also kidnapped 140 students from a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria in July last year. A total of 25 of these students and one teacher were rescued, police in Kaduna state state. A group of girls previously kidnapped from their boarding school in northern Nigeria arrive on March 2, 2021 at the Government House in Gusau, Zamfara State upon their release Gunmen killed three people in August 2021 at an agricultural college in Nigeria's northwest Zamfara state and kidnapped 15 students among others, school officials and police said. At the College of Agriculture and Animal Science in Bakura a policeman and two security officers were killed and 20, including 15 students were abducted. ISIS extremists also callously executed 20 Christians in Nigeria in a bloodthirsty rampage to 'avenge the killing of the group's leaders in the Middle East' this May. The terrorist group published footage of the ruthless killings, showing the masked knife and gun-wielding fanatics standing behind their kneeling victims. The militants carried out the merciless executions in Borno state where rival Islamist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) have been abducting, looting and killing on a huge scale as they try to establish Shariah law and stop Western education. All the groups in one area has led to infighting, AfP reported. But also reduced conflict as last year the Nigeria Army announced that more than 1,000 Boko Haram members and their families had recently surrendered 'due to the intense pressure from troops' sustained offensive actions'. More than 35,000 people have died and millions have been displaced by the extremist violence, according to the UN Development Program and 18.5 million Nigerian children have no access to education. Millions of children across NSW and Victoria will receive an additional year of education in a major overhaul that will see free 'pre-Kindergarten' introduced - with parents to save thousands. The policy will be brought in to improve education standards across both states and see students score higher paying jobs after leaving school. The extra year of classes will see children aged four attend school five days a week for free which will cost the NSW state government an estimated $5.8billion over the next decade, and Victoria $9billion. In Victoria three and four-year-olds will also be given 15 hours of free sessional kinder a week from 2023, with parents saving $2,500 per child a year. From 2025 the extra year of pre-prep classes for four-year-olds will start in Victoria. In NSW this will begin in 2030. Up to 50 childcare government-run centres will also be set up in areas in Victoria where there aren't enough services from 2025, offering lower fees to families than private centres. Millions of children across NSW and Victoria will receive an additional year of preschool education in a major overhaul to early childcare (pictured, preschool students in Sydney) NSW AND VICTORIA'S EDUCATION OVERHAUL NSW will spend an estimated $5.8billion over the next decade in new policies for early childhood education. Victoria will spend $9billion Under the changes four-year-olds will be given a free 30 hours a week of 'pre-kindergarten' classes In NSW this will start from 2030, while it will be rolled out in Victoria from 2025 In Victoria three and four-year-olds will also be given 15 hours of free sessional kinder a week from 2023, with parents saving $2,500 per child a year Up to 50 childcare government-run centres will also be set up in areas in Victoria where there aren't enough services from 2025, offering lower fees to families than private centres While the pre-prep and pre-kindy classes aren't compulsory it's expected the majority of families in NSW and Victoria will take up the offer Advertisement The new policy will take pressure off families paying for childcare in the year before school by increasing free preschool from 15 to 30 hours per week. Up to 130,000 children are expected to enrol in the the NSW pre-Kindergarten classes by 2030, which are not compulsory. Premier Dominic Perrottet said the program would see children thrive across NSW. 'This is an incredible reform that will change lives and deliver enormous educational benefits for children across the state, securing a brighter future for NSW families,' the premier said. 'We're ensuring our youngest learners thrive by introducing a full year of preschool education before Kindergarten.' The state government will spend $54million designing a model for how the week's worth of classes will be taught to pre-Kindergarten students. Premier Dominic Perrottet (pictured visiting an early learning centre in Sydney on Monday) said the new program would see children thrive across NSW In Victoria it's expected up to 90 per cent of families will take up the offer for their kids to go into pre-prep classes, which are optional. Premier Dan Andrews said: 'These massive reforms are about setting our kids up for the future and investing in women who for far too long have had to do far too much.' 'These are big changes, but they just make sense.' NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said parents across the state could expect 'intergenerational results for our kids and the economy'. The policy will also provide five days of free childcare, an additional two to the three currently enjoyed by households in NSW (pictured, children at a early learning centre in Sydney) The policy is expected to be the most efficient way of boosting declining education standards with a similar model experiencing great success in Canada. Mr Kean described the extra year of education as the closest thing to a 'silver bullet' when it came to improving NSW education. The new policy is expected to be at the centre of next week's state budget, which the treasurer said was focused on 'investing in a better future'. Education Minister Sarah Mitchell hinted the classes would be 'play-based learning' and said she had been pushing for the extra year of education since seeing its success in Canada, where 90 per cent of families enrolled. In a joint statement, the premiers said the new policy was 'the greatest transformation of early education in a generation'. Victorian Minister for Early Childhood Ingrid Stitt said the policy would give kids the best start to life, with 90 per cent of brain development occurring in the first five years. 'We know families are struggling with the cost of living and free kinder will help make sure no child misses out on those vital early years,' she said. Residents of a suburban Mexico neighborhood were left stunned after watching a tiger stroll down the streets after it escaped its owner's home. A video of the incident shows a woman hastily walking away from the male Bengal as she films it wandering down a sidewalk in Tecuala, a town about 300 miles south west of Sinaloa with a population of more than 40,000 people, on Tuesday. In the video, a child can be heard shouting 'mommy', before she tells him: 'Shut up! It's not going to do anything to you, it's on the other side.' A person off camera can be heard warning the pair that the tiger still posed a danger. It is legal to own wild animals in Mexico, and they can be bought for as little as $25 online. Residents of a suburban Mexico neighborhood freaked out after a tiger escaped his owner's home and was left to roam the streets A video of the incident shows a woman hastily walking away from the male Bengal as she films it wandering down a sidewalk in Tecuala, a town about 300 miles south west of Sinaloa with a population of more than 40,000 people, on Tuesday It is legal to own wild animals in Mexico, and they can be bought for as little as $25 online. The tiger filmed on Tuesday was eventually taken home by its owner In a second video of the tiger roaming the streets, taken on Tuesday, the cat can be seen lying on the ground in front of a truck which was parked next to the home it escaped from. The owner is seen approaching the animal and placing a rope around his neck. Shocked residents are seen watching the scene as the rope comes loose, and falls off as the animal is led away. Animal activist Antonio Franyuti told Infoabe it's quite normal to find the wild cats in the backyards, rooftops, basements and garages of homes throughout Mexico because it's legal for people to own the animals. A man places a rope around the tiger's neck after finding it sitting in front of a truck next to a home in the western Mexico city of Tecuela Ownership of wild animals is currently permitted in Mexico, but the Chambers of Deputies passed a bill on April 19 that would eventually ban the ownership of wild cats, which normally are sold on social media for anywhere between $25 to $35, according to Toluca Deputy Melissa Vargas On April 29, Mexico's Chamber of Deputies approved a bill by 463 to 0 votes with one abstention that would ban the ownership of the exotic animals as pets. The Senate has yet to vote on the proposal that includes a ban on the purchase of lions, tigers, jaguars and panthers while seeking to take action against owners who keep the wild animals locked up, abandoned and abused. Toluca Deputy Melissa Vargas added its common for people to pay between $25 to $35 for baby wild cats that are sold online. 'They are very cute, but wild cats are not pets and we have to ensure their well-being,' Vargas said. A paid sick leave system guaranteeing 60 percent of the minimum wage as sick pay will go into effect next month for a one-year trial in six cities across the nation, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said Wednesday. The minister made the remarks during a government COVID-19 response meeting, saying the system will be tested in six cities across the nation, including the Jongno district in central Seoul, starting July 4. "The government will kick off the sick pay trial project early next month, allowing workers to take leave for the prevention of infectious diseases and timely treatment," Lee noted. Under the project, those eligible for sick pay in the six chosen areas will be paid 60 percent of the legal minimum wage while they are on sick leave, he added. The six areas include the cities of Bucheon, Cheonan, Suncheon, Pohang and Changwon. "In the wake of big waves of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, it has become important to build a social condition where workers can rest and recover if they are sick," the minister also said. According to a 2021 survey by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, only 46 percent of employees said they take paid sick leave. (Yonhap) The white gunman arrested for killing 10 black people in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket has been charged with federal hate crimes, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday. The federal hate crime charges could make Payton Gendron, 18, eligible for the death penalty, however it has not been decided whether that will be pursued in this case, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said. Gendron had already faced a mandatory life sentence without parole if convicted on previously filed state charges in the May 14 rampage which also left three survivors - one black, two white - with gunshot wounds. He has pleaded not guilty. According to the criminal complaint, 'Gendron's motive for the mass shooting was to prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar attacks,' CBS News reported. Payton Gendron had already faced a mandatory life sentence without parole if convicted on previously filed state charges in the May 14 rampage which killed 10 black people at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo On Wednesday, federal prosecutors filed 26 counts of hate crimes and firearms charges against Gendron. Pictured: Gendron is arrested outside the Tops supermarket in Buffalo on May 14 Pictured: Gendron in court on May 19 where he was indicted on 10 counts of first-degree murder and domestic terrorism U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland was in Buffalo on Wednesday to visit with the families of the victims. The Wednesday press conference was held at The Apollo Theater near the Tops Supermarket where the May 14 massacre took place. 'In the days and weeks since the attack we have all witnessed the strength of this community's bonds its resilience and love. I am humbled to have just felt that first hand in my discussion with the families,' Garland said, WGRZ-TV reported. Garland said, in part: 'Hate-fueled acts of violence terrorize not only the individuals who are all attacked but entire communities. Hate brings immediate devastation and it inflicts lasting fear.' 'At the Justice Department we view confronting hate crimes as both our legal and moral obligation.' 'The Justice Department was founded more than 150 years ago with the first principal task of protecting Black Americans and our democracy from white supremacist's violence. Today, we approach that task with the same degree of urgency as we did than.' He said in part. 'We will be relentless in our efforts to combat hate crimes to support the communities terrorized by them and to hold accountable those who perpetrate them.' 'No one in this country should have to live in fear that when they go to work or shop at a grocery store and will be attacked by someone who hates them because of the color of their skin.' The nation's top prosecutor spoke of Gendron's charges and detailed from the the affidavit in support of the complaint quotes by the defendant as stating that his [Gendron's] goal was to 'kill as many blacks as possible.' He said the shooter prepared for months to carry out the attack and selected the target in this zip code because it has the highest percentage of black people closest to where he lives, according to the affidavit. Garland alleged that he selected the Tops supermarket because it had the highest percentage of high density of where black people are present. He detailed how Gendron traveled to Tops Supermarket on multiple occasions to count the number of black people present and observe the presence of black security guards. The affidavit also notes that he drew a map of the inside of the supermarket for the best plan of attack that would garner the highest chance of success. Garland said Gendron chronicled his plan on his discord messaging account months leading up to attack writing about his acquisition of firearms. The affidavit alleges that on the day of the May 14 shooting, Gendron fired off 60 gunshots, and repeatedly targeted and shot and killed black people. 'At one point he aimed his rifle at a white Tops employee instead of shooting the white employee the gunman apologized to him before continuing his attack,' Garland said. Gendron's radical, racist worldview and extensive preparation for the Tops Friendly Market attack are laid out in documents he apparently authored and posted online shortly before the attack. The documents embrace a baseless conspiracy theory about a plot to diminish white Americans' power and 'replace' them with people of color, through immigration and other means. The posts detail months of reconnaissance, demographic research and shooting practice for a bloodbath aimed at scaring everyone who isnt white and Christian into leaving the country. All 10 of the victims (pictured) have been named by family members a day after the May 14 shooting People comfort each other outside the Tops supermarket after the mass shooting Gendron also posted an image of the gun he used in the attack. He wrote vulgar words, including the names of other white supremacists on it Before the attack, Gendron wrote his parents a handwritten note apologizing to them but stating that he 'had to commit this attack' because he cared 'for the future of the White race,' federal prosecutors revealed on Wednesday, The Daily Beast reported. The note has been found by FBI agents in Gendron's bedroom in Conklin, New York, the news outlet reported. Authorities also found a receipt that showed Gendron bought a candybar at Tops on March 8 and 'handwritten sketches of what appear to be interior layout of the Tops,' according to a new criminal complaint, a report said. At the supermarket located in a predominantly black neighborhood of Buffalo he gunned down the innocent victims. Fifty-five year-old Aaron Salter; Margus Morrison, 52; Andre Mackneil, 53; Geraldine Talley, 62; Celestine Chaney, 65; Roberta A. Drury, 32; Heyward Patterson, 67 ;Pearl Young, 77; Katherine Massey, 72 and 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield. Those injured were twenty-year-old Zaire Goodman, Jennifer Warrington, 50, and Christopher Braden. After the massacre, Gendron surrendered to police as he exited the supermarket. He has pleaded not guilty to a state domestic terrorism charge, including hate-motivated domestic terrorism and murder. Ten days after the attack in Buffalo, another 18-year-old with a semi-automatic rifle opened fire at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school, killing 19 children and two teachers. Soon after, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed 10 public safety-related bills, including one prohibiting New Yorkers under age 21 from buying semi-automatic rifles and another that revised the states 'red flag' law, which allows courts to temporarily take away guns from people who might be a threat to themselves or others. The U.S. Senate followed on June 12 with a bipartisan agreement on more modest federal gun curbs and stepped-up efforts to improve school safety and mental health programs. Gendron's arraignment is scheduled for Thursday at 10:30 on US District Court 7th Floor. Camille Vasquez will be representing Johnny Depp in court again, this time over accusations he assaulted crew member on-set in 2017. Vasquez, alongside attorney Randall Smith, will defend the actor in a personal injury lawsuit brought against him by City of Lies co-star Gregg 'Rocky' Brooks. Depp is being sued for 'maliciously and forcefully' punching Brooks twice in his ribs before saying he'd pay the location manager $100,000 to 'punch [him] in the face' in April 2017 while they were filming the crime drama. In Gregg's legal documents, the crew member slammed Depp over his conduct, alleging the actions were 'intentional and malicious and done for the purpose of causing plaintiff to suffer humiliation.' Vasquez, alongside attorney Randall Smith, will defend the actor in a personal injury lawsuit brought against him by City of Lies co-star Gregg 'Rocky' Brooks Brooks also claimed Johnny's 'intoxication and temper created a hostile, abusive and unsafe work environment,' the set of City of Lies Depp is being sued for 'maliciously and forcefully' punching Brooks (pictured) twice in his ribs before saying he'd pay the location manager $100,000 to 'punch [him] in the face' in 2017 The trial is set to begin on July 25 nearly two months after Depp won his libel case against his ex-wife Amber Heard Brooks also claimed Johnny's 'intoxication and temper created a hostile, abusive and unsafe work environment,' which eventually resulted in him being assaulted by Johnny during filming of the crime thriller when he tried to enforce a permit restriction during a late night of filming. Gregg claimed he was eventually fired from the movie when he refused to sign a release waiving his right to sue over the incident. But Depp claims his actions were out of self-defense, and says Brooks 'provoked' others. The trial is set to begin on July 25 nearly two months after Depp won his libel case against his ex-wife Amber Heard after a jury ruled in favor of all three of Depp's defamation claims against Heard, finding that she had falsely accused him of domestic abuse. The actor was awarded $15million - $10million in compensation and $5million in punitive damages. Heard won just one of her three countersuit claims, which related to statements made by Depp's lawyer suggesting she and friends had trashed their apartment before calling the police out. The high-powered lawyer's tender interactions with Depp in the courtroom had spurred rampant speculation that the pair's relationship might run deeper than attorney-client Depp and Vasquez appeared very close and at times affectionate during trial, spurring rumors of a romance Vasquez became a star in her own right while defending the Hollywood actor in the six-week trial with her impressive performance in the courtroom She was awarded $2million in compensatory damages out of the $100million she was seeking in her countersuit against her ex-husband and received zero dollars in punitive damages. The judge later reduced Depp's $5million punitive damages award to the Virginia maximum of $350,000, reducing Depp's total to $10,350,000 minus the $2million he was ordered to pay Heard. Vasquez became a star in her own right while defending the Hollywood actor in the six-week trial with her impressive performance in the courtroom. Depp's team was led by Brown Rudnick partner Benjamin Chew and included nine other attorneys. But Vasquez later emerged as a major player in the case with her fierce cross-examination of Amber Heard and her closing arguments to the jury during which she branded the actress the real abuser. As the trial progressed, Depp's fan lavished praise on the lawyer for her work defending the Pirates Of The Caribbean actor, tweeting out pictures of themselves wearing 'I heart Camille Vasquez' T-shirts and memes portraying her as the Nordic god of thunder and Marvel character Thor. Brown Rudnick has since publicly acknowledged Vasquez's stellar performance as well, announcing Tuesday that she has been promoted to a partner in the firm. 'We are pleased to announce that Camille Vasquez has been elevated to partner. She was a key member of the litigation team that won a jury verdict last week for actor Johnny Depp in his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard,' the firm said in a statement. Chairman William Baldiga noted that the law firm typically promotes partners when its fiscal year ends. 'But Camille's performance during the Johnny Depp trial proved to the world that she was ready to take this next step now. We are incredibly proud of her and look forward to what she will accomplish as our newest partner,' Baldiga added. In a statement responding to her promotion, Vasquez said: 'I am delighted that Brown Rudnick has given me its full vote of confidence by having me join the partnership.' The high-powered lawyer's tender interactions with Depp in the courtroom had spurred rampant speculation that the pair's relationship might run deeper than attorney-client - and Vasquez only fueled the rumors by chuckling coyly when asked. All along, however, sources say she has been quietly dating Englishman Edward Owen, 38, a successful Cambridge-educated senior director at WeWork, where he is in charge of real estate for Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Vasquez and her boyfriend were spotted together last Thursday leaving a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Virginia, not far from the Fairfax County courthouse where she helped Depp secure a blockbuster verdict. An Illinois father, who drowned his three children in a bathtub and then placed their bodies in the bedroom of his home, has been charged with murder. Jason E. Karels, 35, of Chicago, drowned his children one-by-one in the bathtub of his Camden Lane home on Monday after he and his wife Debra recently split up, a prosecutor said at a bond court hearing on Wednesday. His children - Bryant, 5; Cassidy, 3; and Gideon, 2 - were spending the weekend with their father when their mother, Debra, found their bodies in the bedroom after calling for a welfare check for Karels, who was said had 'severe mental health problems.' Karels was not on the property when she discovered their children in his home. The pair shared custody of the children, but did not live together. Inside the home, police found a note written by Karels to Debra, with one line reading: 'If I can't have them, then neither can you,' prosecutors said. Authorities say the killings appear to have been 'motivated from a domestic situation.' 'Unfortunately, there was domestic abuse in their relationship and Debbie was finally getting the strength to leave him and proceed with a divorce,' her sister-in-law Christina Neuman Berg, explained to the Daily Beast. 'Debbie wanted to maintain a relationship with her kids' father and let him visit them, and now we know that was a horrible mistake.' Preliminary autopsy results showed all three died from drowning, Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton of the Lake County Coroner's Office said. Jason Karels, 35, of Chicago, appeared at a bond hearing on Wednesday after drowning his three children in a bathtub in his home on Monday He drowned his children - Bryant, 5; Cassidy, 3; and Gideon, 2 - 'one-by-one' in the bathtub of his Camden Lane home, prosecutors said. Authorities said the violent killings stemmed from a 'domestic situation' as the children's parents had recently split up and did not live together Karels was arrested after leading police on a 17-minute chase that ended in a crash on Monday after he drove off the Interstate 80 bridge in Joliet, Round Lake Beach Police Chief Gilbert Rivera said at a news conference. Officers wearing bodycams recorded Karels admitting to killing his three young children before fleeing in his car. He later gave a 'detailed report' of what he did to them to police, the prosecutor said during the bond hearing. Karels had to be extricated from the vehicle by firefighters and was hospitalized after the crash. He has since been moved to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on a $10million bail. Prosecutors originally requested the father not be offered bail, but failed to file a petition to the court. The prosecutor said they would file the motion today, but it is not expected to go into effect until Tuesday. Debra (right) had called for a welfare check on Kerals (left) and found her children dead in the bedroom. Karels had already fled the home after attempting suicide His bond has been set at $10million. Prosecutors originally requested he not be granted bond, but did not file the paperwork on time. The prosecutor said he would file it today, but it is not expected to go into effect until Tuesday Kerals and Debra reportedly split up due to his 'severe mental health problems' Karels also opted to use a public defender in his case, because he had 'no funds' to hire an attorney himself, he told Judge Theodore Potkonjak on Wednesday. The prosecutor also said Karels had attempted suicide after brutally killing his children and police found evidence that 'corroborated' this statement. Officers found the man's blood in the house from his attempts to hurt himself. Debra said her children were 'excited to hear from me' the night before over the phone. They were excited to chat,' Karels told the Daily Beast. 'They were not doing anything special, they just seemed excited that I was going to pick them up the next morning. 'I am just in disbelief. You never think something like this is going to happen to you. I never thought he would do this to his kids, but now I know, if you have any inkling of doubt, don't ignore it and stick to your guns.' Debra paid tribute to her three children, describing them as 'wonderful', each with their own personality. Bryant, who was about to start kindergarten in September 'was a very smart' kid. 'He used to say: "Don't worry, mommy, I'll always take care of you," Debra explained. He later led police on a 17-minute crash that ended with him crashing his car off a bridge on I-80 His car was seen through the bushes off the bridge Daughter, Cassidy, was the 'little middle child' while Gideon 'was a sweet little momma's boy' who loved dinosaurs and Mickey Mouse. A GoFundMe has raised more than $55,000 toward a $100,000 goal, with the money going to the family of the three children. 'This tragedy happened in my own neighborhood, and I need to make certain that this mother has everything she needs to not have to worry about money at this terrible time,' Lake County Board member Dick Barr wrote. Karels is expected to appear at a preliminary hearing on July 13. An ex-Army commando who stabbed his neighbours to death during a frenzied attack over a long-running parking row did not have PTSD at the time, two psychiatrists have today said. Collin Reeves, 35, is accused of murdering Jennifer and Stephen Chapple in their 250,000 home in Norton Fitzwarren, near Taunton in Somerset on November 21 last year - while their children slept upstairs. The Afghanistan veteran and his family lived next door to the Chapples in Dragon Rise in the new-build development, and had fallen out over parking in May 2021, Bristol Crown Court has heard. There had been a number of angry exchanges between them, including an incident in which Reeves called Mrs Chapple a 'f****** c***' and a 'fat b***h', before the ex-soldier launched his frenzied attack. Reeves accepts that he stabbed Mr and Mrs Chapple, but denies murder, and has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The veteran, who served with the Royal Engineers and completed the gruelling commando training, used the ceremonial dagger he had been given when he left the Army. Collin Reeves, pictured, is accused of murdering his neighbours Jennifer and Stephen Chapple in their 250,000 home in Norton Fitzwarren, near Taunton on November 21 last year Jennifer and Stephen Chapple on their wedding day. They were stabbed to death by Reeves in November last year over a long-running parking row Collin Reeves, pictured at the custody centre after killing his neighbours Jurors have been told that Reeves had been having trouble in his own marriage, and around 40 minutes before the attack his wife, Kayley, had asked for a trial separation. After the killings, Reeves was recorded in the background of the 999 call telling someone, believed to be his mother Lynn, 'I couldn't let her (or them) torment Kayley any more'. Forensic psychiatrist Dr Lucy Bacon, who assessed Reeves on behalf of the defence team, concluded that he had been suffering from moderate depression at the time - but did not have symptoms consistent with acute post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The defendant reported being anxious in crowds, but was not 'hyper vigilant' - a symptom of PTSD often seen in soldiers where they feel a constant sense of threat. Reeves told her life 'felt dark all the time', the witness said. Reeves makes the confession to police after being arrested for killing Stephen and Jennifer Chapple (above) at their home last November Reeves and his wife (pictured) had been embroiled in a bitter feud with their neighbours over parking for several months, which he believed had caused strain on his relationship Dr Bacon told the court: 'For me that's quite an evocative description of low mood, there's no brightness, no enjoyment or happiness, things are pretty miserable.' She diagnosed his depression as moderate, because he was still able to function in some aspects of his life, such as going to work or going for a run, and worried about providing for his family. Dr Bacon said: 'I would definitely say depression is a relevant factor in Mr Reeves' actions; I wouldn't say depression caused him to do what he did, but I think, if you're looking at the totality of it, having depression played a part in it.' She added: 'From my point of view I don't think it met the criteria of diminished responsibility, but that's my point of view, and that's a decision for the jury.' While at the police station, Reeves gave his name as 'Lance Corporal Collin Reeves' and gave his service number, and seemed confused as to why he was there. Dr Bacon said it appeared that the defendant had 'regressed' to his training. Reeves admitted that he had been trained to kill while serving in the 59 Commando Squadron of the Royal Engineers. Pictured: Court sketch of Reeves with his head in his hands in the dock at Bristol Crown Court 'He's spent many years as a soldier and he's gone back into that mode of answering questions with his service number, that sort of thing,' she said. 'I think that was caused by the shock of having killed the Chapples.' Dr Bacon added: 'It's possible that he had already regressed somewhat and had gone into Army mode during the killings.' She said that, during her interview with Reeves, he had said 'he didn't feel his depth of feeling about the neighbours explained the fact he had killed them'. Dr John Sandford, a forensic psychiatrist for the prosecution, said Reeves' loss of memory of the killings was consistent with 'dissociative amnesia' and was not a contributing factor to the incident. He said it is common in cases of domestic violence homicide, where the perpetrator can call the police immediately afterwards but soon lose all memory of the incident. 'This is nothing to do with depression - it's a reaction to a traumatic act, something that is usually a reaction to something you've done rather than something done to you,' Dr Sandford said. The witness diagnosed Reeves with mild depression, adding that it was a normal response for someone who was unhappy in his job and unhappy in his marriage. Dr Sandford said Reeves had described a pattern of 'subtle intimidation and social cruelty' by Mrs Chapple towards his wife. He said that, in his opinion, 'the main factor in committing this offence is about the dispute between the two families'. The trial, which is due to conclude by the end of the week, continues. Suella Braverman today slammed the BBC for painting the EU as the 'good guys' and the UK government as 'malevolent'. The Attorney General complained about the corporation's 'view' of Brexit wrangling as she was interviewed about the saga of the Northern Ireland protocol. On Radio 4's World at One, presenter Sarah Montague asked why ministers 'keep doing things that others judge to be illegal' and whether she was 'comfortable' with the government's 'law-breaking' reputation. Ms Braverman replied: 'With respect, I think that's a BBC view, if you don't mind me saying, that the UK Government is somehow always malevolent and the EU is always acting as the honest broker and the good guys.' 'It was the Supreme Court that ruled on prorogation,' Montague interjected. Ms Braverman insisted her 'preferred alternative' to the Northern Ireland protocol was negotiation. 'Listen my preferred alternative right now is negotiation and my invitation to our EU friends is to come back to the table and to engage substantively with our proposals,' she said. 'They've failed to do that for over two years now and that's why we've regrettably been left with no option but to take these measures.' Attorney General Suella Braverman complained about the corporation's 'view' of Brexit wrangling as she was interviewed about the saga of the Northern Ireland protocol Boris Johnson and EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen together last year On Radio 4's World at One, presenter Sarah Montague asked why ministers 'keep doing things that others judge to be illegal' Ministers have been increasingly ready to call out what they perceive as bias in BBC interviews. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss lashed out at Today presented Mishal Hussain yesterday for suggesting the Northern Ireland protocol Bill would prevent the UK criticising authoritarian regimes like Russia. The full question posed to Ms Braverman was: 'This Government keeps doing things that others judge to be illegal we can go back to prorogation, Partygate, the Northern Ireland protocol, deporting asylum seekers I wonder how comfortable you feel with the reputation that this Government has being built up as with regard to law-breaking?' The clash came as Brussels threatened a trade war, launching a legal battle over Boris Johnson's plans to abandon parts of the Brexit agreement to ease political pressure in Ulster. The European Commission announced fresh legal action this morning as part of a series of measures in response to the Government's move to unilaterally scrap parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The European Commission is also resuming legal proceedings against the UK that were shelved last year to facilitate negotiations on post-Brexit trade. The Government has been given two months to respond before the case goes to the European Court of Justice. Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic warned Mr Johnson today that the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, tabled on Monday, had 'no legal or political justification whatsoever', adding: 'Let's call a spade a spade: this is illegal.' The European Commission vice-president said: 'It has created deep uncertainty and casts a shadow over our overall co-operation, all at a time when respect for international agreements has never been more important. 'That is why the Commission has today decided to take legal action against the UK for not complying with significant parts of the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.' The plan would mean 'breaking an agreement that protects peace and stability in Northern Ireland, an agreement reached together only three years ago' by Boris Johnson's Government and the EU. The bill aims to sweep away key parts of the Protocol - including a check-free 'green channel' for goods from mainland Britain and stripping control from the EU court. It would also ensure that VAT changes from Westminster apply to the province, permit state subsidies, and give ministers wide-ranging powers to cancel more of the divorce terms later if required. The PM's spokesman said ministers were 'disappointed' by the EU decision, adding: 'The EU's proposed approach, which doesn't differ from what they have said previously, would increase burdens on business and citizens and take us backwards from where we are currently. 'The infractions are related to the implementation of the protocol in our recently published Bill. It is difficult to see how scrapping grace periods and adding additional controls and checks would be the situation better.' Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said it was 'clear that the UK broke the law' and said it new law was 'unjustified' John Campbell, chief constable of Thames Valley Police - England's fifth largest force - said the existence of a 'lucrative' illegal cannabis market led to violence A police chief today suggested that the decriminalisation of cannabis would free up resources for other police work. John Campbell, chief constable of Thames Valley Police - England's fifth largest force - said the existence of a 'lucrative' illegal market led to violence and criminality. He said police forces had spent years cracking down on weed smokers without being able to snuff out the problem. 'It's a recurring problem, so you might argue there has to be an alternative consideration of trying something else,' he told the Home Affairs select committee. 'But that comes with a great deal of, I guess, risk, or kind of like attached to a whole aspect of public perception, let alone the political aspects of that.' The panel also heard from senior police officers and other PCCs speaking about drug policy, policing and the law on illegal substances. Panel members were asked for their opinions on decriminalisation and regulation of some drugs, notably cannabis, after they had taken evidence at previous hearings in favour of the move. What are the UK's cannabis laws and what are the risks of using it? Cannabis is an illegal Class B drug in the UK, meaning possession could result in a five year prison sentence and those who supply the drug face up to 14 years in jail. However, the drug is widely used for recreational purposes and can make users feel relaxed and happy. But smoking it can also lead to feelings of panic, anxiety or paranoia. Scientific studies have shown the drug can alleviate depression, anxiety and stress, but heavy use may worsen depression in the long term by reducing the brain's ability to let go of bad memories. It can also contribute to mental health problems among people who already have them, or increase users' risk of psychosis or schizophrenia, according to research. Marijuana can be prescribed for medical uses in more than half of US states, where it is used to combat anxiety, aggression and sleeping problems. Researchers are also looking into whether it could help people with autism, eczema or psoriasis. Cannabis oil containing the psychoactive chemical THC, which is illegal in the UK, is claimed to have cancer-fighting properties, and one 52 year-old woman from Coventry says she recovered from terminal bowel and stomach cancer by taking the drug. Advertisement David Thorne, Assistant Chief Constable of South Wales Police, suggested 'a great deal of caution' was needed before making any decisions around decriminalisation. 'Legalised substances such as alcohol and tobacco still do a huge amount of harm and there's quite a significant black market,' he told MPs. 'Having said that there have been some benefits shown from decimalisation of low levels so we can get people into treatment rather than criminalising them. 'But whatever we do in this space has to be evidence led rather than going on opinion.' David Sidwick, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Dorset, said the majority of PCCs are against the idea and it will only create more crime and public health problems. He said: 'The last time there was a state-sanctioned drug like this it was called Thalidomide. 'There's two issues here - one, would it make life any easier from the point of view of the crime aspect? No. Unequivocally. 'If you look at places across the world where they've done it, like California, the black market there is five times larger than what it was before. 'So it won't change a thing, it will just make it worse.' Mr Sidwick suggested decriminalisation would also have a negative impact on public health. 'Portugal had a 30-fold increase in its psychosis hospitalisations between 2010 and 2015,' he said. 'Scotland itself mentioned a 74% increase in the same thing - it was reported in the papers in January. 'Professors of psychiatry are calling for cannabis to be a class A drug again. 'The US... we know that every four minutes somebody is hospitalised for psychosis from cannabis. 'So, from that perspective, just looking at psychosis, I'd say 'No.' But I've had to examine this in depth. 'And you can see the same thing with autism - a 60% uplift in those states. You can see an increase in those states which have legalised, for cancer, for birth defects.' Mr Campbell said police forces had spent years cracking down on weed smokers without being able to snuff out the problem Serena Kennedy, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, told the panel a 'common thread' of the Government's 10-year drug strategy, Harm To Hope, launched last December, is around how drug users are treated and treatment as an alternatives to criminalisation. She added: 'And actually we probably see some of our better results in terms of changing behaviours and changing offending moving forward, when we do look at some of the alternatives. 'But as it stands at the moment we still need that very hard option of the criminal justice system as well.' Prosecutors have dropped a threatening behaviour charge against Katie Price's fiance Carl Woods 'because a key witness does not wish to support prosecution'. The reality TV star, 33, allegedly attempted to force open a door to a property while the former glamour model was inside after she left his home following a row. Colchester Magistrates' Court heard the charge related to an incident in Great Dunmow, Essex, on August 22, when the couple allegedly had an 'argument' in Mr Woods' home. Mr Woods previously pleaded not guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour. Katie Price and fiance Carl Woods pictured outside Lewes Crown Court in May. The reality TV star, 33, allegedly attempted to force open a door to a property while the former glamour model was inside after she left his home following a row At an earlier hearing in March, magistrates were told the charge followed a row that spilled over into the street, disturbing neighbours. At one stage Woods was allegedly seen trying to force open a door, the court heard. The male model attended court hand-in-hand with Price, after the pair returned from a holiday to Thailand. In a statement, a spokesperson for the CPS said that the charges were dropped because there was 'no longer a realistic prospect of conviction'. 'The CPS has an obligation to keep cases under continuous review,' they said. 'As part of our review and in accordance with our legal test we concluded that there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction and the case was stopped. And the pair were spotted celebrating by getting matching blonge highlights at the hairdressers on Mr Price's Instagram Story Carl Woods arrives at Colchester Magistrates' Court, Essex, at a hearing in March alongside partner Katie Price 33-year-old Carl Woods was charged following a highly-publicised a row with Katie Price in August last year 'The Crown Prosecution Service takes seriously all situations where a person's behaviour causes fear and we will seek to prosecute suspects when our legal test is met.' Court officials told the PA news agency that the charges were dropped because a 'key witness does not wish to support the prosecution'. Representatives for Ms Price and Mr Woods have been approached for comment. And the pair were spotted celebrating by getting matching blonge highlights at the hairdressers on Mr Price's Instagram Story. Footage shows fiance Carl sitting in the hairdressing chair with foils in his hair while he waits for the hairdye to develop. Ms Price then posted another video to her Instagram later in the day showing her and her fiance driving in a car with blonde locks. Price and Woods remained together as a couple, despite their highly-publicised row last year Elsewhere, Katie Price is awaiting her sentencing on June 24 at Lewes Crown Court, after previously pleading guilty to breaching a restraining order against her ex-partner Kieran Hayler's fiancee Michelle Penticost. The 44-year-old former glamour model was arrested by police after she allegedly sent a vile and nasty message to Mr Hayler about Miss Penticost on January 21. The message read: Tell your c****** whore piece of s*** girlfriend not to start on me. She has a restraining order so shouldnt try antagonise me as she is in breach and Im sure she doesnt want people knowing that she was having an affair with you behind my back. That gutter slag. Price was handed a five-year restraining order on June 3, 2019 banning her from contacting Miss Penticost directly or indirectly. The order came after Price hurled a foul-mouthed tirade of abuse at her during a row in a school playground. Regarding Woods' case, a CPS spokesman said today: 'The CPS has an obligation to keep cases under continuous review. 'As part of our review and in accordance with our legal test we concluded that there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction and the case was stopped. 'The Crown Prosecution Service takes seriously all situations where a person's behaviour causes fear and we will seek to prosecute suspects when our legal test is met.' The UN is investigating claims that children are being sent from war-torn Ukraine and being forcibly deported to Russia where they are offered up for adoption. The organisation's rights chief Michelle Bachelet said her office 'has been looking into allegations of children forcibly deported from Ukraine to the Russian Federation'. These reportedly included children who were 'taken from orphanages and subsequently offered for adoption in Russia,' she said. Evacuated children arrive at a train station in Lviv after the outbreak of war. The UN is investigating claims that children are being deported to Russia The organisation's rights chief Michelle Bachelet said her office 'has been looking into allegations of children forcibly deported from Ukraine to the Russian Federation' The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said her office could not confirm the allegations, nor the number of children involved. But she told the council: 'We are concerned about the alleged plans of the Russian authorities to allow the movement of children from Ukraine to families in the Russian Federation, which do not appear to include steps for family reunification or respect the best interest of the child.' 'We will continue to closely follow the issue,' she said. Several thousand young people are believed to have been moved to Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on February 24. The UN began raising concern in March about the risk of forced adoption of Ukrainian children, especially around 91,000 who were living in institutions or boarding schools at the beginning of the war, many of them located in the country's embattled east. A girl rides a kick scooter past a destroyed residential building in the village of Horenka, Kyiv region Asfhan Khan, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) regional director for Europe and Central Asia, also warned this week that 'adoption should never occur during or immediately after emergencies.' Such children cannot be assumed to be orphans, and 'any decision to move any child must be grounded in their best interests and any movement must be voluntary,' she told reporters, insisting 'parents need to provide informed consent.' 'Regarding children that have been sent to Russia, we're working closely to see with ombudspersons and networks how best we can document those cases,' Khan said, adding that there was currently no access to such children. She visited Kyiv, Irpin, Bucha, Zhytomyr and Lviv where she saw the impact of the war on the country's 7.5 million children. She said: 'The numbers are staggering, and bear repeating. Nearly two-thirds of Ukraine's children are displaced - whether displaced inside the country or those who have fled across borders as refugees. 'Children forced to leave homes, friends, toys and treasured belongings, family members and facing uncertainty about the future. 'This instability is robbing children of their futures - trauma and fear can have long-lasting impacts on children's physical and mental health.' Khan claimed 277 have been killed and 456 injured although the numbers are likely to be an under-estimate. The ex-wife of the founder of Toms shoes has admitted intentionally providing wrong information in the search for a missing Irish hiker - but she claimed she did so to reinvigorate the rescue effort - not hinder it. Heather Mycoskie, 40, reported last June that she had seen Cian McLaughlin, 27, of Jackson, the day he disappeared and that he was headed toward Taggart Lake in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, because he planned to jump off his favorite rock in the water. But the information proved false, and other people told investigators Mycoskie, who was previously married to Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, fabricated the sighting to ensure that search efforts continued, park officials said. 'I did, in fact, lie,' Mycoskie told Fox News Digital. 'I submitted a false statement, but it was all based on information that I had received.' Last week, park officials banned Mycoskie from visiting the park in northeastern Wyoming for five years and pay $17,600 under a deferred-prosecution agreement. Such agreements allow defendants to avoid prosecution if they meet certain requirements. Heather Mycoskie reported last June that she had seen Cian McLaughlin, 27, of Jackson, the day he disappeared almost two weeks earlier and that he was headed toward Taggart Lake because he planned to jump off his favorite rock in the water All other sightings put McLaughlin (pictured), who is still missing following his disappearance June 8, 2021, on trails heading toward a different area of the park Mycoskie said she sent authorities a false tip because she feared the authorities were scaling down their search effort - and she believed if she claimed she had seen McLaughlin in a location where he was known to have hiked, it would reinvigorate it. All other sightings put McLaughlin, who is still missing following his disappearance June 8, 2021, on trails heading toward a different area of the park, according to the statement. 'I'm extremely sorry, and I would love to apologize, but I lied,' Mycoskie told Fox News. 'I hope that his family can understand that I wasn't trying to hurt the search or mislead anybody.' But the false report from Mycoskie meant officials spent more than 500 fruitless hours searching, conducting investigations and completing reports, park officials said. Mycoskie, a longtime activist and former model, said she had learned that McLaughlin liked to hike near Taggart Lake from a bartender while eating lunch at the Bistro Restaurant in Jackson where McLaughlin worked. 'She, to me, was very believable and seemed like a very valuable source,' Mycoskie said. 'She said that her belief was that he entered the park and most likely went to Taggart Lake, because that was one of his favorite spots that he would go, and jump off a rock and go swimming. A helicopter searches for McLaughlin in the Grand Teton National Park in June last year Mycoskie was previously married to TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie (pictured together in 2018), who sold his Jackson home in November, the Jackson Hole News&Guide reported 'She said she shared that information with officials, but they weren't taking it seriously, and they were following other tips and looking in a different area.' Mycoskie said that she feared authorities were moving their attention to other trails in the national park and so she 'felt compelled' to send the false tip so that they could focus on the Taggart Lake area. 'I said I saw him walking in the direction of Taggart Lake, and it sounded like, to me, that he was going to Taggart Lake,' she said. 'And that's what I did, and that was also my big mistake, probably the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life I lied, and I made a false statement that I saw him.' McLaughlin had dual Irish-U.S. citizenship and in 2019 moved to Jackson Hole, where he worked as a bartender and snowboard instructor, his mother Grainne McLaughlin said. While Cian McLaughlin spent most of his life in Ireland, his father was from Montana and he lived there for several years as a young child. He maintained a 'close connection with the States and the mountains in particular,' his mother said. 'Cian was an incredible person, full of 'joi de Vive' and we miss him dearly,' Grainne McLaughlin said. The deferred prosecution agreement allows Mycoskie to continue to use Jackson Hole Airport, which is located within Grand Teton, and the main highway through the park, as long as she does not stop or recreate. Rescuers gather to discuss their search efforts after McLaughlin went missing in June 2021 Mycoskie's attorney until the deferred prosecution agreement was signed in February, Darci Phillips, has since been appointed as a Wyoming district judge and declined to comment Friday. Mycoskie, formerly of Jackson, recently moved to Costa Rica. She was previously married to TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, who sold his Jackson home in November, the Jackson Hole News&Guide reported. Searchers plan to continue looking for McLaughlin this summer and park officials are asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 888-653-0009. Hikers have also been asked to keep an eye out for belongings McLaughlin is believed to have been carrying when he disappeared, which includes a red Apple Watch, a red iPhone 12 mini, gold glasses, a U-shaped silver pendant and a white T-shirt. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has offered a response to outspoken admirer Elon Musk, after the Tesla CEO said he would support the conservative in a prospective presidential run. Speaking at a conference in Madeira Beach Wednesday, DeSantis commented on news of Musks potential support with a joke that played off the billionaire's South African heritage. 'Im focused on 2022, but I welcome support from African Americans,' the conservative quipped to a reporter. The well-timed remark drew laughs from the crowd, and added fuel to the fervor surrounding DeSantis' rumored presidential aspirations. Speaking at a conference in Madeira Beach Wednesday, Ron DeSantis commented on news of Musks potential support with a joke that lampooned the billionaire's South African heritage Hours before, Musk had announced he was leaning toward DeSantis as a potential president, after being asked about his preferences concerning who the next head of state should be. Musk, who has described himself as a moderate in recent years but has showed a shift to conservatism in recent months, made his political allegiance clear in a barrage of Tweets early Wednesday. Musk began his social media spiel by revealing he voted red for the first time ever Tuesday, casting a ballot for new Texas Congresswoman Maya Flores. The world's richest man went on to tout the win as a victory, while predicting a massive red wave in the upcoming November midterm elections. 'I voted for Mayra Flores first time I ever voted Republican,' Musk wrote. The mogul added: 'Massive red wave in 2022.' Then, when asked who he is leaning toward supporting in 2024, the tech billionaire responded simply: 'DeSantis.' Musk was also asked what he thought of Andrew Yang, who ran in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. He said: 'I supported Yang last time, but DeSantis has a better chance of winning.' A follower also asked: 'Is this the first time that has happened... where you're receiving massive amounts of hate by the top Democrat leaders?' The Tesla CEO responded 'yes'. Hours before, Elon Musk had announced he was leaning toward DeSantis as a potential president, after being asked about his preferences concerning the next head of state Musk, who has described himself as a moderate in recent years but has showed a shift to conservatism in recent months, made his political allegiance clear in a barrage of Tweets early Wednesday, where he revealed he had voted Republican for the first time on Tuesday The unexpected endorsement came as DeSantis has continued to emerge as a central figure in the ongoing culture wars between the woke Left and those with other political ideologies. A conservative known for his anti-woke political policies, DeSantis has yet to announce a White House bid for 2024, but is widely believed to be mulling one over. He came under fire earlier this year for signing parental rights bill into law that barred public schools from teaching topics pertaining to gender identity and sexual orientation to kids under 10 - which the Left dubbed the 'Don't Say Gay Bill.' Meanwhile, Musk, a staunch libertarian and businessman who has saw his wealth swell during the pandemic, has demonstrated a shift towards the political right, after previously being heralded by progressives as a new, more hip breed of businessman. Musk was also asked what he thought of Andrew Yang, who ran in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. He said: 'I supported Yang last time, but DeSantis has a better chance of winning' On Wednesday, Musk, has a history of backing both Democrats and Republicans, tweeted: 'I'm thinking of creating a "Super Moderate Super PAC" that supports candidates with centrist views from all parties.' Musk's changing political views were thrust into the limelight in April, after he announced his intention to purchase a majority stake in Twitter for an astounding $44 billion. His offer to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share was made public on April 14. He has since said the deal is on hold, arguing - without presenting evidence - that there are too many automated accounts for the deal to move ahead. By the end of the month, Musk hinted his political sentiment had shifted rightward over the past 14 years, by posting a meme showing a moderate liberal driven into the arms of conservatives. The image depicted a stick figure labeled 'me' remaining stationary relative to another labeled 'conservative', as the figure at the 'liberal' end of the spectrum moves further and further to the left. Musk began his social media spiel by revealing he voted red for the first time ever Tuesday, celebrating the win of new Texas Congresswoman Maya Flores (pictured) By the final diagram, labeled 2021, the 'me' figure is to the right of the center line - as the conservative chuckles and the liberal - now labeled 'woke progressive' - accuses the centrist of bigotry. Many Democrats and liberals are concerned that Musk's vision for Twitter will allow for the spread of more misinformation on the platform. Meanwhile, GOP politicians and those that are more right-leaning have hailed his potential takeover as a victory for free speech. Some Republican figures are hopeful that they may see GOP accounts reinstated on the platform, having been previously banned - particularly that of President Donald Trump. However, those hopes were stifled when Musk announced that his takeover had been put on hold week later, citing concerns over fake accounts on Twitter. Musk then shocked the world further when he announced would be switching political allegiances and vote for the Republican party in the next election due to liberal bias at the San Francisco company. Speaking via video link at a tech summit in Miami, Florida in May, hosted by the All-In podcast, Musk confirmed he would be changing his vote. 'The reality is that Twitter at this point, you know, has a very far left bias,' Musk told attendees. 'I would classify myself as a moderate, neither Republican nor Democrat.' Musk went on to assert that he has 'overwhelmingly' voted for Democrats in the past. 'I have voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, historically. Like I'm not sure, I might never have voted for a Republican, just to be clear,' Musk said. He then declared: 'Now this election I will.' Speaking via video link at a tech summit in Miami in May (pictured), hosted by the All-In podcast, Musk confirmed he would be changing his vote from Democrat to Republican Insider reported that he did not clarify whether he meant he would vote for the eventual Republican candidate during the 2024 presidential election, or for a GOP candidate in the up-coming November mid-terms. Musk, the top executive at Tesla and founder of SpaceX, has a net worth of more nearly $209billion - $86billion than the world's next richest man, Jeff Bezos. For a man so wealthy, Musks history of political donations in DeSantis' Florida is somewhat sparse - not to mention bipartisan. In 2014, he donated identical $2,500 sums to each of the men running for governor that year: Democrat Charlie Crist and then-GOP Gov. Rick Scott. In 2010, he gave Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz $1,000 in 2010. In 2006, Musk donated at least $5,000 to Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson, also of Florida. He's also given Republican Senator Marco Rubio at least $15,200 through the years. Meanwhile, Musk has seemed to take a liking to DeSantis - an increasingly popular political figure who has been compared to former President Trump due to no-nonsense policies, but without the legal and political baggage synonymous with the outspoken New Yorker. Last year, Musk tweeted that he had spoken with DeSantis about digging tunnels under Miami to help improve traffic gridlock. DeSantis, meanwhile, has expressed support for Musk's Twitter bid. In April, he called the pending transaction 'a good deal for shareholders' and saying it 'raises the prospect that the platform will be a place where free speech can thrive, not a tool for narrative enforcement.' Chinas FAST telescope discovers worlds first persistently active repeating fast radio burst 09:19, June 15, 2022 By Wu Yuehui ( People's Daily Photo shows Chinas Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), worlds largest single-dish radio telescope, located in Pingtang county, Qiannan Buyi and Miao autonomous prefecture, southwest Chinas Guizhou province. (Peoples Daily Online/ Deng Gang) An international research team led by Li Di, a researcher with the National Astronomical Observatories (NAO) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, lately detected and localized FRB 20190520B, the worlds first and only persistently active repeating fast radio burst (FRB) so far, with the help of Chinas Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), known as the China Sky Eye. The discovery was made through the Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST Survey (CRAFTS), a novel and unprecedented commensal drift scan survey of the entire sky visible conducted with FAST. The study was published in international academic journal Nature on June 9, 2022, Beijing time. FRB is the brightest radio burst known in the universe, and can release within one millisecond as much energy as that radiated by the sun in about a whole year. Nearly 500 FRBs have been reported worldwide, among which less than 10 are active with frequent bursts in certain phase windows. No persistently active repeating FRB had been found until now. As the worlds largest single-dish radio telescope, the China Sky Eye began searches for FRBs several years ago. On May 20, 2019, scientists detected a repeating FRB using FAST, which was later named FRB 20190520B. When it was first detected, the FRB already showed signs of activity, according to Niu Chenhui, first author of the paper and a young scholar at the NAO. Citizens visit Shanghai Astronomy Museum, Dec. 8, 2021. (Peoples Daily Online/Xia Wei) We detected three bursts within 10 seconds under one wave beam. Twenty seconds later, we detected one more burst when another wave beam swept it, Niu recalled. Based on the time of these four earliest bursts detected through the drift scan survey using the FAST and the pointing location from the telescope, researchers narrowed down the source of the bursts, providing more accurate and reliable information about the FRBs location for follow-up study. Later, through observations carried out using multiple pieces of international astronomical equipment and on the basis of data from interferometer arrays and optical telescope, researchers concluded that the host galaxy of FRB 20190520B is a dwarf galaxy with a redshift of 0.241 that is 3.3 billion light-years away from the Earth. According to Li, the worlds first persistently active repeating FRB has shown features that are more distinct in many aspects than those of FRB 20121102A, the first repeating FRB found by humankind in 2016. While FRB 20121102A was only active in certain periods, active and repeated bursts of the FRB 20190520B have never ceased, with several hundred bursts already detected by the China Sky Eye, Li pointed out. Continuous observations using the FAST are expected to help create a brand new evolution roadmap of the FRBs, Li said. The discovery of the worlds first persistently active repeating FRB has challenged traditional views about chromatic dispersion analysis of FRBs, and laid a foundation for modeling the evolution of FRBs and understanding this violent and mysterious phenomenon in the universe, Li added. After they were published, the preliminary results of the study have attracted widespread attention from the international astronomical community. The important discovery has been followed by several articles on FRB modeling, with their topics covering FRB scattering timescale models, supernova explosion explanations, etc. The CRAFTS has found at least six new FRBs, making unique contributions to uncovering the mechanisms of this mysterious phenomenon in the universe and advancing research in this new field of astronomy. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) A person receives a test at a COVID-19 screening center near Seoul Station, June 8. Yonhap Employees given right to rest with introduction of new measure By Lee Hyo-jin The government will introduce a statutory sick pay trial scheme from next month in six areas, which would guarantee COVID-19 patients the "right to rest," as the authorities are considering lifting the seven-day self-isolation rule. The Central Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters said Wednesday that the paid sick leave will be launched on a one-year trial basis beginning from July 4, under which employees will be eligible for sick pay of up to 60 percent of minimum wage if they fall ill with diseases that are not related to their work. Korea's minimum wage is currently 9,160 won ($7.09) per hour. During the one-year trial period, the measures will be adopted in one district in Seoul and five cities across the nation; Jongno District in Seoul, Bucheon in Gyeonggi Province, Cheonan in South Chungcheong Province, Suncheon in South Jeolla Province, Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province and Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province. Discussions on the need to guarantee workers the "right to rest" have emerged since the early stages of the pandemic, as Korea is one of the only OECD countries that does not guarantee paid sick leave by law. A survey conducted by the Institute for Health and Social Affairs found that less than half or 46 percent of employees were able to take paid sick leave in 2021. Wednesday's announcement came as the government is reviewing the possibility of easing the seven-day self-quarantine rule for those who test positive for COVID-19, which prompted concerns that COVID-19-infected employees will not be able to take sick leave from work, thus putting fellow employees at risk of infection. "The new measures will enable workers to take sick leave (in select jurisdictions during the trial period), preventing the spread of infectious diseases while allowing them to receive due medical treatment," said Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min during a COVID-19 response meeting. He added that the government will announce whether to lift the seven-day self-quarantine this Friday. Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min with his mask off ahead of a COVID-19 response meeting held at Government Complex Seoul, Tuesday. Newsis Advertisement Two American fighters have been taken as prisoners of war in Ukraine, the first since the conflict began. Robert Drueke and Andy Huynh were taken prisoner by Russian forces last week on the outskirts of Kharkiv. Drueke, 39, and Huynh, 27, are both from Alabama. It's unclear if they were friends before they both traveled voluntarily to Ukraine earlier this year to assist Ukrainian forces as they continue to defend their country against Russian forces. One of the men's comrades described losing sight of the pair in a battle last week as they defended Kharkiv. The pair were part of a ten-man squad defending Kharkiv last week when they were ambushed by Russian soldiers, according to one of their comrades. Drueke and Huynh disabled a Russian tank with a grenade but were lost in the fog of return fire. By the time it cleared, they had vanished. Drueke served in the US Army in Iraq whereas Huynh, a former Marine, has never been in active combat before. He rushed to Ukraine in April after watching the invasion from afar, saying before he left that he was 'at peace' with the knowledge he may die in the conflict. Robert Drueke, 39, (left) and Andy Huynh, 27 (right), were taken prisoner by Russian forces last week on the outskirts of Kharkiv, according to sources cited by The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday The State Department said on Tuesday it was 'aware' of reports of their capture but a spokesman declined to comment, citing privacy concerns. The White House is also 'aware' of the reports, a spokesman told DailyMail.com. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army Gen. Mark A. Milley did not comment on the capture on Tuesday. 'We were out on a mission and the whole thing went absolutely crazy, with bad intel. We were told the town was clear when it turned out the Russians were already assaulting it. 'They came down the road with two T72 tanks and multiple BMP3s (armored fighting vehicles) and about 100 infantry. The only thing that was there was our ten man squad,' one of their comrades told The Daily Telegraph in an interview on Tuesday. 'We suspect that they were knocked unconscious by either the anti-tank mine, or by the tank shooting at them, because later search missions found not sign of them, nothing. 'Afterwards we sent drones up and had a Ukrainian search team on the ground but we found nothing: if they had been hit by the tank shell there would have been remains of their bodies or equipment at the scene,' he said. Russian forces claimed that night on the app Telegram to have captured two American soldiers. I know theres a potential of me dying. Im willing to get my life or what I believe is right. For what Ive been taught is right, through really my eyes, Marine Corps, through God, and really just what is right Captured former Marine Andy Huynh before he traveled to Ukraine Drueke's mother in Alabama told the Telegraph she is in contact with the government and hopes they will secure her son's release. 'The US embassy have assured me that they are doing everything they can to find him and that they are searching for him alive, not dead. 'I am doing my best not to fall apart, I am going to stay strong. I am very hopeful that they will keep him to exchange for Russian PoWs,' she said. The conflict in Ukraine has now raged for over 100 days, with Russian forces now concentrating their offensive on the Donbas region. Experts believe the war is at a pivotal moment, with Russia advancing further on Ukraine and likely to take hold of the East. President Zelensky this week begged the West for more weapons to continue his ferocious defense. President Biden announced an additional $1billion in aid to the Ukrainian government on Wednesday as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin prepared to chair a committee of 50 Western countries in Brussels to calibrate a response. Russia has been building new military bases while opening gas and oil fields across the Arctic, many of them along the North-East Passage - a valuable trading route that is opening up due to melting ice which Putin hopes he will be able to monetise in the years to come, along with $30trillion in natural resources Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is shown on Thursday at the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv. He thanked the US for the latest weapons package which is the largest from the Biden administration since the start of the war Biden and Zelensky spoke on the phone beforehand. The Pentagon said the last packages include two Harpoon coastal defense systems, 18 howitzers, 36,000 rounds for them, artillery rockets, secure radios and money for training. On Wednesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley said it was not yet an 'inevitability' that Russia would take hold of Eastern Ukraine. 'There are no inevitabilities in war. War takes many, many turns. So I wouldnt say its an inevitability.' He conceded that the numbers 'clearly favor the Russians'. Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraines military intelligence, said last week that the West had only given the country 10 percent of the weapons and support it needs. Drueke served in Iraq but had struggled to find work or reintegrate into society after returning from war, his mother said. Huynh served in the Marines for four years, including on a base in Okinawa, Japan, for two years, but he has never been in active combat before. Huynh's family have not yet commented on his capture. Drueke (left) served in Iraq for the US Army. His mother says he suffered PTSD after the war and struggled to find work after leaving the armed forces. Huynh (right) was in the Marines for four years and spent two years on a base in Japan but he had never been in active combat before he joined the effort in Ukraine British war prisoners Aiden Aslin (left) and Shaun Pinner (second left) were sentenced to death penalty by Donetsk court on June 9, accused of being foreign mercenaries. They were captured along with a Moroccan fighter (right) in April This photograph taken on June 11, 2022 shows a Ukrainian BM-21 Grad, a multiple rocket launcher, firing near Izyum, south of Kharkiv, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. The men were captured in a battle last week, around the same time Ukrainian artillerymen prepare to fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher near Izyum, south of Kharkiv, on June 11, 2022 amid Russian invasion of Ukraine Before he flew to the region, he told a local media outlet in his hometown in Hartselle, Alabama: 'Ive made peace with the decision. President Biden on Wednesday pledged an additional $1billion in aid to Ukraine as Russia continued its assault 'I know theres a potential of me dying. 'Im willing to get my life or what I believe is right. For what Ive been taught is right, through really my eyes, Marine Corps, through God, and really just what is right,' he said. He grew up in California but moved to Alabama after leaving the Marines in order to be closer to his fiancee, Joy Black, according to a local media report. She has not commented on his capture. Their captured comes after two Brits were taken prisoner by Putin's army. Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin have been handed death sentences by a proxy court in eastern Ukraine. They were captured in April. Now, the pair have been sentenced to death by firing squad. British officials say they are doing everything they can to get the pair out of Russian custody before they are slaughtered. Liz Truss, a favorite target of Russian state media, spoke out last week to condemn the sentences which she said had 'absolutely no legitimacy' while vowing 'to do everything we can to support' the imprisoned pair. She was mocked on Russian TV by Putin's associates who said the UK has done nothing to try to intervene in their fate. China could be taking a leaf out of Russia's playbook by trialling a new directive which would expand the use of its burgeoning military for 'non-war' purposes. The directive, signed by President Xi Jinping, raises concerns Beijing could be paving the way for an invasion of Taiwan under the misnomer of a 'special military operation'. Coming in into effect on Wednesday, the directive could provide Beijing with the cover it needs to launch an assault on Taipei without the legal complications or international condemnation that comes with declaring war. Xinhua news agency said the document will provide 'the legal basis for troops to carry out military operations other than war', such as peacekeeping operations, disaster relief and humanitarian efforts. The directive has not been published in full but it aims to maintain 'national sovereignty ... regional stability and regulating the organisation and implementation of non-war military operations'. Russia invaded its neighbour Ukraine - a relationship with eerie parallels to the one between China and Taiwan - under the pretext of a 'special military operation' that fell short of a declared war. It is punishable by 15 years in jail in Russia to call the invasion a war. But just as Ukraine has proven to be a very prickly porcupine against the Russian bear, Taiwan has warned China that it has the capacity to hit back in retaliation for any hostile military intervention in the Taiwan Strait. Chinese Premier Xi Jinping has signed a directive that permits 'the legal basis for troops to carry out military operations other than war', such as peacekeeping operations, disaster relief and humanitarian efforts, but could be used as a cover for an invasion of Taiwan Taiwan has warned that its domestically produced Yun Feng supersonic cruise missile (pictured) can reach Beijing The China-Solomon Islands security pact could see Chinese military ships dock on Australia's doorstep (pictured: The guided-missile frigate Nantong of the escort taskforce leaves a military port in Zhoushan, China in May) A carrier-based J-15 fighter jet takes off from the Chinese Navy's Liaoning aircraft-carrier during open-sea combat training The narrow waterway that separates Taiwan and mainland China is a perennial flashpoint, with Beijing often reacting angrily to passages by foreign warships You Si Kun, president of the Legislative Assembly, said that its domestically produced Yun Feng supersonic cruise missile can reach Beijing. The threat came in response to claims the Taiwan Strait is not international waters. The Communist nation has been asserting 'sovereignty' and 'jurisdiction' over the international waters of the Taiwan Strait, as well as taking another big step towards building a military base on the Solomon Islands, a country less than 2000km from Australia's coast. Australian Policy Institute senior analyst Malcolm Davis warned the expansion to the Solomon Islands was China's next step in asserting its presence in the Pacific. The combination of moves once again seems to set the Asian behemoth of 1.4 billion people on a collision course with the US and its allies in the region and across the world. You outlined Taiwanese plans to develop a more self-sufficient military to prepare for a potential conflict with its superpower neighbour who increasingly seems to have brazen designs on conquest of the island. He compared Taiwan to Ukraine in its defiant will to defend its sovereignty, and insisted they should prepare for what could be an inevitable invasion. The military directive 'has political implication toward Taiwan,' said Wu Qiang, a political analyst in Beijing. 'The reunification with Taiwan is one of the basics of why Xi will go on to a third term,' he said, adding that the directive is the latest step in China's effort to outline what its strategy will be on Taiwan during Mr Xi's third term in office. China's ruling Communist Party has never governed Taiwan, a self-governing democracy in the shadow of its giant autocratic neighbour. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, right, poses for a photo with Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa in Apia, Samoa on June 2. Ms Wong has also met with Cook Islands leaders China's security agreement with the Solomon Islands could see military bases built by Beijing within 2,000km of Australia But Mr Xi has made China's stated 're-unification' with Taiwan part of his public mission. The Yun Feng cruise missile is believed to have begun development after the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis when missile tests were carried out by the People's Republic of China. It had been believed that the missiles originally had a range of 600 miles but the updated version has an estimated range of 1,200 miles, putting Beijing in its sights. Beijing is located around 1,150 miles from Taiwan. The narrow waterway that separates Taiwan and mainland China is a perennial flashpoint, with Beijing often reacting angrily to passages by foreign warships. The United States and other countries view the Strait as international waters open to all. In recent years Western warships have sailed through the strait, drawing Beijing's anger. But on Monday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said 'China has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait'. 'It is a false claim when certain countries call the Taiwan Strait 'international waters' in order to find a pretext for manipulating issues related to Taiwan and threatening China's sovereignty and security,' he added. Although the Taiwanese government is not actively anticipating an impending invasion, China has flown warplanes near the island almost daily for the past few months. China's defence minister, Wei Fenghe, recently said that Beijing would 'not hesitate to start a war' if Taiwan declared independence. Ukrainian servicemen fire with a French self-propelled 155 mm/52-calibre gun Caesar towards Russian positions at a front line in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas Ukraine has been valiantly fending off the invasion of its much larger neighbour in a desperate rearguard struggle that many observers feel may harbour similarities to a future invasion of Taiwan by China The Russian war strategy has been to carpet bomb Ukrainian cities (pictured: what is left of the eastern town of Pryvillya) inch by inch with artillery Current fighting is centred around the city of Severodonetsk in the Donbas region, with a pre-war population of 100,000 Further south, the Solomon Islands and China recently signed a security pact that would see troops from the communist superpower deployed in the Pacific nation in a peacekeeping role. The agreement also included provisions that Chinese ships can dock and refuel in the Solomon Islands and that China could take an active role in regional instabilities and securing shipping routes. Critics have claimed a military base could be secretly built piece by piece - first with troops, then small ships, larger ships, and infrastructure - and that this was China's underlying intention. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong will visit the Solomon Islands on Friday, her third Pacific trip since being sworn in last month. She previously called the Solomon Islands-China security pact the Australian government's 'biggest foreign policy failure since WWII'. Senator Wong said her trip to New Zealand and the Solomons will reinforce Australia's 'close friendships and cooperation in our region'. The regional agreement has raised concerns among Australia and its allies, which argues regional security should remain in the remit of the 'Pacific family'. Indo-Pacific security remained a key focus on the dialogue with United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin addressing US Indo-Pacific defence policy at the Shangri La security dialogue held in Singapore over the weekend. The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against allowing states to defend a change in immigration law by former President Donald Trump that would impose limits on the amount of immigrants allowed in the country who would rely on government benefits. Republicans sought in the case Arizona v. City and County of San Francisco to uphold a rule by Trump, and rejected by President Joe Biden, that would expand the definition of 'public charge' to deny migrants entry into the country if they would primarily depend on the government for their income. While the rule never took effect, the 6-3 conservative majority Supreme Court bench officially denied this GOP request in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts along with Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch concurring on Wednesday. The Trump-era policy struck down by the high court in a batch of decisions aimed to deny admission to the U.S. from those who would become dependent on public programs such as Medicaid and federal housing assistance not just direct cash benefits. The Public Charge Rule initially was based on assessments that immigrants would become dependent on cash benefits, but the Trump designation change proposed broadening that to include non-cash benefits. The Supreme Court ruled in a batch of opinions released Wednesday that it would not uphold a Trump-era rule that expanded the definition of 'public charge' to deny migrants entry into the country if they would primarily depend on the government for their income and non-cash benefits While the rule never took effect, the 6-3 conservative majority Supreme Court bench officially denied this GOP request in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts along with Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch concurring on Wednesday Trump's expanded definition would apply to anyone likely to rely on those levels of government help for more than 12 months in a three-year period and therefore be denied admission into the country. The proposal was another way to quell migration and decrease the amount of immigrants permitted entry. When the rule was adopted in August 2019, a series of lawsuits were launched, resulting in five separate federal courts blocking immediate enforcement. The Biden administration canceled the rule and said the Justice Department would not defend it in court. Arizona and a dozen other red states attempted to implement the rule, saying the federal government ended the program without following proper administrative steps, including seeking public comment. The Supreme Court dismissed the case without explanation in a batch of six new opinions and leaves these states without any legal ability to defend the Trump rule further restricting the number of immigrants permitted entry. A top judge today blasted Britain's beleaguered justice system as he hit out at the fact he was forced to spare a paedophile jail because of a 'ridiculous' three-year wait. Judge Patrick Thompson could barely hide his frustration as he openly stated 'how this is justice is beyond me' while sentencing a 71-year-old man for possessing indecent images of children at Chester Crown Court. The case of Gary Shields had taken nearly three years to get to court on Tuesday despite him admitting the charges at the time. In the year before the pandemic, the number of cases waiting to be heard by crown courts rose by 23 per cent to 41,045. After coronavirus it now stands at more than 57,000. For less serious offences due to go before magistrates, the number of outstanding cases stands at 364,000. Judge Thompson branded the delays 'absolutely farcical' and said it made his job 'impossible'. He said: 'There have been 27 cases of this nature that have taken more than two years to reach the court. 'It's absolutely farcical and it makes the judge's job impossible. 'It also leads to criticism from the public when these sentences are published in the press - we get told that judges are complicit, that they are "nonces" and all this.' Judge Thompson said it was 'quite right' for the public to expect prison for such defendants but the delay in bringing the matter to court meant Shields' time behind bars would be suspended. Judge Patrick Thompson, pictured, could barely hide his frustration as he openly stated 'how this is justice is beyond me' while sentencing a 71-year-old man for possessing indecent images of children at Chester Crown Court Gary Shields, 71, of Wythenshawe, Manchester, was arrested by police on July 9, 2019 and was found to have downloaded more than 1,000 indecent images. He admitted to the charge but still waited three years to face punishment. Pictured: Chester Crown Court The court heard Shields, of Wythenshawe, Manchester, was arrested by police on July 9, 2019 and was found to have downloaded more than 1,000 indecent images. But police hadn't completed a schedule to analyse the exact nature of what the images were, although 148 of them were classed as category A - the most serious. Judge Thompson added: 'We've waiting three years and we still don't know how bad these images are. How this is justice is beyond me. 'The delays have been ridiculous and no fault of the defendant, who would have gone to prison if this matter had come to court earlier. 'Quite rightly, that's what the public expects in cases like this involving deplorable images. 'There is a list of poor excuses from the police, but you will be the beneficiary of that.' Shields was handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. The pensioner admitted looking at the images for around two years, telling officers he was 'fascinated' but at the same time 'disgusted' by them. In the year before the pandemic, the number of cases waiting to be heard by crown courts rose by 23 per cent to 41,045. After coronavirus it now stands at more than 57,000. [File image] Sentencing, Judge Thompson said: 'Quite what on earth was going on in your mind is beyond me. 'You should hang your head in shame. 'These children are only being abused because men like you have a perverse sexual interest in viewing the images. 'Hopefully you will realise how disgusting and reprehensible your behaviour has been.' Prisons could run out of space as the backlog is worked through, especially if as expected the drive to recruit 20,000 police officers leads to more arrests, a Commons public accounts committee report said. The figures come as some rape victims are waiting up to four years for justice, and burglary cases are taking more than two years to come to court. Britons are starkly divided over the Government's plan to send migrants to Rwanda, a new poll has revealed. The survey conducted for ex-prime minister Tony Blair's thinktank showed how a majority of Conservative voters and Brexit supporters are in favour of the 120m scheme. But a majority of Labour voters and Remainers are opposed to ministers' attempt to deport asylum seekers to Africa. The results of the poll, undertaken by JL Partners, were revealed after Home Secretary Priti Patel was thwarted in her efforts to get the Rwanda scheme up and running last night. The European Court of Human Rights intervened at the eleventh hour on Tuesday to prevent the first flight to the African nation from taking off. The survey found, among all those asked, the Government's Rwanda policy was supported by 35 per cent, with 45 per cent opposed. More than one in 10 (12 per cent) were neutral on the issue, while eight per cent said they did not know whether they supported or opposed the policy. A majority of Conservative voters support the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda - but most Labour voters are opposed Brexit supporters are in favour of the 120m scheme, but those who wanted the UK to remain in the EU do not support the policy Stark differences in support for the scheme were revealed when respondents were divided by their voting intentions and their views on Brexit. Among Conservative voters, 71 per cent supported the Rwanda scheme and 11 per cent were opposed. But this was reversed among Labour voters, with only 15 per cent in support and 66 per cent opposed. The same division was also found among Leave and Remain supporters. Among those who backed Brexit, more than half (57 per cent) supported sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, with 23 per cent opposed. And, among those who wanted the UK to stay in the EU, less than one-fifth (18 per cent) supported the migration policy, with almost two-thirds (65 per cent) opposed. Ms Patel has touted her Rwanda scheme as a means of cracking down on migrants entering Britain via perilous journeys across the Channel. The Home Secretary hopes the prospect of being sent to Rwanda to have asylum claims processed will deter many from attempting to arrive in Britain in the first place. The JL Partners poll revealed what Britons wanted from an asylum system, with 65 per cent backing 'fairness' compared with 27 per cent wanting 'deterrence' in a forced choice. Half (50 per cent) believed the Rwanda scheme is 'unworkable', with 36 per cent thinking it is 'sensible'. Little more than a third (35 per cent) thought it was likely to deter people from crossing the Channel, while 52 per cent thought it was not likely to deter people. The survey found, among all those asked, the Government's Rwanda policy was supported by 35 per cent, with 45 per cent opposed Half (50 per cent) believed the Rwanda scheme is 'unworkable', with 36 per cent thinking it is 'sensible' The JL Partners poll revealed what Britons wanted from an asylum system, with 65 per cent backing 'fairness' compared with 27 per cent wanting 'deterrence' Home Secretary Priti Patel has touted her Rwanda scheme as a means of cracking down on migrants entering Britain via perilous journeys across the Channel When respondents were asked to rank their support for a series of asylum policies, the most popular was the return of failed asylum seekers to EU countries (77 per cent). There was also high support (61 per cent) for allowing asylum claims to be made from outside the UK, such as at British embassies abroad. Less than a fifth (17 per cent) supported making it illegal for asylum seekers to claim asylum outside the UK, even if they have a valid claim - which is the Government's current policy. A majority were in favour of introducing a form of digital identification to make it harder for asylum seekers whose claims had been rejected to work and settle, with 55 per cent in favour and 28 per cent opposed. Harvey Redgrave, a senior policy adviser at the Tony Blair Institute, said: 'These findings demonstrate that there is a market for an approach on asylum that combines the principles of control and compassion, rather than forcing people to choose between one or the other. 'And that most of all, the public want policies which will work, rather than those which sound tough but subsequently unravel.' The UK has had an 'obsession' with all pupils going to university for decades, the further education minister has said. Speaking to the Commons' education select committee, Michelle Donelan said that instead of pushing all pupils to university and believing that it is the answer to everything, the state ought to base their further education advice on the individual. 'The state shouldn't be telling people what's best for their lives, it should be opening the doors, creating those opportunities,' she said. The further education minister added that both apprenticeships and degrees are both 'high-quality' options and that the government wants pupils to start being more informed about choices, other than university, which is available to them. In response to The Times Education Commission's suggestion of a broader vocational and academic 'British baccalaureate' to replace A-levels, Ms Donelan said: 'What we really need to be careful of is that we don't confuse things further. 'As a Government, what we're trying to do is simplify the options available so that students and also employers know exactly what qualifications mean, the level that they're at, the value that they can bring to the workplace.' The minister, who is an MP for Chippenham, also revealed that she has been 'very clear' it is unacceptable for universities not to return to pre-pandemic in-person teaching. The UK has had an 'obsession' with all pupils going to university for decades, further education minister Michelle Donelan (pictured in April at a Cabinet meeting at Downing Street) has said at the Commons' education select committee She said she has be personally calling vice-chancellors after receiving complaints from students and parents. Only a 'stubborn minority' are refusing to return to face-to-face teaching, she said, branding their stance 'illogical'. Ms Donelan commented on social mobility adviser Katharine Birbalsingh's statement last week that society should develop a broader understanding of social mobility than the rags-to-riches tale of working class pupils getting into Oxbridge. Tsar Ms Birbalsingh criticised Britain's obsession with a 'Dick Whittington model' of seeing people rise from poverty to great riches in a generation, saying some people should set their sights lower. She believes policy makers have been too preoccupied with 'the person who is born into a family in social housing and becomes a banker or CEO'. It has meant creating an 'elite pathway for the few' rather than creating a broader system that allows more people not suited for higher education to improve their lives, but in 'smaller steps'. Miss Birbalsingh, who chairs the Social Mobility Commission, said modest achievements such as a 'postman's son becoming a branch manager' should also receive attention. Minister Donelan said of the tsar's comments: 'She was saying there is no one definition of social mobility in terms of outcome; so if you get into Oxbridge and you're the first in your family to do it that's an absolutely incredible achievement and everybody should be reaching for the stars and going after their goals. 'Equally, if you're the first in your family to go and get an apprenticeship, that's just as good, and so I think she was trying to say, "Let's not say one form of social mobility is better than another," because actually what it's about is people achieving, progressing in life, succeeding in their own personal goals.' Ms Donelan commented on social mobility adviser Katharine Birbalsingh's statement last week that society should develop a broader understanding of social mobility than the rags-to-riches tale of working class pupils getting into Oxbridge. Oxford University is pictured (file photo) Ms Donelan also said that the government is tackling the issue of student complaints in university 'head on' through 'boots on the ground' investigations by the Office for Students. There have been record levels of complaints from students, with 2,763 in The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education's annual report in May. She said sometimes the complaints about teaching concerned one 'rogue faculty' rather than the whole institution. Ms Donelan also told of how policies such as minimum entry requirements for student loans - with a proposed threshold of two Es at A-level or a pass in English and Maths GCSE - would prevent 'lazy social mobility' where pupils are pushed on to university courses they are not academically ready for. A Virginia judge has removed the woke Loudon County's District Attorney's office from a burglary case after a prosecutor downplayed a serial burglar's criminal history. Loudon County Circuit Court Judge James Plowman ruled on Friday that the county's Commonwealth's Attorney's Office must be removed from the serial burglary case for 'deliberately misleading the Court and the public.' 'The Commonwealth is deliberately misleading the Court and the public in an effort to "sell" the plea agreement for some reason that has yet to be explained,' Plowman wrote in his decision removing the office - led by Democrat Buta Biberaj - from prosecuting the case against Kevin Enrique Valle. Valle, 19, is accused of engaging in a 'possible 12 burglary crime spree spanning four counties over 10 days,' and is charged with three misdemeanors for destruction of property and false identification, as well as two felony burglary counts. But Plowman said Michele Burton - a prosecutor for the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office - offered Valle a six-month plea deal by downplaying his previous criminal history and not including other burglary charges lodged against him. He claims the plea deal wrongfully stated that the crimes all occurred within a matter of hours last year, rather than 10 days. Loudon County Circuit Court Judge James Plowman removed the county's Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, led by Democrat Buta Biberaj, right, from a burglary case Plowman argued that an attorney for the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office downplayed Kevin Enrique Valle's criminal history to offer him a plea deal in a serial burglary case Plowman also pointed out that Valle has previously pleaded guilty to three other felonies, had other pending criminal charges as well as a juvenile record. Court records obtained by DailyMail.com show he has more than 40 cases against him in various counties throughout Virginia, including for grand larceny, burglary, and for carrying a concealed weapon 'Biberaj and the Loudon County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office is hereby REMOVED AND DISQUALIFIED from further prosecution as counsel of record in this matter,' he concluded. Still, Biberaj insists that her office was acting properly and has filed petitions to the State Supreme Court asking for the order to be annulled and preventing the court from removing the office from the case, according to WJLA. In the meantime, the state's Republican Attorney General has announced his office is ready to step in to prosecute the case, claiming the court has 'rightfully lost confidence' in Biberaj and her office. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares sent a letter to judicial officials on Monday saying his office is prepared to step in and prosecute the case The many charges against 19-year-old Kevin Enrique Valle For offenses on May 14, 2021: 13 counts of entering a structure to commit assault and battery Two counts of grand larceny greater than or equal to $1,000 One count of petit larceny less than $1,000 not from a person Three counts of grand larceny Two counts of petit larceny Two counts of destruction of property or a monument For offenses on May 18, 2021: Nine counts of entering a structure to commit assault and battery Five counts of destruction of property with intent to steal more than $1,000 Two counts of destruction of property or a monument Two counts of falsely identifying himself to law enforcement One count of receipt of stolen firearm to aid in concealing a firearm One count of petit larceny One count of grand larceny greater than or equal to $1,000 not from a person For offenses on August 11, 2021: One count of failure to appear in court Advertisement In his decision, Plowman - who previously served as the Loudon Commonwealth Attorney before Biberaj's election in 2019 - said the faulty plea deal proved that Biberaj was incapable of prosecuting the case 'consistent with professional standards. Plowman also recused himself from the case 'unless the parties agree otherwise,' and ordered the Fauquier Commonwealth's Attorney's Office to prosecute the case against Valle. In the aftermath, Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares sent a letter to the chief judge of the 20th Judicial Circuit on Monday saying the court has 'rightfully lost confidence' in Biberaj and her office. He wrote that his office is now ready to assist - and even prosecute - the case 'considering this unprecedented development.' 'Please know that my office stands at the ready to ensure that the victims of these serious crimes receive justice, and that the perpetrator is held accountable, thereby ensuring that the citizens of Virginia feel safe in their homes.' But on Tuesday, Biberaj hit back at Miyares in a news conference as she defended her office's decision to offer Valle a plea deal. She claimed that Plowman does not actually have the authority to remove the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office from the case, and told Miyares to 'stay in your lane.' 'This is a specific message to Attorney General Jason Miyares, "Stay in your lane,"' Biberaj said. 'Your lane is in Richmond. Your lane is being the attorney general of Virginia. You are not the elected council attorney and definitely nor for Loudon County.' Biberaj went on to tout her record in office, and said: 'Politicizing this 19-year-old boy's case is unfortunate and a horrible reflection of the Attorney General's Office.' Valle was arrested on May 18, 2021 following a series of burglaries four days before at Nokesville Superette, Comics and Gaming, Inc. and the Glass City Tobacco Store. He was charged at the time with three counts of burglary, three counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, two counts of grand larceny and one count of petit larceny. In each of the cases, Inside NOVA reports, large rocks were thrown through glass doors and cash registers were stolen. The total cash value was around $2,900, according to WJLA. Court records obtained by DailyMail.com also show he has more than 40 cases against him in various counties throughout Virginia. But for the crimes in Loudon County, Biberaj said, Valle could have been sentenced to a maximum of seven months in prison - just one more than what the plea deal offered. 'Our office agreed to one month shy of that, so that we can acknowledge the fact that when he was arrested, he's acknowledged and was fully accountable for what his actions were,' she said at the news conference. 'There's a lot to be said by somebody who accepts accountability, understands that what they did is wrong, and moves forward to also assist law enforcement in the prosecution of these matters.' She also claimed that the juvenile crimes he committed were 'some knucklehead decisions,' and said he was caught up in the wrong crowd. Biberaj - who has received $861,039 from George Soros' Super PAC in 2019 - has previously faced scrutiny for her handling of a case involving a father who accused a 15-year-old 'boy in a skirt' of raping his daughter in high school Last June, Scott Smith was dragged out of a Loudoun County school board meeting after listening to the school board justify its transgender bathroom policies. He says he was trying to tell the room that his daughter had been raped by a boy 'wearing a skirt' in the girls' bathroom just weeks earlier and that the school ignored it Smith was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. He said he was trying to contain himself after listening to school board staff say they'd never had a report of a sexual assault in a bathroom, when that is what his daughter reported weeks earlier Biberaj, who has received $861,039 from George Soros' Super PAC in 2019, has previously come under fire for her handling of a case in which a father claimed a transgender student raped his daughter. Scott Smith was pictured being arrested and dragged out of a heated meeting school board meeting with his torso exposed in Leesburg, Virginia after he protested its proposed transgender policies. Smith was trying to tell the room that his 15 year-old daughter had been raped by a boy wearing a skirt in the girls' bathroom at Stone Bridge High School only weeks earlier. The boy, who is also 15, was then moved to Broad Run High School with the support of Biberaj, where he is said to have molested another student. The unnamed youngster is currently in juvenile detention awaiting his next court appearance. Biberaj later pushed to have Smith jailed for his outburst on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, at the same time she defended moving the 15-year-old student to another school. Smith was then given a suspended sentenced of 10 days in jail, contingent on a year of good behavior, while the student was charged with two counts of forcible sodomy. The teen was fitted with an ankle monitor and transferred to another school where he was later accused of sexual assault against another female student. Still, Biberaj defended the decision to move the student to a different school, stressing the choice was made based on the information at the time and the view that it was unlikely the teen would re-offend. 'We believed based on the facts that he had no history of having done this prior to this offense that was alleged,' said Biberaj. 'I would ask this: for people to be patient because as we know what sometimes is reported initially is not then what the end result of all the facts are,' Biberaj said to Fox 5. She made no further comment on what those additional facts are. Eventually, though, the 15-year-old boy was found guilty of the assault on October 25, when a judge 'substantiated' charges of forcible sodomy and forcible fellatio, the juvenile equivalent of a conviction. But that was not the end of Biberaj's problems. FOX News reports that she previously came under fire for how she runs the office, with one former prosecutor saying employees were 'pushed to bond people out in domestic violence cases.' And earlier in the year, the chair of the Loudon County Board of Supervisors voiced outrage with Biberaj after FOX 5 reported she hired a convicted sex offender as a paralegal. A Francis Bacon painting is set to be auctioned off later this month, The portrait of Lucian Freud is expected to go for over 35 million on June 29 during a live-streamed auction. The painting called Study for Portrait of Lucian Freud has been kept in a private European collection for 40 years and not been seen in public since 1965. Francis Bacon's three-paneled painting Three Studies Of Lucian Freud became the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction when Roman Abramovich paid 43 million for Bacon's triptych, 1976 in 2008. Study for Portrait of Lucian Freud by Francis Bacon originally appeared as a triptych Mutual friend John Deakin's black and white photographs became Bacon's primary source for his frequent paintings of Freud throughout their 40 year friendship It was painted by Francis Bacon in 1964 based on a photograph taken by John Deakin of Lucien Freud. THE LIFE OF FRANCIS BACON Bacon (1909-1992) was born in Dublin to English parents and moved to London in 1926. Although he had no formal training as an artist, he started to exhibit his work in the 1930s and a decade later his angst-ridden paintings of twisted and mutated forms became a sensation in the artistic community. He died of a heart attack in Madrid in 1992. Today, his work is among the most popular of 20th-century art at auction. Advertisement On the friendship, Sothebys said: 'It is hard to think of two greater artists whose lives and works are so interwoven into the fabric of our consciousness than Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.' Sotheby's British Art: The Jubilee Auction marquee auction is selling off the piece which is the central panel of a large-scale triptych. The piece was last on show during a touring exhibition to Hamburg, Stockholm and Dublin on its own six decades ago. Before the Study for Portrait of Lucian Freud was made the pair had a 20 year strong friendship that ended in the mid-1980s. Over their 40 year friendship both artists painted each other many times. Freud liked to paint from real-life and Bacon preferred to work from photographs. Portrait Of Francis Bacon was spirited out of Berlin's National Gallery 30 years ago Pictured: Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud For Study for Portrait of Lucian Freud, Bacon worked from a photo of Freud sitting on a bed with his fists clenched, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up above his elbows. John Deakin's black and white photographs became Bacon's main source when he painted Freud frequently throughout the 1960s. Sotheby's said Francis Bacon kept the photographs with him for the rest of his life, but they were found torn, crumpled and splattered with paint after he died in 1992. Expensive: Francis Bacon's three-paneled painting Three Studies Of Lucian Freud, pictured, became the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction when it sold for $142.4 million at Christie's Easel does it: Triptych 1976, by Francis Bacon (1909-1992), which was bought by Roman Abramovich in 2008 Senior director of contemporary art at Sotheby's, Tom Eddison, said: 'In this one single portrait we bear witness to a masterpiece, illuminating the deep and complex relationship between two titans of the 20th century. 'At the same time both muses and critics for each other, it was their friendship, respect, rivalry and deep infatuation with one another which ultimately fuelled their unequivocal artistic talents. 'Executed with painterly bravura at the height of Bacon's acclaim, here we see a portrait that pulsates with an intensity, a tension that mirrors the emotions which bonded these two sparring partners together for over four decades. 'Now, having remained completely unseen to the public for 57 years, this remarkable portrait will return to London as the star highlight of the summer auction season.' Former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon cheered MAGA election victories and blasted the House Jan. 6th committee on the steps of a federal courthouse Wednesday while his lawyers argued inside to try to dismiss a contempt charge that could land him in jail. Bannon took a dig at the House panel, which announced yesterday it had cancelled a scheduled hearing on Wednesday which was to focus on a clash inside the Trump Justice Department. The next hearing will be Thursday after the unexplained delay. 'Look, I want to appreciate the J6 committee canceling today. You know why? Their ratings stink and they can't compete with the trial of Bannon,' he quipped. 'That's why they canceled. You know who says that? The people in the Rio Grande Valley, Hispanic Americans, who blew out the Democratic party last night,' he said. Bannon's lawyers were in court to ask a judge to dismiss a federal indictment charging him with criminal contempt He was representing Republican Mayra Flores' victory in a special election to fill a seat long held by Democrats. 'This seat has been a democratic seat since Reconstruction since the Civil War, lost last night by the Democratic Party,' he said. About 20 million people watched the panel's prime time hearing Thursday, according to Nielsen ratings, with another 10 million watching Monday's daytime hearing. The 20 million figure equaled the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearings while he was being accused of assault by Christine Blasey Ford, and surpassed daytime Trump impeachment hearings. Soon after Bannon issued his defiant statement, Judge Carl Nichols of the DC District Court rejected his lawyer's plea to dismiss the case. The court cannot conclude as a matter of law" that the committee was improperly constituted, nor that Bannon is correct to argue that this subpoena wasn't properly cut and the indictment is invalid, Nichols said Wednesday, turning back Bannon's claims on immunity and privilege. 'The court cannot conclude as a matter of law that the committee was invalidly constituted,' he said, rejecting Bannon's legal case against the validity of the committee itself, which was created by the Democratic majority. The House January 6th Committee's Monday hearing drew about 10 million viewers. Bannon blasted the panel and predicted a 100-seat GOP gain in the House Bannon faces up to a year in jail if convicted on contempt charges for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena Bannon attacked the 'J6 committee,' referencing the January 6 committee where Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is vice chair The last hearing featured former Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien saying he was part of 'team normal' and didn't believe Trump's fraud claims The committee released video of what it described as a 'surveillance tour' conducted by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R) of Georgia Republican Mayra Flores (pictured hugging a supporter in San Benito, Texas, on Tuesday before the results were announced) made history last night by becoming the first Mexican-born congresswoman to serve in the House after beating a Democrat in a primary election in Texas Bannon also praised the win of MAGA candidate Jim Marchant in the Nevada Secretary of State race. He sued after his own loss in another race in 2020 despite being down by 5 per cent of the vote, and also denied Joe Biden's victory over Trump that year. A win in November would give him control of an office with oversight of fair enforcement of elections. 'He had a blowout win in the primary. MAGA is on the march the J6 committee is totally irrelevant,' Bannon said. He also responded to a reporter's question about whether he saw the U.S. being an 'autocratic-type MAGA ruled government,' and said the gains would be done democratically. 'We're going to win at the ballot box. We're going to have a blowout. We're gonna have a 100 seat pickup [in the House] this November,' he said. 'We believe in the ballot box. We believe in fair and free and transparent elections. And we're winning everywhere,' he said. A protester held up a sign that said 'FAILED COUP' while Bannon spoke. His attacks on the committee came days after it featured testimony from former top Trump officials saying his claims of election fraud were false. That included former Attorney General Bill Barr testifying he told Trump the claims were 'bull****' and pushback from his former campaign manager Bill Stepien. Former Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller testified that former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who touted fraud claims and pushed Trump to declare victory, was 'intoxicated' at an election night event. Giuliani denied the charge. Bannon's lawyers were in court to ask a judge to dismiss a federal indictment charging him with criminal contempt. In the race Bannon highlighted, Republican Mayra Flores became the first Mexican-born congresswoman elected to the House after she beat a Democrat in a special election in Texas. She won the special election to finish the term of former Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela, who resigned this year to become a lobbyist. Flores, a GOP organizer who is the daughter of migrant workers and a respiratory care practitioner, will hold the seat for several months before the district is redrawn to be more favorable to Democrats. But her victory in the heavily Hispanic Rio Grand Valley is an omin President Biden's Energy Department has proposed a new rule that would require homeowners looking to buy a new furnace to install a 95 percent energy-efficient one within the next seven years. The new rule would require that gas-burning residential furnaces be condensing gas furnaces, which reuse gas and water vapor that normal noncondensing furnaces vent into the atmosphere. It would require that all gas-burning furnaces on the market to be switched over by 2029. The rule is now open for public comment on the Federal Register for the next 60 days before its final consideration. Condensing furnaces cost about $350 more than noncondensing furnaces, according to a 2017 public comment from the American Gas Association when President Obama tried to implement a similar rule. Condensing models also cost about $1,500 to $2,200 to install. The current national average cost to replace a furnace, including materials and labor, is $4,671, according to HomeAdvisor. The Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that the new furnaces will save households about $60 per year, a number that totals $30.3 billion over the next 30 years. It also estimated that the rule would eliminate more than 360 million metric tons of carbon emissions. President Biden's Energy Department has proposed a new rule that would require homeowners looking to buy a new furnace to install a 95 percent energy-efficient one within the next seven years 'By updating energy standards for many carbon-emitting appliances, such as home furnaces, the Biden Administration is working to save consumers money,' Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. Older furnaces currently have a fuel efficiency rate of around 56 percent, according to DOE. The new rule would be the first significant update to furnace efficiency standards in decades. The Obama-era proposal would have required furnaces to be 92 percent efficient, though the rule never came to fruition. One of former President Trump's last moves in office was a January 2021 rule requiring energy efficiency standards to allow noncondensing furnaces to stay on the market. The new rule comes after on Tuesday Granholm suggested electric cars were a solution to sky-high gas prices. 'If you filled up your EV [electric vehicle] and you filled up your gas tank with gasoline, you would save $60 per fill-up by going electric rather than using gasoline but it's a very compelling case, but again, we want to bring down the price at the point of purchase,' Granholm, the former governor of Michigan, said. Since coming to office, Biden has revived a number of Obama-era regulations undone by Trump, such as banning free-flowing shower heads or quick-washing dishwashers. Homeowners also have the option to purchase electric furnaces, which are cheaper than condensing furnaces but more expensive than noncondensing. Energy experts speculate that the move could prompt a mass of homeowners to do just that. But the climate change benefits of electric furnaces are minimal when the electricity that powers them often comes from natural gas anyways. Liberal cities like New York and Berkeley have banned gas hookups entirely in new construction, arguing that direct consumer burning of natural gas is bad for the environment. The American Gas Association said it is reviewing the new rule and will 'vigorously object' if it hurts the natural gas industry. 'AGA will thoroughly examine every aspect of this proposed rule and if it is another attempt to put the natural gas industry out of business, we will vigorously object,' AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert said in a statement. 'At this moment, when natural gas is imperative for our country's and the world's stability, placing enormous costs on everyday Americans is wrong-headed at best.' Harbert also said that older homes, especially those in lower-income areas, may not be able to implement the more expensive venting requirements needed for a condensing furnace. Amid sky-high fuel and energy prices, the president has been forced to relent his attack on the oil and gas industry and refocus his efforts on promoting energy-efficient heating and electricity. A worker installs a new Carrier natural gas furnace at a residential home in Spanish Fork, Utah, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021 At the risk of appearing weak on China, Biden last week paused the tariffs on solar panels. He also invoked the Defense Production Act to speed up domestic manufacturing of heat pumps, an action that would still require funding from Congress to have any tangible effect. The White House is planning to meet with lawmakers this week to discuss two bills that would help fund domestic heat pump manufacturing, according to CNN. The DPA authorization also directs funding to ramp up the domestic production of solar panels, green hydrogen technology, building insulation and grid components like transformers. Dokdo / gettyimagesbank By Kang Seung-woo The websites of some foreign embassies based in Seoul have been using maps that fail to identify Dokdo, an activist professor said, Wednesday. Dokdo is Korea's easternmost islets that Japan has repeatedly claimed is part of its territory. Seo Kyoung-duk President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced he was sending another one billion dollars in military support to Ukraine, after its leaders pleaded for more ammunition to help fight off the Russian invasion. The latest package will include anti-ship missile systems, artillery rockets, and rounds for howitzers, people familiar with the packages said. It means the U.S. has now delivered more than $5.5 billion of military support since Russia invaded more than 110 days ago. It comes after the war entered a new phase, with Ukrainian officers warning they were struggling to match Russia shell for shell in a long-range war of rocket strikes and artillery battles. 'I informed President Zelensky that the United States is providing another $1 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, including additional artillery and coastal defense weapons, as well as ammunition for the artillery and advanced rocket systems that the Ukrainians need to support their defensive operations in the Donbas,' he said in a statement. The Pentagon said the last packages include two Harpoon coastal defense systems, 18 howitzers, 36,000 rounds for them, artillery rockets, secure radios and money for training. President Joe Biden spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodomyr Zelensky for 41 minutes on Wednesday morning. Afterwards, Biden announced another $1 billion in military aid The latest package includes more artillery for US-supplied howitzers, like the 155mm turreted self-propelled M109 seen here being driven by Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk region The war has become a series of long-range rocket and artillery exchanges, but Ukrainian officers warn they have far fewer shells than Russia What's in the Biden administration's latest $1 billion package of military assistance for Ukraine? The latest assistance is drawn from two packages - $350 million of aid from Pentagon stocks plus $650 million in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds. According to the Pentagon, the aid includes: 18 155mm Howitzers; 36,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition; 18 Tactical Vehicles to tow 155mm Howitzers; Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems; Four Tactical Vehicles to recover equipment; Two Harpoon coastal defense systems; Thousands of secure radios; Thousands of Night Vision devices, thermal sights, and other optics; Funding for training, maintenance, sustainment, transportation, and administrative costs. Advertisement The latest weapons packages for Ukraine includes 18 howitzers, 36,000 rounds of ammunition for them, two Harpoon coastal defense systems, artillery rockets, secure radios, thousands of night vision devices and funding for training, the Pentagon said. Some will be drawn from Pentagon stockpiles, while another package will be paid for by the congressional Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The White House said the two presidents spoke for 41 minutes on Wednesday morning. 'We also remain committed to supporting the Ukrainian people whose lives have been ripped apart by this war,' said Biden 'Today, I am also announcing an additional $225 million in humanitarian assistance to help people inside Ukraine, including by supplying safe drinking water, critical medical supplies and health care, food, shelter, and cash for families to purchase essential items.' Western officials say the war has reached a critical stage that could determine the eventual outcome Russia refocused its efforts in eastern Ukraine after its invading forces were pushed back from the capital Kyiv. Moscow has amassed a significant artillery advantage around key cities in eastern Ukraine. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin convened a meeting of 45 nations at NATO headquarters in Brussels. 'Ukraine is facing a pivotal moment on the battlefield,' he told them. 'We're seeing what President Zelensky warned us about: after failing to take Kyiv and after reassessing its combat aims, Russia has shifted its focus to the Donbas.' In particular, Ukrainian forces are under immense pressure in the Luhansk region of Donbas, leading a senior American official to warn that Russia could take control within weeks. This week Emmanuel Macron told Ukraine to negotiate with Vladimir Putin in order to bring about an end to the war. Austin said other nations had promised more weapons. The United Kingdom and Germany have offered long-range artillery rockets and ammunition, while Slovakia is promising helicopters, and a number of countries are ready to supply more artillery, he said. 'We cant afford to let up, and we cant lose steam,' said Austin Ukrainian artillerymen prepare to fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher near Izyum, south of Kharkiv, on June 11, 2022 amid Russian invasion of Ukraine The fighting in Ukraine has been relentless since late February when Putin's army advanced. Above, conflict on February 27 in Kharkiv, where the two US fighters were captured this week Putin's icy grip on Arctic 'battleground of the future': West urged to 'wake up' to Russian threat as Moscow builds new military bases, races to extract natural resources worth $30trillion and exploit new shipping routes with China's help ByChris Pleasance for MailOnline The West has been told to 'wake up' to Russia's growing plot to weaponize and monetise the Arctic, turning the once pristine and peaceful polar region into the 'battleground of the future.' For years Vladimir Putin has been building airbases, missile launch pads, radar stations and naval yards north of the Artic Circle - but the region is about to take on renewed importance after Russia was hammered by Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, which also trashed its reputation as Europe's second-most powerful army. The High North is perhaps the one region where Russia can lay claim to being the military superpower, a new report from the Civitas think-tank argues, a fact the Kremlin is likely to exploit as it seeks to plunder an estimated $30trillion of natural resources from the frozen earth and open up new trading routes exposed by melting sea ice. Putin, cash-strapped due to sanctions, is almost certain to lean on China for money to achieve his vision - offering Beijing a back-door into a region it has long plotted to control but where it has no territorial claim. Sitting together atop the world, the pair could menace the West across three continents and in its two largest oceans. The UK is now being urged to reach out to allies with rival claims to the region - the US, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Iceland - to form a new CAUKUS alliance similar to the AUKUS deal with Australia, deploying military might including nuclear submarines into the Article Circle as a show of strength to both Beijing and Moscow. Rob Clark, a soldier-turned-military expert who authored the report, said: 'We need to wake up to the threat posed by Russian expansion in the Arctic while all eyes are on Ukraine, Russia is testing new-age nuclear subs and hypersonic missiles in the Arctic and building up its presence in the region. Russia has been building new military bases while opening gas and oil fields across the Arctic, many of them along the North-East Passage - a valuable trading route that is opening up due to melting ice which Putin hopes he will be able to monetise in the years to come, along with $30trillion in natural resources Russia's submarine base at Gadzhivevo has been expanded to include new storage facilities for Poseidon nuclear drones and Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles, two of Moscow's most cutting-edge weapons systems 'Vladimir Putin has already told his Generals that the Arctic is "the concentration of practically all national security" for Russia. By building up a massive military arsenal in the Arctic the Russians can control new so called polar routes to dominate global trade with a Russian ensign. 'Russian energy co-operation with China is well advanced and the potentially massive natural mineral reserves worth up to $30 trillion leave open the door to Vladimir Putin building up Russian wealth with his friends in Beijing while closing down new global trade routes. 'NATO needs to protect its northern flank and the British need to put an Ambassador in the Arctic to keep a close eye on Russian activity.' Russia's presence in the High North is nothing new. Prized by both the Russian Empire and Soviets for its rich natural resources, Josef Stalin once spoke of the 'Red Arctic' and built dozens of military bases there. But interested waned as the Soviet Union crumbled, and in 1987 Mikhail Gorbachev declared it should be a 'zone of peace' - signalling an end to military expansion there and the start of cooperation with the West over scientific research projects. Putin has other ideas. Mirroring the Soviets and Imperialists who went before him - as he so often does - he declared the region to be the 'concentration of practically all aspects of national security military, political, economic, technological, environmental [and] resources' at a summit in 2014. Since then, he has reopened some 50 Soviet-era Arctic bases including airfields, radar stations, cargo ports, missile launch pads and naval yards. Others have been expanded, including at least 18 airfields in the Kola Peninsula which sits around 200 miles east of Finland and houses most of Russia's military forces in the region: The headquarters of its Northern Sea Fleet, a large portion of its nuclear forces including bombers and missiles, and supply stations for bases further north. Some have been adapted to house Moscow's state-of-the-art military technology. The Plesetsk Cosmodrome was used last year for a test-launch of Russia's latest satellite-killer missile and was recently used to launch Sarmat-2, its latest nuclear missile capable of hitting any country on the planet. Other bases have been adapted to house new hypersonic Tsirkon cruise missiles, and submarine ports in the Kola Peninsula are though to play host to Poseidon nuclear drones, reports by the Centre for International and Strategic Studies found. An new airbase on Wragnel Island, near Alaska, is equipped with a sophisticated radar array with US analysts trying to work out exactly what it has been tasked with spying on Kotelny Island military base has been equipped with launch pads for missile vehicles - either air defences or longer-range rockets as Russia relocates more of its nuclear forces further north A new military base on Alexandra Land marks Russia's closest base to the North Pole, and features an landing strip built on sea ice along with missile batteries and barracks A view of the "Arctic Trefoil", or three-lobed leaf, military base on the island of Alexandra Land, which is part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago A view of buildings at Russia's northern military base on Kotelny island, deep inside the Artic Circle The drones are huge - 65ft long and designed to be fired from an even larger submarine that has yet to be finished - that can pilot themselves to a target and detonate with a force of two megatons, thousands of times the size of the bomb that levelled Hiroshima, which is designed to inundate nearby coasts with a radioactive wave. Dozens of new bases have also been built, including at least five major airfields along what is known as the North-East Passage - a shipping route connecting Europe with Asia that is becoming increasingly accessible due to rising global temperatures weakening sea ice that has made it impassible in the past. Russia hopes to turn this into a viable and lucrative alternative to current shipping lanes that run either around the Africa's Cape of Good Hope and across the Indian Ocean, or through the Mediterranean and around the Arabian Peninsula via the Suez. Going north would shave around two weeks off even the fastest journeys further south. China is also eager to open up this route, which would allow its trading ships to bypass the Strait of Malacca - a strategic bottleneck bordered by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, which are partnered with the US. Though the route is not yet a common one, Moscow has proved that it does work: In 2009 two German cargo ships sailed from South Korea to Rotterdam using it, escorted by a Russian icebreaker. In anticipation of opening the sea lanes up to more trade, Moscow passed a law in 2013 stating that all icebreakers using the route had to fly the Russian flag - meaning they have to be registered in Russia, and pay fees there. That is due to be followed by laws requiring Russian captains on board ships navigating the passage, levying tolls, and a requirement for all journeys to be preregistered. Such a move could generate billions in revenue - Egypt earned $6.3billion in tolls from the Suez in 2021 - and give the Kremlin power over a large part of world trade. And that is far from the only way Putin hopes to make money from the region. The Arctic's largest asset, by far, lays buried within its frozen soil: An estimated $30billion in natural resources including vast untapped fields of oil, natural gas and rare earth minerals that are key to the manufacture of modern technologies. A leading exam board was slammed today after a GCSE geography paper named the wrong countries on a map of Africa. Teachers were furious after pupils were presented with papers which contained the glaring blunder. One told how some of his pupils were left confused after a map of Africa wrongly identified the Republic of the Congo as Gabon. The west African state was wrongly named and identified with an arrow as part of an extended question about the continents top oil producing countries. One secondary school geography teacher hit out at the Edexcel exam board over the atrocious mistake in the last of three papers which students sat on Tuesday. He told how he feared the error could have an impact on pupils results. He told MailOnline: For a GCSE exam board to set a geography paper that contains the wrong geography is ridiculous. Leading exam board Edexcel was slammed today after a GCSE geography paper wrongly identified Gabon as the Republic of the Congo (pictured), with a teacher describing it as an 'atrocious mistake' To get a map wrong in a geography exam is pretty inexcusable. Its basic stuff. For an examining board to label countries incorrectly and give the wrong information is pretty shocking to say the least. There were students who were confused by it and were thrown by it. It made it harder to answer the question. Thousands of kids across England and Wales sat that paper yesterday. These papers are drawn up by so-called experts. There have been a lot of complaints to the exam board. To get basic stuff like that wrong is unforgivable. The teacher said that he had been in contact with angry heads of department who were considering whether to continue to use the board which is the UK's largest awarding organisation. The teacher said that he had been in contact with angry heads of department who were considering whether to continue to use the board which is the UK's largest awarding organisation. File photo He added: Ive been a teacher for nearly 10 years now and its the first time Ive seen anything as bad as this. People are very annoyed by it. It is such a glaring and shocking mistake to any geographer. We only get to see it after the exam so there is nothing you can do about it but there have been a lot of complaints to the exam board. They have been inundated. A lot of heads of department have said they will be swapping exam boards. Its an atrocious mistake from an exam body setting GCSE papers. They have been rubbish in all three papers this year, but this is by far the worst mistake. Other teachers took to social media to express their anger. Geography teacher Elizabeth Saunders wrote: This is utterly disgraceful! One head of department, who is also an A level examiner, posted a picture of the map on Twitter and wrote: When your geography exam board cant even produce an accurate map of Africa! An apology to the people of Gabon and Republic of the Congo is urgently needed. Truly appalling. In a response to the post Pearson Geography replied: Thank you for your feedback. We apologise for the unintentional error in the labelling of a map in our GCSE geography paper and any confusion caused. Other teachers took to social media to express their anger. Geography teacher Elizabeth Saunders wrote: This is utterly disgraceful! While another said 'Wow... Why did Gabon and the Congo swap? Was this an exam?' We will ensure students are not impacted by awarding marks for references to either country. The error came in the final question of Pearson Edexcels GCSE Geography B paper. The privately-owned company boasts of being the worlds leading learning company and offers academic and vocational qualifications in schools, colleges and work places in the UK and abroad. It says it works with experts and leaders in the education sector to make sure that we maintain high standards across all our qualifications. Pearson Edexcel said in a statement: 'We apologise for the unintentional error in the labelling of a map in our GCSE Geography paper and any confusion caused. 'We will ensure students are not impacted by awarding marks for references to either country.' Ohio police are continuing their search for a 23-year-old woman who left for a Saturday night walk and never returned home. Alicia Kenny, 23, was last seen leaving her grandparents Loveland house where she lives for a stroll at 8pm on June 11. The late night stroll was not unusual according to her mother Marcy Kenny because she loved nature and would walk to parks to draw or write. But the 23-year-old did not return home that night and was last spotted the following morning but investigators say they do not know who spotted her or what direction she was headed. That Sunday morning a delivery driver turned in Kenny's backpack, which contained all her essentials, including her phone, wallet and Bible, over to police. Montgomery police confirmed that the driver turned in the backpack assuming someone had lost it before delivering it to Kenny's home, WLWT.com reported. Kenny, who is 5-foot-1 and 110 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes, disappeared after a Saturday stroll Loveland police listed Kenny as a 'critical' missing person' and said Kenny was last seen wearing a white shirt, dark capris and sandals Another friend posted pictures of her tattoos- including one that read 'In spirit and in truth' with a cross across her forearm and a large tiger tattoo on her left shoulder Her mother Marcy said that is when her family realized she was actually missing because there was no scenario where her 'very religious' daughter would leave behind her backpack containing her Bible. 'All she has is literally the clothes on her back,' Kenny told WCPO.com Without that backpack, she has absolutely nothing. And I honestly... we can't think of any scenario where she would have put the backpack down and walked away willingly.' On Monday Loveland police listed Kenny as a 'critical' missing person in a statement and said Kenny was last seen walking along Loveland Madeira Road in Symmes Township wearing a white shirt, dark capris and sandals. The 23-year-old's mother, who along with church members have walked the area she was last seen in hanging flyers, said that the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations has joined the investigation into her disappearance, collecting a sample of Alicia's DNA. Her mother Marcy said that is when her family realized she was actually missing because there was no scenario where her 'very religious' daughter would leave behind her backpack containing her Bible 'All she has is literally the clothes on her back,' Alicia's mother said through tears. 'Without that backpack, she has absolutely nothing' Ohio police are continuing their search for a 23-year-old woman who left for who left for a Saturday night walk and never returned home 'The investigative team came today to get something that would have her DNA on it. In case she's found, they want to be prepared,' Kenny told WCPO. 'And just the thought of that takes us to a very deep and dark place that we try hard to avoid. 'The storms that hit last night, if she was out there alone ... that's a very painful thought,' the distraught mother added. Kenny's friends have taken to social media to boost awareness and asking for help to find her Friend Laura Messanger asked that people keep an eye out near any bike trails. 'ALICIA LOVES NATURE!!! Anybody who knows her knows she loves nature walks & hikes, she loves being by the river so pls if you are on the bike trails or anything pls keep eyes peeled. Lets bring her home!!!,' she posted on Facebook. Another friend posted pictures of her tattoos- including one that read 'In spirit and in truth' with a cross across her forearm and a large tiger tattoo on her left shoulder- both which would be noticeable if she was wearing a tank top 'She called people asking for a ride, and to our knowledge was never picked up by one of her friends,' one post read. 'Her belongings were found in her backpack which was abandoned and picked up by a UPS driver on their route If you see her, please call 911 immediately.' A social worker who handed a 10-week-old girl back to her parents who allegedly shook her to death admitted to being 'really worried' about the child returning home, a court heard today. Lily-Mai Saint George was just ten weeks old when she died from a serious head injury and had also suffered 18 rib fractures, two fractures in her leg and severe bruising. The baby had been discharged into her parents' care just six days earlier despite the opposition of hospital staff over concerns about the mother's anger problems and her lack of bond with the child, Wood Green Crown Court heard on Wednesday. Haringey social worker Theresa Ferguson attended a discharge planning meeting at Barnet Hospital on January 16, where those in attendance expressed concern, but she claims her manager said social services options were limited at the time. Giving evidence about the meeting, she told Wood Green Crown Court: 'I was really worried about her going home, the hospital was really clear about their concerns. We didn't really have anything about how the parents were with Lily-Mai. 'I was told that, with the management, there had been conversations and there wasn't consideration for a placement at that point and Lily-Mai would be returning home.' Lauren Saint George and Darren Hurrell, both 25, are accused of shaking their ten-week-old daughter to death eight days after she was released into their care despite the objections of hospital staff. The parents both deny murder, manslaughter, causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16 years old. Lily-Mail died at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital on 2 February 2018, after being found unresponsive by her parents at their home in Belmont Road, Haringey, two days earlier. She had been born prematurely in November 2017 and spent the first two months of her life in Barnet Hospital, before she was discharged into her parents' care on 25 January 2018. Lauren Saint George, pictured arriving at court today, and Darren Hurrell, both 25, allegedly shook their ten-week-old daughter to death Darren Hurrell arrives at Wood Green Crown Court, London, where he and Lauren Saint George are charged with the murder of their baby daughter Lily-Mail died at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital on 2 February 2018, after being found unresponsive by her parents at their home in Belmont Road, Haringey, two days earlier A second meeting was scheduled for January 22, to allow for a period of time where both parents could stay at the hospital and be observed with their child. While concerns remained at the second meetings, she told the court Lily-Mai would would be sent home with her parents as options including supervision in a residential unit were not available. She said: 'I can't answer for management, but it wasn't an option at that time.' The court heard that Lily-Mai had been referred to social services three times, including to Enfield, where the couple lived when she was born, and finally with Haringey after they were found housing in the borough. A life just 73 days long: The tragic dates in little Lily-Mai's too-short childhood November 21, 2017 - Lily-Mai is born prematurely and spends the first two months of her life in Barnet Hospital. January 16, 2018 Staff at the hospital Staff hold meetings with the parents when they talk about the care of Lily-Mai January 21, 2018 Another meeting is held where 'concerns about the possibility of neglect' are aired. January 24, 2018 Police are called to a domestic incident at Saint George and Hurrell's flat in Haringey. Social worker Theresa Ferguson is informed and she makes a referral for a 'legal gateway meeting' which was the first step in intervening in Lily-Mai's care. January 25, 2018 Lily-Mail is released into the care of both of her parents, despite medics' concerns. Theresa Ferguson goes on holiday. January 26, 2018 Duty social worker Muriel Caboste visits the flat and decides there are not increased child protection issues. This is despite her noticing the parents were not following the feeding and medication chart that they had been provided with on discharge. January 31, 2018 Theresa Ferguson has returned from holiday and visits them at their flat to discuss the 'legal gateway meeting' and how to safeguard Lily-Mai. Saint George refuses to engage and storms out. Four hours later Saint George rings 999 and says Lily-Mail is seriously ill and she is rushed to hospital. February 2, 2018 Lily-Mail is pronounced dead at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Advertisement Ms Ferguson also told the court she had not 'worked a case like Lily-Mai's' and that she was allocated it as a more senior social worker was working at capacity and another member of the team was too junior. The court heard on Tuesday that Ms told the couple Lily-Mai would have to go into a residential unit around four or five hours before Saint George made a 999 call on the night of January 31 2018. Lauren Saint George - who was described in a report by neonatal sister Deborah Hodge as 'getting angry very easily' - and Hurrell had been homeless for several years and staff had tried to stop them taking Lily-Mai home, believing they were incapable of looking after her, jurors heard. Medics made a total of three referrals to social services expressing concern for Lily-Mai before she was discharged. Staff were horrified when Saint George told them she 'hated' the noises Lily-Mai made and wished she would 'cry instead of groaning'. But when medics told one social worker they were worried the parents would not look after the baby, they said they felt they were not being taken seriously. Midwife Marie Creighton said the council worker had 'sauntered in with a miserable look on her face' and had insisted 'everything was fine'. Midwife Creighton told jurors, in a statement, about the attitude of the social worker in a professionals meeting on 16 January 2018 in which hospital staff discussed safeguarding Lily-Mai in the event of her discharge. 'I remember hersauntering in with a miserable look on her face. 'She said she had been to Lauren and Darren's flat and everything was fine and she didn't understand why she was called into the meeting, 'why are we even discussing her?' 'She displayed a generally disinterested attitude. 'We explained our concerns. The social worker then began to change her attitude.' Ms Creighton could not remember who the social worker was. Saint George and Hurrell arrived halfway through the meeting and the doctor present questioned them about how they would look after Lily-Mai if and when she was discharged, jurors heard. Ms Creighton said: 'I just sat there and realised that they would not cope. Darren Hurrell arrived at Wood Green Crown Court, London, on Tuesday where he and Lauren Saint George are charged with the murder Neonatal sister Deborah Hodge (pictured) confirmed in court that she had written in a report: 'Mum was very open about the fact that she gets angry very easily' 'During this meeting while they were both in the room the smell of their body odour became apparent and became increasingly worse.' Prior to this meeting, Ms Creighton expressed 'grave concerns' about Lily-Mai and the couple's parenting skills, jurors heard. Ms Creighton said she first met Saint George and Hurrell at Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield, north London. 'I did immediately think they came across as a couple who needed extra care,' she told the court in a statement. 'They were both scruffy in appearance.' After this first meeting, the midwife thought Saint George's history 'didn't add up'. 'Alarm bells were ringing in my head,' she said. Saint George attended all of her appointment pre-birth with Hurrell, the court heard. 'Both came across as wanting the baby and seemed happy in the situation,' Ms Creighton said. After Lily-Mai's birth, Ms Creighton alleged that Saint George showed 'little interest' in her baby. On 21 November 2017, four days after Lily-Mai was born, Ms Creighton paid Saint George and Hurrell a visit at Barnet Hospital. 'I told her well done for getting to 31 weeks,' the midwife said. 'I said to her, 'Let's go and see Lily-Mai.' 'Lauren replied something like, 'No I'm having my dinner.' 'Darren then told her dinner could wait and Lauren said, 'Oh alright then come on.' The trio went to see the baby, jurors heard. Ms Creighton continued: 'Lauren however just stood there with her back to the babymoaning about finding housing, money. 'Both myself and Darren told her to look at the baby and she may have glanced at her but I'm not sure.' The midwife said she contacted the special care unit afterwards to enquire about how Saint George was getting on with Lily-Mai. The trial continues. A British father-of-three was left for dead after being attacked and thrown off a cliff by a gang while on holiday in Spain. Steen Nodwell suffered a fractured skull, broken arms, a broken jaw and a shattered cheekbone after he was pursued by a group of men. Loved ones of the 29-year-old, of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, have said he was on holiday with friends in the coastal resort of Salou on Friday night when he was targeted. The attack left him in need of multiple operations and he is now stranded in a Spanish hospital in the nearby city of Tarragon. Details of his ordeal were revealed in a GoFundMe appeal to raise funds for his on-going care. However, his sister's post did not explain the exact circumstances of the attack and did not offer a possible motive. Steen Nodwell, 29, (pictured in hospital in Spain) suffered multiple injuries when he was chased by a gang on holiday in Spain and then thrown off a cliff The father-of-three's injuries include: two broken arms, one of which is a compound fracture, a broken jaw, a fractured eye socket and skull, a shattered cheekbone, internal injuries and more His family are raising money for him so he can have an ambulance drive him back to the UK as he will be unable to fly Steen's medical insurance will only cover the cost of medical surgeries, so the family have started to raise the funds for him to be driven back as he will be unable to fly. On a GoFundMe page, his sister Bethan said: 'This fundraiser is in aid of my brother who was left for dead whilst holidaying in Spain. 'Steen is a strong and determined man and this incident showcases that. 'A gang of local men chased my brother and after brutally attacking him, they threw him off a cliff. 'It is only through sheer determination and courage that my brother despite his life threatening injuries managed to get up and walk for help. 'Had he not done that, the outcome could have been tragically different. 'These men attempted to kill my brother and now we need your help. 'Steen has two broken arms, one of which is a compound fracture, a broken jaw, a fractured eye socket and skull, a shattered cheekbone, internal injuries and more. 'He needs several surgeries all of which are covered through his GHIC card thankfully.' Steen's fractured skull and eye socket are the doctors' main concern, and they want to operate on those first in Spain Steen suffered serious grazes down his body after being thrown off a cliff edge The fundraiser is approaching 4,000 raised and has a goal of 10,500 She continued: 'However there are other expenses that we need help with. 'Steen cannot fly home due to his injuries and won't be able to fly for over a year (low flying not an option either). 'It is an 18 plus hour journey that is expected to be done in a car. We need to raise funds to be able to find suitable travel with medical assistance. 'Not only that but Steen needs help and support from his family who will need to be with him. 'Meaning travel expenses are soon going to mount up. 'Whether you help with a penny or a pound, every little helps. Or even a share of this fundraiser. Our family appreciates it all. 'Anyone that knows my brother knows his strong character, I have no doubt he will handle this better than anyone I know. 'But let's make it as comfortable as we possibly can. She told ITV News West Country: 'The biggest concern is the fractured skull and eye socket. They want to operate on that first in Spain. 'He's got a shattered cheek bone, a broken jaw, two broken arms, internal bleeding and he needs to be seen by a neurologist to determine more.' Donate here: www.gofundme.com/f/SteenNodwellsStory A woman whose father is to go on trial in Cyprus accused of murdering his terminally ill wife has appealed to judges to show compassion as he faces dying in jail if convicted. David Hunter, who celebrated his 75th birthday in Nicosia jail two weeks ago, will appear in court on Thursday accused of suffocating his childhood sweetheart and wife of 56 years, Janice at their home on the Mediterranean island. Prosecutors say she was murdered by the former miner who then took an overdose to end his own life but survived and was found by paramedics who alerted police. However their daughter Lesley Cawthorne, 49, has urged judges to show him mercy and told MailOnline: I understand they have to apply the law but I would like them to see beyond that and show some compassion. My father is 75 years old, he is not a risk to society, he is not a risk to anyone, in fact the only person he is at risk to is himself. We just want him home with his family as the last few months have been so traumatic for all of us. Lesley Hunter (right), whose father, David Hunter, left, is to go on trial in Cyprus accused of murdering his terminally ill wife, has appealed to judges to show 'compassion' as he faces dying in jail if convicted I love my dad so, so much and our main desire is that he is here with the people he loves and who love him. Its been a terrible time for all of us and I miss my dad, the same as I miss my mum. Lawyers acting for David, a retired miner originally from Ashington, Northumberland, had hoped following his arrest last December he would be charged with assisting suicide but he has been charged with murder which carries a life sentence if found guilty. Janice had been diagnosed with blood cancer shortly after they moved to Tremithousa near Paphos on Cyprus western coast 20 years ago and Lesley insisted she had always made her wishes clear as the pain of her illness began to take its toll. The illness left her in pain and the quality of life deteriorated rapidly and the disease had also taken the life of her sister, and she had always said she had wanted her suffering to end once it got too much. David Hunter (pictured), who celebrated his 75th birthday in Nicosia jail two weeks ago, will appear in court on Thursday accused of suffocating his childhood sweetheart and wife of 56 years, Janice at their home on the Mediterranean island Prosecutors say Janice (pictured with David on their wedding day) was murdered by the former miner who then took an overdose to end his own life but survived and was found by paramedics who alerted police Compliance consultant Lesley, from Norwich, told MailOnline: They (David and Janice) had in fact decided to go together, and they had been talking about it for the last six weeks of her life every day. They just didnt want to be separated and my father has told me this and I have no reason to doubt him. He was appalled when he came round to see he was still alive and my mother was dead. The couple were found at their home on December 18 and David, who has already pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing in Paphos District Court has spent the last six months in a cell at Nicosia jail. Lesley said: Hes putting on a brave face and he says the guards have been treating him respectfully but hes not well, emotionally hes very fragile, hes old and hes not in the best of health. However their daughter Lesley Cawthorne, 49, has urged judges to show him mercy and told MailOnline: I understand they have to apply the law but I would like them to see beyond that and show some compassion.' The couple are pictured He misses my mum so much and is still really grief stricken, without my mum hes lost, they were together for 56 years and so hes struggling and he is very frightened. If he is convicted he will get a life sentence and that means he will die in prison, he deserves better and he is a heartbroken man. I get to speak to him on the phone and you can hear it in his voice. Its awful. Lesley will be unable to attend the hearing but two of Davids former mining pals will be in court to support him described the wave of love that she has felt since news of her fathers arrest emerged. She said: We have never felt alone because the wave of support that has been shown to my dad has been enormous, its come from everywhere, not just people in Northumberland where hes from but in Cyprus and everywhere. Lesley, pictured left with her parents, will be unable to attend the hearing but two of Davids former mining pals will be in court to support him described the wave of love that she has felt since news of her fathers arrest emerged Lesley (pictured), who had just got off the phone to her dad before speaking to Mail Online added: We speak every day which is good, we always have a ten minute chat and the first thing that goes through my mind is "Great, hes made it through the night",' Im not really one for saying things like this but we really have been swept up in a wave of love that has really helped deal with the situation. He celebrated his 75th birthday in prison and still hasnt seen all of the cards he was sent because they have been held up. Lesley, who had just got off the phone to her dad before speaking to Mail Online added: We speak every day which is good, we always have a ten minute chat and the first thing that goes through my mind is "Great, hes made it through the night". That always reassures me and I think "Thank God he is still with us". We just have to hope that the judges will see this case maybe through human eyes with compassion and realise this was just a man looking after the love of his life. Cyprus - a deeply devout Orthodox country - is currently debating euthanasia and a recent survey carried out last month showed six out of ten people agreed with it being legalised. Cyprus - a deeply devout Orthodox country - is currently debating euthanasia and a recent survey carried out last month showed six out of ten people agreed with it being legalised. Lesley Cawthorne is pictured with her mother Janice The countrys national Bioethics Committee is also in favour of allowing the practice but under strict conditions and after consultation with medical groups. Barrister Michael Polak, from campaign group Justice Abroad, who is representing the family said: This will be quite a landmark case for Cyprus given the debate that the country is having at the moment. We have always felt that the prosecution of Mr Hunter for murder is not in the public interest, given his age and the circumstances of the case. He will please not guilty to murder on Thursday when he appears in court and he is very determined to fight this case, as are all of us involved in it. Mr Hunter has been stuck in prison away form his family for six months and we will do anything we can to fight this case and get him home. Hes not being held in appalling conditions but jail for a 75-year-old man is not the ideal place for him to be and if he is found guilty he will die in jail. What is interesting, given the current ongoing debate, is that everyone I speak to in Cyprus agrees that he should not be in prison and he should not have been charged with murder. He has been buoyed by all the messages of support he has received and we just have to hope the three judges on the panel accept our arguments. Republicans are up in arms as Joe Biden's Homeland Security Department prepares to still go forward with disciplining horseback Border Patrol agents who were pictured corralling migrants last year even though they were absolved of 'whipping' claims. Kevin McCarthy accused Biden of 'targeting' Border Patrol agents and 'smearing' those in the agency who were wrongly accused of whipping Haitian migrants. 'Border patrol agents deserve a president who will support them, not smear them which is exactly what President Biden did when he promised, without knowing the facts, that agents would 'pay' for the false allegations of 'whipping' migrants,' the House Minority GOP Leader told DailyMail.com. The comment came in response to a report that DHS will go forward with handing out punishments for the agents who were caught on camera allegedly 'whipping' migrants last September. Although it was found that the agents in question did not commit any wrongdoing and the suggestions that they were whipping black migrants was quickly debunked, the images, along with the claims, caused widespread outrage and calls for action, which the president promised. President Joe Biden even promised before clarification could be issued on the matter that those responsible would be brought to justice, and that he would 'make them pay'. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that President Joe Biden is 'smearing' Border Patrol agents and it's 'simply wrong' to punish agents after it was disproven that they were 'whipping' Haitian migrants Photos of agents on horseback corralling Haitian migrants away from the US-Mexico border drew sharp condemnation from Democrats who claimed the images depicted them whipping migrants Republican Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales tweeted: 'I will not stand for this false & politicized narrative against our agents who have been cleared of criminal wrongdoing after a thorough investigation' It was reported Tuesday that DHS is preparing to hand out punishments for the border patrol agents involved in the incident, with the agency citing their 'administrative violations'. A source inside the federal government told Fox News that an announcement on the matter is expected within the coming days. The decision comes nine months after the incident - counter to statements made by DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who said in September the investigation would be completed in 'days, not weeks.' 'If reports are accurate,' McCarthy added, 'the Biden administration is now clearly targeting those same border patrol agents to impose the penalty Biden demanded.' 'It's simply wrong,' he said. 'We look forward to reviewing this report we were told would be completed nine months ago.' Republican Texas Representative Tony Gonzales said Border Patrol agents 'put their lives on the line every day to ensure the safety of all-Americans & migrants alike.' 'I will not stand for this false & politicized narrative against our agents who have been cleared of criminal wrongdoing after a thorough investigation,' he added in a tweet Wednesday. The initial incident occurred in September 2021 when agents were seen in the Del Rio, Texas area charging while on horseback to corral migrants attempting to cross illegally into the U.S. In November the DHS declined to press criminal charges. But now, agents are bracing for discipline from DHS and the OPR, the border patrol's Office of Personnel Responsibility, has spent the intervening months reviewing photographs and interviewing witnesses and agents. The agents were seen in the Del Rio, Texas area charging the migrants while on horseback. Initial reports said the migrants were being 'whipped' - a claim that was quickly debunked. It was later clarified that the agents were swirling their long reins, to control the horses, and were not actually raising the leather straps to beat the migrants. But before the corrections could be issued, the images caused widespread outrage. President Joe Biden himself promised that those responsible would be brought to justice, and that he would 'make them pay'. In November the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) declined to press criminal charges. But on Tuesday, it was reported DHS was set to hand out punishments for the border patrol agents involved in the incident, with the agency citing their 'administrative violations'. Border Patrol agents and Republicans said agents were swinging their reins to control their horses The agents' leather reins could be seen flying through the air, leading people to wrongly claim the migrants were being whipped A source inside the federal government told Fox News that an announcement on the matter is expected within the coming days. The decision comes nine months after the incident - counter to statements made by DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who said in September the investigation would be completed in 'days, not weeks.' The OPR, the border patrol's Office of Personnel Responsibility, has spent the intervening months reviewing photographs and interviewing witnesses and agents. The agents whose behavior is in question will be awarded 'due process,' according to OPR, and given a chance to respond. A large number of migrants are seen wading over the Rio Grande into the United States on September 19 - the day of the 'whipping' incident The mounted agents and the border patrol agents in their vehicles are seen confronting the migrants on September 19 Biden, before an investigation was underway, claimed that migrants were being 'strapped' at the border. 'It was horrible to see, to see people treated like they did, with horses nearly running them over. People being strapped,' he said in September. 'It's outrageous. I promise you those people will pay. There will be investigation underway now and there will be consequences. There will be consequences. It's an embarrassment. 'But beyond an embarrassment is dangerous, it's wrong, it sends the wrong message around the world, and sends the wrong message at home. It's simply not who we are.' Soon after the dustup, the White House announced that agents would no longer be allowed to chase down migrants on horseback. Mayorkas also reassigned the agents in the photos to desk duty - where they remain. He said the photos 'correctly and necessarily were met with our nation's horror.' 'They do not reflect who we are as a country nor do they reflect who the United States Custom and Border Protection is,' Mayorkas said. Photographer Paul Ratje, who took some of the images, said he didn't see anyone being whipped. 'I've never seen them whip anyone,' Ratje told KTSM-TV. He said the still images actually depict the mounted agents swinging the long reins of their horses, not holding whips. 'He was swinging it, but it can be misconstrued when you're looking at the picture,' said Ratje, who shot the photos from the Mexican side of the Rio Grande river. Advertisement Lord Geidt has quit as Boris Johnsons independent ethics adviser just days after he reportedly asked to stay on for another six months. His shock resignation last night came only 14 months after he took up his position. Lord Geidt, a former private secretary to the Queen, had faced the humiliation of a grilling from MPs on the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee on Tuesday. In a terse statement uploaded to the Governments website last night, he said: With regret, I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post as independent adviser on ministers interests. A No 10 source said the move came as a total surprise to Mr Johnson, and claimed that as late as Monday, Lord Geidt had asked if he could stay on for another six months. Lord Geidt becomes the second independent adviser on ministers interests to resign during Mr Johnsons tenure as Prime Minister. Sir Alex Allan quit in 2020 after Mr Johnson refused to accept his finding that Home Secretary Priti Patel had bullied civil servants. Lord Geidt is leaving his role as the Prime Minister's Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests A short statement released on the Government's website confirmed Lord Geidt will leave his role as the Prime Minister's Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests Lord Geidt previously blasted Boris Johnson for having failed to have address allegations he breached the code in any of his recent public statements on Partygate The peer this week revealed his 'frustration' at Boris Johnson's response to being fined by police for breaking Covid lockdown rules There had been weeks of speculation about Lord Geidt's future following the Partygate scandal Harriet Harman under pressure over tweets Tory MPs have called on Harriet Harman to quit a panel probing the Prime Minister over Partygate after it emerged she had accused him of lying. Labours former deputy leader is to replace Chris Bryant on the Commons privileges committee. One of three tweets she sent on April 12 said that if the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak accepted a Covid fine then they are also admitting that they misled the Commons. She also wrote: These were laws to save lives that they broke! Backbencher Sir Bill Cash said Miss Harman ought to reconsider her position. Former Lord Chancellor Sir Robert Buckland advised that she reflect very carefully on tweets suggesting she is biased. Advertisement On Tuesday, Lord Geidt refused to deny that he considered resigning over the Prime Ministers response to being fined for attending a party in Downing Street during lockdown. And he accepted that it was reasonable to suggest the PM may have breached the Ministerial Code as a result of being issued with a fixed penalty notice by the Metropolitan Police. I think its reasonable to say that perhaps a fixed penalty notice and the PM paying for it may have constituted not meeting the overarching duty of the Ministerial Code of complying with the law, Lord Geidt said. Earlier this month, it was reported that Lord Geidt threatened to quit after the publication of senior civil servant Sue Grays report into lockdown violations in Whitehall unless Mr Johnson issued a public explanation for his conduct. In response, the Prime Minister put out a letter to Lord Geidt saying he believed any breach of the Covid rules when he attended a gathering in No 10s Cabinet room for his 56th birthday had been unwitting. Mr Johnson said he had acted in good faith when he told Parliament that there had not been any parties and that he had since corrected the record. Asked by MPs on Tuesday about reports that he threatened to quit, Lord Geidt acknowledged that the commentariat had picked up on his frustration. I am glad that the Prime Minister was able to respond to my report and in doing so addressed aspects of the things about which I was clearly frustrated, he told the committee. Pressed by Labour MP John McDonnell on the reports, Lord Geidt said: It is important to consider what is going to work best in the interest, not of me, but preserving the integrity of the system and of the Code in making it work in advising the Prime Minister on holding ministers including a prime minister publicly to account. I dont think there was ever a single, direct proposition in my own mind. Tory MP William Wragg, committee chairman and a fierce critic of Mr Johnson, said last night: For the PM to lose one adviser on ministers interests may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose two looks like carelessness. Lord Geidt (pictured), Boris Johnson's adviser on ministerial interests, hinted he thought about leaving his role due to the challenging year A senior source said there had been no official reason provided for the ethics tsar's shock departure, and admitted Mr Johnson was left mystified by Lord Geidt's resignation After flirting with the idea of resigning the chief ethics adviser would waver again when he recently admitted he was 'clearly frustrated' after the PM was fined amid the Partygate scandal, which saw more than a dozen rule-breaking gatherings hosted in Downing Street Boris Johnson's actions throughout the year, including his reaction to being fined, left Lord Geidt 'frustrated' The Electoral Commission fined the Conservatives 17,800 for failing to properly declare almost 68,000 mostly used to pay for the refurbishment of the private quarters used by Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie and their son Wilfred. Above: The flat was designed by Lulu Lyttle in a similar style to the above The PM previously offered a 'humble and sincere apology' to Lord Geidt for failing to disclose messages exchanged with a Tory donor over the 112,000 Wallpaper gate saga Army veteran who served as Queens right-hand man By Kumail Jaffer Boris's flat saga: a timeline January 2020: Plans are submitted for the refurbishment of the No11 flat, a month after Mr Johnson wins 2019 election. February 2020: Officials decide to set up a blind trust to fund the six-figure renovation. The system is designed to ensure the beneficiary is not aware of the source of the money, to prevent corruption. May 2020: Lord Brownlow is approached to set up and then chair the trust, and agrees. June/July 2020: The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for the Downing Street estate, pays three invoices totalling 52,801.72 for work carried out, and then bills the Conservative Party. August 2020: The Conservatives Party pays the bill. October 2020: Lord Brownlow emails the party and asks how much the bill is, and says he will make a donation to cover it. He does so. November 29, 2020: Boris Johnson contacts Lord Brownlow on WhatsApp 'asking him to authorise further, at that stage unspecified, refurbishment works'. Lord Brownlow agrees and explains that the Downing Street Trust has not yet been set up. December 18, 2020: Lord Brownlow donates a further 33,484.80 to the firm refurbishing the flat. February 2021: Lord Brownlow donates a further 13,295.30 to the firm refurbishing the flat, taking his total contribution to 112, 549.12 March 2021: The scale and cost of the renovations, and the way it was funded, is revealed by the Daily Mail. Boris Johnson repays the supplier personally and the firm then re-reimburses Lord Brownlow. May 2021: Ministerial Standards watchdog Lord Geidt clears the PM of wrongdoing. He says officials assured him that Mr Johnson was not aware that Lord Brownlow paid for the work personally until it was revealed in the media. The PM also told him the same thing directly. December 2021: The Electoral Commission fines the Conservatives Party 17,800 for failing to declare Lord Brownlow's original donation. It reveals that he received the WhatsApp messages about money from the PM. Advertisement His highest profile role has been as the Prime Ministers ethics adviser, but Lord Geidt has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in public service. Christopher Geidt, 60, had a gilded upbringing, studying at private schools in Oxford and Perth before going to Cambridge University. He later attended Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and enlisted in the Scots Guards, where he was assigned to an intelligence role. He served in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War and his duties involved liaising with General Ratko Mladic later convicted of war crimes. Lord Geidt joined the Royal Household in 2002 as Assistant Private Secretary to the Queen before gaining the top job of Private Secretary, where he remained between 2007 and 2017. In the role, he was responsible for working with senior civil servants. Geidt, the Cabinet Secretary and No 10s Permanent Secretary were referred to as the Golden Triangle and he helped to shape the monarchs approach to the hung parliament of 2010. His term at Buckingham Palace ended in 2017 after he was reportedly forced out following a power struggle with the Prince Charles and Prince Andrew. The trio are said to have disagreed on how to manage the transfer of power from the Queen to Charles when he eventually succeeds her with Lord Geidts preference for a gentle transition being rejected. His 15 years of service were rewarded with a life peerage shortly after he stepped down. He was also appointed a Lord-In-Waiting in 2019. His brief time in Downing Street which started in April last year thrust Geidt into the public eye. A month after being appointed as the Independent Adviser on Ministers Interests, he published a report into the costly renovation of the flat above 11 Downing Street. He concluded that Boris Johnson did not breach the ministerial code after allegations were made that an undisclosed loan was used to help finance the work. However, he said it had been unwise for Mr Johnson to proceed as he did. Months later, he reportedly threatened to resign after the Prime Minister was accused of misleading him during his investigation into the flat scandal. In his annual report this year, Geidt said there was a legitimate question over whether Mr Johnson broke the code following his Partygate fine. On Tuesday he told a parliamentary committee that resigning was always on the agenda and that he felt frustration over the lockdown-breaching events. Lord Geidt, who sits as a crossbench peer, runs a farm with his wife Emma in the Outer Hebrides. They have two daughters. A woman who admitted that she could 'barely contain her anger' at being fired was filmed on surveillance camera smashing hundreds of bottles of wine at an Argentinian supermarket. Evelin Roldan was fired from her job at the Polo Supermarket in Rafaela, Argentina on Monday. The 25-year-old had a discussion with the store owners, which became so heated that they called police. Roldan then cleared out multiple shelves of wine and threw the bottles across the isle floor. She was later arrested. Evelin Roldan admitted she lost her cool and threw dozens of wine bottles to the floor after she was fired from the supermarket she used to work at in Santa Fe, Argentina, on Monday morning. She issued a statement, indicating her actions were sparked the mistreatment her bosses had subjected to Dozens of wine bottles were strewn across the Apolo Supermarket in Santa Fe, Argentina, after Evelin Roldan was fired from her job by the owners on Tuesday. The 25-year-old woman was caught on camera grabbing the bottles off the shelves and throwing to the ground Roldan defended her actions which she were came under a 'state of rage' and claimed the video - which is only eight seconds long - did not reveal everything, according to a statement obtained by local media outlets. 'I hope to be able to have a place to tell the other side of the conflict, as they did when they sent videos and incomplete information, pretending to be totally unaware of what happened,' she wrote. Roldan said she lost her temper and vandalized the supermarket due to cruel treatment her old bosses had subjected during the course of her employment. She indicated she 'was blinded by anger, anger at the injustices I experienced inside, accepting the mistreatment, the challenges, being put down, and even 'slaps' or insults,' for fear of not losing her job. Roldan added that one of the owners who hired her dismissed her 'without justification, ignoring me and running me from the place without wanting to give me at least one reason. ' An employee identified as Evelin Roldan admitted she lost her temper and broke dozens of wine bottles after she was fired without cause by the Apolo Supermarket owners on Monday Evelin Roldan released a statement in which she defended her actions because cruel treatment her old bosses had subjected along the course of her employment. She went on to admit that she did was clearly 'wrong,' she added: 'I was a good employee, respectful, always available because from cleaning floors to cutting cold cuts or serving a box I did it with great enthusiasm.' Roldan has vowed to seek action against her employers through legal channels. 'Injustices are sometimes not seen on the other side, and all those things played against me when I reacted,' she said. 'For now, I wanted the people who saw the video and gave their opinion without knowing to know that there are many things behind such a big nervous breakdown.' In this July 23, 2019, file photo, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, left, delivers remarks in front of President Donald Trump, shortly after being sworn in at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. EPA-Yonhap Ex-Pentagon chief says evacuation announcement for Americans amid NK tensions canceled at last moment By Jung Min-ho Former U.S. President Donald Trump's desire to pull U.S. troops completely out of South Korea was serious and he kept the plan alive as his second-term priority, according to former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper's memoir, published last month. In the book, "A Sacred Oath," Esper said Trump repeatedly pushed to withdraw the U.S. forces from South Korea, which, in his view, was not paying its fair share of the associated costs. Esper, 58, Republican former secretary of the Army (November 2017 to July 2019) and former secretary of defense (July 2019 to November 2020) under the Trump administration, became uneasy whenever the commander-in-chief talked about the need for American withdrawal. "I was able to make my best case against any such moves by reminding him that I had a global posture review under way which I did but only bought me time. Pompeo jumped in once to help, saying 'Mr. President, you should make that [withdrawing U.S. forces from Korea] a second-term priority,'" he said. "Trump responded with 'Yeah, yeah, second term,' as a Cheshire cat smile came across his face." The episode shows that Trump's plan was never abandoned only delayed. Trump, who lost his reelection bid to Joe Biden, has hinted at running for the White House again in 2024, which would be a concern for South Korea's long-term defense plans. During his time at the Pentagon, Esper said war with North Korea was a real possibility. In another critical event, he received an urgent call that Trump was ordering a withdrawal of all U.S. military dependents from South Korea and that he was going to make it official soon. This came only a few weeks after Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un taunted each other about the capabilities of their respective nuclear weapons. "Evacuating all American military family members was such an unexpected and dramatic move that many would likely interpret it that war was on the horizon, if not imminent. It would probably trigger a panic that would affect the South Korean economy, its stock market, air transportation, and a range of other things," he said. "Kim would probably view a U.S. evacuation as a prelude to conflict Would he strike first, targeting Seoul in a bloody assault? Maybe even seize the city of 10 million and then sue for peace before the United States could act with sufficient force Nobody knew, but this was a dangerous game of chicken, and with nuclear roosters no less. If the president was going to announce an evacuation, then, we needed to be ready for war." To the relief of Esper and so many others, somebody talked Trump out of sending the tweet announcing it. U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in this June 30, 2019, file photo. Reuters-Yonhap The sprawling search for a three-year-old boy who went missing from his babysitter's house Tuesday has ended in tragedy - with officers calling it off nearly 30 hours later after discovering the child's dead body in a pond near the sitter's home. The child, who police have only identified as Harry K., was reported missing at around 9:30am Tuesday. He was last seen by a neighbor playing in the front yard of the home in Lowell, Massachusetts, at 9:15am. The boy was found in five feet of water at a farm on nearby Varnum Avenue, police said Wednesday - an area close to the babysitter's home that had been part of the search since its early stages. Police said Harry was dropped off by his parents at the residence, located on 37 Freda Lane, at around 7am. He was one of two children being watched by the babysitter at the time, police said. Investigators made the grim discovery just before 2pm - roughly 29 hours after the child was last seen. It also came shortly after local police defended their decision not to issue an Amber Alert following Harry's disappearance, due to their insistence that there was 'no reason to believe' that foul play played a part in the tot's disappearance. Scroll down for video: The child, pictured here celebrating his third birthday, who police have only identified as Harry K., was reported missing from the home, situated in Lowell, at around 9:30am Tuesday The boy was found in five feet of water just after 1 pm Wednesday at Rollies Tree Farm (pictured), a wooded property near the babysitter's house The sprawling search for a three-year-old was called off after more than 24 hours Wednesday, after cops found the child's body. Cops were led to the boy by two police dogs who caught the kid's scent, picking up a trail in nearby woods (pictured) Police continue to line the area where sources tell the I-Team the body of 3 year old Harry was found not far from the Freda Lane home where he wandered from. Update at 3:30 from police. #wbz pic.twitter.com/t76o1tJVa2 Beth Germano (@BethWBZ) June 15, 2022 Officers said at a presser held near the site at 3:30pm that they believed Harry walked out the door to the wooded area on his own, and that foul play did not play a part in his disappearance. Police started the search at the home Tuesday, after receiving a 911 call from the unnamed babysitter. After failing to find the child after nearly 12 hours of searching, police panned out the search early Wednesday into the woods, part of Lowell-Dracut State Forest. Police also searched the neighboring town of Tyngsboro. Two police dogs picked up the boy's scent in a section of the woods behind the house in the early afternoon, cops said, and eventually led officers to the boy's body, at Rollies Tree Farm, a wooded property that abuts Freda Lane. Police said it was likely the tot ventured through the neighboring woods to the farm. A cause of death has not yet been given. Pictured is the Lowell home of the babysitter who lost track of the child. The Lowell-Dracut State Forest, where the boy's body was found, can be seen in the background Police said it was likely the tot ventured through the neighboring woods to the evergreen tree farm The search saw a coalition of more than 200 officers from several police department scour the Massachusetts suburbs for a sign of the child, focusing on areas they had already checked and areas they want to check again. 'We have every asset we need to check every square inch of that area and were going to continue to go out as long ad we can,' Chief John Fisher. Officers are doing a grid search in Lowell, focusing on areas they have already checked and areas they want to check again. We have every asset we need to check every square inch of that area and were going to continue to go out as long ad we can, said Chief John Fisher. pic.twitter.com/DN2QStkbHo Bianca Beltran (@BiancaNBCBoston) June 15, 2022 Eventually, thanks to the Massachusetts State Police's K-9 unit, they were led back to where they started the search, coming across the boy in an area police said was steps away from the house. Police said that the FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team offered to help as well. Following the discovery, many questioned the local Lowell Police Department's decision not to issue an Amber Alert after Harry was reported missing. 'The reason there's no Amber alert is there's no reason to believe there's a crime,' Fisher asserted Tuesday. Speaking with local outlet WMUR 9 Tuesday, the boy's father seemed to agree with the chief's assessment. 'He's active. He likes going outside. When he's at home, he goes to the yard and plays. He's a healthy kid but he can't speak. He's trying to learn how to speak, but he can't talk,' he told the outlet. The search saw a coalition of more than 200 officers from several police department scour the Massachusetts suburbs for a sign of the child, using a grid pattern to cover more ground The Dracut Police, Tyngsborough Police, UMass Lowell Police and two units from the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council participated in the search, which spanned two towns and nearly 30 hours We are seeing a development in the search for 3-year-old Harry in Lowell. Law enforcement has put up yellow tape around a farm on Varnum Ave. Several officers are standing around the perimeter. Large trucks moving in. pic.twitter.com/QcdpA3cUG5 Bianca Beltran (@BiancaNBCBoston) June 15, 2022 Amber Alerts are typically not issued unless there is reasonable belief that the child has been abducted. Cops said there was evidence that Harry got out of the house by himself, but did not detail what that evidence was. Meanwhile, a WBZ reporter who witnessed the search Wednesday morning said she she saw officers checking the trunks of every car on Freda Lane. After discovering the child's body, officers set up yellow police tape around the farm and the pond. Police Chief Fisher defended his department's decision to not issue an Amber Alert due to supposed evidence that the tot had wandered out by himself. Amber Alerts are generally not issued unless there is reason to believe the missing was abducted NEW: Police are stopping people driving through the Lowell neighborhood where the missing 3-year-old boy named Harry was last seen, asking if theyve seen the boy and checking inside their vehicles. @NBC10Boston @NECN pic.twitter.com/oVgjx7q42B Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston (@AlyshaNBCBoston) June 15, 2022 Before Harry's body was discovered, a reporter said she she saw officers checking the trunks of every car on Freda Lane (pictured) One witness, a volunteer helping with the search, recalled how one officer made the grim discovery. 'I was looking for him in the cornfield, and all I heard is, "Hes gone. Hes in the pond. Were going to take him out. Please get out of the cornfield,"' volunteer Kylie Vouley told WCVB. A white Michigan police officer charged last week with murdering a black man by shooting him in the back of the head during a traffic stop has been fired. Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington announced on Wednesday that Christopher Schurr, 31, who had been with the local police department for seven years, waived his right to a hearing and was dismissed from his position last Friday. His dismissal was recommended by police Chief Eric Winstrom after a second-degree murder charge was filed Thursday, and comes months after the parents of his victim, Patrick Lyoya, 26, first sought justice in his death. Schurr had previously been placed on leave as an investigation into the shooting was ongoing. Washington declined to comment on Schurr's firing any further, noting that it is a criminal case and Lyoya's family is likely to file a wrongful death suit. Schurr's attorney, Matt Borgula also said he wasn't representing the officer in the labor matter and had no comment. Meanwhile, Lyoya's parents welcomed the news on Wednesday. 'Two words: about time. What took so long?' the family's attorney, Ven Johnson, said. 'They knew this was excessive force and they put him on paid leave while the family buried their son in the middle of the rain.' Grand Rapids Police Officer Christopher Schurr has been fired after being charged with second-degree murder in the death of Patrick Lyoya Schurr, seen here on a monitor for his video arraignment last week, spent one night in jail before he was released on a $100,000 bond Friday Prosecutor Chris Becker announcing the charges on Thursday. 'Based on everything [the detective] has provided to me I've made the decision to charge Christopher Schurr with one count of second-degree murder,' Lyoya, a black man, was killed at the end of a traffic stop on April 4. He ran and physically resisted Schurr after failing to produce a driver's license. Schurr, who is white, claimed Lyoya had control of his Taser when he shot him. Defense lawyers said the officer feared for his safety. He was placed on leave as an investigation into the shooting continued, and on Thursday, prosecutor Chris Becker announced that Lyoya's 'death was not justified or excused... by self defense. 'Based on everything [the detective] has provided to me I've made the decision to charge Christopher Schurr with one count of second-degree murder,' he said, adding: 'Second-degree murder is a felony offense is punishable by up to life in prison with the possibility of parole.' Schurr then spent a night in jail before being released on $100,000 bond Friday. Lyoya, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was killed by Schurr during a traffic stop on April 4 after he failed to produce his driver's license Schurr had pulled Lyoya over on April 4 because he said the license plates on his car did not match the vehicle. The ensuing altercation was caught on video from the dashboard of the officer's squad car, from his body-worn camera and from a neighbor's surveillance camera shortly after. The footage from Schurr's body worn camera showed Lyoya, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, stepping out of his car on a rainy street of Griggs and Nelson SE, seemingly confused. He asked Schurr 'What did I do?' as the officer repeatedly asks for a driver's license and orders him to get back inside the vehicle. 'I'm stopping ya, do you have a license? Do you have a driver's license, do you speak English?' Schurr asks. Lyoya confirms in the video that he speaks English and opens the driver's side door as he speaks to his passenger. He then shuts his door, turns his back to the officer and appears to walk away. Schurr's body-camera footage showed he had pulled Lyoya over because he said license plates on his car didnt match the vehicle on April 4 Lyoya seemed confused in the video as Schurr asks him if he has a driver's license Soon, Schurr grabbed Lyoya during the traffic stop, and the two grappled in front of several homes in the Michigan city 'No, no, no, stop, stop,' the officer is heard saying, and puts his hands on Lyoya's shoulder. Lyoya is seen pushing back against the officer and then starts running until the officer tackles him to the ground. He and the cop then grappled in front of several homes while Lyoya's passenger got out and watched. The officer repeatedly orders Lyoya to 'let go' of his Taser, at one point demanding: 'Drop the Taser!' It is not clear from any of the videos if or when Lyoya tried to grab the cop's Taser, but the cop is heard yelling at him to let go of the device, which was deployed twice, but didn't strike anyone, officials said. At this point, the officer's body camera suddenly goes blank. Schurr could be heard yelling at Lyoya to let go of his taser in the final moments before he drew his gun and shot him. It remains unclear whether he actually handled the Taser Schurr's body-camera footage from the incident showed him pressing Lyoya's head to the ground in the moments before the shooting Additional video footage from the neighbor's doorbell security system, the dashcam in the officer's vehicle, and a bystander's cellphone captured different angles of the incident. Schurr and Lyoya are seen in the additional footage getting back up to a standing position while they fight and then going back down to the ground. In the final moments before the gun shot, the officer was on top of Lyoya, kneeling on his back at times to subdue him. The officer points his weapon at the back of Lyoya's head and a gunshot is heard. Multiple officers arrived within 10 minutes and attempted to revive Lyoya. At that point, a sergeant rolled Lyoya over and found the officer's Taser and his bodycam according to a report reviewed by CNN. Audio from a neighborhood home surveillance camera also captured the sound of the officer shooting Lyoya in the back of the head. Attorneys for Lyoya's family have called the death an 'execution.' Lyoya fled from Schurr during the traffic stop, and the officer pursued him and tackled him to the ground Officer Schurr chased after Lyoya after he took flight during the April 4 traffic stop. Lyoya was killed by a gunshot to the back of the head shortly afterwards An image from Lyoya's autopsy report showing the trajectory of the single bullet that killed him Schurr has been a police officer since 2015. His personnel file shows no complaints of excessive force but much praise for traffic stops and foot chases that led to arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs. The shooting turned into an immediate crisis for police Chief Eric Winstrom, who was a commander in Chicago before taking charge in Grand Rapids early in March. At a community forum in April, Winstrom said he wanted to put more emphasis on officers knowing how to turn down the heat during tense situations. 'I guarantee that we can do more,' he said. 'Actually, that's one of the things I've already reached out to my colleagues to say, "Hey, I need some curriculum, because we are going to beef it up."' Grand Rapids, population about 200,000, is 160 miles west of Detroit. This is the frightening moment that Mick Philpott, who was jailed for the deaths of six of his children who he killed in a fire to get a better council house, became aggressive to an MP on camera to reveal his wicked nature. A clip from a new documentary on the 66-year-old convicted killer Mick Philpott looks at the moment Ann Widdecombe, who at the time was the MP for Maidstone and The Weald, met him in 2007 for her ITV programme Ann Widdecombe Versus The Benefit Culture. The former social security minister was in a local pub with Philpott as she pressed him on why he would not work rather than using his children as 'meal tickets'. At one point during their interactions in the pub, Widdecombe, who was 59 at the time and smaller in stature to an aggressive Philpott, she calls him a coward. Philpott stands up suddenly to get in Widdecombe's face, saying, 'Let's see who's a coward b****, let's f****** move it,' pointing his finger before he storms off camera. In May 2012 Michael 'Shameless Mick' Philpott set fire to his house with six of his children still inside. After campaigning for years, it was an extreme plot that he invented to get a larger house from the council. Philpott had planned to run in and rescue his children. But the plan backfired, with the fire killing all six children inside the property. He tried to cover up what had really happened and even went as far as addressing TV cameras in a press conference, presenting himself as a hero who tried to fight through the flames to save his children. The six Philpott children - Duwayne, 13, his sister, Jade, 10, and their brothers, John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six and Jayden, five, all died from the effects of smoke inhalation after fire swept through their home on Victory Road, Allenton. But he was jailed for life in April 2013 after killing six of his children in a fire at their home in Derby. He and hatched a plan with wife Mairead and friend Paul Mosley to incriminate her while posing as a hero who saved his children. His wife Mairead and family friend Paul Mosley were jailed for 17 years. The trio had been convicted of six counts of manslaughter. This is the frightening moment that Mick Philpott, who was jailed for the deaths of six of his children who he killed in a fire to get a better council house, became aggressive towards Ann Widdecombe A clip from a new documentary on the 66-year-old convicted killer Mick Philpott looks at the moment Ann Widdecombe, who at the time was the MP for Maidstone and The Weald, met him in 2007 for her ITV programme Ann Widdecombe Versus The Benefit Culture At one point during their interactions in the pub, Widdecombe calls him a coward. Philpott stands up suddenly to get in Widdecombe's face, saying, 'Let's see who's a coward b****, let's f****** move it,' pointing his finger before he storms off camera Philpott's live-in mistress, had left the family home with her four children a few months before the fire, and a custody hearing over the children was scheduled to take place on the morning of the fire. Speaking to the BBC in 2013 on the week Mick and Mairead were sentenced for the children's murders, Ann Widdecombe said: 'He was very controlling of the women, extremely manipulative of the system, he was not at all a pleasant character.' And on the court case that was unfolding at the time, she added: 'I'm appalled by the whole situation but everything that has emerged is consistent with the Mick Philpott that I very briefly knew during the course of that week. 'I have no doubt that he used his children as meal tickets, and the fact that he didn't work was owing to a state system which allowed him not to, but none of that explains the wickedness which governed his previous actions which led to his actions towards women, and which led to his extremely reckless act.' Experts take a closer look at the 2007 clip in new documentary, Mick Philpott: A Faking It Special on discovery+. Experts take a closer look at the 2007 clip (pictured) in new documentary, Mick Philpott: A Faking It Special on discovery+ Body language expert Dr Cliff Lansley, a doctor in emotional intelligence, looked at Philpott in another interaction with Widdecombe who repeatedly tells him, 'Get a job' Body language expert Dr Cliff Lansley, a doctor in emotional intelligence, looked at Philpott in another interaction with Widdecombe who repeatedly tells him, 'Get a job'. 'He's not got the logic to argue the fact that he's living in a household with a lot of children with a wife and a girlfriend, both of whom work, and therefore his job is trying to look after the children. He's trying to get that through but she's not hearing that,' Dr Lansley said. 'We see on his face that there's a movement of his upper lip, it creates a horseshoe on the face, and when this lip raises that is a reliable indicator of disgust. So he's disgusted by what the is hearing but he is unable to counter it.' And on the moment it looked as though Philpott was going to hit the MP in their interactions at the pub, he added: 'The lips close, the foot comes off the leg and he's up within a second. So we know the trigger is the word 'coward'.' Forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes said of the aggression from Philpott: 'You've got Ann Widdecombe who is diminutive in stature, an older woman, but she's got an opinion and she is going to express it. This is not something that he is used to at all.' In May 2012 Michael 'Shameless Mick' Philpott set fire to his house with six of his children still inside. After campaigning for years, it was an extreme plot that he invented to get a larger house from the council. Pictured with wife Mairead who was in on the plot She added: 'I believe that he wanted to assault her, this is how he deals with the women in his life. This is how he solves the problem of a woman talking back to him or challenging him in any way and he's not used to it.' Widdecombe admitted she feared the conversation would end in Philpott attacking her. 'I really thought he was going to hit me,' she says bluntly. Even before the devastating fire took place, Mick Philpott was well known across the UK as the poster boy of benefits Britain and was dubbed a 'benefits scrounger'. Philpott was living off 50k a year on benefits having fathered 11 children and was shameless in his media appearances defending his campaign for a bigger house. In Ann Widdecombe's documentary, she recalled: 'He was known to be shameless and very willing to talk openly about it. 'He kept a wife and a mistress, he had one child by each per year, pretty well. There were 11 children living in a three-bedroom council house.' Philpott's attitudes towards women would also be revealed during the investigation following the fire. The six Philpott children, pictured clockwise from top left, John, nine, Duwayne, 13, Jade, 10, Jayden, five, Jesse, six, and Jack, seven, all died from the effects of smoke inhalation after fire swept through their home on Victory Road, Allenton 'When he was in his early 20s, he was in the army, he had a girlfriend back in Derby. There was one time where he attacked her,' local journalist Martin Naylor reveals. 'Another time he broke into her house and stabbed her repeatedly. When her mother tried to intervene, he stabbed her mother repeatedly as well and he was convicted of attempted murder.' In the aftermath of the fire, Philpott's neighbour, Paul Mosely who knew what had really happened began to worry about being found out. Philpott used his wife Mairead to keep Mosely quiet. 'In order to placate him, Philpott suggests that Mairead will give him oral sex,' Forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes says in the documentary. 'He's pimping out his wife here. She's just lost her kids for God sakes, and he's using her as some form of currency. He says to her afterwards, "well I know you didn't want to do that." Well bloody hell, if you knew that she didn't want to do that, why the hell would you ask her to?' John Hinckley Jr., who shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was freed from court oversight on Wednesday, officially concluding four decades of intense supervision by legal and mental health professionals. 'After 41 years 2 months and 15 days, FREEDOM AT LAST!!!,' he wrote on Twitter shortly after 12 p.m. The lifting of all restrictions had been expected since late September. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington said he'd free Hinckley on June 15 if he continued to remain mentally stable in the community in Virginia where he has lived since 2016. Hinckley, who was acquitted by reason of insanity in 1982, spent two decades before that in a Washington mental hospital. Judge Friedman let Hinckley go live with his mom in Virginia in 2016 before gradually easing restrictions on him and finally allowing him to live alone in 2018. Freedom for Hinckley will include giving a concert - he plays guitar and sings - in Brooklyn, New York, that's scheduled for July. He's already gained nearly 30,000 followers on Twitter and YouTube in recent months as the judge loosened Hinckley's restrictions before fully lifting all of them. But the graying 67-year-old is far from being the household name that he became after shooting and wounding the 40th U.S. president - and several others - outside a Washington hotel. Today, historians say Hinckley is at best a question on a quiz show and someone who unintentionally helped build the Reagan legend and inspire a push for stricter gun control. John Hinckley Jr., 67 the man who attempted to assassinate former President Ronald Reagan in 1981 when he was 24-years-old, tweeted 'FEEDOM AT LAST!!!' after a little more than 41 years in jail John Hinckley Jr., who shot President Reagan, was initially granted an unconditional release and be free of court restrictions on June 15. Pictured: Hinckley Jr spotted out and about in Williamsburg, Virginia on June 7th U.S. Marshalls escort John Hinckley Jr. as he returns to a marine base via helicopter in Quantico, Virginia, August 8, 1981. Hinckley Jr., who shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was freed from court oversight Wednesday, June 15, 2022 officially concluding decades of supervision by legal and mental health professionals 'If Hinckley had succeeded in killing Reagan, then he would have been a pivotal historical figure,' H.W. Brands, a historian and Reagan biographer, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. 'As it is, he is a misguided soul whom history has already forgotten.' Barbara A. Perry, a professor and director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center, said that Hinckley 'would be maybe a Jeopardy question.' But his impact remains tangible in Reagan's legacy. 'For the president himself to have been so seriously wounded, and to come back from that - that actually made Ronald Reagan the legend that he became ... like the movie hero that he was,' Perry said. Friedman, the federal judge overseeing Hinckley's case, said on June 1 that Hinckley has shown no signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s 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 during the hearing earlier this month. 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 that there is now unanimous agreement: 'This is the time to let John Hinckley move on with his life, so we will.' Police and Secret Service agents diving to protect American President Ronald Reagan amid a panicked crowd during an assassination attempt by John Hinckley Junior outside the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, DC on March 30, 1981 In this Nov. 18, 2003 file photo, John Hinckley Jr. arrives at U.S. District Court in Washington. In 2018, a D.C. judge had ruled that the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan could move out of his mother's house 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 in Virginia. Previously, Hinckley could not legally own a gun, or use alcohol or drugs. He was also legally barred from reaching out to Reagans children, or other victims of the heinous 1981 attack, or their families - as well as Foster, who Hinckley was then obsessed with, crediting the assassination attempt as a bid to gain the 'Taxi Driver' star's affection. Twenty-five years old and acting alone, Hinckley was declared 'not guilty' in the attempt and ruled to be suffering from acute psychosis - with the attack being a misguided bid by the man to gain the affection of Foster. Hinckley's attorneys have argued that their client had been 'ravaged by mental illness at the time,' and that he has since received 'world class mental health treatment' and benefitted from a support system set in place by family and health professionals. 'There is no evidence of danger whatsoever,' Hinckley's attorney, Barry Levine, asserted, adding that Hinckley has been given an 'excellent' prognosis by his doctors and therapists. Some of the evidence in the trial of John W. Hinckley was made available after his guilty verdict was announced. This is a note written to actress Jodie Foster on March 6, 1981, just over three weeks before President Reagan was shot President Reagan's would-be assassin said he was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom he had an obsession 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 Wednesday's hearing, prosecutors wrote that health officials who have overseen Hinckley's 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 Hinckley's release from conditions if he continued to show mental stability and follow restrictions. 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. The shooting paralyzed Reagan press secretary James Brady, who died in 2014. It also injured Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty - who each took a bullet for the president, likely saving his life. The then-president was also wounded in the attack, with a bullet piercing the head of state's lung, and ending up lodged near his heart President Ronald Reagan, center, is shown being shoved into the President's limousine by secret service agents after being shot on March 30, 1981 Since his 2016 release from mental hospital, Hinckley has created a YouTube and often posts videos of himself playing guitar and singing In July, Hinckley 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 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. Entries from Hinckley Jr.'s diary reveal he occasionally 'regretted' his 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan, but he felt 'accomplished and satisfied' that he tried. A man who stormed the US Capital waving a giant confederate flag with his son has been found guilty for his role in the January 6 riot. Kevin Seefried, 52, and his son Hunter Seefried, 24, were both convicted of trespassing on restricted grounds, obstruction of an official proceeding, and disorderly conduct by a judge on Wednesday afternoon after waiving their right to a trial by jury. The father and son duo from Delaware could face up to 20 years in prison for their obstruction charges alone, though it is speculated they will not receive that maximum sentence. Hunter was let off the hook for a destruction of property charge. The verdict was handed down by Judge Trevor McFadden - an appointee of President Trump - who previously acquitted a New Mexico government official of January 6 destruction charges. The trial featured testimony from Capitol Police Eugene Goodman, who successfully diverted the Seefrieds and a mob of rioters away from the Senate chambers during the riot. Kevin Seefried carrying a large Confederate flag through the US Capital building on January 6, 2021 Kevin Seefried (second from left) and his son Hunter Seefried (third from left) confronting a Capital Police officer on January 6, 2021 The Seefrieds became some two of the most prominent faces of the January 6 riots after Kevin was photographed throughout the capital carrying a large Confederate flag over his shoulder - a photograph that became emblematic of the mayhem of the day. Dramatic photos from the riot showed Kevin and his son Hunter intimidating Capital Police, and footage showed them entering the Capital by pushing in and climbing through a broken window. The pair were some of the first rioters to breach the capital, and as they waved their oversized confederate flag became literal standard bearers for the insurrectionists. Kevin Seefried leaving court after his was found guilty of trespassing on restricted grounds, obstruction of an official proceeding, and disorderly conduct on Wednesday afternoon Kevin Seefried and his son Hunter Seefried after their guilty convictions on Wednesday afternoon Hunter Seefried broke down in tears as he left the courtroom after his guilty verdict on Wednesday afternoon In his testimony, Officer Goodman recalled confronting the pair in the group of rioters that he lured away from the senate chambers. He described Kevin as being 'very angry,' and said he was 'screaming' and the 'complete opposite of pleasant.' Goodman told the court that he remembered Kevin swinging the base of his flagpole at him, and using a 'jabbing motion' to move him away. Goodman also recalled a sneering smug from Hunter, describing a 'smirkish look on his face, like a 'we won' kinda look on his face.' Goodman won the Congressional Gold Medal for his actions on January 6. Capitol Hill Police Officer Eugene Goodman (right) testified during the Seefrieds' trial. He recalled the pair violently confronting him on January 6, 2021 An FBI wanted poster for Kevin Seefried for his participation in the January 6th Capital riots In waiving their right to a jury - a tactic that has been used by a number of other January 6 defendants - the Seefrieds' trial was heard by Judge McFadden, who handed down a verdict based on the proceedings. McFadden found that the prosecution's charge that Hunter had entered the capital through physical violence unfounded, arguing that the window pane he smashed through to enter was already broken. 'Here, I think the job already was finished by the time the defendant acted,' said McFadden, describing the broken window pane Hunter broke as 'utterly useless' by the time he got there. Wednesday's verdict marks the latest conviction in the more than 800 prosecutions handed down by the Justice Department. Kevin Seefried will be sentenced on September 16. Hunter could be seen crying after the verdict was read. The QAnon-obsessed father brainwashed by conspiracy theories who allegedly killed his children with a spearfishing gun because he believed they had serpent DNA admitted in a handwritten letter that he was 'delusional.' In the two-page letter viewed by PEOPLE, Matthew Taylor Coleman had written to a friend about what has been going through his mind in the 10 months since he was locked up for the murder of his two children in August 2021. 'I was deceived,' Coleman wrote in the letter from an undisclosed federal prison in California. 'I was deceiving myself. I know now that the [reptile] DNA thing was a delusion in my own mind. I made myself believe something that wasn't there.' Coleman has confessed to killing his son Kaleo, 2, and daughter Roxy, 10 months, by shooting them in the heart with a spear gun after driving to Rosalito, Mexico, from their home in Santa Barbara, California. He has been charged with two counts of foreign first-degree murder of United States nationals, and has pleaded not guilty. A court hearing scheduled for May has been delayed until late July. Matthew Coleman confessed to killing his son Kaleo, 2, and daughter Roxy, 10 months, by shooting them in the heart with a spear gun in Mexico in August 2021 Matthew Coleman, who is in federal prison, appeared in court on September 9 for the double homicide of his two children. His next court hearing has been delayed to late July In the letter to his friend, Coleman revealed his thinking behind his belief that his wife, Abby, had reptile DNA that she passed down to their children - which was just one of several conspiracy theories the father consumed. Now, without access to the Internet with websites spouting conspiracy theories, Coleman wrote in the letter that he is 'having to use my mind to figure things out.' 'I'm sorting through it all now,' he wrote. 'There's a lot to unpack, but I have to figure out what I really believe, but I don't have access to information anymore, so I'm having to use my mind to figure things out.' In August 2021, Coleman and his wife were packing for a family trip when Coleman abruptly put the children in the van and drove away from their home in Santa Barbara, California. Coleman's wife Abby called police out of concern, but told the authorities that she did not believe her children were in danger and thought they would all return home soon. But instead, Coleman drove the children to a ranch in Mexico, killed them with a spearfishing gun. Their bodies were found on the side of the road and Coleman was later arrested trying to return to America in the family's Mercedes Sprinter Van. After police picked up Coleman at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on August 9, 2021, and confronted him with the fact they had found the children's bodies, he confessed to the killings. Coleman told authorities he had been radicalized by British conspiracy theorist David Icke, and was possessed into thinking there are 'lizard people' on earth, court documents revealed. Icke's theories are so extreme that he has been banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. 'He explained that he first learned of 'Lizard People' on Twitter and from 'that British guy with white hair,' FBI Special Agent Joseph P. Hamer wrote in his search warrant. In a two-page letter, Coleman wrote to friend about what has been going through his mind in the 10 months since he was locked up for the murder of his two children in August 2021 Coleman revealed his thinking behind his belief that his wife, Abby, had reptile DNA that she passed down to their children In the notes, he went on: 'I believe, based on my investigation of this case, 'that British guy with white hair' refers to David Icke, a British conspiracy theorist with white hair, who has published several books, including 'Children of the Matrix' which describes, among other things, 'Nefilim,' 'interbreeding [] between the reptilians and the blond-haired, blue-eyed, Nordic peoples,' 'reptilian DNA,' and 'royal' bloodlines[ of] the reptilian Nordic hybrids,' and their relation to the 'Illuminati.'' Icke's conspiracy theories include that COVID-19 is not a real virus and that the pandemic was orchestrated to destabilize the world. He has been banned from entering Australia, accused of the denying the holocaust and labeled anti-Semitic for his offensive suggestions that many of the 'lizard people' who he claims run the world in a secret society are Jewish. Coleman previously told the investigators how he believed he and his children were entering the Matrix. He told investigators that his true name 'was Neo. M. Coleman' and discussed time travel, teleportation,' and attested that his kids had warned him 'about babies being placed in fireworks, food, and walls.' Coleman went on to claim that Q - the name of the anonymous account whose 2017 post to image-sharing site 4Chan sparked the QAnon movement- was communicating with him directly, telling agents that he 'eventuallysaw the big picture that he had to kill his children to prevent them from becoming an alien species that would release carnage over the Earth.' Coleman 'said he knew what he did was wrong, but it was the only course of action that would save the world,' according to court documents. In the weeks and months before the killings, Coleman also became obsessed with QAnon. He ranted to agents after confessing to the double murder, saying he was 'either crazy or the only person left on Earth that is a true man.' Border agents arrested Coleman (right) after he tried to cross from Tijuana into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Pictured: Coleman with his wife, Abby (left), and their son Kaleo Social media posts show how Coleman had become obsessed with QAnon and religion in the months before he killed his kids Explaining why he killed his two kids, Coleman 'mentioned during the interview that 'Q' was actually talking to him' ahead of the murders, the filing states, referring to the eponymous, anonymous online persona that set off the conspiracy movement in 2017. Coleman, who had told investigators he killed the children because they had 'serpent DNA,' continued: 'Anyways, was actually still thinking of burning them in case there's [sic] a chip in them or something. After not returning his wife's texts as to their whereabouts for more than 48 hours, Coleman, while laying in bed with his two kids at City Express Hotel, a Christian resort in Rosarito, Mexico, just after 3 am, sent her a stream of bizarre text offering a glimpse into his shattered mindset, the document reveals 'Hi babe, miss you too,' read one of the texts, sent in the early hours of August 9 - the day of the murder, according to the filing. 'Things have been rough but starting to get some clarity as well. Still confused on a lot of things though and processing through them. 'So many crazy thoughts going through my head right now, hard to explain,' he went on, adding that he was 'getting some clarity through my grandmas [sic] old bibles.' 'Going to keep processing through everything and hope to get some answers.' He then offered his wife of four years an eerie sign-off that seemingly forecasted the horrid acts he would commit late in the day, in the last message he would ever send her. 'Hope all this craziness ends soon. Love you,' Coleman wrote, according to the warrant, before murdering his children just hours later. Coleman lived in Santa Barbara, California with his wife and two kids. He left on August 7 and checked into the City Express Hotel in Rosarito, Mexico. Two days later he was arrested after trying to get back in the US at the San Ysidro Point of Entry for the murder of his two children The document further revealed that after being apprehended by officers upon his return to the US two days later, Coleman told agents that he had started noticing 'strange coincidences' five or six days before committing the murders. According to the warrant, Coleman discussed with investigators 'QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories as well as Strong's numbers (an index of every word in the Bible),' before telling them he had experienced 'visions and signs revealed that his wife possessed serpent DNA.' Coleman remains in custody in federal prison. A court hearing schedule for May 19 has been delayed to late July. It has not yet been determined whether or not he is fit to stand trial. A British art fraudster who has been on the run for 13 years faces extradition to the US after finally being caught. Angela Hamblin, 73, is now likely to serve her 12-month sentence in the US for making nearly 500,000 by passing off fake paintings as being by Turner and other artists. She pleaded guilty in New York in 2009 but became a wanted woman after disappearing. She is being held in Germany after officials acted on an international arrest warrant when she stopped in Frankfurt on a flight from Vienna to Edinburgh. After her arrest, the Daily Mail tracked her journey back to the Scottish Borders village of St Boswells, where she had been living quietly. British art fraudster Angela Hamblin (pictured) was caught in Frankfurt on a flight back to Edinburgh, after 13 years on the run from the US in Frankfurt Hamblin would sell fake artworks pretending they were originals from artists such as JMW Turner, Milton Avery and Juan Gris (pictured) Hamblin tried to sell fake art privately and on eBay when she and her husband, a professor at one of Americas Ivy League universities, lived in Revere, Massachusetts, in 2007. She passed off cheap decorative art as works by JMW Turner, Expressionist Franz Kline, landscape artist Milton Avery and Spanish Cubist Juan Gris. But she was arrested in a sting after US prosecutors were alerted to her activities. The prosecutors said the sale was not by any means an isolated instance. They added: She had been carrying out her scheme for years. She continued her fraud relentlessly. After discovering the paintings were fake, buyers would routinely demand their money back. On the few occasions Hamblin did refund money, she would re-sell the painting. In court, prosecutors demanded up to 41 months in jail. Hamblin told the judge she turned to fraud because of the financial pressure of paying the mortgage on their home in Revere. After denying the charges, she eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud and one of wire fraud. Wire fraud covers crime using electronic communication such as email and telephone. In a defence submission, Hamblins lawyer said that she appeared before the court a broken and humbled woman and that the case was a nightmare from which she cannot wake. She was present for her sentencing in July 2009 when she was jailed for a year and a day, but failed to hand herself in that September as ordered. It is unclear how she managed to get out of the US because she had been forced to hand in her passport. Locals in St Boswells were shocked to learn that she was a fugitive. Alex Gilham, barman at the nearby Buccleuch Arms, regularly serves the couple. He said: They are highly eccentric. Shes really outgoing, theyre mad in their own way but theyre really lovely. It doesnt surprise me that she could have done something unusual, theyre not really the type to have an office job. But another resident who asked not to be named said Hamblin was a difficult woman adding: She seems to have a great imagination with some of the things shes told us. Shes very good at name dropping. Hamblins husband did not comment. Additional reporting: Rob Hyde in Bremen, Germany Advertisement It's not the first place you might associate with revolutionary developments in aviation, but South Yorkshire is where a fleet of eco-friendly airships are to be built. Ten of the giant Airlander 10 machines will be assembled in a green aerospace manufacturing cluster in the county, creating 1,800 jobs. Though they look rather like sleeker versions of the German Zeppelins that took to the skies more than a century ago, they are filled with helium rather than the highly flammable hydrogen. Ten of the 25million Airlanders are being built by Bedford-based Hybrid Air Vehicles under a deal with Spanish airline Air Nostrum. Production is to start this year, with delivery from 2026. Flying from Barcelona to Majorca could typically take four hours Ten of the giant Airlander 10 machines will be assembled in a green aerospace manufacturing cluster in the county, creating 1,800 jobs Carrying 100 passengers at 90mph, the Airlander cannot compete with a jet aircraft in terms of speed and capacity. But the secret to its potential success is the eco-friendly technology that means it will have a carbon footprint per passenger thats less than a tenth of a jet. Ten of the 25million Airlanders are being built by Bedford-based Hybrid Air Vehicles under a deal with Spanish airline Air Nostrum. Production is to start this year, with delivery from 2026. Flying from Barcelona to Majorca could typically take four hours. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: This agreement enhances the possibility of the revolutionary, British-made and designed aircraft flying across Spanish skies. Like all his Ukrainian army comrades, Volodymyr Grotskov is fuelled by deeply-held patriotism as he risks his life on the bloodstained frontline of the brutal war against Russia. The 48-year-old electrical engineer says he loves his country and sees the Kremlin as a destructive 'cancer' threatening the world's peace and security. 'It might sound pretentious but I'm fighting for freedom and democracy,' he insists. Yet there is one big difference between Grotskov and all the other soldiers in his brigade who are sitting beside us, eating borscht and cleaning their guns while the thunder of artillery bombardment crashes around the battered Donbas frontline. For this member of the Ukrainian military is Russian and he is fighting to liberate his country from dictatorship as well as the preservation of his adopted nation. 'So what would happen if you were caught?' I asked this quietly-spoken soldier as we talked in his unit's temporary farmhouse base. 'Death would happen,' he replied with a laugh, admitting that many compatriots would see him as a traitor. Yet he is among scores of Russians so infuriated by Vladimir Putin's barbarity and corruption that they have defected to Kyiv's side including captured prisoners of war and even a senior official in one of Moscow's central financial institutions. 'Guys from Russia if you hate Putin's regime and want Russia to become a free, democratic country, join us,' declared Igor Volobuev, the former vice-president of Gazprombank, last week. Certainly Grotskov subscribes to such views. When we met close to some of the fiercest fighting in the deadly battlegrounds south of Izyum, he told me about the personal journey that led him to take up arms against his nation's forces. Scores of Russians are so infuriated by Vladimir Putin's barbarity and corruption that they have defected to Kyiv's side including captured prisoners of war and even a senior official in one of Moscow's central financial institutions (Freedom of Russia legion in Ukraine's armed forces pictured having taken a Russian tank) Volodymyr Grotskov, 48, says he loves his country and sees the Kremlin as a destructive 'cancer' threatening the world's peace and security. 'It might sound pretentious but I'm fighting for freedom and democracy,' he insists. His awakening began 11 years ago when pro-democracy protests erupted across Russia following ballot-rigging and fraud to fix the success of Putin's party in parliamentary elections. Grotskov joined small demonstrations in his home town of Kandalaksha after discovering a video posted by Alexei Navalny the anti-corruption campaigner who has since survived a poisoning attack and been jailed. The video, based on documents obtained by Navalny, exposed how billions of pounds were stolen from an oil pipeline project by one of Putin's closest cronies. Grotskov said: 'I was shocked by the scale of corruption and injustice that was organised at the highest level. I started to look into the political and economic situation and realised that we need to fight this regime.'. The soldier, whose family remain in Russia, began putting up posters and joining protests. But after Putin illegally seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, he decided it was immoral to pay taxes to fund a thieving and toxic dictatorship. 'I've always been the kind of person who wants to fight for justice,' he said. 'I left for Ukraine because I knew the hottest spot of fighting Putin's imperial regime is here in this country.' Initially he intended to set up an online project with friends inside Russia to spread information about corrupt state officials, expose the government's failure to prosecute them and encourage the imposition of stricter Western sanctions. He explained: 'They have fun, spend the money, have businesses abroad. I wanted to make sure that they would not be allowed into the West. The brainwashing has been going on for decades.' But after Putin stirred up a separatist insurgency in Donbas and war broke out later in 2014, Grotskov joined the Ukrainian volunteer forces despite living illegally in the country and ended up fighting in one of the most vicious battles near Donetsk. He is infuriated by the complicity of his fellow Russians. He said: 'Many people get the same information I had but they ignore it. When the war started I realised that 99 per cent of people are happy to see Ukrainians suffering, to see them bombed and killed.' Grotskov who was granted the right to remain in Ukraine last autumn, said he is proud to fight for Kyiv having joined up again four months ago, adding: 'I feel like it's my home. My friends are here, I love this country and I will fight for it.' But he also believes he is fighting to protect 'the whole civilised world' and to defeat dictatorship. He wants to see Moscow's empire crushed since he argues that Russia's problem goes far beyond the current president. He added: 'I'm not personally against Putin because if it's not Putin there will be someone else. Russia, the way it is today, should not exist. It is a cancer on the world's body. Take any military conflict around the world such as Syria or in African countries and you can always find the Kremlin's hand.' It is not known how many other Russians are fighting like this brave man alongside Ukrainian troops, risking execution or a show trial if captured. Clearly such people have great propaganda value although I came across Grotskov by chance. He is fighting for a regular army unit in the savage struggle to control Donbas which was described recently as 'hell' by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Grotskov said: 'I'm not personally against Putin (pictured) because if it's not Putin there will be someone else. Russia, the way it is today, should not exist. It is a cancer on the world's body. Take any military conflict around the world such as Syria or in African countries and you can always find the Kremlin's hand' One aide admitted they are losing up to 200 troops a day under the Russian attack. But there is also a Freedom of Russia Legion formed by anti-Putin dissidents in the armed forces, which the Ukrainian defence ministry declared in April had been set up with more than 100 recruits. One presidential adviser said it was formed after Russian captives, disgusted by atrocities in places such as Bucha and Irpin, pleaded to be allowed to take revenge on Putin. It fights under the white-and-blue flag used by anti-war protesters, which switches the red band of Russia's flag to white, and carries the slogan 'For Russia, For Freedom' a subversive play on Putin's claim that his forces battle 'For Russia, For Victory'. Earlier this month, the legion's social media channel showed some jubilant soldiers displaying their flag alongside a captured Russian tank. 'Now it will serve for the benefit of the liberation of Russia from Putinism,' they proclaimed. Their latest recruit is Ukraine-born Volobuev, who said he could no longer 'stay on the sidelines watching Russia ravaging my motherland'. Additional reporting by Kate Baklitskaya. Two top-ranking Democratic lawmakers are pushing to add more gender-neutral bathrooms in the Capitol. Reps. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Hakeem Jeffries of New York argue adding single occupancy restrooms wil benefit members of the transgender, gender nonconforming and disability communities. 'Implementing single-use restrooms will make a visible difference in the lives of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, as well as other marginalized communities, including people with disabilities, older adults, and parents of small children,' they write. There is one single-occupancy restroom in the Longworth House Office Building but none in the other two House office buildings. The lawmakers were showing their support to a request from staff for more such bathrooms and their letter came on the same day President Joe Biden held an event for Pride Month at the White House. 'Concern over the lack of appropriate facilities is shared by our staff and visitors who have relayed to us their stories and experiences, including Members of the LGBT Congressional Staff Association,' the two Democratic lawmakers wrote to Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the chair of the House Administration Committee, which oversees facilities on Capitol Hill. Clark is the assistant Speaker, and Jeffries is the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, making them top-ranking members of their party. Reps. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts (left) and Hakeem Jeffries of New York (right) argue adding single occupancy restrooms wil benefit members of the transgender, gender nonconforming and disability communities Transgender bathrooms is an issue that has come under political fire. Last month, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, signed into law a bill that requires students at public schools to use restrooms and locker rooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificates. Transgender students who decline to use the restroom required under the measure would have to use 'a single-occupancy restroom or changing room' provided by the school. Additionally last month, a federal judge struck down a Tennessee law that would have required businesses in the state to post warning notices on their public restrooms if they have policies allowing transgender patrons to use the facilities that match their gender identities. Transgender people have become political targets. Conservative state lawmakers around the country have pushed more than 100 anti-trans bills this year, with a particular focus on transgender students. And Florida has become ground zero in the fight for LGBTQI rights. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a measure, the Parental Rights in Education bill, that critics have successfully labeled the 'Don't Say Gay' law. It certainly aims to limit LGBTQI discussion in schools and let's parents sue schools over teaching they don't like. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden react to remarks by Javier Gomez, LGBTQ youth activist, during a Pride Month event in the East Room of the White House President Joe Biden signs an executive order at an event to celebrate Pride Month At the White House Pride event, Jill Biden, a teacher, called out states issuing such laws and said schools should be safe places for LGBTQI students. 'We know that in places across the country, like Florida, Texas or Alabama, rights are under attack. And we know that in small towns and big cities, prejudice and discrimination still lurk. It shouldn't take courage to be yourself. It shouldn't take courage to go to school and walk down the halls as the person you know you are,' the first lady said. A Korean volunteer fighter who recently returned from Ukraine has been referred to the prosecution for potential indictment on passport law violation charges, officials said Wednesday Rhee Keun, a Navy SEAL-turned-YouTuber, returned home from Ukraine, May 27, with knee injuries after his three-month service as a volunteer fighter against invading Russian forces. He underwent police questioning last week on charges of violating the Passport Act as he traveled to the war-stricken Ukraine in defiance of the country's travel ban. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, in charge of his case, referred Rhee to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office the previous day for further investigation and a potential indictment, officials said. Korea has banned its nationals from traveling to all regions of Ukraine since mid-February amid safety concerns. Entering the country without approval is punishable by up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won ($7,745) under Korean law. Rhee is now banned from leaving the country. (Yonhap) Flights deporting asylum seekers from British shores to Rwanda may be delayed for up to a year, ministers have been told, amid interventions by the European Court of Human Rights. The court could use temporary injunctions to roadblock the flights for several months to come, in the same way it prevented the first planned flight from taking off on Tuesday in dramatic last-minute fashion. Home Secretary Priti Patel was granted permission to go ahead with the removal flight to Rwanda this week by both the High Court and Court of Appeal. The UK's Supreme Court also refused to intervene. But the chartered Boeing 767 was grounded shortly before take-off on Tuesday evening following the late-night intervention by an anonymous judge at the Strasbourg based court. It comes as Justice Secretary Dominic Raab is examining whether it will be possible to disregard future last-minute injunctions from the Strasbourg court in cases already examined by British judges. A government source last night noted that its injunctions were 'not binding' and said many signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights, which the court interprets, routinely turned a blind eye to its rulings. Justice Secretary Dominic Raab (pictured on Tuesday outside 10 Downing Street) is examining whether it will be possible to disregard last-minute injunctions from the Strasbourg court in cases already examined by British judges 'Pulling out of the ECHR completely would be a massive call, but there is scope for looking again at how we treat out-of-hours injunctions from Strasbourg,' the source said. 'People talk about the UK's role in creating the court after the Second World War and that is right. But the way that charter has been interpreted in recent years has become very elastic and taken it a long way from its original aims.' The Home Secretary yesterday said she was 'disappointed and surprised' by Strasbourg's decision to overrule British courts but told MPs it was inevitable there would be legal challenges to her policy. A Cabinet source described the ruling by the court, which is part of the Council of Europe and completely separate from the European Union, as 'maddening'. Miss Patel last night vowed to press ahead with the Rwanda policy and revealed a series of further flights were in the planning stages. But it is understood that no final decision will be made on booking a new flight until the full implications of the ruling are clear. It remains unknown whether it was broad enough to bar all migrants from being removed. The row came as: Attorney general Suella Braverman refused to rule out Britain quitting the ECHR, saying the public had voted to 'take back control of our borders'; Tory MPs lined up to call for full withdrawal from the court, with one branding its intervention 'despicable'; Miss Patel condemned the court's secrecy it has yet to provide the Home Office with the full grounds for its bombshell decision; Ministers voiced anger at the court's refusal to identify the judge involved in Tuesday night's case amid rumours the decision may have been taken by a Russian; Hundreds more migrants crossed the Channel in small boats, some landing in Devon; Migrants due on Tuesday night's flight were told they would be tagged so they could be removed at a later date; Boris Johnson accused Labour of siding with the people traffickers after it savaged the Rwanda policy but failed to produce an alternative. Last night government lawyers were examining whether some migrants such as those who do not claim to have suffered ill-treatment in their home countries would not be covered by the ECHR injunction's terms and could still be put on a plane to Kigali. In an apparent reference to the campaign groups and human rights lawyers who have brought repeated legal actions, Miss Patel told MPs that 'the usual suspects' had set out to 'thwart' her plan. Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured in the Commons on Wednesday) was granted permission to go ahead with the removal flight to Rwanda this week by both the High Court and Court of Appeal. The UK's Supreme Court also refused to intervene It is understood a number of migrants were already aboard the Boeing jet at the Ministry of Defence air base at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, when the flight was abandoned. Miss Patel also condemned 'mobs' who staged a blockade of the A4 at Colnbrook immigration centre, near Heathrow, in an attempt to stop migrants being removed. A string of Tory MPs yesterday called for the Government to withdraw from the ECHR entirely. Sir Desmond Swayne told Miss Patel: 'We are going to have to grasp the nettle and extend the provision of taking back control to the ECHR.' Rother Valley's Alexander Stafford urged the Home Secretary to press ahead with the policy 'despite this despicable ruling from the foreign European Court of Justice'. Stoke MP Jonathan Gullis said: 'The ECHR has no place in the UK judicial system. The Government needs to free itself from it entirely.' According to the European Implementation Network, which monitors the effectiveness of the court, almost half of its judgments over the past decade have not been complied with by members. The UK is one of the top performers, complying with 80 per cent of rulings, compared with 72 per cent for France, 63 per cent for Germany and 39 per cent for Spain. Russia has implemented only 10 per cent of the court's rulings while Azerbaijan is on just 3 per cent. There were signs yesterday that a full withdrawal from the ECHR would split the Tory party but Downing Street left the door open, saying 'all options are on the table'. And Mrs Braverman said: 'We are considering our response in relation to that decision, but more broadly we are definitely open to assessing all options available as to what our relationship should be going forward with the ECHR.' However pensions minister Guy Opperman said that leaving the ECHR was 'not policy' and 'not something I will be advocating for'. A Boeing 767 aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down, near Salisbury, which is believed to be the plane set to take asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda before being grounded on Tuesday Former justice secretary Robert Buckland added: 'I don't think it's right for us, as a party, to abandon our historic commitments to the European convention. It was British Conservative lawyers who wrote it after the war.' Government sources expressed deep concern that authorities at Strasbourg had yet to reveal which judge ruled on the case. The court is one of the few European institutions to retain links with Russia, despite its pariah status in the wake of Vladimir Putin's bloody Ukraine war. Moscow's representative on the judicial panel, Mikhail Lobov, is understood to still be hearing cases at the court. The Court of Appeal yesterday issued injunctions barring the removal of three migrants in the wake of the Strasbourg case. The legality of the Rwanda deal will be decided by a full judicial review expected next month. A young woman has been left with shocking injuries after she was viciously bashed when an intruder broke into her home. About 9am on Tuesday, the woman in her 30s was at home when the person, believed to have been with a group, broke through the locked front door of her property in Atwell in Perth's south and assaulted her. CCTV has been released by detectives of a man they believe can assist with their inquiries. He is described as being 187cm tall and of a medium build, with olive skin, dark hair and a moustache. Several items were stolen in the aggravated burglary and the woman was left with cuts, bruises and multiple facial fractures. Police want to speak to a man caught on CCTV (left) after an aggravated home burglary left a woman with shocking facial injuries (right) Detective first class constable Alastair McDonald said the woman was understandably traumatised after the unprovoked attack in her own home. He said it was 'extremely essential' the person responsible for the attack is found. 'An incident of this magnitude - breaking in and assaulting someone - is incredibly severe, incredibly serious. We are working day and night to locate this person, or anyone else involved.' The woman was treated in hospital and has since been discharged. 'She's been traumatised by the ordeal but is recovering well. She's doing the best she can.' Fremantle police do not believe the intruder and the woman knew each other and they are asking for the public's help. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. It's the sort of dispute that you might have associated with the precious world of French winemaking. But the bitter spat over the award of a quality mark has erupted not in Bordeaux or Burgundy, but much closer to home. Wines from Sussex were yesterday given their own official designation by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The registration of Sussex as a Protected Designation of Origin for wine a guarantee of quality and geographical provenance similar to the French Appellation dOrigine Controlee has been dismissed by winemakers just over the border in Kent as a joke. Wines in Sussex were yesterday given their own official designation by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which guarantees geographical provenance. Pictured is Jody Tucker, who runs the Tinwood Estate, in Chichester with husband Art, holding a prize-winning bottle of fizz This is just a marketing exercise based on the political boundaries of a county, said Graham Barbour, the owner of Woodchurch Wine Estate in Ashford on the Kent-Sussex border. It tells you nothing about the geographical features of a particular vineyard or the quality of the wine. Some Kent vineyards share the same geographical features as parts of Sussex, so its meaningless to lump everything together under one arbitrary county designation, he told the Telegraph. The whole idea of a Sussex PDO is a joke, but perhaps I would say that. However, Sussexs wine producers have raised a glass to the decision, saying the move puts wines from the county on a par with those from regions such as Burgundy, Rioja and Tuscany. Art Tukker, who runs the Tinwood Estate, in Chichester, West Sussex, with his wife Jody, said: The Sussex PDO will cement the bond between the unique soils and climate of the Sussex countryside with our truly remarkable sparkling wines, giving them a sense of place and purpose on the world stage among Champagne and our other great rivals. The PDO limits the grape varieties that can be used to make Sussex wines to ensure that only the best are used. It also requires longer bottle ageing for Sussex sparkling wine. Feeling flat: Winemakers Donna and Graham Barbour, who own Woodchurch Wine Estate in Ashford on the Kent-Sussex border Miles Beale of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association said: Not only does the PDO recognise the particular growing conditions found in Sussex, but it also shows the commitment of wine makers in this region to produce high-quality still and sparkling wines under strict production criteria. The PDO will enhance English wines established reputation and boost its vast export potential. Sussex wine is only the second product to be granted protection under the new UK Geographical Indication scheme, after Gower Peninsula saltmarsh lamb. Advertisement Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has asked President Joe Biden to declare a major disaster in his state due to the devastating flooding and destruction that has engulfed Yellowstone National Park, while a dramatic new video shows the struggle thousands had to go to in evacuating the park. Gianforte, a Republican, has asked the Democratic president, has asked for the feds to come in and investigate and hopefully alleviate some of the state's issues resulting from what park officials called a once in a 'thousand-year event.' His letter said: 'I respectfully request that a major disaster be declared for the State of Montana as a result of spring flooding that began on June 10, 2022.' The letter explained that a combination of factors had caused the flooding, including winter snows - known as 'snowpack' melting much more rapidly than usual, leading to an inundation of water. Gianforte added that cooler-than-average temperatures throughout much of April and May had kept snow in place for far longer than usual, meaning it has now melted more quickly than it normally would, overwhelming the area with rushing waters. The unprecedented flooding drove more than 10,000 visitors out of park and damaged hundreds of homes in nearby communities, though remarkably no was reported hurt or killed. The only visitors left in the massive park straddling three states were a dozen campers still making their way out of the backcountry. A new video posted to YouTube documented the rising waters and devastation as people continue to try and evacuate the park. The video begins with the person filming showing the storm waters creep toward houses and vehicles, coming closer and closer to destroying a bridge between two facilities. The scene then cuts to an intersection where all four points are covered up by massive amounts of water, with road guideposts clearly about to sink into the morass. The person filming then begins to display the attempt to escape and evacuate the park, dramatically attempting to navigate gaining floodwaters, before making it through, only to arrive in even more floods. The state is asking Washington for EPA assistance in assessing quality of public water. Officials warned on Tuesday that local drinking water has become unsafe, and to be on alert for displaced wildlife. They've also asked the energy department to restore power for affected communities; the Army Corps of Engineers to fight against flooding and the transportation department to assist and assess federal roadways. In terms of costs, the state is saying that already $29million in transportation infrastructure has been done while the areas affected usually produce hundreds of millions in tourism spending. Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has asked President Joe Biden to declare a major disaster in his state due to the devastating flooding and destruction caused at Yellowstone National Park Gianforte, a Republican, has asked the Democratic president, has asked for the feds to come in and investigate and hopefully alleviate some of the state's issues resulting from what park officials called a once in a 'thousand-year event' The unprecedented flooding drove more than 10,000 visitors out of park and damaged hundreds of homes in nearby communities, though remarkably no was reported hurt or killed. The only visitors left in the massive park straddling three states were a dozen campers still making their way out of the backcountry The state is asking Washington for EPA assistance in assessing quality of public water. Officials warned on Tuesday that local drinking water has become unsafe, and to be on alert for displaced wildlife They've also asked the energy department to restore power for affected communities; the Army Corps of Engineers to fight against flooding and the transportation department to assist and assess federal roadways The letter, which was sent by acting Governor Kristen Juras, also includes geological survey assessment and health and human services requests. Parts of Yellowstone will remain closed for the rest of the year because of extensive flood damage, managers say, with the oldest national park in the United States completely shuttered Wednesday. Park officials characterized the severe flooding tearing through the region as a once in a 'thousand-year event,' that could alter the course of the Yellowstone river and surrounding landscapes forever. Officials say that the river's volume is flowing 20,000 cubic feet per second faster than the previous record measured in the 90s. 10,000 tourists were evacuated - including a dozen trapped campers who were rescued by helicopter - emptying the park completely of all visitors. All entrances to the park were closed on Tuesday, and though park services say some southern roads may open in a week, they predicted that the northern roads will be closed through the fall. Houses in surrounding communities have been flooded or washed away by streams that turned into raging rivers, roads have been carved away, and bridges have collapsed into the torrent. A bridge near Gardiner, Montana, washed out by the massive flooding that has ravaged the Yellowstone National Park region A house collapsing into the Rock Creek after historic flooding turned the creek into a raging river. Numerous houses have been washed away in the flooding Officials have characterized the unprecedented flooding as a once in a millennium occurrence. 'This isn't my words, but I've heard this is a thousand-year event,' said Cam Sholly, the superintendent of Yellowstone Waters continued to flow heavily through the Yellowstone River on Wednesday, as the devastation continued throughout the national park region 'All park entrances and roads are temporarily closed due to extremely hazardous conditions from recent flooding,' reads a warning at the top of Yellowstone National Park's website, 'The backcountry is also closed at this time.' The Yellowstone River seen tearing through the community on its banks in Billings, Montana, on Tuesday Floodwater could still be seen surging through the landscape on Tuesday, as pictured above in Billings, Montana 'All park entrances and roads are temporarily closed due to extremely hazardous conditions from recent flooding,' reads a warning at the top of Yellowstone National Park's website, 'The backcountry is also closed at this time.' In a statement issued Tuesday on its website, the park warned that its northern portion likely to remain closed for a 'substantial length of time,' citing the severe damages to vital infrastructures within the park. The statement describes lengths of road that are 'completely gone,' and will require extensive time and effort to repair or rebuild entirely. 'It is probable that road sections in northern Yellowstone will not reopen this season due to the time required for repairs,' the update read. The statement noted that roads in the southern section of the park appeared to be less damaged, and that authorities would be assessing that damage to determine when a reopening might be possible. A riverbank carved up by the raging floodwaters near Gardiner, Montana, on June 15. The waters were continuing to rage on Wednesday A cameraman filming the location where a house previously stood before it was swept into the floodwaters in Gardiner, Montana 10,000 tourists were evacuated - including a dozen trapped campers who were rescued by helicopter - emptying the park completely of all visitors Officials have characterized the unprecedented flooding as a once in a millennium occurrence. 'This isn't my words, but I've heard this is a thousand-year event,' said Cam Sholly, the superintendent of Yellowstone. Sholly noted that the river's volumetric flow has shattered recorded records by a staggering level as of last weekend. 'From what I understand, one of the highest cubic feet per second ratings for the Yellowstone River recorded in the '90s was at 31,000 CFS, and Sunday night we were at 51,000 CFS.' Sholly also pointed out that historic weather events 'seem to be happening more and more frequently.' All entrances to the park were closed on Tuesday, and though park services say some southern roads may open in a week, they predicted that the northern roads will be closed through the fall After declaring a statewide emergency on Tuesday, Montana Governor Gianforte said in a statement that rapid snowmelt and recent heavy rains have brought 'severe flooding that is destroying homes, washing away roads and bridges, and leaving Montanans without power and water services.' All tourists were ordered out of the park, as rockslides rained down on roads, mudslides slid down valleys, and the raging river pulled landscapes, bridges and buildings alike into its torrent. 'It is just the scariest river ever,' Kate Gomez of Santa Fe, New Mexico, said Tuesday. 'Anything that falls into that river is gone.' 12 backpackers remained in the park's back-country after the closure, and were eventually evacuated by a Montana National Guard helicopter. After declaring a statewide emergency on Tuesday, Gianforte said in a statement that rapid snowmelt and recent heavy rains have brought 'severe flooding that is destroying homes, washing away roads and bridges, and leaving Montanans without power and water services.' 'I have asked state agencies to bring their resources to bear in support of these communities,' he said. The upheaval followed one of the region's wettest springs in many years and coincided with a sudden spike in summer temperatures that has hastened runoff of melting snow in the park's higher elevations from late-winter storms. Videos shot by shocked locals and bystanders captured the devastating effects of the severe weather, including a home that was swept away by surging floodwaters on the banks of the Yellowstone River, a bridge collapse, and cars on a mountain pass narrowly being missed by falling rocks dislodged by the storm. The Yellowstone River flowing through Gardiner, Montana, has been widened by the floodwaters that continue to rage through the region A cabin in Stillwater Mine, Montana, that was washed away by the floodwaters that came raging through the region In Red Lodge, Montana, a town of 2,100 that's a popular jumping-off point for a scenic, winding route into the Yellowstone, a creek running through town jumped its banks and swamped the main thoroughfare, leaving trout swimming in the street a day later under sunny skies. Residents described a harrowing scene where the water went from a trickle to a torrent over just a few hours. The water toppled telephone poles, knocked over fences and carved deep fissures in the ground through a neighborhood of hundreds of houses. The power was knocked out but restored by Tuesday, though there was still no running water in affected neighborhood. The rains hit just as area hotels have filled up in recent weeks with summer tourists. More than 4 million visitors were tallied by the park last year. The wave of tourists doesn't abate until fall, and June is typically one of Yellowstone's busiest months. Mark Taylor, owner and chief pilot of Rocky Mountain Rotors, said his company had airlifted about 40 paying customers over the past two days from Gardiner, including two women who were 'very pregnant.' Taylor spoke as he ferried a family of four adults from Texas, who wanted to do some more sightseeing before heading home. 'I imagine theyre going to rent a car and theyre going to go check out some other parts of Montana - somewhere drier,' he said. At a cabin in Gardiner, Parker Manning of Terre Haute, Indiana, got an up-close view of the roiling Yellowstone River floodwaters just outside his door. Entire trees and even a lone kayaker floated by. In early evening, he shot video as the waters ate away at the opposite bank where a large brown house that had been home to park employees, who had evacuated, was precariously perched. In a large cracking sound heard over the river's roar, the house tipped into the waters and was pulled into the current. Sholly said it floated 5 miles (8 kilometers) before sinking. Roads have been washed out in the northern portion of the 9,000 square kilometer (3,400 square mile) park after torrential rainfall and snowmelt sent months' worth of run-off into rivers in just a couple of days. All the entrances to the park, which sits chiefly in Wyoming and is home to the Old Faithful geyser, remained closed Wednesday for a third consecutive day. Images released by the National Park Service showed large sections of paved road had been swept away by raging rivers. Aerial reconnaissance revealed 'major damage to multiple sections of road' in the northern part of the park, the agency said in its latests assessment. 'Many sections of road in these areas are completely gone and will require substantial time and effort to reconstruct. 'The National Park Service will make every effort to repair these roads as soon as possible; however, it is probable that road sections in northern Yellowstone will not reopen this season.' Health officials believe it will increase obesity in the affluent Sydney suburb A popular McDonalds in an affluent Sydney suburb is at war with its local health authority after announcing plans to 'super-size' its drive-through. The franchise in Cremorne, a leafy suburb on the city's North Shore, sits at a busy thoroughfare between the Northern Beaches and city providing fast food for both locals and drivers passing through the area. It has lodged a $550,000 renovation plan to double its drive-through capacity with a new dual-lane window that will see 14 extra people served at one time. But healthcare officials say the increased service lane will see an impact on the area's obesity rates. Cremorne McDonalds in Sydney's affluent north have proposed a $500,000 redevelopment that would double its drive-through capacity Poll Do extra McDonalds drive-through lanes lead to more obesity? Yes - more cars more food No - makes no difference Do extra McDonalds drive-through lanes lead to more obesity? Yes - more cars more food 40 votes No - makes no difference 212 votes Now share your opinion McDonalds said the move is in line with post-pandemic eating habits, with people more likely and willing to order and eat in their cars rather than walk inside restaurants. The $548,620 redevelopment would see the carpark spaces reduced from 35 to 26, an outdoor terrace removed and 22 outdoor seats taken away. The counter and McCafe would also be moved to accommodate the new design. There has been stiff opposition to the proposal from the Northern Sydney Local Health District, who say it will raise 'health impacts' including 'obesity' rates. 'There is a concern that increasing accessibility to fast food, via an expanded drive-through, may negatively influence the eating habits of children and adults, and undermine existing population health strategies to tackle obesity,' the organisation said. 'Data from the Australian Urban Observatory shows that Cremorne already has more than adequate access to fast food. Providing greater access to fast food via an expanded, dual lane drive-through is unlikely to result in positive population health outcomes.' The $548,620 redevelopment would see the carpark spaces reduced from 35 to 26, an outdoor terrace removed and 22 outdoor seats taken away Andrew Wheeler and Mary McCafferty, two senior managers with the Health District, said the new design will discourage people attending via foot or bicycle, asking for more places for people to arrive on two wheels. They said the McDonalds' proximity to the established Cremorne Community Health Centre, which provides disability and multicultural health support services, is also a concern. 'Accordingly, the centre's vulnerable persons may not be able to park in the vicinity of the centre to attend their health appointments and this may lead to vulnerable persons' declining health,' the group said. Despite those fears, the Cremorne McDonalds is the only franchise in the North Sydney Council area, which has an obesity rate of 19 per cent in adults - well below the state's 33 per cent average. In a response, McDonalds said it had introduced a range of new healthy options for customers and the majority of their restaurants had dual lane drive-throughs. 'McDonald's has been part of the Cremorne community for more than 40 years. We are reinvesting into the restaurant to make it more accessible and convenient for our customers and crew,' a spokeswoman said. 'Throughout the pandemic, we experienced a considerable increase in drive-through numbers. An additional lane will improve efficiency and reduce traffic congestion for our customers.' 'In the last two years there has been an increase in transactions in the drive through of 8.3 per cent which has been offset by a reduction in over-the-counter sales. 'The second drive-through lane will substantially increase the queuing capacity of the operation and provide a second point of order and will minimise the queuing impact on the internal carparking area, reducing congestion and reliance on carparking.' 2GB Radio host Ben Fordham weighed in on the issue on Wednesday night, saying the Health District's concerns were a non-issue. 'Seriously? What a ridiculous example of Government overreach,' he said. 'McDonalds makes the point that most of their outlets have two drive through lanes now anyway.' Tech giant Apple could be hit with a huge bill and forced to pay iPhone users hundreds of pounds each if a consumer watchdog wins a court battle due to be heard later today. All eyes will be on 8 Salisbury Square, where the Competition Appeal Tribunal sits, on Thursday afternoon where legal experts will pass their ruling over accusations the Silicon Valley conglomerate 'throttled' the performance of its own devices. Justin Gutmann claims Apple deliberately slowed down the performance of its iPhone handsets by hiding a power management tool in software updates to combat performance issues and stop older devices from shutting down suddenly. The consumer campaigner launched a claim with the Competition Appeal Tribunal seeking damages of approximately 768million for up to 25 million UK owners of a range of older iPhone models. His legal challenge alleges that Apple misled users over the incident by pushing them to download software updates it said would improve the performance of some devices but in fact slowed them down. The claim relates to the introduction of a power management tool released in a software update to iPhone users in January 2017, which was rolled out to slow down older iPhone models with ageing batteries - which may have struggled to run the latest iOS software - in order to prevent abrupt device shutdowns. Justin Gutmann claims Apple deliberately slowed down the performance of its iPhone handsets by hiding a power management tool in software updates to combat performance issues and stop older devices from shutting down suddenly Tech giant Apple could be hit with a huge bill and forced to pay iPhone users hundreds of pounds each if a consumer watchdog wins a court battle Mr Gutmann said information about this tool was not included in the software update download description at the time or that it would slow a user's device. He claims that Apple introduced this tool to disguise the fact that iPhone batteries were unable to cope with new iOS processing demands and that rather than recall products or replace batteries, the company instead pushed users to download the software updates. The legal claim says Apple did add a mention of the tool to the release notes for the update on its website at a later date but says the company failed to make clear that it would slow down older iPhones. In late 2017, after some users noticed performance issues, Apple apologised for its handling of the issue and said it would replace batteries for a heavily reduced rate for a limited time and also introduce a feature to allow users to turn off the power management tool. At the time, the company said it has never, and would never do anything, to intentionally shorten the life of a product, and Apple chief executive Tim Cook publicly apologised over the incident, saying the company never tried to mislead anyone over the tool. But Mr Gutmann claims Apple failed to sufficiently publicise its battery replacement service pricing of 25 plus return shipping and that the company had abused its dominant position in the market. The claim relates to the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, SE, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X models. It seeks compensation for each model owned and is an opt-out claim, meaning customers will not need to actively join the case to seek damages. 'Instead of doing the honourable and legal thing by their customers and offering a free replacement, repair service or compensation, Apple instead misled people by concealing a tool in software updates that slowed their devices by up to 58%,' Mr Gutmann said. 'I'm launching this case so that millions of iPhone users across the UK will receive redress for the harm suffered by Apple's actions. 'If this case is successful, I hope dominant companies will re-evaluate their business models and refrain from this kind of conduct.' Apple has not commented on the new legal claim. Specialist courts are being set up to boost the number and speed of rape cases going to trial. Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: 'These pilots will focus on improving support for victims, tackling the backlog and reducing delays.' Dedicated courtrooms will be established in three crown courts which deal with a higher than average case load of sex offences. In the courts, police, prosecutors and all staff will receive trauma training as part of a package of 'enhanced specialist sexual violence support'. The pilot scheme comes at a time when victims face waiting years for justice. It begins in October at Leeds, Newcastle and Snaresbrook Crown Court in London. Rape victims will be able to give pre-recorded video evidence, including cross-examination, to spare them the stress of giving evidence in a live trial. It is hoped the support will stop victims pulling out of prosecutions amid long waits for justice in part fuelled by the backlog of cases going through the courts. Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: 'Rape convictions are up two thirds over the last year and cases are being completed five weeks quicker. 'But we are restless to go further, and these pilots will focus on improving support for victims, tackling the backlog and reducing delays.' The initiative comes a year on since the Government published its landmark Rape Review Action Plan saying ministers were 'deeply ashamed' of the downward trends in bringing sexual offenders to justice. Operation Soteria, a new police approach to investigating rape that focuses on the suspects not the victims, is also being expanded from five forces to 19 by March next year. There were just 1,557 rape prosecutions in the 12-month period for 2020-21, down from 4,643 for 2015-16 (stock image) The most recent Crown Prosecution Service figures show tentative progress in obtaining justice for rape victims. Data from October 1 to December 31 2021 showed a 4.6 per cent increase in the volume of suspects being charged with rape 550 in total, up from 526 the previous quarter. The number of rape convictions also increased from 407 to 467 during that time. But there were just 1,557 rape prosecutions in the 12-month period for 2020-21, down from 4,643 for 2015-16. Home Office figures released in April showed that the lowest charging rate of all offences continues to be for rape, with just 1.3 per cent of 67,125 offences recorded by police in 2021 leading to a prosecution. Home Secretary Priti Patel said: 'Rape is an abhorrent crime and I want to see a transformation in the way these investigations are handled to make sure that all victims have the best support possible throughout the entire process.' Military police need to improve how they handle rape and domestic abuse cases, according to inspectors. Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said while they found 'evidence of good quality investigations' across the Royal Navy Police, the Royal Military Police and the Royal Air Force Police the 'safeguarding of victims needs to be urgently improved.' He added: 'Too many victims told us they felt unsupported.' Go ahead and order that drum kit, as noise-cancelling wallpaper may not be too far away. Scientists have found that when they mount tiny sections of moth wings onto a hard surface they are able to absorb up to 87 per cent of the incoming sound waves. The research team at the University of Bristol initially discovered that the unique scales on moth wings absorb echolocation calls used by bats. The sounds they absorb are all in a frequency too high to be heard by humans, so further work is required to lower the range of absorption to be utilised practically. But in future, we may be able to mimic this noise-cancelling wing texture on the outside of buildings to absorb traffic noise, or to could reduce the weight of planes. Professor Marc Holderied from the School of Biological Sciences, said: 'Moths are going to inspire the next generation of sound absorbing materials. 'New research has shown that one day it will be possible to adorn the walls of your house with ultrathin sound absorbing wallpaper, using a design that copies the mechanisms that gives moths stealth acoustic camouflage.' A close up image of a moth's wing showing a scale on the surface. These absorb echolocation calls used by bats to find prey, and effectively hide them from their predator A close up image of a scale found on a moth's wing, showing its unique ribbed structure Moths are under huge predation pressure from bats and have evolved a plethora of defences in their strive for survival, including their unique structure which absorbs echolocation calls ECHOLOCATION AND MOTHS Bats hunt at night using echolocation, where they use sound waves and echoes to determine the location of their prey Moths are under huge predation pressure from bats and have evolved a plethora of defences in their strive for survival Scientists from the University of Bristol discovered in 2020 that the scales on the moths wing act as sound absorbers, making them almost invisible to their nocturnal predator Male hawkmoths are also known to rub their genitals against their abdomens to give off a high-pitched, ultrasonic squeak which scares away some bats An elephant hawkmoth Advertisement Bats evolved the ability to 'see' in the dark using echolocation about 65 million years ago. Echolocation is where an animal emits a sound that reflects off nearby objects, enabling it to create an image of its surroundings in low lighting and find food. Moths are under huge predation pressure from bats and have evolved a plethora of defences in their strive for survival. The British scientists discovered in 2020 that the scales on the moths wing act as sound absorbers, making them almost invisible to their nocturnal predator. They proceeded to study whether the wing's structure could be utilised on sound-absorbing panels when not moving in free space. Professor Holderied said: 'What we needed to know first, was how well these moth scales would perform if they were in front of an acoustically highly reflective surface, such as a wall. 'We also needed to find out how the mechanisms of absorption might change when the scales were interacting with this surface.' The scientists adhered small sections of the moths wings on an aluminium disc before systematically testing its absorption ability. Sections of wing were tested with and without the scales attached, to both the upper and lower wing surfaces. They looked at how sound absorption was affected by the wing orientation with respect to the incoming sound, and by the number of wing scale layers used. It was revealed today, in journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A, that the wings absorbed as much as 87 per cent of the incoming sound energy, even when mounted on an sound-absorbent substrate. The noise cancelling effect is also broadband and omnidirectional, covering a wide range of frequencies and sound incident angles. Lead author Dr Thomas Neil said: 'What is even more impressive is that the wings are doing this whilst being incredibly thin, with the scale layer being only 1/50th of the thickness of the wavelength of the sound that they are absorbing, 'This extraordinary performance qualifies the moth wing as a natural occurring acoustic absorbing metasurface, a material that has unique properties and capabilities, that are not possible to create using conventional materials.' a: Location of wing samples taken from the moth species Antheraea pernyi for tests. b: Experimental set-up for characterising the angular distribution of sound reflection of wing samples and metal disc. c: Sections of wing were tested with (intact) and without (bald) the scales attached, to both the upper (dorsal) and lower (ventral) wing surfaces Graph showing the reflection coefficient of different surfaces when exposed to sounds of different frequencies. The higher the reflection coefficient, the less sound the surface absorbs. Left: Upper surface of wing scale (dorsal) Right: Lower surface of wing scale (ventral) The research opens doors to utilising the wing texture to create ultrathin sound-absorbing panels that could be mounted on the outside of buildings. Noise pollution is the second largest environmental cause of health problems, just after the impact of air quality. It is linked to hearing loss, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disturbances and stress. As cities get louder with global population growth, there is a growing need for efficient and non-intrusive soundproofing solutions. Additionally, they could be used in noisy modes of transport like cars and aircraft cabins to reduce their weight, and therefore fuel usage and carbon emissions. Further research from the Bristol scientists will involve creating prototype materials with a texture based on the sound-absorbing mechanisms of the moth. The absorption that they have characterised in moth wing scales is all in the ultrasound frequency range and above that which humans can hear, the lowest being 20 kHz. The next challenge is to design a structure that will work at lower frequencies whilst retaining the same ultrathin architecture employed by the moth. Advertisement Nearly 200,000 homes and businesses in England are at risk of being lost to rising sea levels by the 2050s, a new study has warned. Researchers said the country could face around 14 inches (35cm) of sea level rise compared to historic levels within 30 years and is nearly certain to see close to 3ft (1m) of advancement by the end of the century. It comes a week after the official in charge of Britain's flood protection said some of Britain's seaside towns and villages may have to be abandoned because of rising seas and coastal erosion. The new study also cautioned that it may not be possible to protect some communities, after examining how advancing seas caused by climate change combined with erosion of foreshores by waves are increasing coastal flood risk. It compared the rising risk of coastal flooding with existing policies for managing the coast. Nearly 200,000 homes and businesses in England are at risk of being lost to rising sea levels by the 2050s, a new study has warned. This national map shows some of the areas at risk Experts warned there is an urgent need for a national debate about the flooding threat to coastal communities, and for long-term clarity on 'transformational change' in some areas, including rolling back defences and moving properties. Rising seas combined with increased wave-driven erosion are raising the risk of coastal flooding, forcing the Government and communities to decide how to respond mainly whether to hold the line against the sea by building and maintaining defences or realign the shoreline and move properties. WHICH PARTS OF THE ENGLISH COASTLINE WILL BE THE WORST HIT BY EROSION? Figures published in 2019 by confused.com, based on data collected by the Environmental Agency's National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping project, suggest the following areas of England's coastline will be the worst hit by erosion: COASTAL EROSION: THE AREAS MOST AT RISK BY 2040 COASTAL AREA: LAND ERODED AFTER 20 YEARS: 1. Happisburgh, Norfolk 318 feet (97m) 2. Kessingland, Suffolk 230 feet (70m) 3. Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire 223 feet (68m) 4. Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire 200 feet (61m) 5. Sunderland, Tyne & Wear 131 feet (40m) 6. Filey, North Yorkshire 131 feet (40m) 7. Camber, East Sussex 131 feet (40m) Advertisement For a thousand miles of English coast (1,600-1,900km), there will be high pressure to rethink the current policy to hold the line as it may become unfeasible due to rising costs, or technically impossible, the study says. That accounts for around 30 per cent of the coastline where hold-the-line policies are in place, and could affect around 120,000 to 160,000 properties excluding caravans by the 2050s, with a proportion likely to need relocating. The study says it is not possible to say how many of them will have to be moved, as that will be a matter for Government, policy and funding for flood defences. The figure is on top of the 30,000 to 35,000 properties already identified in areas which have a policy to realign the coast. Last week Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the Environment Agency, said a conversation had to be started on the issue, 'not least because we owe it to the threatened communities themselves to help them decide what they want their long-term future to be.' But he stressed that it was 'far too early to say which communities will have to move' and that 'no one should be forced from their homes against their will'. Gwynedd council has told Fairbourne, which has around 410 homes, that it will only keep sea defences going until 2050, and will start to 'decommission' the village before then, moving villagers out. In Happisburgh, home to around 900 people, houses that were once 20ft from the sea are now on a cliff edge. The village has lost 35 homes to erosion over the past two decades. Although Sir James would not say which communities were at risk of being relocated, an interactive map has previously shown the British seaside spots that could potentially be wiped out by 2050 if sea levels continue to rise because of global warming. The map, created by US climate news website Climate Central, suggests that some people in parts of Liverpool, Hull, Blackpool and along the Norfolk coast could lose their homes by 2050. It comes a week after the official in charge of Britain's flood protection said some of Britain's seaside towns and villages may have to be abandoned because of rising seas and coastal erosion. Previous data suggests the places under threat include Fairbourne in Wales and Happisburgh in Norfolk, among others The new study also cautioned that it may not be possible to protect some communities, after examining how advancing seas caused by climate change. In Happisburgh, Norfolk (pictured) houses that were once 20ft from the sea are now on a cliff edge The new study focuses on the impacts of flooding and does not include properties directly at risk from coastal erosion such as clifftop homes. Those most at risk are single communities, those with dispersed clusters of homes and buildings on a long flood plain such as the Somerset Levels, areas with a narrow space between the shoreline and rising ground, and small quay and coastal harbour communities of the type found across Cornwall. The national assessment warns that 20 local authorities have 2,000 or more properties at risk North Somerset, Sedgemoor, Eastbourne, Wyre, North East Lincolnshire, Warrington Swale, Dover, Portsmouth, Tendring, Ipswich, Gloucester, Bristol City, Maldon, Adur, Cornwall, East Devon, East Lindsey, East Suffolk and West Lancashire. However, it has not looked at local features, or nationally important infrastructure such as nuclear power plants, that would mean the immediate coastline will be protected in the long term. Researchers said the country could face around 14 inches (35cm) of sea level rise compared to historic levels within 30 years and is nearly certain to see close to 3ft (1m) of advancement by the end of the century. Here, an aerial drone photo of the town of Allerton Bywater near Castleford in Leeds, West Yorkshire shows the flooded fields from the River Aire Projections for 2050: According to Climate Central, some people in parts of Liverpool, Hull, Blackpool and along the Norfolk coast could lose their homes Lead author Paul Sayers, an engineering consultant who works with the University of East Anglia's Tyndall Centre and has conducted analysis for the Climate Change Committee, said: 'Significant sea level rise is now inevitable. 'For many of our larger cities at the coast protection will continue to be provided but for some coastal communities this may not be possible. 'We need a serious national debate about the scale of the threat to these communities and what represents a fair and sustainable response, including how to help people to relocate.' Responding to the study, Jim Hall, Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks at the University of Oxford said: 'We need to have honest conversations with coastal communities that it will simply not be possible to protect every house and business from sea level rise. 'These changes are coming sooner than we might think and we need to plan now for how we can adjust, including a nationwide strategic approach to deciding how to manage the coast sustainably in the future.' The research has been published in the journal Oceans And Coastal Management. A solar eruption that passed by Earth this morning could spark minor geomagnetic storms lasting days, scientists have warned. The coronal mass ejection (CME) delivered our planet a 'glancing blow' at 00:37 ET (4:37 BST) Wednesday. Experts predict effects of the CME, which could include power outages, may be felt in the hours ahead. CMEs are large clouds of energetic and highly-magnetised plasma that erupt from the sun. They can be triggered when a storm on the surface of the sun causes a whirlwind to form at the base of plasma loops that project from the surface. These loops are called prominences and when they become unstable they can break, releasing the CME into space. Today's eruption was the result of a particularly slow-moving solar flare recorded on Monday, which lasted eight hours and caused temporary radio blackouts over Japan and southeast Asia. Above - NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an image of a long-duration solar flare on June 13 2022. This lasted eight hours and caused radio blackouts over Japan and southeast Asia. Below - A view of the CME as it erupted from the sun as a result of the solar flare. This was recorded by the outer LASCO C3 coronagraph onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The white circle in the middle indicates the position and size of the Sun WHAT ARE CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS? Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are large clouds of energetic and highly-magnetised plasma that erupt from the sun These clouds can erupt in any direction, and then continue on in that direction, ploughing through solar wind These clouds only cause impacts to Earth when they're aimed at Earth They tend to be much slower than solar flares, as they move a greater amount of matter CMEs can be triggered when a storm on the surface of the sun causes a whirlwind to form at the base of plasma loops that project from the surface These loops are called prominences and when they become unstable they can break, releasing the CME into space Advertisement Astronomers at SpaceWeather.com recorded the explosion of growing sunspot AR3032 on Monday at 00:07 ET (04:07 BST). The explosion produced a solar flare that lasted nearly eight hours from beginning to end, and was registered as an M3.4, putting it in the 'medium' class of solar outburst. The extreme ultraviolet radiation from the blast ionised the top of our atmosphere, which caused temporary radio blackouts over Japan and southeast Asia. Coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) also recorded a CME hurled into space by this solar flare in the early hours of the morning. Analysts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted it may give a 'glancing blow to our planet's magnetosphere' today. Spaceweather.com have since confirmed that the CME hit Earth's magnetic field at 00:37 ET (04:37 BST) on June 15. An update on their site said: 'Storms may occur in the hours ahead as Earth moves into the CME's dense, magnetized flank.' According to the MetOffice, minor G1-class storms are likely, with a chance for moderate G2 early this morning. Geomagnetic activity should ease later in the day, but the arrival of a high-speed solar wind stream early tomorrow could increase activity back to G1 storm levels. A minor storm can confuse migrating animals that rely on the Earth's magnetic field for a sense of direction. Moderate storms can cause voltage fluctuations and may even lead to power outages or damaged appliances and electrical wiring. Satellites and other spacecraft are also at high risk of damage due to raised levels of radiation. MetOffice also said that any auroras that occur as a result of the CME would likely be confined to higher latitudes, and would have reached Scotland in the early hours of this morning. However the short hours of darkness meant aurora sightings would be limited, if not impossible. A solar eruption from sun may deliver a 'glancing blow' to Earth and spark minor geomagnetic storms, scientists have warned. Pictured is an image taken by the Solar Orbiter probe The sun has been experiencing heightened activity for some months and last month unleashed its most powerful solar flare seen in five years. Our star appears to be moving into a particularly active period of its 11-year cycle of activity, which began in 2019 and is expected to peak in 2025. But scientists are concerned that the sun's increased activity could lead to potentially dangerous solar weather which may damage electrical grids, knock out satellites, and harm astronauts and space equipment on the International Space Station. CMEs only impact Earth when they're aimed in our planet's direction, and tend to be much slower than solar flares as they move a greater amount of matter. Flares and CMEs have different effects on Earth as well. The energy from a flare can disrupt the area of the atmosphere through which radio waves travel, which can lead to temporary blackouts in navigation and communications signals. On the other hand, CMEs have the power to jostle Earth's magnetic fields, creating currents that drive particles down toward Earth's poles. When these react with oxygen and nitrogen, they help create the aurora, also known as the Northern and Southern Lights. Additionally, the magnetic changes can affect a variety of human technologies, causing GPS coordinates to stray by a few yards and overloading electricity grids when power companies are not prepared. There hasn't been an extreme CME or solar flare in the modern world the last was the Carrington Event in 1859 creating a geomagnetic storm with an aurora appearing globally, as well as fires at telegraph stations. U.N. Special Rapporteur for Truth and Justice Fabian Salvioli speaks during a press conference in Seoul, June 15. Yonhap U.N. Special Rapporteur for Truth and Justice Fabian Salvioli called on the Korean government Wednesday to double its efforts to promptly compensate victims of serious human rights violations connected to the country's colonial and authoritarian legacies. The special rapporteur made the call during a press conference at the end of his eight-day visit aimed at examining progress made in redressing the legacy of serious human rights violations committed during Japan's colonial rule, the Korean War and the country's authoritarian period. "I would like to urge the responsible authorities to continue unabated the urgent task of seeking comprehensive truth, establishing responsibilities, and providing full reparation for the past human rights violations," Salvioli said. During his visit, the rapporteur met with Lee Yong-soo, a 93-year-old activist who was sexually enslaved by the Japanese military during World War II, a civic group for the victims of a 1948 civilian massacre on the island of Jeju, as well as victims of fabricated espionage charges under the country's past authoritarian regimes. Salvioli traveled to the sites of the May 18 democratization uprising in 1980 in the southern city of Gwangju as well as other historic cases of human rights violations. The rapporteur recognized measures taken by the government so far in seeking truth behind the legacy of serious human rights violations, but said "a comprehensive reparation process must urgently be adopted to ensure full reparation to all categories of victims." In particular, he urged state agencies accused of human rights violations, such as the National Intelligence Service, to provide unrestricted information access to a national truth-seeking commission while calling for the exclusion of the application of any statute of limitations to all serious human rights violation cases. "Accountability and legal redress to victims are essential pillars of transitional justice as it provides the basis for restoring society's trust in the state and its institution," Salvioli said, adding that is "a duty of the state under international law." Concerning Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women and other rights violations involving third countries, he called on those countries "to assist in the task of providing access to truth, accountability, reparation, and memorialization of the harm suffered." Based on the results of his visit to Korea, Salvioli will compile a report to be presented to the Human Rights Council in September 2023. (Yonhap) Poor mobile coverage is an issue that many Brits regularly contend with with people in rural areas particularly struggling to connect. Now, Vodafone believes it has the solution to these rural mobile 'not-spots', having switched on the UK's first self-powering mobile phone mast. The mast in Pembrokeshire runs on solar and wind power without the need to connect to the national electricity grid, and will provide 4G coverage to the community of Eglwyswrw. 'If this trial is a success, we would like to roll out more "self-powering" masts, with a focus on areas with poor or no coverage,' said Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer and Development Director at Vodafone. The mast in Pembrokeshire runs on solar and wind power without the need to connect to the national electricity grid and will provide 4G coverage to the community of Eglwyswrw What is the Shared Rural Network? In 2020, the UK Government signed an agrement called The Shared Rural Network (SRN) to improve rural mobile coverage by 2025. Under the deal, mobile industry operators will invest around 500 million to fill 'partial not-spots'. 'The Government will invest up to 500 million on new masts in "total not-spots" (areas with no coverage from any operator),' the UK government explained. 'This part of the SRN will also include masts built as part of the Home Office's new Emergency Services Network, which is also forecast to improve rural mobile coverage. 'Together these commitments are expected to bring 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the UK landmass by 2025.' Advertisement The mast is part of Vodafone's ambitious goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2027. It incorporates a Crossflow Energy wind turbine that can generate power, even in light winds, with minimal noise. Because it doesn't need to be connected to the national electricity circuit, the mast is fast and easy to install, according to Vodafone. 'Until now, the use of "small wind" turbines in the race to net zero has been limited due to issues of performance, reliability, and planning concerns such as noise, vibration, and damage to ecology,' said Martin Barnes, CEO of Crossflow Energy. 'The unique design of our wind turbine addresses all these challenges head on. 'We believe that one day its use could be as widespread and commonplace as solar panels.' The trial will run for two years at Home Farm in the village of Eglwyswrw, and if it proves a success, could pave the way for more self-powering masts in rural areas. 'Connectivity is vital to everyone, no matter where you live,' Ms Don said. 'This self-powering mobile phone mast, with on-site battery storage, could help us connect places that were previously impossible to reach. 'It will also help us reduce carbon emissions and minimise our impact on local environments.' The mast incorporates a Crossflow Energy wind turbine that can generate power, even in light winds, with minimal noise The price for the project remains unclear. So far, as part of its commitment to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2027, Vodafone has switched to 100 per cent renewable energy. According to the firm, this has reduced carbon emissions from its UK operations by 55 per cent in the last year. In 2020, the UK Government signed an agreement called The Shared Rural Network (SRN) to improve rural mobile coverage by 2025. Under the deal, mobile industry operators will invest around 500 million to fill 'partial not-spots'. 'The Government will invest up to 500 million on new masts in "total not-spots" (areas with no coverage from any operator),' the UK government explained. 'This part of the SRN will also include masts built as part of the Home Office's new Emergency Services Network, which is also forecast to improve rural mobile coverage. 'Together these commitments are expected to bring 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the UK landmass by 2025.' Advertisement Last night, a stunning Strawberry Supermoon lit up skies around the world, as our lunar satellite appeared 17 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than usual. The spectacular event could be seen rising over famous landmarks, including New York's Statue of Liberty, London's Shard and the Great Pyramid of Giza. While there is no single definition, the term supermoon generally refers to a full moon that appears brighter and larger than other moons because it is at its closet orbit to Earth. The Strawberry Supermoon technically peaked yesterday at 12:51 BST (07:51 EDT), but if you missed it, there's good news - the full moons on July 13 and August 11 are also likely to be classed as supermoons. Last night, a stunning Strawberry Supermoon lit up skies around the world, as our lunar satellite appeared 17 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than usual. Pictured: the supermoon appears next to London's Shard The spectacular event could be seen rising over famous landmarks, including New York's Statue of Liberty (pictured), London's Shard and the Great Pyramid of Giza While there is no single definition, the term supermoon generally refers to a full moon that appears brighter and larger than other moons because it is at its closet orbit to Earth. Pictured: the supermoon sets behind the telecommunication devices on top of the Feldberg mountain near Frankfurt What is a supermoon? The Moon orbits Earth in an ellipse, an oval that brings it closer to and farther from Earth as it goes around. The farthest point in this ellipse is called the apogee and is about 253,000 miles (405,500 kilometers) from Earth on average. Its closest point is the perigee, which is an average distance of about 226,000 miles (363,300 kilometers) from Earth. When a full moon appears at perigee it is slightly brighter and larger than a regular full moon and that's where we get a 'supermoon. Source: NASA Advertisement Some parts of the scientific community, including NASA, use the supermoon definition set by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, who classed it as a full moon that comes within 90 per cent of its perigee the closest point to Earth in its orbit. However, retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak calculates supermoons to account for changes in the lunar orbit each lunar cycle. Under his definition, May's full moon was a supermoon, while NASA did not classify it as such. June's full moon was 222,238.4 miles (357,658 km) from our planet when it rose at dusk, with skywatchers told to look in a southeasterly direction after sunset to see it creep up over the horizon. Cloud cover across much of England and Wales was minimal last night, although people in Ireland and Scotland unfortunately had their view obscured. If you snapped a picture of last night's Strawberry Supermoon, you could be in line for a prize. The Royal Observatory in Greenwich is encouraging people to submit their photos of the supermoon to win a 'brilliant astronomy prize'. 'The good news is that the Super Strawberry Moon will still appear full for a few days in and around 14 June, so there will be plenty of chances to capture that all-important shot,' it said. The Strawberry Supermoon technically peaked yesterday at 12:51 BST (07:51 EDT), but if you missed it, there's good news - the full moons on July 13 and August 11 are also likely to be classed as supermoons. Pictured: the supermoon seen over the Skyline of the CBD in Sydney Some parts of the scientific community, including NASA, use the supermoon definition set by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, who classed it as a full moon that comes within 90 per cent of its perigee the closest point to Earth in its orbit. Pictured: the supermoon over the Great Pyramid of Giza June's full moon was 222,238.4 miles (357,658 km) from our planet when it rose at dusk, with skywatchers told to look in a southeasterly direction after sunset to see it creep up over the horizon 'Due to optical illusion, the moon often appears much larger when it's near the horizon, so for a really dramatic photograph look for the moon just after moonrise or before moonset.' June's moon gets its name from it being strawberry season, when the berries are ripe for picking. The Farmer's Almanac also notes that this specific full moon has had a number of names in the past, all linked to the natural world, including blooming moon. Other names, often given by Native American tribes, include green corn moon, hoer moon, birth moon, egg laying moon, honey moon and mead moon. The phrase 'honeymoon' may be tied to this full moon, possibly due to the tradition of marrying in June or because the 'honey moon' is the 'sweetest' moon of the year. If you snapped a picture of last night's Strawberry Supermoon, you could be in line for a prize. The Royal Observatory in Greenwich is encouraging people to submit their photos of the supermoon to win a 'brilliant astronomy prize'. Pictured: the Strawberry Supermoon behind lower Manhattan and One World Trade Centre June's moon gets its name from it being strawberry season, when the berries are ripe for picking. Pictured: the full moon rising between two towere in Dubai The Farmer's Almanac also notes that this specific full moon has had a number of names in the past, all linked to the natural world, including blooming moon. Pictured: the full moon behind the ancient temple of Poseidon TV presenter, author and world-class astronomer Mark Thompson has previously said that a supermoon is a great opportunity to look for features on the lunar surface. 'The ease with which the full moon can be spotted makes it a great object for kids and newcomers to stargazing,' he added. 'See how many craters you can spot or if you can locate the Sea of Tranquillity where Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin landed in 1969.' Taking photographs of the moon can be a challenge, explained Thompson, who said people are often inspired to capture their own picture but just see a tiny white blob. 'To successfully capture lunar close-ups, a long lens is a must,' he said. 'Aspiring photographers should check out these expert tips from Canon for more advice.' Uber users in the UK will soon be locked out of the app unless they recommit to the firm's community guidelines, the ridesharing giant has revealed. As of this week, Uber riders and drivers will be seeing alerts telling them to agree to the guidelines, which ban behaviours including racism and sexual harassment. Users who do not recommit to the guidelines will eventually be unable to get online on the platform and effectively be 'locked out' of it. Uber told MailOnline that nothing has actually changed in the community guidelines recently; the firm essentially wants to bring the guidelines to each user's attention by making them re-agree to them. The guidelines prohibit behaviours such as racism, discrimination, fraud, sexual harassment, violence and much more. Uber said the alerts that prompt users to commit to the guidelines (pictured) will appear as a push notification or as a message in a Uber user's inbox UBER'S COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Below are some of the behaviours banned under the physical guidelines - Physical contact* - Sexual assault and misconduct - Threatening and rude behaviour - Discrimination - Property damage - Drugs and alcohol - Firearms and weapons ban - Fraud * Limited exceptions are permitted, such as helping a disabled person get out the car Advertisement Getting users both riders and drivers to re-agree to the guidelines will make trips 'safer and more respectful', Uber claims. 'At Uber, we believe that everyone has the right to move freely, no matter who they are, where they come from, or where they are going,' said Bex Xiao, head of community operations at Uber UK. 'We want every trip to be a respectful and positive experience for both riders and drivers, which is why we are asking everyone who uses our app to recommit to our community guidelines.' How long users will have to agree with the guidelines again before they're locked out of Uber depends on how often they interact with the app, Uber said. But on average, a rider will not be able to get online after one trip, unless they recommit. Uber said the alerts will appear as a push notification or as a message in a Uber user's inbox. Uber's community guidelines are lengthy, so users might have to set aside some time to read them properly before they agree to them. They prohibit any forms of sexual harassment, including 'commenting on someones appearance' or asking about their relationship status. Uber users could soon be locked out of the app unless they recommit to the firm's community guidelines, the firm has said (file photo) There have already reportedly been thousands of sexual assault cases involving Uber riders and drivers. UBER CHECKS IN IF IT SEES A DRIVER TAKING AN ODD ROUTE As of December 2021, Uber checks in with riders if it detects suspicious behaviour from a driver. If the app detects a driver taking unusual routes or making prolonged stops, it will send a message to both the rider and the driver 'to check if everything is OK'. It will also check in with the rider and driver if a trip finishes in a location that isn't the rider's chosen destination. A pop-up will automatically appear that gives the rider the chance to call for help either by calling 999 or the Uber safety line. Read more Advertisement In December 2020, the BBC reported that Uber had refused to report more than 1,200 alleged victims of sexual assault involving its drivers. Uber users either the driver or rider are already able to flag that something is wrong on Uber using an Emergency Button, which is accessible by tapping the shield icon on their app's map screen during a trip. Uber also recently introduced a feature where it checks in with riders if it detects suspicious behaviour from a driver, such as taking unusual routes. Uber's community guidelines also prohibit any type of discrimination, which can be against someone based on traits such as age, colour, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, appearance, race and religion. They also ban taking drugs or drinking alcohol, damaging property and committing any types of fraud. Fraud can include drivers deliberately increasing the time or distance of a trip or delivery and creating fraudulent fees, like false cleaning fees. Not adhering to any one of the guidelines means Uber users could be locked out of their account. It's part of a continued effort to educate everyone in the Uber community' about anti-racism and a 'zero-tolerance discrimination policy'. 'Having respect and the importance of behaving respectfully toward one another cannot be understated,' Uber said. Uber has stressed that it's not just drivers who are the perpetrators of assault. A recent high profile example is the murder of Uber driver Ali Asghar in Oldham last October. Mr Asghar was beaten to death by two violent passengers when he asked them to stop eating chips in his vehicle. Last month, the attackers were sentenced to a collective total of 28 years in prison. Uber, which is headquartered in San Francisco, is currently operating in the UK thanks to an 30-month licence extension granted by Transport for London (TfL) in March this year. The ridesharing firm has had a torrid time getting approval from TfL to operate on a long-term basis. TfL has previously cited passenger safety among the issues with the platform. The Black Death is regarded as the deadliest plague in human history. But despite years of research, its geographic and chronological origin has largely remained a mystery. Now, a new study of ancient DNA from bubonic plague victims claims to have cracked the conundrum by tracing the disease back to 1338 in what is present day Kyrgyzstan. Researchers retrieved ancient DNA traces of the Yersinia pestis plague bacterium from the teeth of three women buried in a medieval Nestorian Christian community in the Chu Valley near Lake Issyk Kul who perished in 1338-1339. The earliest deaths documented elsewhere in the pandemic were in 1346. Reconstructing the pathogen's genome showed that this strain not only gave rise to the one that caused the Black Death that mauled Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa but also to most plague strains existing today. Researchers say the bubonic plague spread across the Mediterranean via the old Silk Road trade route before sparking a near 500-year-long wave of killer diseases, termed the Second Plague Pandemic. Up to 200 million people were killed when the Black Death swept through the Middle East and Europe between 1346 and 1353, with half of all Londoners and up to 60 per cent of Europeans wiped out. Researchers believe the Black Death first originated in Kyrgyzstan in the late 1330s. They analysed ancient DNA taken from the teeth of skeletons discovered in cemeteries. Pictured is a headstone inscription from the Chu-Valley region in Kyrgyzstan. The inscription is translated as follows: 'This is the tomb of the believer Sanmaq. [He] died of pestilence [bubonic plague]' Pictured is an excavation of the KaraDjigach site, in the Chu-Valley of Kyrgyzstan within the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains. This was carried out between the years 1885 and 1892 TIMELINE OF HOW THE BLACK DEATH SPREAD A new study by an international team of researchers claims to have established the origins of the Black Death, which is regarded as the deadliest plague in human history. This is the timeline of how experts believe it then spread: 1338 - The disease originates in what is present day Kyrgyzstan 1347 - It later spreads across the Mediterranean via trading ships to ports including Sicily, as well as possibly via the Silk Road 1348 - The plague reaches North Africa, mainland Italy, Spain, France and the UK 1349 - People in Austria, Hungary, Switzerland and Germany become infected, too 1350 - The Black Death arrives in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries Advertisement The Silk Road was an overland route for caravans carrying a panoply of goods back and forth from China through the sumptuous cities of Central Asia to points including the Byzantine capital Constantinople and Persia. It also may have served as a conduit of death if the pathogen hitched a ride on the caravans. 'There have been a number of different hypotheses suggesting that the pandemic may have originated in East Asia, specifically China, in Central Asia, in India, or even close to where the first outbreaks were documented in 1346 in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea regions,' said archaeogeneticist and study lead author Maria Spyrou of the University of Tubingen in Germany. 'We know that trade was likely a determining factor to the dispersal of plague into Europe during the beginning of the Black Death. It is reasonable to hypothesise that similar processes determined the spread of the disease from Central Asia to the Black Sea between 1338 and 1346.' Researchers have previously associated the Black Death's initiation with a massive diversification of plague strains, a so-called 'Big Bang' of plague diversity. But the exact date of this event could not be precisely estimated, and was thought to have happened sometime between the 10th and 14th centuries. The research team have now pieced together a complete ancient plague genome from the Kyrgyzstan sites and investigated how they might relate with the 'Big Bang' event. Dr Maria Spyrou, of the University of Tubingen, and the first author of the study, said: 'We found that the ancient strains from Kyrgyzstan are positioned exactly at the node of this massive diversification event. 'In other words, we found the Black Death's source strain and we even know its exact date.' The Black Death is believed to have arrived in the UK in 1348 on a ship landing on the Dorset coast from Gascony in France, before quickly spreading throughout the country. Pictured, a depiction of plague victims being buried during the Black Death. The devastating bubonic plague pandemic ravaged Europe from 1346 to 1353 Researchers analysed ancient DNA (aDNA) taken from the teeth of skeletons discovered in cemeteries near Lake Issyk Kul in the Tian Shan region of Kyrgyzstan (shown) A view of the Tian Shan mountains. Studying ancient plague genomes, researchers traced the origins of the Black Death to Central Asia, close to Lake Issyk Kul, in what is now Kyrgyzstan WHAT IS THE SILK ROAD? The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes that runs across the Asian continent, connecting countries as far east as Japan to Europe. It derives its name from the lucrative trade in silk that occured across continents from at around 200BC. The road was once strewn with bustling cities, desert oases and market towns, but little is known about how the roads originally formed. Archaeologists at the Max Planck Institute and the Russian Academy of Sciences have found people were moving domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, and goat across the high mountain corridors as long as 4,000 years ago. Advertisement The research team behind the new study were from Scotland's University of Stirling and Germany's Max Planck Institute and University of Tubingen. They analysed ancient DNA (aDNA) taken from the teeth of skeletons discovered in cemeteries near Lake Issyk Kul in the Tian Shan region of Kyrgyzstan. The scientists were drawn to these sites after identifying a huge spike in the number of burials there in 1338 and 1339, according to University of Stirling historian Dr Philip Slavin, who helped make the discovery. They found the cemeteries, at Kara-Djigach and Burana, had already been excavated in the late 1880s, with about 30 skeletons taken from the graves, but were able to trace them and analyse DNA taken from the teeth of seven individuals. The sequencing, which determines the DNA structure, showed three individuals carried Yersinia pestis, a bacterium which is linked to the beginning of the Black Death outbreak before it arrived in Europe. 'Our study puts to rest one of the biggest and most fascinating questions in history and determines when and where the single most notorious and infamous killer of humans began,' Dr Slavin said. Part of his work involved studying the historic diaries of the original excavations in order to match the individual skeletons to their headstones, carefully translating the inscriptions, which were written in the Syriac language. The silk road is a complex system of trade routes linking East and West Eurasia through its arid continental interior. It derives its name from the lucrative trade in silk that occurred across continents from at around 200BC Dr Spyrou said: 'Despite the risk of environmental contamination and no guarantee that the bacteria would have been able to be preserved, we were able to sequence aDNA taken from seven individuals unearthed from two of these cemeteries. 'Most excitingly, we found aDNA of the plague bacterium in three individuals.' She explained that plague is not a disease of humans; the bacterium survives within wild rodent populations around the world, in so-called plague reservoirs. The ancient Central Asian strain that caused the 1338-1339 epidemic around Lake Issyk Kul must have come from one such reservoir, say the researchers. Co-senior author Professor Johannes Krause, of the Max Planck Institute, said: 'We found that modern strains most closely related to the ancient strain are today found in plague reservoirs around the Tian Shan mountains, so very close to where the ancient strain was found.' He added: 'This points to an origin of Black Death's ancestor in Central Asia.' The findings were published in the journal Nature. Chelsea and Inter Milan have begun talks over a loan deal for Romelu Lukaku, though the clubs remain far apart on the finances of a deal. Lukaku has held talks with manager Thomas Tuchel and Chelseas new owners and the Blues agree that letting their 97.5million club-record signing leave temporarily would be the best solution after a poor first season back at Stamford Bridge. The Belgian striker, 29, wants to rejoin Inter, who he fired to the 2021 Serie A title, but they cannot afford to buy Lukaku permanently and are hopeful a deal can be struck that will see him return on loan. Chelsea and Inter Milan have begun talks over a loan deal for Romelu Lukaku this summer Chelsea want a loan fee of about 20million and the majority, if not all, of Lukakus wages worth 300,000 per week paid. Inters starting point is a loan fee in the region of 7m. Lukaku is prepared to accept a significant wage cut to help make the switch happen but the onus remains on Inter to come up with an offer tempting enough for Chelsea. The former Manchester United and Everton star gave a bombshell interview in December where he stated his unhappiness at Stamford Bridge and was dropped from the German's team. The 29-year-old Belgian enjoyed a superb stint in Italy with Inter, who want to take him on loan Lukaku fell out of favour under Thomas Tuchel last season after a controversial interview He improved towards the end of the campaign but has been regularly tipped to make a swift exit from Stamford Bridge in one of the summer's early transfer sagas. The Italian giants are short of cash, walking the tightrope of Financial Fair Play and under pressure to make a significant profit in the transfer window and trim the wage bill. Chelsea are able to negotiate contracts and signings after a series of sanctions imposed due to Roman Abramovich's ownership were lifted when the Russian oligarch's sale of the club to a consortium led by Todd Boehly was completed last month. Advertisement At the time of writing the merits of Rwanda as a refuge for asylum-seekers are being hotly debated in the UK but one thing's for sure, there's no questioning the magic of its wild landscapes and the incredible animals that live in it. On a recent visit I went on a trek to find the country's most famous animal inhabitant the mountain gorilla, the world's largest primate. The adventure took place in the thickly vegetated Volcanoes National Park Rwanda and we finally came face to face with a family of gorillas after 30 minutes or so. MailOnline Travel's Sadie Whitelocks went on a magical gorilla-trekking expedition in Volcanoes National Park Rwanda, and after a short time met a troop of gorillas that included a mother and her one-month-old infant, captured by Sadie in the picture above Sadie describes how her heart was pounding as her small group approached the family of gorillas. Above is another shot of the adorable one-month-old infant in the group Sadie writes of her gorilla encounter (above left and right): 'It was like being in a scene from a David Attenborough documentary and our gorilla trekking group sat there in silence for around an hour, in awe of the gorillas' beauty and their mesmerisingly human-like traits.' A 2016 census revealed there were around 600 gorillas in the Virunga Massif, a chain of volcanoes spanning the northern border of Rwanda, the DR Congo, and Uganda We knew we were getting close when we began hearing excitable grunts, howls and screeches. It was difficult, though, to pinpoint where they were coming from given the density of weed-strewn trees and clumps of bamboo. My heart was pounding. Then, as we turned a corner, our guide Jolie warned us to slow down and be quiet as a family of gorillas came into view. There was a mother rolling around with a tiny one-month-old, a car-sized silverback munching on leaves and several more of his hareem scattered around. It was like being in a scene from a David Attenborough documentary and our gorilla trekking group sat there in silence for around an hour, in awe of the gorillas' beauty and their mesmerisingly human-like traits. Before setting off, one elderly lady in our group explained that visiting Rwanda's gorillas was one of her bucket-list items, but like many, she had to put her dreams on hold due to the pandemic. Now the country has reopened - with rapid Covid-19 tests being the only requirement - and tourists are steadily returning to feast on its offerings. It was magical being so close to the gorillas but at the same time, I felt slightly guilty about venturing into their habitat with cameras clicking away. Sadie says that she felt guilty venturing into the gorillas' habitat 'with cameras clicking away', but conservationist Veronica Vecellio from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund told her that the interactions do not stress the animals. Pictured left is the mother gorilla with her one-month infant and on the right, a silverback Above is Sadie's picture of the 'car-sized' silverback with one of the younger members of the troop Conservation expert Vecellion told Sadie that the gorillas had probably had a 'party' while the tourists were away during the pandemic but at the same time, 'tourism helps with the Rwandan economy and to educate people about habitat loss, poaching and the importance of protecting our environment'. Above is another shot Sadie took of the mother gorilla cuddling her infant Veronica Vecellio, a conservation expert I spoke to from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (a non-profit founded by the late American primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey), admitted that the gorillas had probably had a 'party' while the tourists were away but at the same time, 'tourism helps with the Rwandan economy and to educate people about habitat loss, poaching and the importance of protecting our environment'. She added: 'There have been studies around the proximity of humans to gorillas, with cortisol levels monitored, and it was found that there was no stress caused by interactions. 'Gorillas are extremely smart and know that we are there but they are not alarmed. This is the sign of a well-managed habituation project whereby the gorillas are exposed to humans. Our work is helping to keep the species alive. 'In the 2016 census there were around 600 gorillas in the Virunga Massif [a chain of volcanoes spanning the northern border of Rwanda, the DR Congo, and Uganda], but now we expect there to be lots more.' My gorilla trekking encounter had taken place on my third day in Rwanda, and before that, I'd decided to explore a lesser-visited spot - dormant volcano Mount Karisimbi. A stunning shot Sadie took of dormant volcano Mount Karisimbi. She reached the summit at 14,787ft (4,507m) during a two-day hike. Mount Karisimbi is the highest point in Rwanda and located in the Volcanoes National Park, on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo Sadie, pictured, said of the hike up Mount Karisimbi: 'Given its steep slopes and meandering paths through shoe-swallowing bogs and gulleys of shin-deep mud, this certainly isn't a trek for the faint-hearted' Pictured above are two of the six soldiers that guided Sadie's group to the summit of Mount Karisimbi Soldiers were needed for Sadie's Mount Karisimbi trek because fighting has recently erupted in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo After a bit of a slog, Sadie made it to the top of Mount Karisimbi and stopped for a picture before heading down The peak, which tops 14,787ft (4,507m), is the highest point in the country and also located in the Volcanoes National Park, on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Given its steep slopes and meandering paths through shoe-swallowing bogs and gulleys of shin-deep mud, this certainly isn't a trek for the faint-hearted. Along with the difficult terrain, its proximity to DR Congo, where fighting has erupted, means that ambushes are a risk and all treks are conducted with armed soldiers in tow [the Congolese government is accusing Rwanda of backing rebels in the east of the country and Rwanda has accused the DRC of bombing Rwandan territory]. On my trek, along with six soldiers and a guide, I was joined by two other intrepid tourists, Serge and Michele, who told me they had the goal of summitting the highest points of every country in the world. After conquering all of the more traditional peaks, from Everest in Nepal to Ben Nevis in Scotland, the duo from Montreal were focused on some of the more obscure spots on the map. Serge, who had spent 18 years in the Canadian military, explained to me that six armed soldiers were a necessary precaution so they could keep a lookout from all angles. A shot Sadie took on the way down from the summit of Mount Karisimbi, with the guide camouflaged amid the foliage Sadie said the views on the Mount Karisimbi trek (above) were 'otherworldly, with other volcanic peaks bobbing above the clouds and a cocktail of oranges and yellows melting into a cornflower blue sky' Trekkers traditionally set off for the summit of Mount Karisimbi at sunrise (captured by Sadie above) when the temperature is slightly cooler A selfie Sadie took during her epic hike up Mount Karisimbi, which she explains is home to an impressive spread of wildlife A map showing how Rwanda's highest mountain is located on the border with the DR Congo Emmanuel the guide also highlighted that Mount Karisimbi is home to an impressive spread of wildlife and sometimes rogue gorillas and buffalo can be a danger to hikers. 'If we fire the guns in the air, the animals will back away,' he said. The trek up the mountain took two days and we spent the night on the floor of a small hut located at 11,482ft (3,500m). The next morning, we set off at around 5.30am with the sunrise, to reach the summit. Along the way, the views were otherworldly, with other volcanic peaks bobbing above the clouds and a cocktail of oranges and yellows melting into a cornflower blue sky. Sadie stayed at the highly acclaimed Virunga Lodge hotel, which is perched on a hillside around a 40-minute drive from Volcanoes National Park Rwanda. Above, the view from a road leading to the lodge Towards the end of her trip, Sadie visited Rwanda's Akagera National Park and spotted a leopard (above) thanks to her guide's 'eagle eyes' There's an excellent assortment of animals in Akagera, Sadie reveals. She snapped an antelope (left) and a zebra (right) and also spotted lions, white rhinos, and buffalo First established in 1934, Akagera National Park (above) covers 1,122km sq (433 miles sq) Visitors to Akagera National Park (above, stock image) can opt for a self-drive safari or hire a guide A peek inside the room at Virunga Lodge that Sadie stayed in. The hillside hotel has just 10 villas, decked out with four-poster beds and outdoor showers TRAVEL FACTS Virunga Lodge by Volcanoes Safaris serves as a great basecamp to explore Mount Karisimbi and to visit the gorillas and golden monkeys at Volcanoes National Park. The lodge, which includes 10 villas, a communal dining area and spa, can help with logistics with tailor-made itineraries and drivers provided. Rates start from 600 ($740) per person sharing a villa in low season. For a change of scenery, Rwanda's Akagera National Park in the east lends itself to self-drive safaris with the possibility of spotting lions, leopards, elephants, black rhinos and buffalo. For an eco-lodge experience book into Karenge Bush Camp. Flights to Kigali, Rwanda, run direct from London, Heathrow, with Rwandair. For more information on what Rwanda has to offer, visit www.visitrwanda.com. Advertisement After a few days of winding my way around Rwanda's mountainous landscape and enjoying the charming surroundings of the highly acclaimed Virunga Lodge hotel, which is perched on a hillside around a 40-minute drive from Volcanoes National Park, I ventured east to visit the country's biggest national park, which borders Tanzania. Akagera National Park, first established in 1934 and now covering 1,122km sq (433 miles sq), serves up some of Africa's most scenic swathes of savannah. It is home to more than 8,000 animals including lions, leopards, black rhinos, buffalo, and elephants and visitors can opt for a self-drive safari or hire a guide. I spent two days navigating the sprawling park with some of the highlights being a night drive where we spotted a pride of lions, a stay at the Karenge Bush eco-camp, which boasts superb views, and an early morning walk with trackers to monitor the park's white rhinos, which were introduced in 2021 from a private game reserve in South Africa. Then, just before exiting the park, thanks to the guide's eagle eyes, we had a chance encounter with a leopard who was slung across a tree branch lapping up some shade. 'So what do you think of Rwanda?' my driver Mike asked me on my last day in the country as he feasted on a liver kebab I'd bought him for dinner as a thank you. Without a pause, the first word that sprang to mind was 'beautiful'. This is a place that promises to leave a lasting impression, not only with its abundant wildlife and dramatic landscapes but also with the kindness of its people, who have lived through genocide, poverty and more, but still maintain a sense of hope and triumph. Dan Edgar's relationship with Amber Turner has been rocked by claims he's 'always wanted a piece' of co-star Ella Rae Wise. The TOWIE hunk, 32, was accused of flirting with Ella, 21, who's 11 years his junior, during an Essex night out, despite being in a four-year long relationship with girlfriend Amber. Ella sent a voice note to friends that circulated in Essex claiming Dan has always fancied her, and once Amber, 28, heard the message, she was furious. 'Amber couldn't believe it': Dan Edgar's relationship with Amber Turner has been rocked by claims he's 'always wanted a piece' of co-star Ella Rae Wise A TOWIE insider revealed: 'Amber couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'She lives with Dan, they have been together for years and share a dog, she thought they had moved on from Essex rumours and gossip. 'To be confronted with this all during filming for the new series in the Dominican Republic was hard for her too, she didn't expect to be at the forefront of another storyline about her relationship.' According to a second source, Ella claimed in a voice recording that Dan was 'all over her' during a night out and has 'always wanted a piece.' MailOnline has contacted TOWIE for comment. Bad behaviour: The TOWIE hunk was accused of flirting with Ella, who's 11 years his junior, during an Essex night out, despite being in a four-year long relationship with girlfriend Amber The TOWIE cast has been filming for the upcoming season, which will air on ITVBe this summer, in the Caribbean. Bosses have signed up Absolutely Ascot star Mia Sully and her two close friends Hannah Voyen and Pia Smith for the new series. The trio are already causing a stir after being among nine TOWIE cast members including James 'Diags' Bennewith to be thrown off a flight to London on Tuesday. Police spoke to the reality stars after they refused to comply with airline rules following an initial flight to Madrid in what was described as 'appalling behaviour.' On Wednesday, they were seen finally arriving at London Stansted Airport after enjoying a week of antics in the Dominican Republic. Fuming: Ella sent a voice note to friends that circulated in Essex claiming that Dan has always fancied her, and once Amber heard the message, she was furious Ella previously shared a flirtation with co-star Pete Wicks, 33, while Amber and Dan live together and have a dog called Oliver. Amber and Dan's relationship has been volatile throughout the years. In 2019, while on a break from his romance with Amber, Dan slept with co-star Chloe Sims during filming in Thailand. Chloe was left humiliated when Dan finished with her and went straight back to Amber, causing an end to their six-year friendship. The mother-of-one later accused her former flame of 'destroying' her self-esteem and relationship with the TOWIE viewers, admitting she lost nearly two stone because of the emotional torment. In August 2019, she said: 'He is not a bad person but the way he has gone about it and let the public think of me, I feel like he destroyed nine years of me building myself up to be transparent on TV. I feel like he might as well have got a bulldozer. 'The abuse I got every single day was 'desperate, plastic slag, ugly' it was so bad. Every single day. I don't care how strong you are. I lost nearly two stone. I was so skinny. It drove me mad. It was awful.' They recently celebrated their one year anniversary after falling in love on The Bachelor. On Tuesday, Jimmy Nicholson and girlfriend Holly Kingston addressed rumours that they were joining OnlyFans. Uploading a video to Instagram, the pair slammed the racy platform and said that reality stars were just trying to 'grab money' by selling nude photos and videos of themselves online. The Bachelor's Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston have slammed reality stars for joining OnlyFans, calling it nothing more than 'a way to grab money' 'We get this question a lot and we figured now is a good time to just answer it once and for all,' Holly began. 'No judgment towards anyone who does have OnlyFans, but I think there has been a little bit of a trend in people coming off reality shows and leveraging that degree of fame to then sell nudes online.' Jimmy added that his issue with the increasing number of reality stars joining OnlyFans is that they claim they're doing it for 'female and male empowerment'. 'If you want to celebrate male or female empowerment, start a charity, donate to breast cancer awareness or prostate cancer awareness,' they said 'I think that's a load of crap, personally,' he quipped. 'I think you should be a role model to the future generations. 'If you want to celebrate male or female empowerment, start a charity, donate to breast cancer awareness or prostate cancer awareness,' he continued. 'I think it's a way to grab money, and [you should] think about the example you're setting for the future generations, for your kids when they're in school.' 'I think you should be a role model to the future generation,' the wholesome couple said Holly then weighed in with her thoughts on the controversial subject. 'Our view: Normalising selling naked photos on the internet doesn't equal male/female empowerment,' she wrote. 'If this is your view, totally fine. Just won't be something we'll be doing. Thanks for coming to our TED Talk.' Their video comes after Married At First Sight star Olivia Frazer revealed that she earned $10,000 in her first day on the platform. Since then, she's believed to have raked in more than $100,000, while her boyfriend Jackson has followed in her footsteps by signing up too. Married At First Sight star Olivia Frazer recently revealed that she has earned a staggering $100,000 less than one month after joining the platform Other Married At First Sight stars to launch lucrative careers on OnlyFans include Jessika Power, Hayley Vernon, and even grandmother Mishel Karen. Hayley has become so successful that she's raked in $1.3million in two years doing hardcore porn on OnlyFans. 'Can you imagine that opening my legs has got me this far?' she recently told The Wash. She even won Best Newcomer at the The Adult Industry Choice Awards held in Sydney earlier this month. She is moving full steam ahead with her new career on OnlyFans. And Married At First Sight's Olivia Frazer couldn't wait to get back to her hotel on Tuesday so she could shoot more raunchy content with her boyfriend Jackson Lonie. The former teaching student, who is about to jet off to Scotland without Jackson, shared a racy photo on Instagram of herself in lingerie. Married At First Sight's Olivia Frazer couldn't wait to get back to her hotel on Tuesday so she could shoot more raunchy content with her boyfriend Jackson Lonie Olivia, 27, showed off her jaw-dropping figure in a black lace bodysuit as she posed for a mirror selfie in her hotel suite. After shooting an intimate scene with Jackson, she then posted an 'after' photo of the couple smiling in bed together. Olivia revealed last month she felt stifled by the 'wholesome' teaching profession and wanted to leave it all behind to share her sexuality with subscribers on OnlyFans. After shooting an intimate scene with Jackson (right), the former teaching student, 28, then posted an 'after' photo of the couple smiling in bed together 'I love teaching and I was a fantastic teacher, but this wholesome persona that all teachers are required to have [doesn't suit me],' she said on Instagram. 'Teachers are expected to be squeaky clean and to never have made a mistake in their life and, yeah, it's just a very unforgiving culture surrounding the profession.' Olivia said being a school teacher 'wasn't for me' any longer and that she didn't want to live out the rest of her life being dictated by that career. Olivia revealed last month she felt stifled by the 'wholesome' teaching profession and wanted to leave it all behind to share her sexuality with subscribers on OnlyFans The pansexual reality star has been modelling her extensive lingerie collection on OnlyFans, while offering more sexually explicit content at a premium rate. She first joined the adult website on May 25, and is believed to have earned more than $100,000 so far. Olivia will be flying to Scotland without Jackson on Wednesday, and will be shooting solo content while overseas. This year's season of Married At First Sight hit new levels of drama when Domenica Calarco smashed a glass of wine in front of her co-stars at the show's retreat. And on Wednesday, the former makeup artist, 29, finally revealed what really sent her over the edge and triggered that violent attack. Speaking on her Sit With Us podcast, Domenica said she regrets smashing the glass and explained that it was a way of her trying to 'protect herself from being hurt'. Married At First Sight's Domenica Calarco, 29, (pictured) has finally revealed what REALLY sent her over the edge and triggered THAT glassing incident 'I regret smashing the glass with every being in me. And I wish I never did it. Not because of what happened afterwards, but because that is not who I am,' she said. 'Yes, it was my action. It was my behaviour, but it's not who I am to my core. Domenica said that she was initially 'triggered' by a 'petty' comment by Carolina Santos before she was sent over the edge with Olivia's comments. Speaking on her Sit With Us podcast, Domenica said she regrets smashing the glass and explained that it was a way of her trying to 'protect herself from being hurt' 'When it came to going to that level of being so petty, that is when I think the triggering of a lot of my past traumas really started to come out,' she said. Domenica said she felt like she was back in high school with year seven bullies. 'I feel it really makes me emotional even to this day, because that is the actual crux of making a person feel on the outside of a group feeling like they are socially isolated. During the argument, Olivia (pictured) called out Domenica for the way that she was speaking to Carolina 'I think that is what really triggered a lot in me. And then obviously, s**t hit the fan from there when Olivia said some pretty vile things about my voice and about that I scream at Jack [Millar],' she continued. 'I don't try to make excuses for that behaviour,' she said of the incident. 'I watched that back and I just saw my face change'. 'I just saw that hurt, years of going through therapy to try and be okay with who I am, come back,' Calarco continued. 'I think in that moment, me smashing the glass was like, I'm trying to deflect, and I'm trying to protect myself from being hurt. Seoul Metropolitan Government will provide education fee support to kindergartens with foreign children that are suffering from financial difficulties stemming from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Wednesday. Under an emergency handout, the city government will cover half of education fees of 1,556 foreign children enrolled in 551 national, public and private daycare centers in the city until October by injecting a combined 1.5 billion won ($1.2 million). Over the next five months, kindergartens should receive only half of fees from children's parents, officials said. Currently, foreign infants aged up to two are eligible to receive education fee support equivalent to that of Korean infants. However, foreign children aged between three and five are excluded from such support. In accordance, daycare centers located in parts of the city with large foreign populations have recently suffered from financial losses as foreign children have not attended due to COVID-19. The city government said it will provide 140,000 won per month for each foreign child aged between three and five enrolled in national and public kindergartens. Parents of a three-year-old child enrolled in a private kindergarten will be given 235,800 won per month, with 225,650 won provided to those with a child aged between four and five. (Yonhap) Former Neighbours star Jason Donovan has recalled the advice he received from notorious party boy Johnny Depp about quitting drugs. Donovan, 54, who shot to superstardom playing Scott Robinson on the long-running Aussie soap, infamously suffered a cocaine-induced seizure at a 21st birthday party organised by Depp for his then-girlfriend Kate Moss in 1995. The bash was held at the Viper Room nightclub in Los Angeles, with the likes of Michael Hutchence, Helena Christensen, Christy Turlington, Thelma Houston and John Galliano in attendance. Former Neighbours star Jason Donovan (pictured) has recalled the advice he received from notorious party boy Johnny Depp about quitting drugs Throughout the night, Donovan routinely returned to his nearby hotel room to snort lines of cocaine, and later collapsed while Hutchence was performing Van Morrison's Gloria, accompanied by Depp on guitar. In his 2007 memoir, Between The Lines: My Story Uncut, Donovan revealed how his efforts to keep up with the 'big boys' that night almost ended in tragedy. 'By midnight the party had hit the dance floor, but I knew I was about to go. My heart was racing, my vision was blurring and I was becoming disorientated. I tried to steady myself but my legs buckled under me and I fell to the floor,' Donovan wrote. Donovan, 54, infamously suffered a cocaine-induced seizure at a 21st birthday party organised by Depp (left) for his then-girlfriend Kate Moss (right) in 1995 In his 2007 memoir, Between The Lines: My Story Uncut, Donovan (pictured in 1990) revealed how his efforts to keep up with the 'big boys' that night almost ended in tragedy 'By midnight the party had hit the dance floor, but I knew I was about to go. My heart was racing, my vision was blurring and I was becoming disorientated. I tried to steady myself but my legs buckled under me and I fell to the floor,' Donovan (pictured in 1990) wrote in 2007 'A crowd had circled round me and Michael [Hutchence] was standing over me trying to empty my trouser pockets. "Have you got anything on you?" he kept asking me. I tried to speak but couldn't. "It wouldn't be cool if anything was found on you by the medics," he whispered.' Donovan was carried out of the nightclub by paramedics on a stretcher and rushed to LA's Cedars-Sinai hospital. He discharged himself after just three hours and returned to the party to apologise. Donovan recalled telling Depp he was 'really sorry' about the incident, to which Depp allegedly replied: 'That's cool, don't worry.' Donovan recalled telling Depp he was 'really sorry' about the incident, to which Depp allegedly replied: 'That's cool, don't worry. We're just pleased that you are okay. Now take some advice from me: go to your room, get some sleep and for God's sake, take it easy in future' Donovan now has a regular DJ gig on Heart FM in the UK, and recently made his pantomime debut in Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Birmingham Hippodrome 'We're just pleased that you are okay. Now take some advice from me: go to your room, get some sleep and for God's sake, take it easy in future,' Depp said, according to Donovan. While Donovan continued using cocaine, he eventually turned his life around. He now has a regular DJ gig on Heart FM in the UK, and recently made his pantomime debut in Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Reports have also surfaced that Donovan will reprise his role on Neighbours alongside co-star Kylie Minogue (right) during the show's impending finale Reports have also surfaced that Donovan will reprise his role on Neighbours alongside co-star Kylie Minogue during the show's impending finale. The pair famously appeared as husband and wife Charlene and Scott Robinson on the soap. Neighbours' last-ever episode will air on August 1 on 10Peach in Australia. She rose to fame as a late arrival on the 2019 series of Love Island. And Arabella Chi left little to the imagination as she flashed her toned legs in a pair of white shorts at Park Chinois restaurant in Mayfair, London on Tuesday. The reality star, 31, displayed her stunning figure in a matching plunging crop top which was held together with a gold ring detailing. Coordinated: Arabella Chi left little to the imagination as she flashed her toned legs in a pair of white shorts at Park Chinois restaurant in Mayfair, London on Tuesday The beauty flashed her toned midriff in the co-ord as she added a white open shirt over the top. The star cut a stylish figure as she elevated her frame in a towering pair of white leather boots. She carried her personal belongings in a coordinated white Dior sandal bag and accessoried wearing several earrings and a gold necklace that spelt her name. Chic: The former Love Island star, 31, displayed her stunning figure by going braless in a matching plunging crop top which was held together with a gold ring detailing Wow: The beauty flashed her toned midriff in the co-ord as she added a white open shirt over the top Arabella opted for a glamorous palette of makeup showcasing her beauty with fluttering lashes and a pink lip gloss. Recently, she displayed her jaw-dropping figure as she donned a gold two-piece while taking an outdoor shower in Ibiza. Arabella let her locks fall loose down her shoulders in the snaps as she struck a sultry pose for the camera. Looking good: She carried her personal belongings in a coordinated white Dior sandal bag and accessoried wearing several earrings and a gold necklace that spelt her name All white: The star cut a stylish figure as she elevated her frame in a towering pair of white leather boots The influencer accentuated her natural beauty with a light pallet of makeup and a smokey eye. Alongside the post, Arabella wrote: 'My preferred way of showering in the morning'. Last month, Arabella stripped down to her birthday suit as she put on a steamy display in her recent Instagram post to celebrate her 31st birthday in Anguilla. Incredible: Recently, she displayed her jaw-dropping figure as she donned a gold two-piece while taking an outdoor shower in Ibiza She bared all as she posed completely naked in the sultry snap that she shared with her 668k followers. The influencer contestant held onto a towel to cover her assets as she revealed her peachy behind while posing up a storm on the beach. She captioned the sizzling Instagram snap: 'In my birthday suit'. Fans rushed to the comments section to wish Arabella a 'Happy birthday', including fellow Love Island star Molly Smith. Wow! Last month, Arabella stripped down to her birthday suit as she put on a steamy display in her recent Instagram post to celebrate her 31st birthday in Anguilla To celebrate her special day, Arabella headed to Champney's spa resort over the weekend before heading out to dinner with friends. She could be seen chowing down on huge plates of sushi as she and her pals put their champagne glasses together at a swanky restaurant. On Tuesday she took to her Instagram story and posted a sizzling selfie which she captioned: 'The best weekend thank you for all the birthday wishes feeling so happy and grateful for the people in my life' Prince Andrew reportedly wants his girls to be given more royal duties and Princess Beatrice is already carrying out an increasing number of engagements. The latest, I can disclose, was a visit to the Dragon School in Oxford, alma mater of her property developer husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, to mark the Platinum Jubilee of her grandmother, the Queen. Headmistress Emma Goldsmith, says: 'The Princess kindly unveiled a new bee hive which will house a new queen bee and her colony.' Princess Beatrice, pictured right, yesterday visited her husband's alma mater Dragon School in Oxford as part of the celebrations of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. She unveiled a new bee hive She visited the Dragon School in Oxford, alma mater of her property developer husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, to mark the Platinum Jubilee of her grandmother, the Queen While still in her 20s, she became producer of BBC's Panorama and the Tories' youngest female parliamentary candidate. Later, she bred horses, wrote books, directed films, chaired the world's most famous literary festival and, in her 80s, joined forces with Steven Spielberg to create the big-screen version of War Horse. But, sadly, the seemingly inexhaustible Revel Guest has died, aged 90, at home in Hay-on-Wye. It was there that Revel hosted the parties that helped define the town's literary festival inspired, she said, by her name. 'I hope to live up to it, although I was actually named after an ancestor who was a defrocked priest.' Axing of Lloyd Webber show robbed star of dream home When Andrew Lloyd Webber was booed by the audience of his West End musical Cinderella on Sunday, for branding the show a 'costly mistake', Georgina Castle could have been forgiven if she'd joined the chorus of jeers. For the 29-year-old actress, who played a wicked stepsister, has revealed that her dream of owning a home was shattered by the impresario's sudden closure of the show. 'When we found out, it was a complete shock,' she tells me. 'I was booked until May 2023 and, after Covid, that felt good for stability. Georgina Castle, pictured right, had been booked to play the show until May 2023 and had sought a mortgage to buy her dream home. But then the decision was made to cancel the musical, leaving all of the performers facing an uncertain future 'I was trying my best to buy a flat and had the mortgage all in place, but they [the mortgage lender] found out that Cinderella had closed from the news. So they said: 'We can't go ahead.' I felt c**p then, but you've got to turn it around. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something else comes up.' The daughter of BBC Wimbledon commentator Andrew Castle was so determined to fulfil her obligations that, as I reported last week, she appeared in the show's final performances despite dislodging two ribs the previous week. Cinderella finished on Sunday night less than a year after it opened having suffered a number of Covidrelated setbacks. Lord Lloyd-Webber came under fire last month after the cast and crew were gathered for a meeting and told the show would be cancelled after racking up 'unsustainable' losses. But some cast members claimed they only found out through social media. On stage at Sunday night's show, director Laurence Connor read out a letter from the composer. But mention of his name provoked boos. Later, Lloyd Webber said: 'I am devastated to have been reported to have said that my beloved production of Cinderella was a 'costly mistake'. Nothing could be further from the truth and I am very sorry if my words have been misunderstood. I am incredibly proud of Cinderella and everyone who has been involved.' A spokesman for his The Really Useful Group added: 'The reference to a 'costly mistake' . . . [referred to] the myriad challenges faced because of the Covid19 pandemic.' Julia Bradbury proudly put on a bikini earlier this year after undergoing reconstruction surgery following breast cancer. And the TV presenter is determined to slip on her swimwear as often as possible. 'I'm ready to wear a bikini again,' she tells me at the first night of The Car Man at the Royal Albert Hall. 'I'm grabbing every day.' On coping after her double mastectomy, she says: 'I didn't know what clothes I could wear again. I questioned my femininity and identity as a woman.' Brief encounters with a dapper shopping bill In Love Actually, he stole every scene as ageing rock star Billy Mack, and Bill Nighy is just as captivating to his fans in real life. Distinctive in his trademark heavy-rimmed spectacles, the actor, 72, was spotted while out shopping in London's Marylebone. He was soon surrounded by a group of adoring women of a certain age as he headed into a bookshop. 'People are perfectly gracious,' he has said of his fans in the past. Nighy, who has a daughter with Brideshead Revisited star Diana Quick, has been photographed enjoying romantic meals in London, Rome and Paris with Vogue supremo Anna Wintour, although both have remained tight-lipped about their friendship. In Love Actually, he stole every scene as ageing rock star Billy Mack, and Bill Nighy is just as captivating to his fans in real life Distinctive in his trademark heavy-rimmed spectacles, the actor, 72, was spotted while out shopping in London's Marylebone Writer Petronella Wyatt, whose father Lord (Woodrow) Wyatt was one of the Queen Mother's closest confidants, believes the monarchy will struggle to outlast the Queen. 'Was the Jubilee a fond farewell to the monarchy?' asks Petronella. 'The Queen's heirs can't hold it together. Charles thinks he's leader of the Opposition, William is petulant and their family petty squabbles are in the papers almost daily. This would not have happened on Prince Philip's watch.' Emma fashions her own sense of style Dame Emma Thompson accepts she's never going to be viewed as a fashion icon. 'At my first Oscars, a fashion reporter said, as I passed along the red carpet: 'God love her, she always looks so dowdy in anything.' And I'd made an effort! 'I wore that as a badge of honour.' The double Oscar winner, who is married to former Strictly star Greg Wise, says she's come to terms with her 'painful' divorce from her first husband, Sir Kenneth Branagh. 'I don't feel anger or depression about it now. Yes, it was painful. But it happens a lot. Sometimes things go wrong and it doesn't last, and that seems perfectly reasonable to me.' An American tourist has made a bold pick-up attempt by asking Robert Irwin for his phone number during a visit to Australia Zoo. A viral video on TikTok shows the 18-year-old crocodile wrangler walking towards a crowd before a woman from Utah asks him for his digits. 'I think you are so cool and I was wondering if I can have your number?' she says. An American tourist has made a bold pick-up attempt by asking Robert Irwin (pictured) for his phone number during a visit to Australia Zoo 'Well, I'm very flattered,' he responds before asking the woman where she is from. Robert adds: 'The easiest way [to contact me] is on Instagram because then my people can monitor it and see when it comes through because my number is getting mixed.' The woman tells Robert she already sent him a DM on Instagram but he didn't reply. A viral video on TikTok shows the 18-year-old crocodile wrangler walking towards a crowd before a woman from Utah asks him for his digits 'Well, I actually DM'd you last night to tell you I was coming here today,' she says. 'What's your name? I'll look it up!' Robert responds. While it remains to be seen whether the relationship blossoms, Robert's older sister Bindi did meet her husband when he visited Australia Zoo as a tourist. Chandler Powell was visiting from Florida in 2013 when he caught Bindi's eye on a tour of the Sunshine Coast animal sanctuary. They are now married with a daughter. While it remains to be seen whether the relationship blossoms, Robert's older sister Bindi did meet her husband Chandler Powell when he visited Australia Zoo as a tourist in 2013 It comes after Robert unveiled Australia Zoo's latest venture that will help modernise the family business and aid conservation efforts. He announced on Tuesday the zoo had launched its first NFT artwork series. 'This is the way of the world now and for us to be part of it, we feel very cool, very hip,' he said on breakfast show Sunrise. 'We're entering the future. I never thought we would be at the forefront of NFTs but here we are, it's an exciting time,' he added. Robert (left, with an NFT artist) announced on Tuesday that Australia Zoo had launched its first NFT artwork series Robert said his mother Terri, 57, struggled to understand the idea of a non-fungible token at first. 'I can't say she totally understood NFTs going into this, but we've definitely learnt quite a lot,' he laughed. People can buy the NFTs, including pictures of Australia Zoo crocodiles, and collect them as part of a special series. An NFT is a digital asset that is rare, valuable and stored on a blockchain. Sam Asghari is a proud husband. Just three days after the actor, 28, tied the knot with Britney Spears, 40, he showed off his wedding ring while dancing to the classic Michael Jackson tune Billy Jean. He took to Instagram Stories to post the fun snippet, which was recorded as he drove his car. Proud husband: Just three days after Sam Asghari tied the knot with Britney Spears he showed off his wedding ring while dancing to the classic Michael Jackson tune Billy Jean At the beginning of the seconds-long snippet a friend could be heard saying, 'He's married!' Sam nodded his head while looking through the rearview mirror and chimed in, 'Yes!' as he lifted his hand to show his ring finger. The model wore a black watch around his wrist and was dressed in a black, short-sleeved hoodie. He maneuvered the steering wheel of his car, which boasted red leather interior as he interacted with a friend who was recording from the back seat. Newlyweds! Britney and Sam exchanged vows at Britney's home over the weekend Social media content: He took to Instagram Stories to post the fun snippet, which was recorded as he drove his car Off the market: At the beginning of the seconds-long snippet a friend could be heard saying, 'He's married!' Britney took to Instagram after the ceremony to gush about the star-studded extravaganza. Speaking about all her A-list wedding guests she said: 'So many incredible people came to our wedding and Im still in shock !!! @drewbarrymore my girl crush and @selenagomez who btw is way prettier in person if thats possible both came !!!' She continued, thanking Italian fashion designer Donatella Versace, 67, for designing the wedding dress that made her feel 'so beautiful.' The Womanizer hitmaker then thanked her makeup and jewelry team, before wrapping up her caption with a funny recollection of the night's festivities. 'I think we all fell on the dance floor at least 2 times !!! I mean come on we were all VOGUING !!!' she joked. Happy couple: Britney took to Instagram after the ceremony to gush about the star-studded extravaganza Britney and Sam tied the knot after her 13-year conservatorship came to an end - a ruling which Britney previously revealed stopped her from getting married or having children with Sam. Her parents, Jamie and Lynn Spears, as well as her sister Jamie-Lynn Spears were not in attendance. Iran-born Sam initially met Britney in October of 2016 when they worked together on her video Slumber Party, and they began dating soon thereafter. They got engaged back in September 2021 after five years of dating. At the time the pop star revealed the happy news via Instagram, sharing a smiling video of her flashing her custom four-carat Forever Diamonds NY engagement ring while her husband-to-be peeked in from the side. Katie Maloney shared a first look of her 'peaceful' new apartment, five days after moving out of dream home with estranged husband Tom Schwartz. Less than a week after documenting her emotional farewell to the $1.925 million farmhouse she purchased in 2019, the 35-year-old reality star took to Instagram to share a few glimpses of her space. While posing for a mirror selfie in her bedroom, fans were able to catch a glimpse of some of her furniture, including a red and blue rug under her bed decked out with a white comforter and pink pillows. Starting over: Katie Maloney shared a first look of her 'peaceful' new apartment, five days after moving out of dream home with estranged husband Tom Schwartz 'Same mirror, new location,' she captioned the image on her Instagram Story, which showed her rocking a plunging white blouse and jean shorts. She completed her casual ensemble with a pair of black boots, a beret and delicate gold necklace. While she said she wasn't ready to give an apartment reveal 'just yet' in a video on her Instagram Story, Maloney was excited to show off a few items she purchased from the vintage store, Pop Up Home. New beginnings: Less than a week after documenting her emotional farewell to the $1.925 million farmhouse she purchased in 2019, the 35-year-old reality star took to Instagram to share a few glimpses of her space In other footage, Maloney recorded herself listening to TLC's 1994 CrazySexyCool album on a Crosley record player. She decorated her living room with an olive green couch, a black and white shaggy checkerboard rug, an evil eye pillow and house plant in the corner. Last week, the Vanderpump Rules star shared a photo of herself sitting in a large empty room with her knees tucked in close to her body as she soaked in her final moments of her old home. Exciting: While she said she wasn't ready to give an apartment reveal 'just yet' in a video on her Instagram Story, Maloney was excited to show off a few items she purchased from the vintage store, Pop Up Home Coming together: She decorated her living room with an olive green couch, a black and white shaggy checkerboard rug, an evil eye pillow and house plant in the corner 'I hate goodbyes. And this one hurts a lot. The emotions and words are hard to pin down. Closing this chapter on my life feels like attending my own funeral. But I'm very much alive,' she captioned the image. Maloney then went into writing about the good times, jotting down, 'Thank you house for being the coziest brightest home, for the memories, for being my sanctuary, for letting me dress you up like a hallmark movie set at Christmas and for being OURS. Im going to miss coming home.' Although the pair announced their split way back in March, the two were still sharing the home over the past few months. Chilling out: In other footage, Maloney recorded herself listening to TLC's 1994 CrazySexyCool album on a Crosley record player 'Why not.' she captioned a photo of her listening to CrazySexyCool Schwartz helped Maloney move into her new apartment last week in Los Angeles. At the time, Maloney shared with her 1.2 million Instagram followers how she is managing the end of her 12-year relationship, as she posted a snap to her Instagram Story of her living room full of brown boxes. 'In case you're wondering I just live amongst a sea of boxes,' she quipped via social media earlier this month. 'Moving in 2 days.' 'In case you're wondering I just live amongst a sea of boxes,' she quipped via social media earlier this month. 'Moving in 2 days' Cheeky: Her ex, 39, uploaded an image of their two dogs, who he referred to as 'children of divorce' on the staircase Meanwhile, Schwartz shared a similar picture of moving boxes, half labeled with his name and the rest with Maloney's. Additionally, the television personality, 39, uploaded an image of their two dogs on the staircase, which he captioned: 'Children of divorce.' In April, Maloney admitted she had every intention of making her marriage work to Schwartz, but ultimately they just had too much to 'overcome.' 'I felt that we had grown together, and I thought that we would continue growing together. I was very optimistic,' she said on We Met At Acme podcast. Maloney confessed that she began to realize toward the end of 2021 that despite doing her best, their relationship wasn't salvageable. Sad end: In April, Maloney admitted she had every intention of making her marriage work to Schwartz, but ultimately they just had too much to 'overcome' (pictured 2018) She realized it would have taken a 'wakeup call [or] an epiphany' for Tom to really realize what was at stake and that their relationship was floundering. While Katie fessed up to being a 'bad drunk' and admitted she had her own faults after investing in herself to not only improve their relationship but also her image of self-worth, Maloney didn't feel as though Schwartz was putting in any similar self work. 'I had been expressing my feelings and where I felt that I was not getting my needs met and where I thought I was being hurt by some of the behavior, and I don't think he understood or resonated or agreed,' she shared. 'I understand you can't really change a person, and I don't necessarily want to.' In season five, the couple had their dream wedding in the forest in Northern California, with Lisa officiating the ceremony, only to find out years later that Tom never filed the paperwork to legally certify their union. Common topic: Their sex life, or lack thereof, was often discussed on VPR as they rarely admitted to being intimate with each other Screaming: Schwartz yelled at her in front of the cast and cameras: 'This is why I don't have sex with her. You're ruining a great moment. We're laughing' (pictured 2020) On season eight, they whisked away to Las Vegas for the weekend and were officially married in 2019, once again by their boss, Lisa Vanderpump. Their sex life, or lack thereof, was often discussed on VPR as they rarely admitted to being intimate with each other. During one season eight episode in 2020 after a prank backfired where Jax Taylor and Randall Emmett orchestrated Tom Sandoval's fake arrest for vandalism, Tom branded Katie 'gross' when she overreacted that the incident wasn't even funny. Schwartz screamed at her in front of the cast and cameras: 'This is why I don't have sex with her. You're ruining a great moment. We're laughing.' He added: 'That's another two months we're not having sex.' Andrew Le Page and Tasha Ghouri were the lucky couple who got to spend the night in the hideaway during Tuesday's episode of Love Island. The remaining islanders selected the real estate agent, 27, and the dancer, 23, to be the first to get comfortable between the sheets in the private bedroom. The morning after they shared what seemed to be a considerably intimate night together, fans were impressed at Andrew's refusal to spill the tea to the boys. 'Love a respectful man!': Love Island fans dubbed Andrew Le Page a 'sweetheart' for not sharing his hideaway antics with Tasha Ghouri - while the dancer says she gave him a 'manicure' 'Love a respectful man, thank you Andrew,' one tweet read. Another echoed this viewpoint, clearly pleased that the Jersey-born did not succumb to the pressure of the other boys: 'Andrew is soo respectful,' they wrote, while a third branded the budding reality star a 'sweetheart'. Up on the terrace, Tasha was not so coy to the girls, dropping an innuendo - 'I gave him a manicure' - which soon began to circulate online. Romantic: The remaining islanders selected the real estate agent, 27, and the dancer, 23, to be the first to get comfortable between the sheets in the private bedroom. Up close and personal! The morning after they shared what seemed to be a considerably intimate night together, fans were impressed at Andrew's refusal to spill the tea to the boys Response: Twitter was full of love for Andrew after watching him remain tight-lipped The official Twitter account for beauty retailer Boots saw an opportunity to provide some humour, writing: 'Tasha gave Andrew a manicure? Don't remember sending any of these into the villa #LoveIsland', followed by an image of a manicure set. While the giddy pair jumped at the opportunity for a romantic evening in the hideaway, Luca ensured that Tasha would not be without her cuddly toy, Flat Ted. After the night vision camera captured the couple enjoying a canoodle under the covers, some fans turned their thoughts to poor Flat Ted. Gossip: Up on the terrace, Tasha was not so coy to the girls, dropping an innuendo - 'I gave him a manicure' - which soon began to circulate online 'Don't remember sending any of these in!': The official Twitter account for beauty retailer Boots saw an opportunity to provide some humour Humour: After the night vision camera captured the couple enjoying a canoodle under the covers, some fans turned their thoughts to poor Flat Ted - Tasha's teddy Someone penned alongside a photo of 2019 contestant Curtis Pritchard crying: 'The teddy bear waiting for Andrew and Tasha to finish'. In other news, Ekin-Su Culculoglu was bringing the drama once again on Tuesday night as her head was turned towards bombshell Jay Younger. The actress, 27, wasted no time in flirting with the investment analyst, 28, despite being coupled up with Davide Sanclimenti, 27, and making a beeline for Jacques O'Neill , 23. Setting her sights on the new boy, she tells the girls: 'The tall one thats 28, hes so cute. Yeah, I really like him. Im getting to know him. I dont give a f**k.' Married At First Sight's resident sexologist Alessandra Rampolla has expressed support for ex-contestant Olivia Frazer's adult career. The Puerto Rican love guru was asked for her thoughts on Olivia, 28, starting an OnlyFans account during an interview with Hit WA Breakfast with Allan and Carly on Wednesday. 'I guess good for her!' she told radio hosts Allan Aldworth and Carly Portch. Married At First Sight's resident sexologist Alessandra Rampolla has expressed support for ex-contestant Olivia Frazer's (pictured) adult career 'I think, really, the process of being on the experiment is one... and what the participants do with that - in terms of how they continue on with their lives and what they learn or maybe don't learn - I think that's part of the growth,' she added. 'So I hope the best for her and everybody else [from MAFS].' Alessandra said she wasn't 'aware of the specifics' of Olivia's OnlyFans content because she'd been 'so disconnected' from the show since the finale aired in April. She was then asked whether former MAFS stars receive ongoing mental health support from the production company after the cameras stop rolling. Alessandra (pictured) was asked for her thoughts on Olivia, 28, starting an OnlyFans account during a radio interview on Wednesday. 'I guess good for her!' she said 'Oh, they absolutely do,' Alessandra replied. 'It's up to them if they want to use the help that has been provided. But they get psychological assistance provided and continuity for life if they want to - through the network and on the show.' Olivia, a former teaching student, joined the subscription-based adult website last month after revealing a career in education 'wasn't for me'. Olivia, a former teaching student, joined the subscription-based adult website last month after revealing a career in education 'wasn't for me' 'I love teaching and I was a fantastic teacher, but this wholesome persona that all teachers are required to have [doesn't suit me],' she said on Instagram. 'Teachers are expected to be squeaky clean and to never have made a mistake in their life and, yeah, it's just a very unforgiving culture surrounding the profession.' The pansexual reality star has been modelling her extensive lingerie collection on OnlyFans, while offering more sexually explicit content at a premium rate. She is believed to have earned more than $100,000 in her first month on OnlyFans. Olivia is set to fly out to Scotland on Wednesday without her partner Jackson Lonie, and will be shooting solo content while overseas. She told Daily Mail Australia this week she'd spontaneously decided to buy a ticket overseas after Jackson was caught kissing another woman at a nightclub last month. Madness of King George: Lucy Worsley Investigates Rating: Elephant Hospital Rating: King George IIIs physicians tried to treat his insane delusions and hallucinations in 1788 by attaching leeches to his temples, to suck madness out of his brain. Lucy Worsley, investigating the Madness Of King George (BBC2) in the last of her historical detective series, produced a plastic pot of leeches. They were labelled Little Wrigglers: not for medical use and shed bought them online. Theyre just like tiny little monsters, she enthused, popping the top off. She didnt try attaching them to her skin, though. Thats taking academic diligence too far. Its tempting to snigger at the crudity of 18th-century medicine, but our ancestors were not deliberately barbaric. They were simply applying the best knowledge they had. Lucy Worsley investigates the well-known Madness of King George in her latest episode Future generations might sneer at us, too, for our obsession with labelling people in history with shades of mental illness. A large segment of this programme tried to categorise the Kings condition. Genetic match of the night DI Salisbury (Robert Glenister) identified the crossbow killer in Sherwood (BBC1) by swabbing for DNA inside the mouth of a dog that bit him. That seems dodgy. Theyll end up charging a can of Winalot as an accessory to the crime. Advertisement For decades it was believed to be caused by porphyria, a complaint that affects the liver. Lucy dismissed that as fake science peddled by arch-royalists who wanted to absolve the monarch of the stigma of mental illness. Instead, she turned to Sir Simon Wessely at Kings College London, who entered all Georges known symptoms into a computer to come up with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Sir Simon did admit that one frequent symptom of bipolar is grandiosity which is also a common side-effect of being a king. George IIIs delusions included cradling cushions and pillows in the belief they were his dead children come back to life. And at Kew Palace, he attempted to climb the 50 ft pagoda. As one of his equerries remarked in a diary: His Majesty was entirely deranged. Since we cant prescribe 21st-century medications for a man who died 200 years ago, there seems little point in saddling the poor fellow with a modern diagnosis. Accounts unearthed in ancient documents of treatments for madness were disturbing. The King was plunged into ice baths and knotted into a cotton straitjacket supposedly a gentler treatment than the manacles inflicted on inmates at Bethlem Royal Hospital for the insane (or Bedlam) in Londons Bishopsgate. Lucy also traced the fate of seamstress Margaret Nicholson, who attempted to stab the King. The poor creature is mad, do not hurt her, George cried out. His clemency saved her from the gallows but condemned her to something arguably worse: 42 years in Bedlam. Hospital records described how, long after her mental balance returned, she was kept under lock and key elderly, resigned and deaf. Do you know what, Lucy said, sounding choked, Ive got a little tear in my eye. It was hard to stay dry-eyed as another old lady, octogenarian Boon Nim, went for her daily shower at a sanctuary in Thailand on Elephant Hospital (C5). It was hard to stay dry-eyed during Elephant Hospital, set in a Thai sanctuary (file image) Narrator Jill Halfpenny told us that vets know Boon Nim is over 80 because of the pink pigments on her trunk and the rolls of fat at the top of her ears. And she has to wear a plastic bucket on one foot in the shower, to protect a wound from infection. You have to feel for the dear old girl. Its hardly dignified. Other elephants, including a cheeky baby, splashed around in the river at bath time. That was a charming scene, and its a shame that Elephant Hospital doesnt screen more of this. Instead, the show has an endless obsession with dung. Who over the age of four wants to see that? Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan are seen in a series of new promotional pics released for the forthcoming film See How They Run, as the mystery's release date is slated for later this year. Rockwell plays the role of Inspector Stoppard while Ronan plays Constable Stalker in the movie, which is slated for a limited release beginning September 30, Deadline reported Tuesday. The cast of the motion picture, which is directed by Tom George, also features Adrien Brody, Harris Dickinson, Ruth Wilson, Shirley Henderson, David Oyelowo, Sian Clifford, Reece Shearsmith, Pippa Bennett-Warner and Tim Key. The latest: Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan are seen in a series of new promotional pics released for the forthcoming film See How They Run According to a synopsis from Searchlight Pictures, the film takes place in the West End of 1950s London, where plans for a theatrical version of a successful play are halted following the murder of a crew member. Inspector Stoppard and Constable Stalker get involved in the investigation, putting themselves in the path of danger amid their probe. The images released include shots of Rockwell and Ronan's characters as they're immersed in the probe, while another shows Oyelowo and Brody forcefully grabbing for the same stack of papers. The film was shot last year at multiple famed venues in London, Variety reported, such as the Dominion Theatre on Tottenham Court Road, the West End's St. Martins Theatre and Waterloo's Old Vic Theatre. Rockwell plays the role of Inspector Stoppard in the film, which takes place in the West End of 1950s London Ronan plays Constable Stalker in the forthcoming film The storyline of the movie centers around a murder investigation Rockwell and Ronan's characters are immersed in the probe in this shot from the film Searchlight's Katie Goodson-Thomas and DanTram Nguyen said in a statement the studio had 'been enamored with Tom George and his work with the BBC for years,' as 'his knack for bringing stellar performances from an ensemble cast across multiple genres made him the perfect choice to lead the talented team of See How They Run. 'We are pleased to welcome several members of the Searchlight family back to the fold like Saoirse, Sam, Adrien and David for this entertaining whodunit.' George said in a statement that working with the film's ensemble cast 'has been a total dream,' and that he was 'excited to bring this thrilling, smart, funny murder mystery to audiences.' Brody and Oyelowo are seen forcefully grabbing for the same stack of papers Harris Dickinson plays Dickie Attenborough, seen speaking with investigators Director Tom George said working with the film's ensemble cast 'has been a total dream' Members of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival Organizing Committee hold a news conference in front of Seoul City Hall, June 15, to protest against what they call a 'discriminatory administration' against LGBTQ people. Yonhap The LGBTQ community in Korea has been conditionally allowed to resume an annual festival in the heart of Seoul next month after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the city government said Wednesday. Organizers of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival have been permitted to hold the annual festivity at Seoul Plaza, July 16, on the condition that participants refrain from excessive body exposure as well as selling or exhibiting harmful pornography banned under the Juvenile Protection Act, the government said. The conditional approval by a private-public joint committee on the use of public plazas in Seoul came about two months after the organizers requested the festival be held for six days from July 12 to 17 at the plaza in the center of the capital. Though the festival is limited to one day, organizers will be allowed to use the plaza from the afternoon of July 15 to set up a stage and make other preparations, the government added. The Seoul festival for the LGBTQ community and its supporters had been held every year since 2000 in various neighborhoods around the city before moving to Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall in 2015. The festival at Seoul Plaza then continued until 2019 before switching to online events due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021. The last offline festival in 2019 drew a record crowd of about 150,000 participants. Since 2016, the city government has asked the private-public committee, which consists of 10 members, including civic activists, professors, lawyers, politicians and civil servants, to deliberate on the applications for the Seoul Queer Culture Festival. "The private-public committee decided to shorten the period of this year's festival for fear of a possible clash between participants and other people," said an official. "The organizers will be notified that the use of Seoul Plaza will be restricted for the next festival if the proposed conditions are violated," the official said. Meanwhile, the festival organizers held a news conference in front of City Hall, Wednesday, complaining that the private-public committee's deliberation itself on their applications was discrimination against the LGBTQ community. "Seoul Plaza can be used by anyone who reports to authorities. But the city government has applied a permit system only to LGBTQ people wanting to use the plaza. It's clearly a discriminatory administration," said a festival organizer. (Yonhap) Sofia Richie dressed casually on Tuesday as she ran errands by herself in Beverly Hills. The 23-year-old model and designer rocked a pair of skintight charcoal-colored leggings for the outing. She shielded her hazel eyes in black rectangular-shaped sunglasses and sported black sneakers. Comfortable and cute: Sofia Richie dressed casually on Tuesday as she ran errands by herself in Beverly Hills The media personality added a dark, short-sleeved t-shirt as she stepped out in Southern California. Lionel Richie's daughter wore her long blonde hair loose, letting it flow over her chest with a center part. There was a bit of texture to the locks as they nearly stretched to her waist in the fuss-free style. Sofia went makeup-free underneath her shades and wore a pair of understated stud earrings. Figure-hugging: The 23-year-old model and designer rocked a pair of skintight charcoal-colored leggings for the outing She was spotted carrying a small white shopping bag after dropping by a skincare retailer. Richie toted her pink-encased iPhone in one hand, and slung a white leather handbag over her shoulder. Although she was dressed down, her sparkly engagement ring brought a touch of glamour to the look. Full look: She shielded her hazel eyes in black rectangular-shaped sunglasses and sported black sneakers The soon-to-be Mrs. said 'yes' when her love Elliot Grainge, 28, popped the question in April. The twosome celebrated their engagement with a lavish party last month, which they shared on Instagram. Over the weekend they attended the British Consulate's celebration of Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Sofia wore a red and tan printed dress with flattering pleats at the bottom, pairing the look with peep-toe platforms. Engaged! The soon-to-be Mrs. said 'yes' when her love Elliot Grainge popped the question in April Nicole Richie's younger sister was first romantically linked to the entrepreneur in January 2021. Before their relationship turned amorous their families had been friends for years. The familial relationship helped get her dad Lionel's stamp of approval. Speaking to Access in April he said, 'I love Elliot, I've known him since he was 12. It was one of those things where I don't have to go back and check out the kid. I know who he is.' Jessica Chastain oozed radiance as she attended the premiere of her latest film, The Forgiven, during the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival on Tuesday evening in New York. The Academy Award-winner, 45, posed for shutterbugs on the red carpet in a gorgeous black sleeveless gown styled with a white satin tie. Jessica's dress cinched at the waist and its sleeveless design allowed her to display her enviably toned arms. Leading lady: Jessica Chastain oozed radiance as she attended the premiere of her latest film, The Forgiven, during the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival on Tuesday evening in New York The Help star's black platform heels was visible through a modest slit in the skirt of her chic gown. Her long, auburn hair was parted down the middle and styled in sleek strands that flowed down her back. As for makeup, Jessica amped up her ivory complexion with a light dusting of bronzing powder and a generous amount of peach blush on the apples of her cheeks. Strike a pose: The Academy Award-winner, 45, posed for shutterbugs on the red carpet in a gorgeous black sleeveless gown styled with a white satin tie. Jessica's dress cinched at the waist and its sleeveless design allowed her to display her enviably toned arms Peek-a-boo: The Help star's black platform heels was visible through a modest slit in the skirt of her chic gown The Zero Dark Thirty actress sported a soft brown smokey eye and her plump pout was painted pink. Before hitting the red carpet, Jessica was spotted strolling the streets of NYC en route to the big premiere. She was accompanied by several members of her entourage. Sleek: Her long, auburn hair was parted down the middle and styled in sleek strands that flowed down her back En route: Before hitting the red carpet, Jessica was spotted strolling the streets of NYC en route to the big premiere Jessica was joined at the screening by her co-star Abbey Lee, who stunned shutterbugs by going topless under a black blazer. The actress, 35, paired her busty upper half with a pair of matching straight legged trousers. She slipped her feet into a pair of black heels. Stunning co-star: Jessica was joined at the screening by her co-star Abbey Lee, who stunned shutterbugs by going topless under a black blazer. The actress, 35, paired her busty upper half with a pair of matching straight legged trousers Glitz and glamour: Abbey - who plays the role of Cindy in the forthcoming drama-mystery flick - accessorized her all-black getup with a glitzy diamond choker necklace and matching bracelet Abbey - who plays the role of Cindy in the forthcoming drama-mystery flick - accessorized her all-black getup with a glitzy diamond choker necklace and matching bracelet. The Neon Demon star's golden blonde hair was styled voluminously and her blue eyes were amped up with bronze eyeshadow. Christopher Abbott - who plays the role of Tom Day - looked ultra trendy in a pair of belted brown trousers, a white tee and a brown suede jacket. Mingling: Others in attendance included the film's director John Michael McDonagh, his wife Elizabeth Eve and actor Mourad Zaoui Trendy: Christopher Abbott - who plays the role of Tom Day - looked ultra trendy in a pair of belted brown trousers, a white tee and a brown suede jacket Plot: The Forgiven 'takes place over a weekend in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and explores the reverberations of a random accident on the lives of both the local Muslims, and Western visitors to a house party in a grand villa,' according to IMDB; (L-R) Elizabeth Eves, Christopher Abbott, John Michael McDonagh, Abbey Lee, Jessica Chastain and Mourad Zaoui Others in attendance included the film's director John Michael McDonagh, his wife Elizabeth Eve and actor Mourad Zaoui. The Forgiven 'takes place over a weekend in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and explores the reverberations of a random accident on the lives of both the local Muslims, and Western visitors to a house party in a grand villa,' according to IMDB. Jessica co-leads the film with Ralph Fiennes, but he was noticeably absent from Tuesday's premiere. The Forgiven is slated for a July 1 theatrical release. Absent: Jessica co-leads the film with Ralph Fiennes, but he was noticeably absent from Tuesday's premiere Married At First Sight star Olivia Frazer has accused a popular influencer and vegan activist of sending her an unkind message on Instagram. On Wednesday, Frazer shared a screenshot of a DM allegedly sent to her by Lauren McGeachin, who boasts more than 100,000 followers on the platform. The alleged unsolicited message read, 'You're awful.' Married At First Sight star Olivia Frazer (left) has accused popular influencer and vegan activist Lauren McGeachin (right) of sending her an unkind message on Instagram Frazer, 28, a former teaching assistant who now makes a living on OnlyFans, did not reply to the DM but captioned her screenshot: 'Peace and light, you troll.' The MAFS villain was later asked during an Instagram Q&A why she only outed 'that one girl' - referring to McGeachin - instead of her many other critics. 'I actually put a few people on blast. I have to be careful not to just promote that behaviour though,' Frazer responded. She then said of McGeachin: 'That girl this morning was particularly disgusting because she has a big platform and promotes kindness.' McGeachin pleaded guilty in 2020 to stealing livestock after the animal-rights activist rescued piglets and chickens from a farm near Toowoomba, Queensland. She was ordered to pay $300 and to perform 90 hours of community service for the offence. The alleged unsolicited message (pictured) read, 'You're awful.' Frazer did not reply to the DM but captioned her screenshot: 'Peace and light, you troll' McGeachin (pictured) pleaded guilty in 2020 to stealing livestock after the animal-rights activist rescued piglets and chickens from a farm near Toowoomba, Queensland The social media skirmish comes as Frazer moves full steam ahead with her new career on OnlyFans. And on Tuesday, she shot more raunchy content with her boyfriend Jackson Lonie. The reality TV star, who is about to jet off to Scotland, shared a racy photo on Instagram of herself in lingerie. The social media skirmish comes as Frazer moves full steam ahead with her new career on OnlyFans She showed off her jaw-dropping figure in a black lace bodysuit as she posed for a mirror selfie in her hotel suite. After shooting an intimate scene with Lonie, she then posted an 'after' photo of the couple smiling in bed together. Frazer revealed last month she felt stifled by the 'wholesome' teaching profession and wanted to leave it all behind to share her sexuality with subscribers on OnlyFans. After shooting an intimate scene with her boyfriend Jackson Lonie (right) on Tuesday, the former teaching student, 28, then posted an 'after' photo of the couple smiling in bed together 'I love teaching and I was a fantastic teacher, but this wholesome persona that all teachers are required to have [doesn't suit me],' she said on Instagram. 'Teachers are expected to be squeaky clean and to never have made a mistake in their life and, yeah, it's just a very unforgiving culture surrounding the profession.' Frazer said being a school teacher 'wasn't for me' any longer and that she didn't want to live out the rest of her life being dictated by that career. Frazer revealed last month she felt stifled by the 'wholesome' teaching profession and wanted to leave it all behind to share her sexuality with subscribers on OnlyFans The pansexual reality star has been modelling her extensive lingerie collection on OnlyFans, while offering more sexually explicit content at a premium rate. She first joined the adult website on May 25, and is believed to have earned more than $100,000 so far. Frazer will be flying to the UK without Lonie on Wednesday, and will be shooting solo content while overseas. A Sydney socialite has joined the pile-on against Sydney Morning Herald gossip columnist Andrew Hornery after he was accused of trying to 'out' actress Rebel Wilson. Eyebrow specialist Kristin Fisher has been a regular in Hornery's Private Sydney column for the Sydney Morning Herald, and its sister column Emerald City penned by Lucy Manly, for several years now, and has found the coverage of her life unfair and intrusive. She jumped at the chance to twist the knife into Hornery in a series of stinging Instagram posts on Wednesday, as the journalist faces international backlash for an article he wrote admitting he gave Wilson a two-day deadline to comment on her same-sex relationship with fashion designer Ramona Agruma. Sydney socialite Kristin Fisher has joined the pile-on against Sydney Morning Herald gossip columnist Andrew Hornery after he was accused of trying to 'out' actress Rebel Wilson Fisher, a 37-year-old single mother of two who was most recently linked to billionaire pub baron Stu Laundy in the pages of the Herald, called on Hornery to be 'cancelled once and for all'. 'Finally the world is calling him out,' she wrote. 'Yes, every other city has social pages, but no other city has reporters whose entire role is to bring someone down (or in this case out!) who is in the public eye.' The eyebrow specialist has been a regular in Hornery's Private Sydney column for the Sydney Morning Herald, and its sister column Emerald City penned by Lucy Manly, for several years now, and has found the coverage of her life unfair and intrusive Wilson (right) and Agruma (left) are seen here at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California, on March 27, 2022 Fisher, a 37-year-old single mother of two who was most recently linked to billionaire pub playboy Stu Laundy in the pages of the Herald, called Hornery (pictured) a 'putrid man' and accused him of lying about her in his column She then called for Hornery to lose his job, writing: 'Get rid of him, the rest of the likes of him and READ THE ROOM. 'It's nasty, it's irrelevant...and it's not okay.' Fisher, who runs the boutique beauty clinic Kristin Fisher Eyebrows, has appeared across Sydney's gossip columns on several occasions - most notably during her brush with the law over a cocaine charge in July 2021. She was charged after being found by police in a car in Bondi with two grams of the illegal drug. But a magistrate later overturned her conviction and instead handed her a six-month community release order with a condition not to do drugs. Advertisement Oscar winner Penelope Cruz glammed up for the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her film Official Competition in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday. The Spanish 48-year-old flaunted substantial cleavage while posing on the red carpet outside the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. Penelope looked fabulous in a single-sleeved black sparkly Chanel gown with a matching quilted clutch and peep-toe heels selected by stylist Cristina Ehrlich. Looking like a million bucks! Oscar winner Penelope Cruz glammed up for the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her film Official Competition in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday Cruz (born Sanchez) has been an official Chanel brand ambassador for several years, but she began working with the luxury French fashion house as far back as 1999. The 355 action star finished off her dazzling look with a bright red mani-pedi as well as a Chanel diamond choker and a star-spangled bauble on her left ring finger. Penelope had a freshly-blown out natural mane, and she wore false lashes and a peachy gloss on her pout. In Official Competition - hitting US theaters this Friday - Cruz wigged out with a massive red curly hairpiece in order to better portray avant-garde Palme d'Or-winning director Lola Cuevas. God-given assets: The Spanish 48-year-old flaunted substantial cleavage while posing on the red carpet outside the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center Not-so-basic black: Penelope looked fabulous in a single-sleeved black sparkly Chanel gown with a matching quilted clutch and peep-toe heels selected by stylist Cristina Ehrlich Ooh la la! Cruz (born Sanchez) has been an official Chanel brand ambassador for several years, but she began working with the luxury French fashion house as far back as 1999 Instead of her wedding ring: The 355 action star finished off her dazzling look with a bright red mani-pedi as well as a Chanel diamond choker and a star-spangled bauble on her left ring finger Fierce after 40! Penelope had a freshly-blown out natural mane, and she wore false lashes and a peachy gloss on her pout 'I feel grateful to bring a movie that we did during Covid, which we had to stop for six months - and that's a long time,' the Emmy nominee told W Magazine on Monday night. 'We thought maybe it would fall apart since we were one month away from finishing. Now, we're able to bring our movie everywhere, around the world!' Penelope has changed her approach to acting since welcoming two children - son Leonardo, 11; and daughter Luna, nearly 9 - with her husband of nearly 12 years, Oscar winner Javier Bardem. Hitting US theaters this Friday! In Official Competition, Cruz wigged out with a massive red curly hairpiece in order to better portray avant-garde Palme d'Or-winning director Lola Cuevas The Emmy nominee told W Magazine on Monday: 'I feel grateful to bring a movie that we did during Covid, which we had to stop for six months - and that's a long time. We thought maybe it would fall apart since we were one month away from finishing. Now, we're able to bring our movie everywhere, around the world!' 'I used to think that the more I suffered, the better the performance was going to be': Penelope has changed her approach to acting since welcoming two children - son Leonardo, 11; and daughter Luna, nearly 9 - with her husband of nearly 12 years, Oscar winner Javier Bardem (R, pictured March 27) Cruz told W: 'But once I had my kids, I decided to work more with my imagination and less by forcing anything from my real life. In my 20s or in my 30s, before I was a mother, I would force a little bit my personal traumatic experiences. Now, I feel like that doesn't necessarily make the result better - but it does make your life more healthy to separate fiction and reality' 'I used to think that the more I suffered, the better the performance was going to be,' Cruz told W. 'But once I had my kids, I decided to work more with my imagination and less by forcing anything from my real life. In my 20s or in my 30s, before I was a mother, I would force a little bit my personal traumatic experiences. Now, I feel like that doesn't necessarily make the result better - but it does make your life more healthy to separate fiction and reality.' The Parallel Mothers actress was joined at the premiere by co-writer Andres Duprat, directing duo Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat, as well as her frequent castmate Antonio Banderas. Group shot! The Parallel Mothers actress was joined at the premiere by co-writer Andres Duprat (L), directing duo Mariano Cohn (M) and Gaston Duprat (R), as well as her frequent castmate Antonio Banderas (2-R) Spanish twosome: Official Competition marks the acting pair's third onscreen collaboration after co-starring in Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar's 2019 drama Pain and Glory and 2013 musical comedy I'm So Excited! The 61-year-old Oscar nominee rocked tiny goatee and was dressed in a grey suit over a white collared shirt and black dress shoes Film within a film: In the critically-acclaimed showbiz satire, Antonio plays international movie star Felix Rivero in stark contrast with Oscar Martinez's (R) respected thespian Ivan Torres Official Competition marks the acting pair's third onscreen collaboration after co-starring in Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar's 2019 drama Pain and Glory and 2013 musical comedy I'm So Excited! The 61-year-old Oscar nominee rocked tiny goatee and was dressed in a grey suit over a white collared shirt and black dress shoes. In the critically-acclaimed showbiz satire, Antonio plays international movie star Felix Rivero in stark contrast with Oscar Martinez's respected thespian Ivan Torres. Gents' night out: Penelope appeared to have skipped the after-party, which was held at nearby Tribeca steakhouse, American Cut Kevin McHale celebrated turning 34 in his birthday suit. The Glee actor shared a photo of himself basking in the sunshine naked as he marked his special day on Tuesday. In the photo, Kevin's rear end was on full display as he caught a few rays on the beach. Cheeky celebrations! Glee star Kevin McHale wore his birthday suit as he turned 34 on Tuesday 'B'day booty,' he captioned the image, along with a cupcake emoji. Kevin appears to be celebrating his birthday in Germany, where he got the party started off right at midnight. 'Midnight surprise for my bday,' Kevin posted to his Instagram Stories. 'A candle and shots of gin.' In the photo, Kevin was presented with a tray of gin shots as he posed with his friends, including his boyfriend Austin P. McKenzie. Counting down! McHale was surprised at midnight with shots of gin and a candle Yum! He was treated to massive cookies made by his boyfriend Austin McKenzie Subsequent Instagram Stories showed all the fun to be had by Kevin, which included a decadent slice of Black Forest Cake and extra gooey cookies made by his boyfriend. Austin praised Kevin's 'grounded' and 'authentic' character in a sweet tribute he posted to his Instagram account on Tuesday. 'Sensitive, strange, dark souls like me need people like you authentic, grounded, and light,' he posted. 'You make me dance. You make me smile. You make me honest. You bring out the best in me. And I you. 'But most importantly, you continue to teach me that I am enough. I want to give you the world. But for now, Ill just give you a kiss goodnight. Happy birthday my honey.' Make a wish! McHale also enjoyed a slice of Black Forest Cake on his special day Kevin rose to fame playing Artie Abrams on the hit FOX series Glee from 2009 to 2015. In March 2020, he and fellow Glee co-star Jenna Ushkowitz detailed their 'rough' experiences filming the 'tone deaf' show on an episode of the podcast Dating Straight. While Kevin admitted that he 'broke' when he had to sing The Fox by Ylvis in season five, Jenna who is Korean-American appeared even more put-off that she was front and center for a performance of Psy's Gangnam Style During the video clip, which went viral last year on TikTok, co-host Amy Ordman asked when Jenna and Kevin started hating Glee. 'You make me dance': Austin praised Kevin's 'grounded' and 'authentic' character in a sweet tribute he posted to his Instagram account on Tuesday Aww: McKenzie posted several sweet shots capturing their relationship to his account The stars laughed in response, obviously not offended by the question. 'I never hated it,' Kevin said, before admitting, 'Some people did. I was the last one to break, I will say that, out of the cast. I was the last one to lose it.' Kevin called performing the 2013 track What Does The Fox Say his 'boiling point' while Jenna was obviously unhappy to have had to perform Gangnam Style. 'Season five was really rough for us,' Jenna chimed in. After Amy replied that the show was 'pretty tone deaf,' Jenna said: 'Yeah, absolutely.' 'If you watch it now you will be shocked,' Kevin said. She recently split from real estate mogul Brett Oppenheim after eight months of dating. But Tina Louise showed no sign of heartbreak on Monday when she stepped out with her friend Sei Moon in Los Angeles. The Australian model and restaurateur, 41, flaunted her incredible figure in skintight blue shorts as she went for a city stroll. Selling Sunset star Tina Louise (right) showed no sign of heartbreak on Monday when she stepped out with her friend Sei Moon (left) in Los Angeles. The model and restaurateur, 41, recently split from real estate mogul Brett Oppenheim after eight months of dating She completed her sporty look with a white crop top and comfortable sneakers. Tina, the owner of the Sugar Taco vegan eatery, styled her short blonde hair loosely and appeared to go makeup free. She was previously in a relationship with Brett Oppenheim, and appeared in the latest season of Netflix show Selling Sunset. The two went public with their relationship last April, but split eight months later. Tina flaunted her incredible figure in skintight blue shorts as she went for a city stroll Brett, 45, confirmed their break-up during an Instagram Q&A in December after a fan asked if he was single. 'Okay, this question has absolutely nothing to do with real estate, but I will answer it. As of very recently, actually, yes,' he responded. The couple called it quits after Tina started to think about starting a family but Brett wasn't keen on the idea, according to TMZ. 'We were together for eight months, so it got to a point where I wanted to take the next step in the relationship, and he wasn't quite there yet,' she told the publication. She completed her sporty look with a white crop top and comfortable sneakers She added: 'That sort of ended the relationship.' Brett later thanked Tina for their time together in a heartfelt post on Instagram, and insisted they were still friends. 'I am grateful for you, Tina. For your love, your laugh, your smile, and for our enduring friendship,' he wrote. 'Tina is the most genuine... loving... beautiful woman I could have ever dreamed of... with the most breathtaking smile. 'I will always love her and be her friend.' Married At First Sight star Olivia Frazer has officially departed Australia after buying a one-way ticket to Scotland. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia before her long-haul flight, the 27-year-old said she was 'excited' about her trip to the UK, which she considers a second home. The former teaching assistant also revealed she isn't worried about her boyfriend Jackson Lonie cheating on her while she is overseas. Married At First Sight star Olivia Frazer has officially departed Australia after buying a one-way ticket to Scotland 'I'm so excited... the last few weeks have been crazy. Get me out of here!' she said as she checked in at Sydney Airport. 'I've got nothing planned. I'm just ready to see my loved ones and have some quality family time.' When asked if she was worried about leaving Jackson behind on his own - after he cheated on her with 20-year-old Han Hughes on a wild night out in Melbourne last month - she said: 'Absolutely not... if he hasn't learnt his lesson yet, that's on him.' Olivia said that while she couldn't persuade him to accompany her on the trip, she hopes he will join her in a few weeks' time to celebrate her birthday. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia before her long-haul flight, the 27-year-old said she was 'excited' about her trip to the UK, which she considers a second home The former teaching assistant also revealed she isn't worried about her boyfriend Jackson Lonie cheating on her while she is overseas Olivia said that while she couldn't persuade Jackson to accompany her on the trip, she hopes he will join her in a few weeks' time to celebrate her birthday 'I'm trying to convince Jack to come for my birthday next month, but he's got his fight coming up,' she said. Olivia dressed for comfort for her 24-hour flight to the UK, teaming an oversized black T-shirt with tracksuit pants. She completed her look with a trendy grey coat and Chanel slippers. 'I'm trying to convince Jack to come for my birthday next month, but he's got his fight coming up,' she said Olivia dressed for comfort for her 24-hour flight to the UK, teaming an oversized black T-shirt with tracksuit pants Olivia showed off her natural beauty by going makeup free. It comes weeks after footage of Jackson kissing another woman spread across the internet like wildfire, and a devastated Olivia later told Daily Mail Australia she was 'speechless' by the betrayal. 'We're still together... I have told him to have a big think about what he wants,' she said the day after the incident. It comes weeks after footage of Jackson kissing another woman spread across the internet like wildfire, and a devastated Olivia later told Daily Mail Australia she was 'speechless' by the betrayal Jackson has since admitted he 'f**ked up' and is 'seeking help' for his drinking. 'The way I've kind of been dealing with [the negativity from MAFS] is to get blackout drunk, which don't get me wrong, it isn't an excuse, it's not acceptable,' he said. 'It's not the person I want to be. It's not who I am. 'I am seeking help to try and figure out new ways to combat my emotions and how to deal with this negativity.' Nicole Kidman will soon start work on a new film for struggling steaming giant Netflix. The 54-year-old will co-star with Zac Efron and Joey King in the as-yet-untitled romantic comedy, reports Hollywood Reporter. Specific details of the plot are under wraps, but the story will involve a young woman, her mother and her movie star boss as they deal with romantic complications and comic consequences. Nicole Kidman (pictured) will soon start work on a new film for struggling steaming giant Netflix The film will be directed by Richard LaGrevenese, famous for writing the 1991 Robin Williams classic The Fisher King. The film will be a change of pace for Nicole, who has been featured in a series of heavy dramatic roles in the past few years. These include her Oscar nominated performance as Lucille Ball in 2021's Amazon Prime series Being the Ricardos and the grim 2020 HBO thriller The Undoing. Last year, Nicole starred in yet another streaming, Amazon Prime's Nine Perfect Strangers. The 54-year-old will co-star with Zac Efron (pictured) in the as-yet-untitled romantic comedy Co-star Zac Efron, recently seen on Stan in the dark Australian thriller Gold, will get a chance to showcase a lighter side of himself. Meanwhile, the new film will add to the busy schedule of rising star Joey King, 22, who first rose to fame on the Netflix hit The Kissing Booth in 2018 and plays a major role in the upcoming Brad Pitt blockbuster Bullet Train. The news comes after Nicole Kidman's contribution to the stellar Hollywood career of her ex-husband Tom Cruise was glossed over at the world's biggest film festival in May. Cruise, 59, was honoured by the Cannes Film Festival with a 10-minute montage of highlights from his four-decade-long career in front of the camera. The new film will add to the busy schedule of rising star Joey King, 22, (pictured) who first rose to fame on the Netflix hit The Kissing Booth in 2018. (Joey pictured in Los Angeles in January 2022) But Nicole, who made three films with the Mission: Impossible star in the 12 years they were married, was nowhere to be seen in the clips. Variety reported that many of Cruise's notable co-stars were featured in the highlight reel, including Dustin Hoffman, Kristen Dunst and Penelope Cruz. Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Cruise asked for his ex-wife to be omitted from the montage, and there is no evidence he was involved in the editing process. Cruise and Kidman divorced in 2001 after 12 years of marriage amid rumours his commitment his Scientology drove a wedge between them. Racing royalty Kate Waterhouse is usually seen trackside at the most glamorous equestrian events on the Australian social calendar. But the journalist and influencer has jetted to the United Kingdom for her latest appearance at the prestigious Royal Ascot. Kate, who is a reporter for Channel Seven's horse racing multichannel, stepped out at the event in a Gucci outfit alongside her bookmaker brother Tom Waterhouse. Racing royalty Kate Waterhouse (centre) turned heads in a tailored Gucci outfit as she attended Royal Ascot in England on Tuesday Kate and Tom's mother is Australian horse trainer Gai Waterhouse. Kate looked stylish and ladylike in a long cream Gucci skirt, which she teamed with a crisp white shirt and navy blazer. She finished off her polished look with a pair of black heels and a Nerida Winter beige headpiece. Kate looked stylish and ladylike in a long cream Gucci skirt, which she teamed with a crisp white shirt and navy blazer She finished off her polished look with a Nerida Winter beige headpiece At the event, she joined the likes of Aussie models Jordan and Zac Stenmark. 'Royal Ascot day one,' Kate's wrote on Instagram. Also stepping out at the event was former Sunrise co-host Sam Armytage and her husband, equestrian businessman Richard Lavender. Also stepping out at the event was former Sunrise co-host Sam Armytage (centre) and her husband, equestrian businessman Richard Lavender (second from right) In an Instagram selfie shared to her 258,000 Instagram followers, Sam wrote: 'Here we go.' Wearing a stunning red dress, the TV personality topped off her look with a Jane Taylor London tonal pink-rippled headpiece and pink shoes. She later shared a photo of herself with her husband and several other men all dressed up and following the race's strict dress code for the Royal Enclosure. According to their website, racegoers are required to dress appropriately depending on the 'enclosure' they've purchased tickets for. Wearing a stunning red dress, the TV personality topped off her look with a Jane Taylor London tonal pink-rippled headpiece and pink shoes 'Gentlemen are kindly reminded that it is a requirement to wear black, grey or navy morning dress,' their guidelines read for the Ascot's Royal Enclosure. 'A waistcoat and tie (no cravats or bow ties), a black or grey top hat, black shoes worn with socks.' As for females attendees in the Royal Enclosure, it is a requirement to wear a 'modest' hemline. However, elsewhere in the guide it appears sky-high mini skirts may be permitted in other enclosures. Hours later, Sam shared her excitement following the win of Aussie super horse Nature Strip, drawing an arrow pointing down to the horse on the track. Nature Strip, trained by Chris Waller, powered to the finish by four-and-a-half lengths to win the King's Stand Stakes at Britain's royal meeting. 'He's just an absolute freak of a horse,' declared Sydney jockey James McDonald. By Choo Jae-woo President Yoon Suk-yeol initiated his first foreign policy maneuver by announcing that Korea will join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). His announcement came about a week after he took office on May 10 and much earlier than when the IPEF was officially launched on May 23. The Korean public was in awe, fearing possible retaliatory action by China. Korea in recent years has built the habit of considering China first before doing anything including in its national interests. What the country learned from the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile battery here and China's ensuing economic retaliation has taken a toll on the Korean people including decision-makers. The Korean public's apprehension indeed proved to be well-founded as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi filed a complaint during a virtual meeting with his Korean counterpart later that evening. Wang expressed his opposition by emphasizing the IPEF's negative tendency to decouple and cut off supply chains with his country. He basically demanded that Korea maintain the stability and smooth operation of global industry and supply chains by reconsidering the president's decision to join the IPEF. Wang later elaborated on China's opposition to the IPEF the day before its official launch. While casting strong skepticism on the prospective success of the framework, he was also highly critical of its inherent intent and purposes. He criticized it as an American attempt to create regional division and confrontation instead of cooperation. He also called on the United States to refrain from politicizing regional economic cooperation and warned that any future regional framework excluding China would be abandoned by "the times." China's strong opposition sheds light on a new perspective with respect to Korea's rising geo-economic value. Koreans must realize this change in its strategic value to China and take advantage by emancipating themselves from their perpetual fear of China. It has already become apparent that it is more the case that China fears losing Korea, than Korea worries about China's punitive actions for joining current efforts by America, such as the Indo-Pacific Strategy, and its subset, the IPEF. Beijing's concerns were made explicit just before Korea's presidential election in March. On two different occasions, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) media mouthpiece The Global Times employed editorials to convey warning messages to all of Korea's presidential candidates as well as to the president-elect. Such an endeavor is unheard of and unprecedented in past South Korean presidential elections. On March 9, the day before the election, in the editorial, "China-South Korea ties must move forward not backward," it wanted the presidential candidates to realize the true intent behind America's Indo-Pacific Strategy. Claiming that the United States is either pressing or luring South Korea with a promise of interests to take sides with it against China, it said that the U.S.' intent is delusional. Acting as a good Samaritan, Beijing preached to Seoul about the consequences of falling into Washington's trap. It would mean Seoul falling into the frontline of a geopolitical competition in Northeast Asia. A strategic dichotomy as in "pro-China" or "pro-U.S." will not serve Seoul's strategic interests, the editorial insisted. On the day after the election, another editorial was issued, with another "benign" warning message to then-President-elect Yoon. Recognizant of the president's foreign policy priority of rebuilding the alliance with the U.S., China took its anxiety to another level. While confessing that it understands South Korea's interest in the alliance, the CCP's mouthpiece cautioned that "Beijing-Seoul relations should not be seen as an appendix of Washington-Seoul relations." Furthermore, it also cautioned on the issue of misinterpretation and misjudgment and that China will respect Korea when the latter has a good relationship with the U.S. a prevailing belief in Korean society. In the end, the gist of the message was to warn Seoul not to gamble between Washington and Beijing. China's anxiety reflects its apprehension of Korea's strategic values potentially presenting a threat to its economic interests. In other words, it cannot afford to lose Korea in its supply chains. A disruption in Korea's supply of semiconductors, for instance, would be detrimental to China's aspiration to become a leading force in the 5G industry as well as Industry 4.0, as prescribed by China's national strategic plan, Made in China 2025, and its China Digital Transformation Strategies program. It would also hinder China's goal to become a strong and modern socialist state in 2049, following the realization of its socialist modernization mission by 2035. For this reason, South Korea as a major manufacturing force in high-tech industries is vital enough to impact the outcomes of China's socialist modernization narratives. Against this background, Beijing cannot afford to subject Seoul to punitive measures just to keep it from veering off to IPEF, as it did with THAAD in 2016. On the contrary, IPEF now presents China with a new strategic dilemma. If it adopts retaliatory measures, it will only transpire to expose the vulnerabilities of China's high-tech industry and sustainable economic capabilities. If sanctions are used as a measure to avert such consequences, they will give rise to leverage for Korea. Since it is China that is in a dilemma, Korea must get rid of its obsession with China's possible retaliation and proactively pursue its strategic interests in alliance with the U.S. Korea now is in good hands with the U.S. and other "like-minded states" to maximize its interests. Choo Jae-woo ( ) is a professor of international relations at Kyung Hee University and the director of the China Center at the Korea Research Institute for National Security. He is a former visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. This year's season of The Bachelor Australia is getting a major make-over. In addition to having three suitors instead of one, the producers of the Channel 10 dating show have also dropped the show's famous red carpet introductions. In most seasons of The Bachelor around the world, it's traditional for the women to step out of a limousine, walk down a red carpet and introduce themselves to the suitor on the first night. In addition to having three suitors instead of one this year, the producers of The Bachelor Australia have also dropped the show's famous red carpet introductions But this has been ditched for the news season and viewers won't get to see the contestants arrive one by one, reports TV Tonight. Channel 10 executive Daniel Monaghan said there will still be footage of the women arriving at the mansion, but wouldn't provide any details about their entrances. Mr Monaghan, the content boss for 10's parent company Paramount ANZ, said viewers can expect the early episodes to be 'different to what we have done before'. The tenth season of The Bachelor Australia has already made headlines for tweaking the franchise's well-established format. In most seasons of The Bachelor around the world, it's traditional for the women to step out of a limousine, walk down a red carpet and introduce themselves to the suitor on the first night. However, this has been ditched for the news season and fans won't get to see the contestants arrive one by one, Channel 10 executive Daniel Monaghan (pictured) told TV Tonight The 2022 iteration has been rebranded 'The Bachelors' due to having three leading men instead of one. Mr Monaghan did stress, however, that certain traditions like the regular cocktail parties have survived the make-over. 'It's just that now there are three men and a lot more women at that cocktail party,' he added. The Bachelor is also being filmed on the Gold Coast instead of Sydney for the first time in the show's history. Osher Gunsberg (pictured) will be returning to host the new season of The Bachelor It's unclear whether the three suitors, Jed McIntosh, Felix Von Hofe and Thomas Malucelli, are living in the same waterfront home with the contestants. The $14.5million two-storey mansion, located in Broadbeach Waters, includes four large bedrooms, five bathrooms, a gym and outdoor pool. It comes after another Channel 10 executive defended casting three white suitors for the new season, insisting the full cast will include several diverse contestants. The new season has already faced criticism from franchise veterans Angie Kent and Abbie Chatfield (pictured), who say the line-up isn't inclusive enough The show has already faced criticism from franchise veterans Angie Kent and Abbie Chatfield, who say the line-up isn't inclusive enough. Beverley McGarvey, the Executive Vice President of Paramount Australia, told TV Tonight that while the Bachelors themselves are all white, the women vying for their hearts will be representative of Australia's diverse population. 'This year, we were trying to do something different with The Bachelor, even just in terms of the age range,' Ms McGarvey said. '[That] allows us to cast different types of women as well.' Advertisement Sara Sampaio looked effortlessly beautiful on Tuesday evening as she attended the star-studded premiere for HBO Max's Father Of The Bride in Miami, Florida. The former Victoria's Secret Angel, 30, strolled the red carpet in a semi-sheer white midi dress with a slit up the front that showcased her lean legs. She was joined by her hunky boyfriend Zac Frognowski, who looked sharp in a black polo top and a pair of off white trousers. Effortless: Sara Sampaio looked effortlessly beautiful on Tuesday evening as she attended the star-studded premiere for HBO Max's Father Of The Bride in Miami, Florida. She was joined by her hunky boyfriend Zac Frognowski, who looked sharp in a black polo top and a pair of off white trousers Sara's sleeveless dress had cut-outs along the neckline attached to gold hardware. The tone of the runway maven's dress complimented her glowing tan. She posed up in a pair of gold gladiator sandals that wound up her legs and she fastened a pair of dangly pearl earrings. The Portuguese model wore her flowing dark brown hair in a loose ponytail and she curled her wispy curtain bangs away from her face. Gladiator glam: The former Victoria's Secret Angel, 30, strolled the red carpet in a semi-sheer white midi dress with a slit up the front that showcased her lean legs. She posed up in a pair of gold gladiator sandals that wound up her legs and she fastened a pair of dangly pearl earrings Details: Sara's sleeveless dress had cut-outs along the neckline attached to gold hardware Glowing: As for makeup, Sara rocked a deep nude lipstick and she drenched her eyelashes in black mascara. Her complexion looked radiant and her eyebrows were styled with gel As for makeup, Sara rocked a deep nude lipstick and she drenched her eyelashes in black mascara. Her complexion looked radiant and her eyebrows were styled with gel. Sara and Zac have been romantically linked since March, with the duo making their red carpet debut at this year's Vanity Fair Oscar Party the same month. Before hitting the carpet, the Crisis actress was spotted arriving to the premiere venue with the cast of Father Of The Bride. Curve-clinging: Leading lady Adria Arjona stepped out for the big premiere in curve-clinging slip dress boasting a gorgeous pastel pattern with Tiffany & Co jewellery. Brunette beauty: The 30-year-old actress' silky brunette hair was parted down the middle and styled in curls that fell onto her back and shoulders The new Latin adaptation of the 1950s comedy flick follows doting dad Billy Herrera (played by Andy Garcia) as he's forced to come to grips with his daughter Sofia's (played by Adria Arjona) imminent walk down the aisle 'through the prism of multiple relationships within a big, sprawling Cuban-American clan,' as per IMDB. The film is set to premiere on HBO Max on Friday, June 16. Leading lady Adria Arjona stepped out for the big premiere in curve-clinging slip dress boasting a gorgeous pastel pattern. Radiant: Adria rocked a neutral pink manicure and her makeup was kept natural in order to let her natural beauty shine Mingling: The Puerto Rican star was later spotted cozying up to several of her castmates, including actress Isabela Merced. The 20-year-old glamour girl stunned in a shimmery green strapless gown that highlighted her curves Sleek: Her lengthy brunette hair was slicked back into a chic ponytail that fell down her back Friendly: Isabela offered a friendly wave in the direction of fans and photographers during the premiere The 30-year-old actress' silky brunette hair was parted down the middle and styled in curls that fell onto her back and shoulders. She fastened a single pendant necklace around her neck and slipped a glitzy bracelet onto her right wrist. Adria rocked a neutral pink manicure and her makeup was kept natural in order to let her natural beauty shine. Radiant: Gloria Estefan - who stars as the wife to Garcia's character Billy named Ingrid - looked radiant in a black floral print blazer and matching tapered trousers Family affair: She was joined at the premiere of her latest project by longtime husband Emilio Estefan, 69, and their nine-year-old grandson Sasha Argento Flattering: The legendary Cuban songstress, 64, layered a form-fitting black bodysuit under her jacket and decked herself out in jewels The Puerto Rican star was later spotted cozying up to several of her castmates, including actress Isabela Merced. The 20-year-old glamour girl stunned in a shimmery green strapless gown that highlighted her curves. Isabela - who plays the bride's little sister, Cora Herrera - lengthy brunette hair was slicked back into a chic ponytail that fell down her back. Gloria Estefan - who stars as the wife to Garcia's character Billy, Ingrid Herrera - looked radiant in a black floral print blazer and matching tapered trousers. Handsome: Diego Boneta - who plays the groom, Adan Castillo - looked handsome as he arrived to the star-studded occasion in a stylish off white suit jacket and matching pants with Tiffany & Co jewellery. Pop of color: Giving his look a pop of color, the 31-year-old Rock Of Ages star threw on a pale yellow dress shirt Shady: Diego shielded his eyes from the intense Miami sun with a pair of transparent, brown-tinted shades The legendary Cuban songstress, 64, layered a form-fitting black bodysuit under her jacket and decked herself out in jewels. She was joined at the premiere of her latest project by longtime husband Emilio Estefan, 69, and their nine-year-old grandson Sasha Argento. Diego Boneta - who plays the groom, Adan Castillo - looked handsome as he arrived to the star-studded occasion in a stylish off white suit jacket and matching pants. Reunited: Andy Garcia eagerly caught up with Adria, Diego, Gloria and the rest of the film's cast while rocking a navy blue double-breasted jacket and a pair of dark denim jeans On point: The Untouchables actor, 66, rocked a pair of stylish black glasses and tucked a patterned handkerchief into the pocket of his jacket Giving his look a pop of color, the 31-year-old Rock Of Ages star threw on a pale yellow dress shirt. Andy Garcia eagerly caught up with Adria, Diego, Gloria and the rest of the film's cast while rocking a navy blue double-breasted jacket and a pair of dark denim jeans. The Untouchables actor, 66, rocked a pair of stylish black glasses and tucked a patterned handkerchief into the pocket of his jacket. Quirky queen: Chloe Fineman - who plays the bride and groom's eccentric wedding planner - stunned in a fitted red velvet gown with a satin magenta bust Coming soon: The film is set to premiere on HBO Max on Friday, June 16; (L-R) Ruben Rabasa, Guest, Gloria Estefan, Adria Arjona, Andy Garcia, Chloe Fineman, Diego Boneta, Isabela Merced and Casey Thomas Brown Chloe Fineman - who plays the bride and groom's eccentric wedding planner - stunned in a fitted red velvet gown with a satin magenta bust. The SNL star threw her bright blonde hair into an updo and carried a stuffed poodle plush in her hand as she posed for snaps. Cuban model Lili Estefan showcased her runway-worthy figure in a bright orange mini dress and a pair of silver platform heels. Advertisement Jeff Bridges and Amy Brenneman put on a cozy display as they attended the New York City premiere of their forthcoming series The Old Man. The event took place at the Museum of Modern Art on Tuesday night, with both actors, 72 and 57, putting their best fashion foot forward. Jeff looked handsome in a navy blue suit with a white shirt while his costar dazzled in a sleeveless sequined dress. Costars: Jeff Bridges and Amy Brenneman put on a cozy display as they attended the New York City premiere of their forthcoming series The Old Man Jeff left his blazer unbuttoned and tucked his crisp button-up shirt into his slacks. He rounded out the look with black shoes. The Big Lebowski star slicked his hair back neatly, tucking some of the greying locks behind his ears. He sported a nicely-trimmed white beard and looked sophisticated in a smart pair of rectangular-shaped eyeglasses. Their looks: Jeff looked handsome in a navy blue suit with a white shirt while his costar dazzled in a sleeveless sequined dress Dazzling: Meanwhile, his counterpart sparkled in her look, which featured an array of sequins transitioning from black to silver Meanwhile, his counterpart sparkled in her look, which featured an array of sequins transitioning from black to silver. The dress cropped right below her knees and she punctuated the ensemble with a pair of pointed-toe black pumps. Amy, who plays the role of Zoe in the show, pulled her highlighted brunette locks into a sultry, clipped-back style, leaving face-framing strands out at the front. She rocked a short, glossy, red manicure and adorned her fingers with round, black and white rings that complemented her dress. TV team: The two costars cozied up to each other while posing on the premiere's step-and-repeat Dapper: Jeff left his blazer unbuttoned and tucked his crisp button-up shirt into his slacks. He rounded out the look with black shoes Production on The Old Man started and stopped twice - once due to the coronavirus pandemic and once to Bridges' health battle. The star has been in remission from lymphoma since September 2021 and also suffered from a severe bout of COVID-19 early last year. The actor credited his collaborators for their consideration and support amid the tough time. 'As far as Im concerned, FX and all of the team were so considerate and gave me all of the time I needed to heal and all the support I needed,' he noted in an interview with The Wrap. Happy! Jeff flashed a high-wattage smile as he enjoyed the event surrounded by his friends and costars Crew: E.J Bonilla, Amy, Jeff, Joel Grey, Pej Vahdat and Gbenga Akinnagbe gathered together for a photo In the series Jeff plays Dan Chase, a CIA runaway who must make peace with his past in order to move forward with his life. Amy's character Zoe Macdonald crosses paths with Dan when she becomes his landlord. Jeff serves as an executive producer on the project in addition to starring in it. Other notable names in the cast include John Lithgow and Alia Shawkat, who have supporting roles. Riley Keough let Elvis actor Austin Butler play her late, great grandfather Elvis Presley's acoustic guitar inside Graceland's jungle room in Tennessee over the weekend. 'It was such a special and overwhelming experience I haven't quite processed,' the 33-year-old heiress - who boasts 508K Instagram/Twitter followers - gushed on Tuesday night. 'One of many sweet things that happened while we were there - Austin played my grandfather's guitar in the house. This guitar hasn't been played by many people. 'It was such a special and overwhelming experience I haven't quite processed': Riley Keough let Elvis actor Austin Butler (pictured) play her late, great grandfather Elvis Presley's acoustic guitar inside Graceland's jungle room in Tennessee over the weekend 'I know it was tuned by @paulmccartney once, but as far as people sitting down and playing it @austinbutler is one of very few people aside from my grandfather.' The King bought his beloved Memphis mansion for $102K in 1957, and an estimated 22M fans have toured (tickets range in price from $27-$196) the 17K-square-foot, 23-room property since it opened to the public in 1982. Riley, her mother Lisa Marie Presley, and grandmother Priscilla Presley reunited on Saturday to attend a special screening of Baz Luhrmann's biopic Elvis at Graceland's Guesthouse. The Presleys have had nothing but glowing praise for the movie, with Keough gushing last Friday over what a 'fantastic job' 30-year-old Austin did singing all of the young Elvis sequences in the film. The 33-year-old heiress gushed on Tuesday: 'One of many sweet things that happened while we were there - Austin played my grandfather's guitar in the house. This guitar hasn't been played by many people. I know it was tuned by @paulmccartney once, but as far as people sitting down and playing it @austinbutler is one of very few people aside from my grandfather' Home sweet home! The King bought his beloved Memphis mansion for $102K in 1957, and an estimated 22M fans have toured (tickets range in price from $27-$196) the 17K-square-foot, 23-room property since it opened to the public in 1982 (2020 stock shot) Elvis hits UK/US theaters on June 24 before streaming in late August on HBO Max. The movie covers the Mississippi-born, Tennessee-raised sex symbol's pelvis-shaking rise to fame with help from manager Colonel Tom Parker, his US Army service, his marriage, and his film/music career. Elvis - who sold over 1B records - received three Grammy Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and he's been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. Presley died, age 42, in 1977 from cardiac arrhythmia due to a toxic reaction to codeine. Three generations! Riley, her mother Lisa Marie Presley (M), and grandmother Priscilla Presley (R) reunited on Saturday to attend a special screening of Baz Luhrmann's biopic Elvis at Graceland's Guesthouse Hitting UK/US theaters on June 24! The Presleys have had nothing but glowing praise for the movie, with Keough gushing last Friday over what a 'fantastic job' 30-year-old Austin did singing all of the young Elvis sequences in the film Taking care of business! Aside from the Presleys, the screening was attended by Butler, Tom Hanks, his wife Rita Wilson, the 59-year-old filmmaker, his wife Catherine Martin, Olivia DeJonge, Alton Mason, and more cast members Aside from the Presleys, the screening was attended by Butler, Tom Hanks, his wife Rita Wilson, the 59-year-old filmmaker, his wife Catherine Martin, Olivia DeJonge, Alton Mason, and more cast members. Tragically missing was Elvis' grandson Benjamin who died, age 27, in July 2020 from a self-inflicted shotgun wound inside his 54-year-old mother's $1.8M Calabasas mansion. Last month, the Orville Peck video vixen and her Feix Culpa producing partner Gina Gammell won the Cannes Camera d'Or for best first feature for their directorial debut War Pony about Oglala Lakota boys. Congrats! Last month, the Orville Peck video vixen and her Feix Culpa producing partner Gina Gammell (L) won the Cannes Camera d'Or for best first feature for their directorial debut War Pony about Oglala Lakota boys Premieres July 1! Riley will next portray Lt. Commander James Reece's (L, Chris Pratt) wife Lauren in Amazon Prime Video's eight-episode series The Terminal List Acting-wise, Riley (born Danielle) will next portray Lt. Commander James Reece's (Chris Pratt) wife Lauren in Amazon Prime Video's eight-episode series The Terminal List, which premieres July 1. Antoine Fuqua and Ellen Kuras' NAVY SEAL drama also stars Taylor Kitsch, Constance Wu, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Jai Courtney. On the personal front, Keough has been married to SAG Award-winning stuntman Ben Smith-Petersen for seven years, and they originally met on the 2012 set of Mad Max: Fury Road. Chris Evans has revealed he is pleased that Disney has restored a gay kiss in Pixar's new movie Lightyear but admitted his frustration that it even has to be discussed. The actor, 41, who voices title character Buzz Lightyear, said he thinks it is 'wonderful' that the franchise decided to include the kiss in the animation movie. Lightyear made headlines over the decision to cut the gay kiss before Disney put it back in after a furious backlash from staff, with Disney placing itself in opposition to Florida's Parental Rights In Education Bill, dubbed the 'Don't Say Gay' bill. 'It's wonderful': Chris Evans has revealed that he is pleased that Disney has restored a gay kiss in Pixar's new movie Lightyear but admitted his frustration that it has to be discussed The kiss happens between Buzz Lightyear's friend Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) and another female character within the first 30 minutes of the film. Hawthorne reportedly meets her love interest after she and Buzz land on a strange planet and later alludes to her getting married to her. She says, 'it's funny, I wouldn't have met her if we hadn't been stranded,' according to USA Today. Speaking about the decision to restore the smooch, Chris admitted he is 'frustrated' it even needs to be discussed as he shared his hope that it becomes 'the norm' on screens. 'It's nice, and it's wonderful, it makes me happy. It's tough to not be a little frustrated that it even has to be a topic of discussion,' he told Variety. Representation: The actor, 41, who voices title character Buzz Lightyear, said he thinks it is 'wonderful' that the franchise decided to include the kiss in the animation movie 'The goal is that we can get to a point where it is the norm, and that this doesn't have to be some uncharted waters, that eventually this is just the way it is.' After the gay kiss was restored in Lightyear, the United Arab Emirates has banned the movie from cinemas. Malaysia is also set to outlaw the animated blockbuster and other Muslim-majority nations could follow suit in response to the same-sex scene. The UAE, like many other countries in the wider Middle East, is a Muslim-led nation that criminalises same-sex relationships. The Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, announced through its Media Regulatory Office of the country's Ministry of Youth and Culture that the film would not be opening in the country. Smooch: The kiss happens between Buzz Lightyear's friend Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) and another female character within the first 30 minutes of the film Romance: Hawthorne reportedly meets her love interest after her and Buzz land on a planet and later alludes to her getting married to her. Pictured: Uzo Aduba, who voices the character The film 'is not licensed for public screening in all cinemas in the UAE, due to its violation of the country's media content standards', the office said in a tweet. 'The office confirms that all films screened in cinemas across the country are subject to follow-up and evaluation before the date of screening to the public, to ensure the safety of the circulated content according to the appropriate age classification.' The office did not elaborate on the tweet and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press. The tweet included an image of the film's poster, with the profile image of its main character Buzz Lightyear with a 'no' symbol over it in red. Cinemas in the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, had already advertised showing times for the film. Banned: After the gay kiss was restored in Lightyear, the United Arab Emirates has banned the movie from cinemas and Malaysia is also set to outlaw the animated blockbuster The US State Department warns that Islamic or Shariah law in the UAE can include the death penalty for same-sex conduct, while Dubai can levy a 10-year prison sentence and Abu Dhabi allows for up to 14 years. But such prosecutions are rarely reported and LGBTQI+ individuals do live in the skyscraper-studded city-state of Dubai, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates. The 164million Lightyear is expected to be a major draw for Disney, with analysts estimating it could gross over 82million in its first weekend. Recently, Disney has faced protests from activists and its own staff over what they described as CEO Bob Chapek's slow response in publicly criticising Florida legislation that opponents dubbed the 'Don't Say Gay' bill. Controversy: The Emirates announced through its Media Regulatory Office of the country's Ministry of Youth and Culture that the film would not be opening in the country Florida governor Ron DeSantis in late March signed the bill, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten (the equivalent to year one in the UK) through to third grade (the equivalent to year four). The gay kiss in Lightyear had been cut from the film but was restored after Pixar employees protested Disney's response to Florida's bill. 'Nearly every moment of overtly gay affection is cut at Disneys behest, regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar. Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it,' Pixar employees wrote in a March letter to the company. Sources close to the production told Variety that while Hawthorne's relationship was never questioned, studio execs opted to axe the kiss in an apparent move to avoid controversy. Decision: Lightyear had made headlines over the decision to cut the gay kiss before putting it back in after a furious backlash from its own staff Insiders allege the decision to keep the kiss could be a turning point for Pixar, which has only featured a handful of 'unambiguous LGBTQ characters' in its 27-year history. Buzz Lightyear is an action figure who comes to life in the Toy Story films and the new movie provides an origin story for the flesh-and-blood 'Space Ranger' on whom the toy was modeled. Over the course of the movie the title character finds himself lost on a faraway planet struggling to return to Earth - only to be impeded by the machinations of James Brolin's Emperor Zurg. The glittering cast includes dreamboat director Taika Waititi, who is known for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Dale Soules, who co-starred with Uzo on Orange Is The New Black. Dakota Johnson has revealed that she once got drunk on wine and crashed a wedding in Italy. Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the actress, 32, told how her friend told her to come to some nuptials he was at but when the bride noticed her she was very confused. Dakota was on the chat show to promote her Netflix film Persuasion and other movie Cha Cha Real Smooth - the first film by her production company TeaTime Pictures. Funny: Dakota Johnson has revealed that she once got drunk on wine and crashed a wedding in Italy She said of crashing the wedding: 'I did it once. I was in Italy with my sisters and in Italy they have a lot of wine there. 'My friend was at this wedding and he was like 'come this is a really big wedding no one will know'. 'And then all of a sudden I'm making eye contact with the bride as she's being bounced in a chair. And she was like 'What! Why is she here?' Awkward: Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the actress, 32, told how her friend told her to come to some nuptials he was at but when the bride noticed her she was very confused 'And the other day here in LA I crashed a birthday party too that I wasn't invited too. 'It wasn't even a birthday party it was a staff party and they really were like 'what are you doing here?' The 50 Shades of Grey actress' TV appearance came on the same day that Netflix released the trailer for her upcoming film, Persuasion. Dakota takes on the role of heroine Anne Elliot in this latest adaptation of the timeless Jane Austen novel. Busy: Dakota was on the chat show to promote her Netflix film Persuasion and other movie Cha Cha Real Smooth - the first film by her production company TeaTime Pictures Story: She said of crashing the wedding: 'I did it once. I was in Italy with my sisters and in Italy they have a lot of wine there. My friend was at this wedding and he was like 'come this is a really big wedding no one will know' She plays a young woman from a financially struggling aristocratic family who was persuaded to turn down the proposal from a handsome, but poor Captain Wentworth eight years before the story takes place, only to run into him again. Cosmo Jarvis, 32, stars as the captain and Henry Golding, 35, fills the role of his rival, Mr. Elliot. The versatile actress had to learn to speak with a posh British accent in addition to donning a corset and period clothes to take on the role of this much loved character who was introduced to the public more than 200 years ago. Trailer: This week Netflix released the trailer for Persuasion starring Dakota as heroine Anne Elliot in the film adaption of the Jane Austen novel The film, which adopted the same colorblind casting as the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, makes its streaming debut July 15. Fans can also catch up with Dakota in theaters on Friday in Cha Cha Real Smooth. She stars as the mother of an autistic daughter who befriends a Bar Mitzvah host in the dramady written, directed and starring Cooper Raiff, 25. The film won the Audience Award in the drama category at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Advertisement TOWIE newcomers Pia Smith, Hannah Voyen and Mia Sully have finally returned to London after being booted off their flight to Madrid for refusing to wear masks. The stars, who had flown to the Dominican Republic to film the new series, cut a forlorn figure as they headed through Stansted Airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after Pia revealed that they were removed from the plane and spoken to by Spanish police, before being refused entry to their flight to London. The group of stars - five women and four men - failed to comply with airline rules by refusing to wear masks, despite repeated warning with Civil Guard officers confirming they were asked to intervene by an Air Europa pilot after the flight arrived in Spain when one star was also caught vaping while on board. Pia, Hannah and Mia Sully were among these removed, alongside TOWIE veteran James 'Diags' Bennewith. At last! TOWIE newcomers Pia Smith (far left), Hannah Voyen (centre) and Mia Sully (far right) have finally returned to London after being booted off their flight to Madrid for refusing to wear masks Awkward! The stars' return was a stark contrast to the glamorous snaps they'd shared on Instagram from their trip to the Dominican Republic A far cry from the glamorous snaps she'd shared from her Dominican break on Instagram Pia sported a pink hooded tracksuit and matching leggings as she wheeled her luggage through the airport, Meanwhile Hannah donned a white crop top and pink leggings with her essentials in a Louis Vuitton bag, and Mia sported a cropped taupe hoodie and blue leggings. The pals attempted to keep a low profile as they made their way out of Arrivals towards the car park. What a mess! The trio (Pia just seen centre, Hannah far left and Mia right) were seen arriving in Stansted Airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning after being spoken to be Spanish police and refused entry to their originally-booked flight Not so fun now! Displayed her bare-faced complexion and a pink hoodie as she wheeled her suitcase through Arrivals after revealing on Instagram she and her co-stars had been refused entry to the flight Go away! Her Louis Vuitton bag caught the attention of a passing dog, with a visibly-tired Mia attempting to ignore the animal as she made her out of the airport following a much-delayed journey A mess! The group of TOWIE stars - five women and four men - failed to comply with airline rules by refusing to wear masks, despite repeated warning with Civil Guard officers The trio were among a group of nine TOWIE stars who were removed from the flight in Madrid after failing to comply to airline rules by wearing masks, with one star also vaping on the plane despite strict rules prohibiting the use of electronic cigarettes. Civil Guard officers confirmed to MailOnline that they were asked to intervene by an Air Europa pilot after the aircraft flew into the Spanish capital from the Dominican Republic. After being met by police in Madrid, the cast members were then refused permission to board their flight to London. They now face a hefty fine for their conduct. Casual: Pia donned matching pink sportswear, including a hoodie and leggings, while Mia donned a cropped nude hoodie and blue leggings and they waited for their lift home Go away! Pia attempted to keep a low profile as she jumped into a taxi with Hannah to make their way home after a lengthy delay to their journey Star: James 'Diags' Bennewith is among the stars said to have been removed from the plane So much drama! The TOWIE stars (Hannah left, Mia centre and Pia right) could now face a hefty fine for their conduct, Civil Guard officers confirmed to MailOnline that they were asked to intervene by an Air Europa pilot Pia revealed she and several stars had been removed from the plane on her Instagram Stories, writing: '24 hours later, we're still travelling, we got chucked off the flight because we didn't wear masks, it was like half the cast that got chucked off. 'We've had to sit here in Madrid airport for 10 hours. I'm not going to get back to the UK until 11:30pm, I won't be back in my bed until 1am.' Mia also took to her Stories early on Wednesday morning to reveal she had finally made it home, posting a snap from her living room at 2:13am along with the caption: 'I have never been so happy to see home! Shower and bed!' What a day! After being refused entry for their connecting flight to London, Mia took to her Instagram Stories to admit she was 'having a mental breakdown,' before revealing in the early hours of Wednesday morning she'd finally made it home Strict: Among the group of stars removed from the flight (Mia pictured above), one was reprimanded by police for vaping. Air Europa rules state that any electric cigarettes must be kept in hand luggage rather than in the hold as they pose a fire risk Banned! The use of masks covering the nose and mouth on Air Europa planes is currently mandatory for those over the age of six, but the TOWIE stars refused to wear one, which sparked them being removed from the flight Diags also took to his own Stories to reveal he was waiting for an alternative flight from Madrid, but noted they'd been thrown off the plane for 'no reason.' He said: 'Been flying for 24 hours now, still not home. Got thrown off a flight in Madird for no reason at all, missed our next flight because we didn't have enough time and our bags didn't come off so now we're stuck in Madrid with the boys. 'Waiting for our next flight which has been delayed an hour and we've been to like four different lounges now but all of them aren't our lounds. Still haven't got my case back, almost lost my next case, all in all, a fantastic journey!' Air Europa rules state that any electric cigarettes must be kept in hand luggage rather than in the hold as they pose a fire risk, and that they must not be used on board at any time. The use of masks covering the nose and mouth on Air Europa planes is currently mandatory for those over the age of six. A spokesman for Spain's Civil Guard confirmed to MailOnline: 'At 2.55pm today (Tuesday) the captain of the police requested our presence on board a plane at Madrid's Barajas Airport which had touched down from the Dominican Republic to deal with people we were told were causing a public order disturbance. Disastrous: A spokesman for Spain's Civil Guard confirmed to MailOnline: 'At 2.55pm today the captain of the police requested our presence on board a plane at Madrid's Barajas Airport which had touched down from the Dominican Republic' Speaking out: The statement from the Civil Guard continued that they were contacted to 'deal with people they were told were causing a public order disturbance', adding they 'found these people a little upset when they reached the aircraft' Clarification: The statement went onto say: 'On the indications of the captain and to avoid any more problems nine people... were removed from the plane and after the corresponding complaint from the captain they are now set to face a fine' 'Civil Guard officers found these people a little upset when they reached the aircraft. 'On the indications of the captain and to avoid any more problems nine people, consisting of four men and five women who are all British nationals, were removed from the plane and after the corresponding complaint from the captain they are now set to face a fine. 'While officers were carrying out the process of identifying all the people that were removed from the plane so they can be notified of the amount of the fines at a future date, they've ended up missing their onward flight. In the works: 'While officers were carrying out the process of identifying all the people that were removed from the plane so they can be notified of the amount of the fines at a future date, they've ended up missing their onward flight' it added Dramatic! A police source also told MailOnline: 'There was vaping going on and they weren't wearing face masks as they were obliged to do and they were disobeying instructions from the flight crew' No flight for you! 'As well as the nine people removed from the airplane, someone from the programme who wasn't involved in any of the problems stayed on with them and was also due to travel back to the UK with them on a different plane' they added 'Police are accompanying them to another flight bound for the UK so they can leave Madrid tonight. 'No arrests were made and after being accompanied off the earlier flight, the nine people removed were very co-operative.' A police source also told MailOnline: 'There was vaping going on and they weren't wearing face masks as they were obliged to do and they were disobeying instructions from the flight crew. 'As well as the nine people removed from the airplane, someone from the programme who wasn't involved in any of the problems stayed on with them and was also due to travel back to the UK with them on a different plane to the rest of the group.' Co-operative: The Civil Guard added that the cast members had been reported for allegedly breaching Spanish air safety law - Law 21/2003 Confirmation: An Air Europa spokeswoman confirmed: 'There was an incident on the flight. Following protocol, several passengers were asked to leave the plane for refusing to wear the mandatory masks' The Civil Guard added that the cast members had been reported for allegedly breaching Spanish air safety law - Law 21/2003. A police report is expected to be passed to AESA - Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency - before a fine is decided. An Air Europa spokeswoman confirmed: 'There was an incident on the flight. Following protocol, several passengers were asked to leave the plane for refusing to wear the mandatory masks and one of them for smoking inside the aircraft. 'While leaving the plane, they were accompanied by other passengers without further incident.' A spokesman for the Civil Guard confirmed: 'At 2.55pm yesterday (TUE) the captain of the plane requested our presence on board an aircraft at Madrid's Barajas Airport which had touched down from the Dominican Republic to deal with people we were told were causing a public order disturbance. Exciting: Hannah, Pia and Mia will star in the forthcoming series of the reality show, which is set to air later this year Oh dear! A well-placed police source added: 'There was vaping going on and they weren't wearing face masks as they were obliged to do and they were disobeying instructions from the flight crew' (Mia is pictured left and right) 'Civil Guard officers found these people a little upset when they reached the aircraft. 'On the indications of the captain and to avoid any more problems nine people, consisting of four men and five women who are all British nationals, were removed from the plane and after the corresponding complaint from the captain they are now set to face a fine. 'While officers were carrying out the process of identifying all the people that were removed from the plane so they can be notified of the amount of the fines at a future date, they ended up missing their onward flight. 'Police were due to accompany them to another flight bound for the UK last night (TUE) so they could leave Madrid. 'No arrests were made and after being accompanied off the earlier flight, the nine people removed were very co-operative.' A well-placed police source added: 'There was vaping going on and they weren't wearing face masks as they were obliged to do and they were disobeying instructions from the flight crew. Best pals: New stars Pia and Hannah joined their best friend and Absolutely Ascot star Mia on the show for the new series 'As well as the nine people removed from the airplane, someone from the programme who wasn't involved in any of the problems stayed on with them and was also due to travel back to the UK with them on a different plane to the rest of the group.' MailOnline has also contacted representatives for Lime Pictures, each of the named stars, and Air Europa for comment. It is thought a police report will now be passed on to the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA), the state body that ensures civil aviation standards are observed in all aeronautical activity in Spain, to decide the size of the fine. The report is expected to include a formal complaint by the Air Europa captain about the actions on board the plane he was in charge of. When a Polish man was filmed leaving a Ryanair plane at Malaga Airport in January 2018 after climbing onto the wing via an emergency door, he was warned he could be fined 40,000. It is not clear if he had been hit with the huge financial penalty. 'First day of filming': Hannah is the CEO of Millionaire Medical - a business which provides dermal fillers and BTX injections In August 2016 a Bolivian-born Spanish immigrant made headlines around the world after being filmed sprinting across a runway at Madrid's Barajas Airport to catch his flight, mistakenly thinking he was just about to miss it. Fast food worker Cesar Saucedo, 24, protagonised an incredible security breach by jumping off a disconnected jet bridge at the airport and dashing towards a plane preparing to take off. He managed to make his flight to the holiday island of Gran Canaria but was intercepted by police when he reached his destination. Local reports at the time said Cesar could be fined anything up to 38,000 but it is not known if was ever asked to pay up the huge amount New stars Pia and Hannah joined their best friend and Absolutely Ascot star Mia on the show for the new series. The trio, who often share glimpses of their glamorous lifestyles on social media, took to Instagram on Sunday to share they were joining the show. Alongside a sizzling snap of the girls in the Dominican Republic, where the Essex-based show is filming special episodes, Mia penned: 'Brunette Trio [sic] So happy to be working with my 2 best friends that are more like sisters. 17years of friendship, we've done everything together and so much more to come! 'Love you both to the moon and back. So excited for our new chapter [sic]'. According to The Sun, Mia only wanted to partake in the show if she could do so alongside her friends. The source explained: 'As soon as bosses met all three of them, they knew they were onto a winner. 'They are a force to be reckoned with and will bring so much drama to the new series. They know some of the cast already and there is beef between some of them, so expect some explosive telly.' It has been said that the original plan was for the newbies to join the cast after the episodes abroad had been filmed, but that has now changed. On Sunday afternoon, Hannah, who is the CEO of Millionaire Medical - a business which provides dermal fillers and BTX injections - updated her over 10,000 followers of her venture. 'First Day Of Filming [sic] @towie Let's Go [sic],' she captioned a stunning full-length shot. Pia, who owns a similar business to Hannah, Plumped By Pia, also took to the photo-sharing site with a gorgeous snap and wrote: 'The secret is finally out.. you'll be seeing some new faces on @towie [sic]'. The insider added: 'It was a no-brainer to get the girls out in the sunshine and make a big impact on the opening episodes of the new series. Sparks are already flying and it will be great TV.' Abbie Chatfield has lashed out at ex-Bachelor Jimmy Nicholson and girlfriend Holly Kingston after saying Only Fans isn't 'empowering'. Abbie went on one of her signature rants after the couple gave a simple opinion on reality stars using the platform to sell nudes. 'The tone of voice of no judgement but here's our judgement is not ideal but no one actually asked you thought of what the morality around Only Fans or sex work was,' Abbie chided the pair. Abbie Chatfield, 27, (pictured) has blasted ex-Bachelor Jimmy Nicolson and Holly Kingston for saying Only Fans 'isn't empowering' She continued: 'They just asked if you would do it and to be honest I don't think anyone really cared that much. I just kind of felt like a vessel to speak about your dismissal of people who do Only Fans.' Abbie went on to say she isn't sure how it's any different from her or Jimmy and Holly using their 'fame' to make money on Instagram or social media. 'It's the same we commodify content but obviously sex workers are very different in the way they are marginalised... and treated.' Abbie went on to double back on what she was saying by asserting she is not comparing 'sex workers' and 'influencers'. 'I think promoting things like skin care and things you need to ingest and you have to trial out. That is literally using your body to sell a product,' Abbie said. 'The tone of voice of no judgement but here's our judgement is not ideal but no one actually asked you thought of what the morality around Only Fans or sex work was,' Abbie said 'I think promoting things like skin care and things you need to ingest and you have to trial out. That is literally using your body to sell a product,' Abbie added, clearly fired-up She went on to question why 'people shouldn't have the opportunity to leverage off [fame] to earn money just because you guys don't want to do it,' Abbie added. 'Basically what you're saying is no judgement but like if you do this. No good. You've just leveraged off your reality TV experience. Which is exactly what all of us have f**king done.' Abbie said she also 'felt uncomfortable' about Jimmy's perceived judgement because sex work especially marginalises women, queer people, trans people, non-binary, and people of colour. 'Basically what you're saying is no judgement but like if you do this. No good. You've just leveraged off your reality TV experience. Which is exactly what all of us have f**king done,' she said 'All you had to say was it's not for us but all the power to you,' Abbie said. Abbie then went on to say 'sex work is real work' and doing sex work doesn't exclude you from doing charitable work. 'To be a role model you don't have to be pious, you don't have to be a lady, you don't have to be any of those things,' she said. Ex-Bachelor Matt Agnew seemed to take on Jimmy and Holly too via a graphic he shared Elsewhere, Matt Agnew appeared to add to the pile on by sharing a graphic that showed an arm wrestle. One arm read, 'No judgement but', while the other arm read, 'Be kind' At the centre of it all it read: 'Publicly broadcasting sh*t opinion'. Jimmy Nicholson and girlfriend Holly Kingston addressed rumours that they were joining OnlyFans on Tuesday. Uploading a video to Instagram, the pair slammed the racy platform and said that reality stars were just trying to 'grab money' by selling nude photos and videos of themselves online. Jimmy and Holly slammed reality stars for joining OnlyFans on Tuesday 'We get this question a lot and we figured now is a good time to just answer it once and for all,' Holly began. 'No judgment towards anyone who does have OnlyFans, but I think there has been a little bit of a trend in people coming off reality shows and leveraging that degree of fame to then sell nudes online.' Jimmy added that his issue with the increasing number of reality stars joining OnlyFans is that they claim they're doing it for 'female and male empowerment'. 'If you want to celebrate male or female empowerment, start a charity, donate to breast cancer awareness or prostate cancer awareness,' they said 'I think that's a load of crap, personally,' he quipped. 'I think you should be a role model to the future generations. 'If you want to celebrate male or female empowerment, start a charity, donate to breast cancer awareness or prostate cancer awareness,' he continued. 'I think it's a way to grab money, and [you should] think about the example you're setting for the future generations, for your kids when they're in school.' 'I think you should be a role model to the future generation,' the wholesome couple said Holly then weighed in with her thoughts on the controversial subject. 'Our view: Normalising selling naked photos on the internet doesn't equal male/female empowerment,' she wrote. 'If this is your view, totally fine. Just won't be something we'll be doing. Thanks for coming to our TED Talk.' Their video comes after Married At First Sight star Olivia Frazer revealed that she earned $10,000 in her first day on the platform. She has been in Manchester for the past few weeks, shooting for a new ITV drama. And on Tuesday, Helena Bonham Carter donned an auburn wig and fur coat as she transformed into Crossroads icon Noele Gordon to continue filming Nolly in Stockport. The actress, 56, slipped into a multicoloured vintage frock but kept comfortable in plain black trainers while having her make-up touched up, before switching into Mary Jane shoes to film scenes in character. Transformation: On Tuesday, Helena Bonham Carter donned an auburn wig and fur coat as she transformed into Crossroads icon Noele Gordon to continue filming Nolly in Stockport As well as her splash print midi dress, Helena also wore a clashing colourful neck tie, while further accessorising with a triple row pearl necklace and matching earrings. Helena toted a black mock croc handbag boasting metallic hardware as she was recorded strolling around in her vintage ensemble. In the scenes shot on Tuesday, Helena was seen in character as Noele arriving at the theatre too watch her friend Larry Grayson. Vintage style: The actress slipped into a multicoloured vintage frock and neck tie Filming: Helena looked worlds away from her usual self as she got into character as Crossroads icon Noele Gordon during filming of the upcoming ITV drama Stylish: Helena's costume included a multicoloured striped midi dress Finishing touches: On set stylists ensured Helena was preened to perfection Three part drama Nolly, penned by Russell T Davies, will explore the all-powerful reign and fall from grace of the inimitable Noele Gordon, who died in 1985. She was declared the 'Queen of the Midlands' thanks to iconic role as Meg Mortimer in Crossroads and was the darling of the establishment until it turned on her. As flame-haired widow Meg in the long-running soap opera Crossroads, Noele became one of the most famous people in Britain. Then in 1981, at the height of the show's success and the peak of her fame, she was axed without ceremony, without warning and with no explanation, with the soap eventually ending two years later. With the boss's words 'all good things must come to an end' ringing in her ears, Noele found herself thrown out of the show that was her life for over 18 years. And action! Helena's demeanor changed when cameras started rolling All the details: Helena toted a black mock croc handbag boasting metallic hardware as she was recorded strolling around in her vintage ensemble Incredible: Helena was also filmed sitting in the driver's seat of a blue vintage car A love letter to a legend of television, and to the madcap soap she starred in, Nolly will be an entertaining ride through Noele's most tumultuous years, and a sharp, affectionate and heart-breaking portrait of a forgotten icon. Of the role, Helena said: 'Noele Gordon was a fascinating, complex, brilliant and gutsy woman none of which I knew before I read Russell T Davies' script. 'I'm so thrilled to help tell Nolly's long overdue and largely forgotten story. 'Russell's screenplay is a work of brilliance and I hope I'll do him and Nolly justice. I can't wait to start.' Night at the theatre: In the scenes shot on Tuesday, Helena was seen in character as Noele arriving at the theatre too watch her friend Larry Grayson. Quick change: Helena kept comfortable in plain black trainers, before switching into Mary Jane shoes to film scenes in character In costume: Helena also wore a colourful neck tie Nolly has been commissioned for ITV by Head of Drama, Polly Hill, who commented: 'Russell's scripts are magnificent and a great tribute to Noele Gordon, but also to our national love of soaps and a celebration of the incredible women they create. 'Helena Bonham Carter is going to be amazing as Nolly and we can't wait for her to step into those shoes.' Russell said: 'One of my very first jobs in TV was a trial script for Crossroads, and I've wanted to write the story of behind the scenes on that show for 40 years. At last, the truth can be told!' Noele, who had previously had multiple roles in the theatre before landing her part in Crossroads, played Meg from 1964 to 1981, and later returned for a two-episode stint in 1983. Finishing details: She further accessorised with pearl necklaces and matching earrings Cash in hand: The actress held onto some old school notes as she arrived at the theatre After she was dropped from the show, Noele's ill health prevented her from accepting many more roles, and she died in 1985 at the age of 66. However the casting of Helena in the titular role hasn't gone down well with everyone. Angela Webb, 64, who played Iris Scott in the drama from 1980 to 1985, told The Express: 'This is really bizarre. Someone writing a biopic of her who didn't know or experience her I do worry.' 'She wouldn't be my first choice. Nolly was statuesque and strong, Celticlike, with piercing blue eyes. Helena is tiny, dark-haired, dark-eyed. I hope she's met people who knew Noele and gets advice about the presence that she had. I'd be hugely up for that.' Got the cash! Helena held up the cash in her hand as the cameras rolled Patricia Heaton has blasted 'stupid' Disney bosses for replacing Tim Allen with Chris Evans in the new Toy Story spin-off film Lightyear. Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, the actress, 64, defended her friend, 69, who voiced Buzz in the Pixar franchise's four original movies between between 1995 and 2019. She claimed they made a 'huge mistake' for re-casting her pal, going so far as to say they 'completely castrated this iconic, beloved character'. Over two tweets, the Everybody Loves Raymond star began: 'Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns. Fuming: Over two tweets, the Everybody Loves Raymond star began: 'Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns' 'Why castrate the character?!' Patricia Heaton has blasted 'stupid' Disney bosses for replacing Tim Allen with Chris Evans in the new Toy Story spin-off film Lightyear Iconic: Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, the actress, 64, defended her friend, 69, (pictured in 2019) who voiced Buzz in the franchise's four original movies between between 1995 and 2019 'Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?' She followed up with: 'Ok so the current Buzz Lightyear movie is an origin story - but the reason the character became so beloved is because of what @ofctimallen created. 'Why remove the one element that makes us want to see it #stupidHollywooddecisions.' For millions of movie fans, Tim will always be linked to Buzz Lightyear, the none-too-bright would-be astronaut that he voiced in 1995's animated Pixar blockbuster. But Captain America star Chris admitted he was a little intimidated as he took on the role of voicing Buzz for Lightyear. When it came to delivering Buzz's famous catchphrase, 'To infinity and beyond,' the Hollywood star said he simply copied Tim's version. Wow! When it came to delivering Buzz's famous catchphrase, 'to infinity and beyond,' the Hollywood star said he simply copied Tim's version (left, Toy Story, right, Lightyear) According to The Daily Telegraph, he said: 'Im doing Tim and I dont care. 'It makes you feel so nervous to hear yourself out loud it almost feels wrong. Its like trying to say, "Bond, James Bond," and youre like, "Nope, nope, nope thats for someone else."' Chris' character in the origins picture is not quite the character that Tim Allen played. In Toy Story, Buzz was merely a toy who thought he was an astronaut. Lightyear, explained Chris, is supposed to be the movie the toy is based on. In the plot of the new film, Buzz is a Space Ranger, marooned on a hostile planet, who tries to find his way home. The character is a bit smarter that the toy Buzz. '[Tim Allen] is Buzz Lightyear to me too I grew up on these movies,' he said. 'So, you certainly want to use it as a template...And he did such a good job, I would be a fool to not absorb some of the choices. But at the same time you have to kind of make some kind of fresh track in the snow.' Evans also recently reexplained the plot of the film almost two years after a tweet he initially put out was ridiculed by fans. At the time he wrote, 'And just to be clear, this isn't Buzz Lightyear the toy. This is the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on.' Seoul, Tokyo need to step up security cooperation Foreign Minister Park Jin has underlined the need to strengthen security cooperation with Japan while mending soured ties with the East Asian neighbor sooner rather than later. For this, he has called for real progress in sharing military intelligence between the two countries under the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA). "We want GSOMIA to be normalized as soon as possible together with the improvement of Korea-Japan relations," Park said during a press conference after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, D.C., Monday. What is encouraging is that Japanese Defense Minister Noburo Kishi welcomed Park's suggestion, expressing hope for "smoother operation" of the pact. In a rare move for security cooperation between the two countries, the GSOMIA was signed in 2016 to jointly tackle North Korea's military threats. Yet, the agreement has remained precarious since August 2019 when South Korea decided to terminate it in protest of Japan's export curbs on key materials essential for the production of semiconductors and display panels while excluding Seoul from its list of preferred trading partners. The Japanese move came in an apparent retaliation of the Korean Supreme Court's 2018 decision ordering Japanese companies to compensate surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor. Though the Moon administration retracted its decision to end GSOMIA in September 2019 apparently at the request of the United States, the pact has remained in the doldrums. Park's call for the active implementation of the pact is in line with President Yoon Suk-yeol's efforts for better relations with Japan. Expectations are growing over Yoon's possible meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Spain on the sidelines of a NATO summit slated for June 29 and 30 to discuss diverse pending issues such as security cooperation. We hope the two leaders will have a one-on-one meeting in Madrid to narrow their differences over various knotty issues, thus laying the groundwork for a future-oriented partnership between Seoul and Tokyo. This is all the more significant as geopolitical tensions have been on the rise on the Korean Peninsula, prompted by North Korea's continued launches of ballistic missiles including ICBMs. Speculation has been increasing that the North will conduct its seventh nuclear test soon. South Korea has been seeking to utilize the so-called Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) along with the deployment of U.S. strategic assets here to better respond to North Korea's military provocations. Still there are obstacles to Japan's proactive role in thwarting the threats from the North. In a positive move, defense ministers of the three countries agreed to carry out joint military exercises in early August in Hawaii to enhance missile tracking and detecting capabilities, thus building up deterrence against possible North Korean attacks. Given the mounting security threats, both Seoul and Tokyo should double down on mending their ties. A full-fledged utilization of the GSOMIA will be the first step toward that end. Karl Stefanovic and wife Jasmine celebrated three years of marriage in December. And the couple are still very much in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, if their holiday in Queensland earlier this month is anything to go by. The Today host, 47, showed off his softer side on their recent beachside vacation when he leaned in to kiss his wife on Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas. Karl Stefanovic and wife Jasmine shared a romantic kiss at the beach during a recent getaway in Port Douglas, Queensland. They are seen here with their daughter Harper Jasmine kept things stylish in a white V-neck T-shirt and denim shorts. The former shoe designer accessorised with stylish sunglasses, simple jewellery and what appeared to be a Louis Vuitton carry-all. Meanwhile, Karl looked festival-ready in an always-fashionable black T-shirt and a pair of shorts printed with pink flowers. The Today host, 47, showed off his softer side on their recent beachside vacation when he leaned in to kiss his wife on Four Mile Beach Jasmine kept things stylish in a white V-neck T-shirt and denim shorts. She accessorised with stylish sunglasses, simple jewellery and what appeared to be a Louis Vuitton carry-all The TV larrikin capped off his outfit with a black fedora and what looked like several hip market-stall bracelets. After the couple's smooch-fest, some much-needed fun in the sun was in order. Karl was every inch the doting father as he frolicked in the sand with his daughter Harper, two, who looked cute in a striped swimsuit. Karl was every inch the doting father as he frolicked in the sand with his daughter Harper, two, who looked cute in a striped swimsuit The daddy-daughter duo hit the surf for some fun with an inflatable llama Karl scooped little Harper up into his arms and spun the child around with glee as the waves crashed against them The daddy-daughter duo soon hit the surf for some fun with an inflatable llama, before Jasmine joined them for a paddle. At one point, Karl scooped little Harper up into his arms and spun the child around with glee as the waves crashed against them. Jasmine then joined in on the action as the family paddled together, enjoying their downtime in the Sunshine State. Jasmine then joined in on the action, taking Harper into her arms for a cuddle Karl and Jasmine made the most of their time in the Sunshine State The family happily paddled together before going for a stroll down the shoreline Karl met Jasmine in late 2016, five months after he split from his first wife Cassandra Thorburn He previously said, 'I certainly did not expect to meet someone five months after I broke up with my wife. That was not planned...' Karl met Jasmine in late 2016, five months after he split from his first wife Cassandra Thorburn, to whom he was married for 21 years. He previously said of their relationship: 'I certainly did not expect to meet someone five months after I broke up with my wife. That was not planned.' The Channel Nine star proposed to the former runway model in February 2018 with a $100,000 engagement ring. The couple married in a lavish four-day wedding ceremony at the One&Only Palmilla resort in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, in December 2018. Throwback: Karl and Jasmine tied the knot in December 2018 at the five-star One&Only Palmilla resort in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico The newlyweds welcomed their first child together on May 1, 2020, at Sydney's North Shore Private Hospital. In a statement to the Today show at the time, Karl said: 'Harper and Jasmine are doing well and dad had a great night's sleep.' He added: 'I am in awe. Harper is absolutely perfect.' Karl is also father to three children from his first marriage: sons Jackson and River and daughter Willow. The pair married in front of 200 of their closest friends and family In an interview with Stellar magazine in October 2020, Jasmine described Karl's parenting style as 'very hands-on', adding that he 'helps a lot'. She also said his early morning starts on Today work out perfectly for their family because 'he's home by 10am, which is a huge help'. Speaking about her evolving style, she added: 'I guess you've got to tone things down a bit as a mum because it is about practicality and function when you are looking after someone.' Advertisement Neil Patrick Harris has been seen filming Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary for the first time after joining the cast as a mystery villain. The It's A Sin star, whose casting was announced on Monday, joined David Tennant and Catherine Tate to film explosive scenes which saw the streets of Bristol littered with alien debris. Returning Who showrunner Russell T Davies confirmed earlier this week that Neil is set to join the cast as a new villain, who will face The Doctor in the Anniversary scenes which will air next year. Here he is! Neil Patrick Harris has been seen filming Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary for the first time after joining the cast as a mystery villain, taking to the streets of Bristol for the explosive scenes on Wednesday Transforming into the Doctor's sinister new adversary, Neil donned a 1920s-inspired Offering a new twist on his character's famous look, David sported a brown tarten suit and a blue trench coat as he dashed along the street during the explosive scene. Sporting The Doctor's famous trainers, the Broadchurch star looked visibly shocked during the dramatic scenes as he witnessed the fallout of an explosion. While one alley was completely littered with standard rubble, another was filled with more mysterious debris, hinting that a sinister alien invasion could be looming. Dramatic: The It's A Sin star, whose casting was announced on Monday, joined a returning David Tennant on the set, who is reprising his role as the iconic Tenth Doctor Here she is! Catherine Tate was later seen arriving on the set in the city, having surprised fans with news last month that she would be reprising her role as Donna Noble Are you not entertained? Channelling a circus ringmaster in a Victorian style tuxedo, Neil commanded attention while getting into character to film the exciting scenes Back to work! David once again sported his character's iconic look to film scenes on location in the English city Who is playing? Offering hints around the identity of Neil's character, an unusual toy shop was erected on the Bristol street called Mr Emporium, with vintage board games and teddy bears seen in the window Vintage: The unusual shop offers hints around the identity of Neil's character for Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary Special Happy? Between scenes David and Neil were in good spirits, despite having filmed an intense moment where The Doctor came face-to-face with his new adversary Celebration! Returning showrunner Russell T Davies took to Instagram to share a snap of Neil in character, as the actor celebrated his birthday on set Viewers could be set to witness Planet Earth at the centre of another apocalyptic disaster, as one extra was stood on a podium brandishing the sign: 'The End Is Nigh.' While much of the street was kept in the present day, a mysterious toy shop had also been erected, and a peek into the window showed an array of wooden toys, board games and a cuddly bear. Despite it being nine years since he last played the role for Who's 50th Anniversary, David slipped back into the part like a glove as he filmed the solo scenes. Enjoying yourself? David and Neil were seen chatting on the set during a break between scenes BOOM! For the exciting moment, one car was set ablaze for the aftermatch of a jaw-dropping explosion Stop! At one point David rushed to get between a dramatic exchange as Neil's villain began his reign of terror Who is he? On Monday BBC bosses gave fans their first look at the 60th Anniversary with a snap of Neil's character, describing him as 'the greatest villain The Doctor has ever faced' He's back! Donning his signature suit and trench coat, the actor once again transformed into the beloved Time Lord to film an explosive scene in Bristol Slipping back into it! Nine years after last playing The Doctor, David once again slipped back into the role to film scenes for the anniversary, which will air in 2023 Transformation: Offering a new twist on his character's famous look, David sported a brown tarten suit and a blue trench coat as he dashed along the street during the explosive scene What's going on? Sporting The Doctor's famous trainers, the Broadchurch star looked visibly shocked during the dramatic scenes as he witnessed the fallout of an explosion BOOM! For the scenes, a car could be seen exploding on the Bristol street, sparking terror from Earthlings close to the chaos What's happened? David cut a concerned figure as he got back into character to film more scenes for the anniversary, building anticipation among fans Here's Donna! Catherine, who last played The Doctor's companion in 2010, sported a pink and orange striped jumper and a grey baseball cap as she filmed the scenes in the middle of the city. Catherine Tate, who is set to reprise her role as the Doctor's companion Donna Noble, was also seen arriving on the set, after she and David were seen filming together in Cardiff last week. The actress, who last played Donna in 2010, sported a pink and orange striped jumper and a grey baseball cap as she filmed the scenes in the middle of the city. Viewers were devastated by the heartbreaking end to Donna's story during Who's fourth series, when The Doctor was forced to wipe her memory after she absorbed his mind into her head, which was slowly killing her. Emotional: Viewers were devastated by the heartbreaking end to Donna's story during Who's fourth series, when The Doctor was forced to wipe her memory after she absorbed his mind into her head, which was slowly killing her Chatting: David and Catherine, who became one of Doctor Who's most popular pairings, were seen chatting during a break between scenes Iconic duo: The pair became one of the show's most beloved pair's when Donna chose to travel with The Doctor during the show's fourth series 13 years ago It remains to be seen whether Donna will have her memories restored, setting the stage for her reunion with The Doctor. It comes just a day after Who bosses announced that It's A Sin star Neil has joined the cast to play the 'greatest enemy the Doctor has ever faced' and is filming scenes set to air next year. It now appears that Neil will appear opposite David's incarnation of The Doctor, as opposed to Ncuti Gatwa, who is set to take over the iconic role. Alone: Despite it being nine years since he last played the role for Who's 50th Anniversary, David slipped back into the part like a glove as he filmed the solo scenes New look: He looks set to sport a new twist on his character's famous look of a suit, Converse trainers and a trench coat We are doomed! Viewers could be set to witness Planet Earth at the centre of another apocalyptic disaster, as one extra brandished the sign: 'The End Is Nigh' Sombre: As he witnessed the fallout of the jaw-dropping explosion, David cut a sombre figure during the outdoor scenes STOP! Never one to escape a near-death situation, David's Doctor appeared to be right in the middle of the conflict A bit hot? Despite the blistering hot weather, David was wrapped up in his character's suit and heavy coat to film the nail-biting scenes Following the BBC's announcement, Russell wrote on Instagram: 'Neil Patrick Harris, welcome to Cardiff! Playing the greatest enemy the Doctor has ever faced. 'Such a great actor, such a great man, it's an honour and a hoot. Have fun! @nph @bbcdoctorwho Ha!' Neil added on his page: 'My current gig. Never looked more dashing. Thank you for inviting me into your Whoniverse, @russelltdavies63. Back together! The specials will also see David reunite with Catherine, after the pair co-starred in Who's fourth series back in 2008, ending in heartbreaking fashion when The Doctor was forced to wipe Donna's memories Terrifying new threat: It comes just a day after Who bosses announced that It's A Sin star Neil has joined the cast to play the 'greatest enemy the Doctor has ever faced' and is filming scenes set to air next year Meeting of the minds! It now appears that Neil will appear opposite David's incarnation of The Doctor, as opposed to Ncuti Gatwa, who is set to take over the iconic role Cheeky: Given the warm June weather, David donned a pair of sunglasses alongside his character's iconic look 'I'll try my hardest to do my worst. This Doctor has no idea what's in store. And even if he does Who cares? Ha ha ha HA ha-ha-ha!' It comes following reports that villain Beep the Meep is set to make its show debut alongside the Wrath Warriors during the show's 60th anniversary next year. Villain Beep the Meep, an alien which looks like a fluffy rodent, is set to battle the Doctor in the upcoming new episodes. A source told the Mirror: 'Younger viewers will love Beep he appears to be meek and cute, but hes as deadly as a Dalek or a Cyberman.' What's caused it? While one alley was completely littered with standard rubble, another was filled with more mysterious debris, hinting that a sinister alien invasion could be looming Famous: David originally played the Tenth Doctor from 2005 to 2010, and reprised his role for Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary in 2013 Stay back! In a dramatic moment, David appeared to stop a taxi from running over a man He's the Doctor and he saves people! During one scene The Doctor appeared to rescue a bystander from being run over, as chaos ensued on the street New role: Following the BBC's announcement, Russell wrote on Instagram: 'Neil Patrick Harris, welcome to Cardiff! Playing the greatest enemy the Doctor has ever faced Adversary: Neil added on his own page: 'My current gig. Never looked more dashing. Thank you for inviting me into your Whoniverse, @russelltdavies63' Neil also joins newcomer Yasmin Finney, who is to take on the role of Rose. Yasmin recently gained recognition for her role of Elle Argent in Netflix hit Heartstopper. The new cast are filming scenes that are due to air in 2023 as part of the show's 60th anniversary. The name of Neil's character, and any further details about his new role, are yet to be confirmed. Speaking about the sci-fi show's new arrival, Russell said: 'It's my huge honour to open our studio doors for the mighty Neil Patrick Harris... but who, why, what is he playing? 'You'll just have to wait. But I promise you, the stuff we're shooting now is off the scale. Doctor beware!' 'No idea': He added: 'I'll try my hardest to do my worst. This Doctor has no idea what's in store. And even if he does Who cares? Ha ha ha HA ha-ha-ha!' Coming soon: The new cast are filming scenes that are due to air in 2023 as part of the show's 60th anniversary He's back! Queer As Folk and It's A Sin writer Russell is returning as the programme's showrunner after departing in 2009 Queer As Folk and It's A Sin writer Russell is returning as the programme's showrunner after departing in 2009. Russell, who was responsible for Doctor Who's revival in 2005, will be back to celebrate the show's 60th anniversary in 2023, the BBC previously said. He worked with Neil on hit Channel 4 mini-drama It's A Sin, in which the American star portrayed Savile Row tailor Henry Coltrane. Teased: The name of Neil's character, and any further details about his new role, are yet to be confirmed Martha Kalifatidis is currently enjoying a European holiday with her fiance Michael Brunelli. And on Wednesday, the Married At First Sight star, 34, happily mocked one of her holiday snaps. In the sizzling black-and-white selfie shared to Instagram, Martha is seen waist-deep in water wearing a skimpy pair of underwear. Married At First Sight's Martha Kalifatidis turned up the heat and happily swam in her underwear in Sardinia, Italy - even though she packed 20 bikinis 'Glad I packed 20 bikinis and swim in my undies,' she captioned the photo. Martha is currently enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of Europe. Martha's racy picture appears to be from an earlier set she shared topless in Sardinia. In the previous frames, the brunette bombshell appeared to have just dunked herself under water as she posed naked from the waist up. 'Resurfaced,' she captioned the photos. Martha's racy picture appears to be from an earlier set she shared topless in Sardinia Martha sizzled as she cupped her bare chest while posing in a skimpy pair of bikini bottoms It comes just days after the reality star celebrated her 34th birthday in Verona. The MAFS star posted a gallery of photos to Instagram from her 'humble' celebrations. Michael also shared a tribute for her birthday, but couldn't resist calling her a 'ball breaker'. Martha (right) celebrated her 34th birthday celebrations in Italy with fiance Michael 'A very humble 34th birthday. It was perfect, I'm so happy my heart could explode,' Martha said. She added: 'Love you all and thank you for the sweet messages.' Michael added: 'Happy b'day to the biggest ball breaker in my life.' The couple are spending a few months travelling around Europe after moving out of their Bondi home due to mould issues It comes after Martha revealed she feels 'ashamed' to admit she is an influencer in Australia, where she claims the profession is not respected. However, she feels the career is more respected in Europe. 'In Australia it's constantly s**t on. Being an influencer is dirty,' she said on Instagram last Friday. 'Every time I travel and people ask me what I do I'm so embarrassed to even say it, because I've been conditioned to be ashamed. It comes after Martha revealed she feels 'ashamed' to admit she is an influencer in Australia, where she claims the profession is not respected 'In Europe and the States it's so well received. They see it as entrepreneurial.' Martha continued: 'I studied to be a nurse, I know what hard work is. I know how good I have it. 'I have the luxury to work from anywhere and any time (well not really any time). And sure we get good s**t, but we live under a microscope with thousands of people waiting for us to f**k up so they can all share it and write about it and laugh.' The pint-sized star has amassed over 643,000 Instagram followers since finding fame on Married At First Sight three years ago. Although Martha has never revealed the exact figure she charges for branded content, it's estimated she makes up to $3,000 for a single sponsored post. Oti Mabuse was left in hysterics after her mum Dudu 'made arrangements' with a fan who wanted to meet the Dancing On Ice judge on a Facebook chatroom. The ballroom dancer, 31, shared the hilarious exchange to Instagram on Tuesday - after her Strictly judge sister Motsi, 41, had posted a screenshot to Twitter. An Oti devotee had written on a Facebook fan group: 'Any idea how I can meet Oti Mabuse in Norwich on Sunday.' Amusing: Oti Mabuse was left in hysterics after her mum Dudu 'made arrangements' with a fan who wanted to meet the Dancing On Ice judge, on a Facebook chatroom Dudu commented: 'Make arrangements with her she will surely avail herself. She is a humble child.' Motsi then wrote on Twitter: 'Lol our mom though.... You have love her [laughing, hearts and praying emojis] so you guys know lol just write our mom she will hook you up @OtiMabuse. Sharing the conversation to Instagram, Oti joked: 'Why is mom on social media?? Hilarious: The ballroom dancer, 31, shared the exchange to Instagram on Tuesday - after her Strictly judge sister Motsi, 41, had posted a screenshot to Twitter (Oti and Dudu are pictured) 'She's arranging meet and greets for me on tour!!! @roomonyourown @sam.wright.design you have an assistant. I do love her so much though.' Oti lost posted about her mother when she sprung a Christmas surprise on her family as she jetted home for the first time in four years. The Romeo and Duet presenter surprised her parents Dudu and Peter by secretly travelling home to South Africa for Christmas without telling them. She shared a video of herself sat in Heathrow Airport as she waited to board her flight. Trying to help: An Oti devotee had written on a Facebook fan group: 'Any idea how I can meet Oti Mabuse in Norwich on Sunday' The pro dancer said: 'I'm on my way home. I haven't been home in four years. I haven't seen my mum in four years, haven't seen my dad in four. She doesn't know I'm coming home.' The camera then followed Oti on her drive from the airport to her mother's home where she was seen reuniting with her and several other family members. Alongside the clip, Oti said her mother was 'speechless' when she walked in the door after the pair hadn't seen each other during the flesh amid the coronavirus pandemic. She said: 'FINALLY AFTER YEARS I WAS ABLE TO GO HOME TO SOUTH AFRICA. Stylish: Oti looked chic in a green midi dress while attending Royal Ascot on Wednesday 'Decided to surprise my family and not tell them I'm coming home just to see their expressions, mom was speechless (touched me all to see if I was real, dad couldn't stop smiling and my god mother cried her eyes off) 'To say I was emotional is an absolute understatement I have been waiting 3-4 years to hold my moms, dad, sister, nieces and nephews in my arms and just spend time with them NOT through a screen 'I rarely share family events but this felt really special to me and I know so many others are in my position and were buzzing when RSA was taken off of the red list. Funny: Motsi then wrote on Twitter: 'Lol our mom though.... You have love her [laughing, hearts and praying emojis] so you guys know lol just write our mom she will hook you up @OtiMabuse' 'Covid has really taught me how much family is above all and should never be taken for granted Please excuse the coming photo dumps that will be flying your way.' Several of Ot's fellow Strictly Come Dancing pro dancers commented on the video including Karen Hauer who wrote: 'Beautiful beautiful'. Giovanni Pernice wrote: 'happy for you babe !!!' while Neil Jones sent several love hearts. She welcomed her first child, a son Sylvester, with her husband Sebastian Bear-McClard 15 months ago. And Emily Ratajkowski showed off her incredible physique as she posed in snaps with her little one in Florence on Tuesday. The stunning model, 31, flaunted her toned abs in a white bralet and broderie anglaise in the sweet post as she explored the Italian city. Family: Emily Ratajkowski showed off her incredible physique in a white bralet and broderie anglaise co-ord as she posed in snaps with her son Sylvester, 15 months, in Florence on Tuesday She looked great in the open shirt and shorts as she held her son in the first snap as she visited one of the historic attractions. The brunette beauty completed her look with comfy trainers and wore her dark tresses in loose waves while opting for a naturally bronzed makeup look. She later shared a more close-up snap of her baby as they sat at a restaurant and he looked adorable in his blue and yellow patterned T-shirt. Pose: The brunette beauty completed her look with comfy trainers and wore her dark tresses in loose waves while opting for a naturally bronzed makeup look Emily and her husband, actor and producer Sebastian, 34, welcomed their first child in March 2021. The couple have been married since 2018. The vocal feminist and her husband seem to be raising her child in a gender neutral fashion. The tot is often dressed in a variety of colors and prints and has been seen accompanying his mother to reproductive rights marches. Cutie: She later shared a more close-up snap of her baby as they sat at a restaurant and he looked adorable in his blue and yellow patterned T-shirt During her pregnancy the My Body author wrote an essay for the October 2020 edition of Vogue, indicating that when asked if she hoped for a boy or girl, she responded, 'we won't know the gender until our child is 18 and that they'll let us know then.' The I Feel Pretty star celebrated her 31st birthday June 7 on the beach at a luxury resort in Mexico. The busy model and actress has recently completed work on the TV movie Bright Futures, co-starring with Lisa Kudrow, 59, and Home Economics star Jimmy Tatro, 30, in the comedy about a group of young friends transitioning from immaturity to success. Dedicated to her baby boy! It comes after last Thursday, Inamorata CEO Emily unveiled a new tattoo in honor of her son It comes after last Thursday, Inamorata CEO Emily unveiled a new tattoo in honor of her son. The star - who boasts 39.4M social media followers - Instastoried a close-up of her arm with 'SLY' etched in a trendy fine-line style. Emily wasn't alone as two other body parts - an elbow and a foot - could also be seen in her Instagram slideshow captioned: 'Sly forever.' Made In Chelsea's Maeva D'Ascanio has unveiled her baby bump, two weeks after announcing she is pregnant with her first child. The fiery French reality star, 25, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a selection of snaps of her cradling her growing stomach while wearing a blue patterned bikini. Maeva announced she was expecting her first baby with fiance James Taylor in May, with the happy news coming just a month after the pair got engaged in Rome. Bumping along nicely: Made In Chelsea's Maeva D'Ascanio has unveiled her baby bump, two weeks after announcing she is pregnant with her first child In her holiday snaps, the brunette beauty looked every inch the glowing mother to be as she serenely sat on the edge of a swimming pool while showcasing her bare bump in her skimpy two-piece by Mia Swimwear. Showing off her natural beauty, Maeva went make-up free for her refreshing dip in the pool, while she allowed her dark tresses to cascade over her shoulders. Her post was met with a plethora of supportive messages from her fans who shared how great she looked. Mamma-to-be: The fiery French reality star, 25, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a selection of snaps of her cradling her growing stomach while wearing a blue patterned bikini Last month, Maeva told Hello! magazine: 'All my dreams are coming true at the same time. I still don't believe it!' as she announced her baby news. She continued: 'It's all amazing - I just want to enjoy it all as much as I can.' Meanwhile, her co-star and fiance James, 26, said: 'We are more excited every day. 'My dad told me that, when he had his first child, he never thought he could love something so much. Radiant: In her holiday snaps, the brunette beauty looked every inch the glowing mother to be as she serenely sat on the edge of a swimming pool while showcasing her bare bump Bliss: Showing off her natural beauty, Maeva went make-up free for her refreshing dip in the pool, while she allowed her dark tresses to cascade over her shoulders 'And I'm starting to get an inkling of that feeling as this baby growing in Maeva's tummy is pretty special.' After a trip to Japan was cancelled, the couple decided to have a holiday in Italy, where James proposed at the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome. Maeva recalled throwing a coin into the Italian landmark as befits the tradition, and made a wish that James, whom she has been dating for three years, would propose. Happy news: Maeva announced she was expecting her first baby with fiance James Taylor in May, with the happy news coming just a month after the pair got engaged in Rome She told the publication: 'I did my wish which was, "I really hope James is going to propose to me soon.'" 'And then I opened my eyes and he was there on one knee. I was thinking, "Wow, this is it! Is this real?" It was everything I had ever wanted.' The couple's proposal may have come as a surprise to some Made In Chelsea viewers after James admitted to kissing another girl behind Maeva's back on the show in May , in what he described as a 'drunken night' at London nightclub Raffles. Channel Ten is set to replace the first half-hour of Studio Ten with a news breakfast show, reports TV Blackbox on Wednesday. According to the online publication, Ten staffers were told of the shuffle on Wednesday with the program running from 8am to 8.30am weekdays. Studio Ten will revert back to its original start time of 8.30am, with the new show effectively shaving 30 minutes from the show. Channel Ten is set to launch a brand new half-hour breakfast show hosted by Lachlan Kennedy (L) and Natasha Exelby (R), reported TV Blackbox on Wednesday Lachlan Kennedy will host from the Sydney Studio Monday to Wednesday and Natasha Exelby will host from Melbourne on Thursday and Fridays. According to TV Blackbox, the new show's format will be a news bulletin and it will be produced by the same crew behind Studio Ten. The new show will feature live crosses, interviews, sport and weather segments. Channel 10's last attempt at a breakfast program, Wake Up, was axed in 2014 after just six months on the air. According to TV Blackbox, the new show's format will be a news bulletin and it will be produced by the same crew behind Studio Ten. Pictured, Studio Ten hosts Sarah Harris and Tristan MacManus It was launched in November 2013 in a bid to compete with Channel Seven's Sunrise and Channel Nine's Today show. There were three hosts: Natasha Exelby, James Mathison and Natarsha Belling. However, just 16 days after the launch, Exelby was cut from the panel after it was decided the show's chemistry was not working. Channel 10's last attempt at a breakfast program, Wake Up, was axed in 2014 after just six months on the air. James Mathison (left), Natarsha Belling (centre) and Natasha Exelby (right) The show struggled to attract viewers, averaging 30,000 to 40,000 per day - about a tenth of the viewers tuning into Nine and Seven. While Wake Up was cancelled, Studio Ten survived and is still on air, albeit with a dramatically different format. In 2020, the show's panel was dropped in favour of a two-anchor format hosted by Sarah Harris and Tristan MacManus. Arabella Chi sent pulses racing as she cooled down under a shower during a sun-soaked getaway on the Spanish island of Formentera on Wednesday. The former Love Island contestant, 31, put her bronzed figure on display in an eye-popping blue Lipsy bikini while grabbing her cleavage. Causing the locals to gawk and point, she soon turned around to exhibit her toned rear while running her hands through her soaking tresses. Wow! Love Island's Arabella Chi put her jaw-dropping figure on display in a tiny blue bikini while posing for sizzling shower snaps in Formentera on Wednesday Accessorising with a dazzling gold 'Arabella' necklace, it wasn't long before the influencer slipped on a pair of sandals and headed on her way. Recently, she displayed her jaw-dropping figure as she donned a gold two-piece while taking an outdoor shower in Ibiza. Arabella let her locks fall loose down her shoulders in the snaps as she struck a sultry pose for the camera. Busty: The former Love Island contestant, 31, put her bronzed figure on display in an eye-popping blue Lipsy bikini while grabbing her cleavage Out of this world: Causing the locals to gawk and point, she soon turned around to exhibit her toned rear Blingy: She accessorised with a dazzling gold 'Arabella' necklace Incredible: She looked just like a supermodel while running her hands through her soaking tresses The influencer accentuated her natural beauty with a light pallet of makeup and a smoky eye. Alongside the post, Arabella wrote: 'My preferred way of showering in the morning'. Last month, Arabella stripped down to her birthday suit as she put on a steamy display in her recent Instagram post to celebrate her 31st birthday in Anguilla. Stunning: She went make-up free to exhibit her natural beauty Sun-seeker: The reality star caused jaws to drop as she flaunted her figure OMG: Arabella could easily pass for a Victoria's Secret Angel Hot stuff: She sent temperatures soaring with the eye-popping display She bared all as she posed completely naked in the sultry snap that she shared with her 668k followers. The influencer contestant held onto a towel to cover her assets as she revealed her peachy behind while posing up a storm on the beach. She captioned the sizzling Instagram snap: 'In my birthday suit'. Fans rushed to the comments section to wish Arabella a 'Happy birthday', including fellow Love Island star Molly Smith. Confident: The influencer definitely isn't afraid to flaunt her toned physique Looking: Her show-stopping modelling skills caught the eyes of onlookers Having fun! She seemed to be in high spirits as a photographer took snaps Work it! Arabella certainly knows how to cause jaws to drop To celebrate her special day, Arabella headed to Champney's spa resort over the weekend before heading out to dinner with friends. She could be seen chowing down on huge plates of sushi as she and her pals put their champagne glasses together at a swanky restaurant. On Tuesday she took to her Instagram story and posted a sizzling selfie which she captioned: 'The best weekend thank you for all the birthday wishes feeling so happy and grateful for the people in my life.' Wowzers: She had painted her nails a classic shade of white and used a matching towel to dry off Exploring the island: It wasn't long before the influencer slipped on a pair of sandals and headed on her way Shirley Ballas has enjoyed a 'long overdue' stay at a juice retreat in which she took part in hiking, yoga and a colonic'. The Strictly Come Dancing judge, 61, took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a series of snaps from her stay, remarking she's 'happy I took time to focus on myself'. Shirley's stay at the Juice Master Retreat in Portugal comes just months after she had a health scare and had to undergo a series of tests on all of her organs after fans spotted a lump in her armpit last year. Doing good: Shirley Ballas has revealed she enjoyed a stay at a juice retreat in which she topo part in hiking, yoga and a colonic, with Shirley saying the stay was a 'long time overdue' In her post, Shirley uploaded a number of images, with one seeing her in a purple vest as she took part in a gruelling hike. While others saw her relaxing in the swimming pool and catching up on her reading. Shirley even shared an image of her busy schedule which included activities such as volleyball, yoga, walks and of course juicing. Captioning her post, Shirley penned: 'Well what an experience here with @jasonvale @juicemasterretreats. It's been absolutely transformative learning about juicing, The schedule is tough but you can do as much or as little as you like. Wellness: The Strictly Come Dancing judge, 61, took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a plethora of snaps from her stay in Portugal 'Me I did it all today and I'm exhausted but feeling proud of myself. The hike was just beautiful, the views breathtaking. All the classes informative and so professionally put across to all levels, so impressive. I even tried volley ball today lol trampolining was an experience in itself.' The 'Queen of Latin' continued: 'I'm happy I took time to focus on myself, to do the things I love long time over due, and I met some very cool people. I've even had a colonic to clean my system which I loved and I truly felt lighter and cleaner from the inside out. 'facial , massage ,rainforest scrub, this will be an experience I will have in my calendar from now on,, it's been a phenomenal experience here in Portugal Wow wow wow. Loved being here with my friend and publicist @lauransinclair.' Concern: Shirley's stay at the Juice Master Retreats comes just months after she had a health scare and had to undergo a series of tests on all of her organs after fans spotted a lump in her armpit last year Back in November, Shirley underwent scans at King College Hospital after doctors flagged concern about her high testosterone levels. Doctors were initially searching for a suspected lump in her armpit after concerned fans noticed it on Strictly in October. Medical tests also revealed a shadow on her kidney, but the doctor gave her the all clear. Health: In her post, Shirley uploaded a number of images, with one seeing her taking part in a gruelling hike, while others saw her relaxing in the swimming pool and catching up on her reading Healthy pals: The dancer flashed a beaming smile with pal Jason Vale, who runs the retreat Plan: Shirley even shared an image of her busy schedule which included activities such as volleyball, yoga, walks and of course juicing Speaking to Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid about her recent health journey during an appearance on Good Morning Britain in November, Shirley told how she initially ignored fans comments about her alarm, but sought help from her GP after more concerned messages came flooding in. She said: 'It's been the last two weeks - it has been like a whirlwind with everything else I've been doing. 'I was doing a Paso Doble move, put up my right arm and a couple of people got in touch and I kind of ignored and then there was about 11 people getting in touch so I thought, no I better go to the doctor. Shirley said of the retreat: 'It's been absolutely transformative learning about juicing, The schedule is tough but you can do as much or as little as you like' Feeling good: 'I'm happy I took time to focus on myself, to do the things I love long time over due' 'I went off to see my doctor, she had a little feel around and she couldn't feel anything but she had some past blood tests from a few months before. I hadn't gone back for the results - my fault - and she was alarmed by them.' The ballroom champion told how she will undergo further tests at King's College, hospital in London after initially sparking concern over her testosterone levels, with the star hoping to get her results back soon. Shirley has since been given the all clear, telling fans 'I can now breathe' after weeks of anxiety. Advertisement Richard and Judy made the most of the warm weather as they led the celebrity arrivals for day two of Royal Ascot. Judy, 73, looked radiant at Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire on Wednesday, keeping cool in the heatwave with a billowing white summer dress, while a floral blazer added a pop of colour. The former This Morning host accessorised with an elegant wide brimmed hat complete with tulle decoration and added to the glamour with gold chandelier earrings and a diamond studded necklace. Icons: Richard and Judy joined Holly Willoughby and Penny Lancaster in leading the celebrity arrivals for day two of Royal Ascot as they strutted their stuff around the Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire on Wednesday Judy completed the look with some pops of pink in the form of her boxy handbag, embellished ballet pumps and oversized glittering sunglasses. Richard, 65, cut a dapper figure by his wife's side as he donned a taupe linen suit paired with a blue shirt, brown brogues and aviator sunglasses. Judy recently opened up on the couple's enduring relationship in a candid podcast interview. She revealed during the chat that Richard proposed while they were both married, and it was only three weeks after their very first date. Glam: The former This Morning host accessorised with an elegant wide brimmed hat complete with tulle decoration and added to the glamour with gold chandelier earrings and a diamond studded necklace All about the accessories: Judy completed the look with some pops of pink in the form of her boxy handbag, embellished ballet pumps and oversized glittering sunglasses The TV presenter, 73, already had twins Tom and Jack, then six, when she met her partner, 65, while they were both working for Granada Television - an ITV franchisee. Unhappy in her marriage with journalist David Henshaw, the Good Morning Britain anchor had already spotted her on TV and had developed a crush. She told Kate Thornton's White Wine Question Time podcast: 'There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that my boys, who were six, twins, they are - two six year old boys were my absolute priority and they had to be. 'And as Richard and I got closer, and it was clear that we you kind of talked about marriage after about three weeks, didn't you, I remember. 'It was clear things were very, very serious.' Striking: Holly exuded glamour in her pink midi dress while a pair of nude barely there heels boosted her frame Leggy: Penny's floral dress boasted a thigh high cut out to flash her long pins Hat's a good look! The wife of rocker Rod Stewart added to the glamour with a purple felt wide-brimmed hat and toted a plum suede clutch bag Judy even confessed she thought Richard's suit at the time was 'a bit flash', however since he otherwise 'looked nice', she decided to let their relationship develop. She revealed their colleagues were convinced the pair were only involved in 'a fling' and were left astonished when they each got a divorce from their other halves. The author thought he 'looked nice' but thought his suit was 'a bit flash', although they instantly hit it off. Gorgeous in green: Also opting for a bold design was former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, who turned heads in a satin green dress paired with a vibrant pink hat Chic: The Romeo and Duet host, 31, boosted her frame with a pair of silver barely-there heels and donned dazzling chandelier earrings Colleagues at Granada Television thought the relationship was a fling; and were surprised when things got serious, and they divorced their respective partners. Richard was married to Lynda Hooley for five years before they divorced in 1983 after he met Judy, while she was with husband David until 1986. The famous couple hosted This Morning from its inception in 1998 to 2001 before taking on their show - Richard and Judy - in 2001 for eight years. They share Jack, 35, who is a talent manager, and personal trainer Chloe, 34, who is notably married to professional rugby player James Haskell, 37. Stunning: Call The Midwife's Helen George was a vision of beauty as she stepped out onto the concourse in a colourful column gown with sheer insets on the bodice Stylish: The blonde beauty, 39, donned an eye-catching black fascinator and added an extra pop of colour in the form of a slick of scarlet lipstick Meanwhile, Richard and Judy weren't the only celebrities in attendance for the annual British racing event. Holly Willoughby, 41, looked radiant in a bubble gum pink midi dress with bardot sleeves that she paired with an oversized hat embellished with flowers. Penny Lancaster, 51, cut a stylish figure for her day at the races, arriving in a white dress adorned with a purple wisteria design that boasted a thigh high cut out to flash her long pins. The wife of rocker Rod Stewart added to the glamour with a purple felt wide-brimmed hat and toted a plum suede clutch bag. Cute couples: Dermot O'Leary's wife Dee Koppang cut a stylish figure at the event in a ruffled polka dot maxi dress while Jason Manford turned out with wife Lucy Dyke, who wowed in a cream dress and netted black hat Also opting for a bold design was former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, who turned heads in a satin green dress paired with a vibrant pink hat. The Romeo and Duet host, 31, boosted her frame with a pair of silver barely-there heels and donned dazzling chandelier earrings. Call The Midwife's Helen George was a vision of beauty as she stepped out onto the concourse in a colourful column gown with sheer insets on the bodice. The blonde beauty, 39, donned an eye-catching black fascinator and added an extra pop of colour in the form of a slick of scarlet lipstick. Blooming lovely! Good Morning Britain's Charlotte Hawkins cut a stylish figure in a scarlet shirt dress with a navy floral design that she paired with a striking hat and lace up red heels Loving life: Charlotte seemed in high spirits as she laughed away in front of the cameras Dermot O'Leary's wife Dee Koppang cut a stylish figure at the event as she paired a ruffled polka dot maxi dress with a black blazer and voluminous fascinator. They weren't the only smart couple in attendance as Jason Manford turned out with wife Lucy Dyke, who wowed in a cream dress and netted black hat. The Royal Ascot guests have been encouraged to push the fashion boundaries this summer. Fun times: Natalie Rushdie and Laura-Ann Barr posed with military personnel at the glamorous racing event Delightful duo: Spurs legend Glenn Hoddle attended the races alongside his partner Lisa, who wowed in a floral red dress The 2022 published Style Guide for the event, the eleventh of its kind, requests formality remains in the Royal Enclosure - where punters have been able to buy their way in since 2007 - but hints at a less strict approach elsewhere, suggesting exuberant occasion wear is positively encouraged this year. Plenty of fans adopted a patriotic theme too, to ensure the Platinum Jubilee celebrations continue, with red, white and blue incorporated into their outfits for the day. Those with the widest brimmed hats are likely to be best suited for temperatures that look set to soar to over 25 degrees in this leafy portion of Berkshire. Races running at Ascot on Wednesday include the Queen Mary Stakes (2.30pm), the Queens Vase (3:05pm) and the Prince Of Waless Stakes (3.40pm). Yoon administration's policy support in high gear By Lee Kyung-min Korea is accelerating efforts to export its nuclear energy systems, a new policy initiative gaining strong momentum with the full backing of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration seeking to win 10 advance orders of nuclear projects overseas, according to energy experts. Bilateral and multilateral cooperation with key countries in the European Union, the Middle East as well as the U.S. will be fortified to better utilize the once-demonized energy source, noted for its cheap and stable supply in extreme weather conditions. Experts say Yoon's new energy policy is no longer about politically undercutting the nuclear phase-out drive that occurred under the Moon Jae-in administration, but creating a new growth driver for the country as it has limited natural resources for a sustainable, green future. The assessment is evidenced by a number of global top nuclear technology developers and energy firms that are fortifying cooperation with Korea's state-run and private energy firms including Westinghouse Electric Company, a U.S. nuclear power firm. How fast and well Korea's energy companies succeed in creating earnings overseas from nuclear businesses will determine the success of Yoon's administration, which is coming under growing pressure to raise electricity bill rates due to soaring global energy prices. Westinghouse Electric According to the nuclear industry, a group of senior executives including Patrick Fragman, the CEO of Westinghouse Electric Company, visited Seoul on June 8, for joint cooperation in the nuclear energy businesses. The Americans came for a three-day visit to meet with CEOs of Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and its two subsidiaries Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and KEPCO KPS as well as senior officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. They met with KEPCO CEO Cheong Seung-il and KHNP CEO Chung Jae-hoon, and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to bolster overall cooperation in the nuclear business including efforts to win joint business projects overseas. The closed-door meetings are a follow-up to the recent Korea-U.S. summit between Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden, whose commitment to lead the global nuclear power industry will take shape in the form of a strategic partnership to cement a strong global market presence. The bilateral agreement is defined by the Additional Protocol, a condition of doing nuclear-related business to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in regard to the use of nuclear materials solely for peaceful purposes. Korea joining hands with the U.S. firm will create a much-needed synergistic effect, especially since the U.S. has little experience in building new nuclear power plants in recent years, hobbled by an industry-wide slowdown and a slew of mismanagement risks including overseas asset sales and bankruptcy protection filings. Korea has the experience, know-how and technical resources and the U.S. firm had previously provided technical support for the full commercialization of Kori 1, Korea's first commercial nuclear power plant. This is why the combination of the two companies will propel the advancement of the nuclear energy industry, according to Park Ho-jeong, a professor of resources and energy economics at Korea University. "The two can share knowledge and experience in building, operating and maintenance of nuclear power plants, a virtuous cycle that is needed to sustain the recent growth momentum in the industry," he said. Policy assistance The energy ministry is accelerating moves to support nuclear energy businesses in the country and abroad, a rapid and clear shift in policy direction to identify new growth drivers. Second Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Park Il-jun met with Mohamed Al Hammadi, managing director and CEO of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. (ENEC), a state-run nuclear energy firm of the UAE, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on May 31. The UAE CEO was among a dozen UAE nuclear energy authorities including officials of ENEC's maintenance subsidiary Nawah Energy Company, and Barakah One Company (BOC), the manager of sales for electricity generated at the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant. The bilateral cooperation was reaffirmed after Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang met with UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the managing director and group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC Group), at Lotte Hotel Seoul, June 8. At the ministerial-level meeting they discussed ways to cooperate further in nuclear power, as solidified by the successful implementation of key joint projects including the Barakah plant and energy infrastructure as well as oil field development. The UAE requested that Korean firms share knowledge on digitization, e-learning and privacy protection in high-tech and biopharmaceutical industries. The ministry seeks to strengthen the competitiveness of local nuclear power businesses to facilitate the export of Korea's exceptional nuclear power technologies to the global market. "We will revitalize the nuclear power ecosystem, thereby promoting the overseas expansion of other new industries encompassing IT, rechargeable batteries and hydrogen businesses to create jobs and bolster economic growth," a ministry official said. Coronation Street's Alison King has been seen for the first time since she reportedly split from her fiance David Stuckey last month. The actress, 49, cut a sombre figure as she ran errands in Cheshire, following claims that the pair called off their wedding after it was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. Alison, who plays Carla Connor on Corrie, had planned to exchange vows with David in May 2020, but after Covid restrictions forced them to cancel their ceremony, sources claimed the pair 'grew apart' and they split amicably. Sighting: Coronation Street's Alison King, 49, has been seen for the first time since she reportedly split from her fiance David Stuckey last month Dressed for the warm weather, Alison sported a flowing black kaftan-style dress as she headed to the shops. The soap star paid a visit to Waterstones during her solo outing, her first appearance since reports three weeks earlier that she and David had split. The couple - who began dating in March 2018 - had 'grown apart' and 'parted amicably,' according to sources. Over: The actress (pictured with David in 2019) reportedly split from her fiance after they were forced to cancel their wedding in May 2020 due to the Covid pandemic Out and about: Dressed for the warm weather, Alison sported a flowing black kaftan-style dress as she headed to the shops Single again: The soap star paid a visit to Waterstones during her solo outing, her first appearance since reports three weeks earlier that she and David had split A source told The Sun: 'Alison and David have sadly decided to separate. They were very much in love for a long time but have ended up growing apart. 'They parted amicably and both wish each other the best in the future.' Alison's representatives were contacted for comment by MailOnline at the time. David popped the question with a ring he designed himself during a romantic sunset cruise in Portugal - which they nearly had to cancel thanks to a slew of ominous clouds on the horizon. Oh no! The soap star (pictured in character as Carla Connor) had planned to exchange vows with the IT consultant in Greece before Covid forced them to cancel Officially introducing her fiance during an interview with OK! Magazine in 2019, the star also revealed that she had 'an inkling' David was going to propose and made sure she brought along a Rolex on the trip as an engagement present for him. Revealing that the proposal happened just a few days before their one-year anniversary, she explained: 'I had an inkling he was going to pop the question because he kept putting something on my finger and going: "right, close your eyes and forget this ever happened!"' 'Wed also discussed marriage, too. I think we both went from "no, we dont ever need to get married" to "oh, we really want to get married!"' Shame: It was then claimed that the couple - who began dating in March 2018 - had 'grown apart' and have 'parted amicably' (pictured in 2019) Alison explained that the lead-up to the proposal wasn't all smooth sailing, as they were met with 'black clouds over the sea while driving towards the port at Albufeira.' However, with a team of dedicated crew-members, the cruise carried on as planned, and IT Salesman David got down on bended knee to pop the question with a ring he had designed himself. Alison gushed: 'Id bought him a Rolex as an engagement present too. I said: "Yes please," and then I gave him the watch! It was perfect, even though it didnt go to plan!' Discussing their age gap, she claimed that he's 'already very mature' and wanted someone with children, as he was a father himself. Happier times: A source said: 'Alison and David have sadly decided to separate. They were very much in love for a long time but have ended up growing apart (pictured in 2019) With the proposal happening over the summer, a source told The Sun at the time that Alison is 'very excited' after her partner popped the question. The source said some of Alison's closest friends in the cast such as Kym Marsh and Jane Danson were thrilled to learn of her engagement news. They said: 'Ali is so popular with everyone on the cobbles. They think it's wonderful. Detailing their love story, the actress, who is known for playing Carla Connor on Corrie, revealed that they met in March 2018 after being set up by their mutual personal trainer. 'The engagement is a lovely surprise. Ali is over the moon. Ali has obviously endured heartache in the past. But she is hoping those days are now firmly behind her. She is very excited about what the future holds.' It comes after Alison broke off her engagement to Corrie sound technician Adam Huckett in 2012. The couple share daughter Daisy, ten. Despite getting engaged in September 2011 on a trip to Paris, it was revealed in October 2012 that the pair had split. Alison then dated Hollyoaks assistant director Paul Slavin, after the couple were spotted together in 2016. Castings for Farmer Wants A Wife is now open for next year's season, according to a report by TV Tonight on Wednesday. Channel Seven is encouraging 'male, female and not specified applicants' to join the series as farmers or potential partners. 'We are searching for our next crop of single farmers who want to find their happily ever after,' the advertisement reads. Channel Seven is advertising for 'male, female and not specified applicants' to apply for the new season of Farmer Wants A Wife. Pictured: Natalie Gruzlewski 'Many Aussie farmers have found love through this show. Now it's your turn,' the announcement continues. In an interview with The Morning Show in April, host Natalie Gruzlewski revealed the upcoming season will feature a female farmer. 'This time around we have a female farmer [named] Paige who is absolutely delightful,' she said. 'She's a first-generation farmer, so she's made the move from the city to the country. She fell in love with farming when she was 15, so it's really fun to have Paige on board this year as she's looking for a husband.' In an interview with The Morning Show, Natalie, 45, revealed the new season will feature a female farmer looking for love It was first revealed back in November that Paige would be joining the usually all-male line-up of farmers in search of a romantic partner. According to her bio, she's looking for a partner who is 'honest, driven and shares similar interests like horse riding and campdrafting'. Paige will be joining farmers Benjamin, 33, James, 28, Ben, 27, Harry, 23, and Will, 26, on this year's series. Paige will be joining farmers Benjamin, 33, James, 28, Ben, 27, Harry, 23, and Will, 26, on this year's series Fans of the show have already expressed their excitement at Paige's appearance on the series, after a teaser video with her was shared on Instagram back in November. 'Do I apply or not,' commented one fan, while another wrote, 'Major Grace McLeod vibes. Get it girl!' Added another: 'I like her already, she will do well.' You can apply here for the 2023 season Tasha Ghouri has teased her attraction to newcomer Jay Younger after spending the night in the Hideaway with Andrew Le Page. The model, 23, has formed a connection with real estate agent Andrew, 27, and the pair were the first couple to spend a night together in the private bedroom. But in scenes set to air in Wednesday's episode, Tasha admitted that she had her eye on newcomer Jay as he turned heads in the villa alongside Remi Lambert. Heads turning? Tasha Ghouri has teased her attraction to newcomer Jay Younger after spending the night in the Hideaway with Andrew Le Page After arriving in the villa, Remi and Jay picked three girls to take on a lunch date, with one girl making the starter, another making the main and one making dessert. Jay picked Tasha to make his dessert and he appeared to be causing a stir as she admitted she was attracted to him and told him to 'wait and see' what happened. Jay quizzed Tasha on her romance with Andrew, asking: 'In terms of attraction in the villa do you just have eyes for Andrew or do you think there's anyone else?' To which Tasha cheekily replied: 'Obviously at the moment it's Andrew and you but we will have to wait and see won't we.' Heating up: The model, 23, has formed a connection with the real estate agent, 27, and the pair were the first couple to spend an intimate night together in the private bedroom Jay also had a date with Amber, who made his starter, and Ekin-Su, who served his main, while Remi opted for Indiyah for starter, Paige for main and dessert by Ekin-Su. Elsewhere in the episode, Jay appeared unconvinced by Tasha and Andrew's bond as he spoke to Remi about their coupling. Remi said: 'Tasha and Andrew look so good together.' But Jay insisted: 'Bro, let me tell you man, Tasha wants out of that relationship.' To which Remi asked: 'Do you think?' Newbie: But in scenes set to air in Wednesday's episode, Tasha teased her attraction to newcomer Jay as he turned heads in the villa alongside Remi Lambert Making a move? Elsewhere in the episode, Jay (right) appeared unconvinced by Tasha and Andrew's bond as he spoke to Remi about their coupling And Jay added: '100 per cent mate, I think Tasha is probably wanting us to properly graft her but yeah bro, it's all to play for mate.' But it remains to be seen if Tasha's head will be turned after things heated up between her and Andrew and they spent the night in the Hideaway. In Tuesday night's episode, the couple got hot and heavy in the boudoir as they were treated to a night without the interference of their fellow Islanders. Cuddling up for a night of passion, talk soon turned to the couples' fantasies, before the pair threw themselves onto the rose petal strewn sheets for a make out session. Passion: But it remains to be seen if Tasha's head will be turned after things heated up between her and Andrew and they spent the night in the Hideaway Ahead of their night of passion, Tasha said in the Beach Hut: 'Today I've seen such a different side to Andrew, he's just being so much more spicy, he's being flirty, I don't know, something in him is giving me more oomph, this is what I've been waiting for, this sexy Andrew!' The Islanders had been invited to select one lucky couple to sleep in the Hideaway. and they chose Andrew and Tasha as the first pair of the series to visit the Villa's famous love nest. The morning after, they shared what seemed to be a considerably intimate night together, fans were impressed at Andrew's refusal to spill the tea to the boys. Private: The morning after, they shared what seemed to be a considerably intimate night together, fans were impressed at Andrew's refusal to spill the tea to the boys 'Love a respectful man, thank you Andrew,' one tweet read. Another echoed this viewpoint, clearly pleased that the Guernsey-born did not succumb to the pressure of the other boys: 'Andrew is soo respectful,' they wrote, while a third branded the budding reality star a 'sweetheart'. Up on the terrace, Tasha was not so coy to the girls, dropping an innuendo - 'I gave him a manicure' - which soon began to circulate online. Love Island, tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITV Hub. Episodes are available the following morning on BritBox. Geri Horner is set to receive an honorary doctorate award from Sheffield Hallam University. Ginger Spice, 49, will officially become Dr Horner in recognition of her work promoting and championing children, young people and women's rights over the last 25 years. The Spice Girl will collect her honorary doctorate award at a degree ceremony during Sheffield Hallam's graduation fortnight in November. Congratulations! Geri Horner, 49, is set to receive an honorary doctorate award from Sheffield Hallam University at a degree ceremony in November Honorary doctorates are awarded by universities to recognise outstanding achievement in a particular field or service to the broader community. Sheffield Hallam has been awarding them since gaining status as a university in 1993. Geri said of the accolade: 'It is a great privilege to receive this honorary award from Sheffield Hallam University. 'I sincerely believe education is a superpower, supporting young people with the confidence, perspective and experience to pursue their life goals and dreams. 'I'm delighted to receive the award and very much look forward to returning to Sheffield Hallam for the graduation ceremony later this year.' Amazing: Ginger Spice will officially become Dr Horner in recognition of her work promoting and championing children, young people and women's rights over the last 25 years The announcement follows a visit to the University where Geri met with Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Sheffield Hallam's Vice-Chancellor, and students from media arts and communication. She was introduced to the South Yorkshire Children's University initiative, which helps raise aspirations and opportunities for hundreds of children and young people across the region, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, by providing inclusive extra-curricular enrichment activities. Geri also met with women's rights expert Dr Suni Toor, whose award-winning work has helped to transform the support for female victims of violence in India, and learned more about Sheffield Hallam's Athena Swan initiatives to support and transform gender equality within higher education and research. Superpower: 'I sincerely believe education is a superpower, supporting young people with the confidence, perspective and experience to pursue their life goals' said Geri (Pictured in October 2021) Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, said: 'Geri Halliwell-Horner's contribution to raising the aspirations of children and young people alongside her commitment to promoting women's rights align closely with the University's mission to Transform Lives ' I am delighted that she has accepted our offer to award her an honorary doctorate in recognition of her philanthropic work, and look forward to welcoming her to our community.' Geri rose to fame in the 1990s as part of the Spice Girls, selling over 100 million records worldwide to become the best-selling female group of all time. She has continued to use her considerable media platform and philanthropic work to champion children's literacy and access to education and inspire women of all backgrounds to achieve their best. Geri is also vice-patron of Breast Cancer Care; inaugural ambassador for the Royal Commonwealth Society, with a specific focus on children's education and literacy; a long-standing ambassador of The Prince's Trust and Childline, and was United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for women for 10 years. Nick Cannon is certainly going to be busy when it comes to celebrating the birthdays of his many children - after recently announcing that he's expecting his ninth child while still awaiting the birth of his eighth. On Tuesday, the TV host took his twin boys Zion Mixolydian Cannon and Zillion Heir Cannon to Disneyland in California for their first birthday with baby mama Abby De La Rosa, who is currently pregnant with Nick's baby number nine. 'A year ago today Zilly and Zion were born!!' the 41-year-old wrote on his Instagram to his 5.8million followers, posing alongside the two boys and their pregnant mother Abby, 31, - who he hailed as a 'super woman.' Happiest Place on Earth! Nick Cannon and Abby De La Rosa celebrate their twins' first birthday at Disneyland as they prepare to have another child together... making it his NINTH It was revealed last week that Nick - who once dismissed monogamy as a 'Eurocentric concept' - is expecting his ninth child around October 25, according to TMZ. Meanwhile, Nick is also expecting baby number eight with heavily pregnant model Bre Tiesi. Taking to his Instagram account Tuesday, Nick shared: 'I was told on my 1st birthday I got so excited that I peed all over my birthday cake and I guess the Apple doesn't fall far from the tree because soon as Zion saw Mickey Mouse he just let loose all over me.' A handful... and more to come! It was revealed last week that Nick - who once dismissed monogamy as a 'Eurocentric concept' - is expecting his ninth child around October 25 Family portrait: Nick and Abby posed with their twins boys on Tuesday He continued: 'It's actually happening in this photo!! P*** everywhere! LOL. Had so much fun and such an amazing day! Thank you @Disneyland and @hiabbydelarosa you are Super Woman!!' 'I will make it my mission to let the boys know how honored and privileged they are to have such an amazing, loving, strong, resilient and magnificent Mother! It's their birthday today but youre the one that should be celebrated!!' Abby revealed her pregnancy news last week on her OnlyFans page but did not specify at first that Nick was the father. During her OnlyFans discussion, Abby revealed she knows one of Nick's other baby mamas, adding: 'We've had so much fun going out to dinners and coffee. She's a beautiful human being and I wish her nothing but the best in this forever journey we're apart of. The rest of the woman I don't know and never met but I wish them all the best as well [sic],' per People. Another baby on the way: Abby announced the baby news on Friday but did not disclose who the father was, only teasing that it could be another set of twins Her news: She also used her pregnancy announcement to promote her OnlyFans account Bre, 31, is currently pregnant with his eighth child; they were seen attending her gender reveal party in January this year, just weeks after his son Zen tragically died at five months from brain cancer. He shared Zen with baby mama Alyssa Scott; he died on December 5, 2021. Nick is dad to daughter Powerful Queen, 18 months, and son Golden Sagon, five, with Brittany Bell who is Miss Guam 2014. Expecting: On Tuesday, Bre Tiesi was seen stepping out for a solo shopping run with growing baby bump on full display in a sheer top The TV host also has twins Moroccan and Monroe, 11, with ex-wife Mariah Carey; they were married from 2008 until they divorced in 2016. On the Lip Service podcast shared last Tuesday, Nick was asked about speculation he had 'three children on the way.' He jokingly said in response: 'Whey you say "on the way..." What count are you at? Let's just put it this way... the stork is on the way.' Adding: 'I don't know, it could be...' Nick, who welcomed three children in 2021 (Zion, Zillion and Zen), suggested he planned on breaking his record: 'If you thought it was a lot of kids last year...' During the podcast, Nick also spoke out about what his therapist told him about being celibate. Baby or babies on the way: Nick and Abby welcomed twin sons Zillion Heir and Zion Mixolydian in June 2021; Abby seen on her Instagram with their sons He said that his therapist told him he 'needed to chill out' and that he said he would try to be celibate. 'So I was like, "Yo, let's try celibacy." And that was like October... I didn't even make it to [January]. I was supposed to make it to the top of the year. Then obviously I started going through some stuff... I got depressed with the loss of my son. So in December... the thing is everybody saw I was so down. So everybody was like, "Let's just give him a little vagina, and that's gonna cure it all."' He continued: 'I fell victim to it 'cause I was in a weak state. So December, especially right before Christmas, I started f*****g like crazy. So I broke the celibacy. But I was probably celibate for a month and a half strong... I was trying to do it. I had a new show, new energy, I was dealing with a lot.' Baby mama: Nick is dad to daughter Powerful Queen, 18 months, and son Golden Sagon, five, with Brittany Bell who is Miss Guam 2014 The way they were: Nick has twins Moroccan and Monroe, 11, with ex-wife Mariah Carey; they were married from 2008 until they divorced in 2016 Lip Service co-hosts Gigi Maguire and Angela Yee speculated that he would have several children in the months of September and October after his confession about his December trysts, to which he said: 'Y'all are pretty good at math.' Nick said on the Drink Champs podcast in October: 'I'm trying to chill out though. I'm chilling out. I'm kinda stepping away, getting focused, going within, getting my celibacy on.' He said: 'I have enough children, enough frolicking. I'm good right now...I'm trying. I didn't say I'm perfect. I love all my kids. I'm celibate right now. I'm trying to go - I'm gonna see if I can make it to 2022. I'm trying to be the best father I can be, the best businessman I can be.' In August 2021, Nick said he doesn't 'subscribe to monogamy' during his appearance on The Breakfast Club radio show. Dolly Parton is donating $1 million to pediatric infectious disease research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, the organization announced on Wednesday. The new gift is one of several Parton has made to the center over the years, including a $1 million gift in April 2020 for COVID vaccine research. That gift helped Vanderbilt researchers test an array of drugs aimed at reducing the life-threatening symptoms associated with COVID-19, the center said in a news release. Generous: Dolly Parton is donating $1 million to pediatric infectious disease research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, the organization announced on Wednesday. Seen in March Researchers are also looking at entirely new therapies to both treat COVID-19 and prevent infection. Parton's new gift will support a variety of ongoing research at the medical center. That includes understanding how viruses and bacteria cause disease, understanding and preventing antibiotic resistance. Still a big attraction on stage: Parton's 34th Grand Opening Season with Festival Of Nations at Dollywood in Tennessee in 2019 It will also study how to prevent and treat infections, diagnosing and treating infections in children with cancer, and gauging the impact of childhood infections throughout the world, according to the news release. 'Dolly's previous support to infectious disease research, and also our pediatric cancer program, has already saved countless lives,' said Dr. Jeff Balser, president and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. 'This new gift will bolster our defenses against future threats to the safety of this region and society as a whole.' A siren in red: Here she is seen in a scarlet and white gown in the late 1990s Parton said she supports the work because she loves children. 'No child should ever have to suffer,' Parton said in a news release. 'I'm willing to do my part to try and keep as many of them as I can as healthy and safe as possible.' This comes a month after Parton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame with Eminem, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Duran Duran and Pat Benatar. The honorees - voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals - 'each had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock'n'roll,' said John Sykes, the chairman of the Rock Hall, in a statement Wednesday. Back in: Parton, who initially resisted the honor, has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Seen in 2015 Parton shared a note of joy. 'I am honored and humbled by the fact that I have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,' wrote the chart topping crooner. 'Of course I will accept it gracefully. Thanks to everyone that voted for me and to everyone at the @rockhall. I will continue to work hard and try to live up to the honor.' Back story: Parton had gone on social media to 'respectfully bow out' of the process, saying she did not want to take votes away from the remaining nominees and had not 'earned that right.' The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation responded by saying ballots had already been sent and it was up to the voters to decide if Parton was elected. Parton later said she would accept an induction. Seen in March Parton had gone on social media to 'respectfully bow out' of the process, saying she did not want to take votes away from the remaining nominees and had not 'earned that right.' The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation responded by saying ballots had already been sent and it was up to the voters to decide if Parton was elected. Parton later said she would accept an induction. To be eligible, artists are required to have released their first record 25 years prior to induction. The hall also announced Wednesday that Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis are getting the award for musical excellence and that Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotten will be honored with the Early Influence Award. Other artists and groups that failed this year for induction in the performer category are A Tribe Called Quest, Rage Against the Machine, Dionne Warwick, Carly Simon, Judas Priest, Beck, Kate Bush, DEVO, Fela Kuti, MC5 and the New York Dolls. Parton is most associated with country music and is in the Country Hall of Fame, but she has performed songs with a rock feel. Artists who have made both the Rock Hall and Country Hall of Fame include Brenda Lee, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, Hank Williams and the Everly Brothers. The induction ceremony will be held November 5 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Lil Wayne has been blocked from entering the UK by the Home Office, forcing him to pull out of scheduled festival headline slot. The rapper, 39, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was due to headline at Strawberries & Creem 2022 on Saturday. But he has had to step down after the Home Office made a decision to reject his entrance to the UK. A Home Office spokesman told MailOnline: 'Any individual who has been sentenced to a custodial sentence of 12 months or more must have their application refused.' Barred: Lil Wayne has been blocked from entering the UK by the Home Office, forcing him to pull out of scheduled festival headline slot He will be replaced by Ludacris instead, for the show at Childerley Orchard, Cambridge. All visitors to the UK must meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules which includes an assessment of their character and conduct. Section 9.4.1 from Part 9 of the Immigration Rules clearly states, An application for entry clearance, permission to enter or permission to stay must be refused where the applicant: (a) has been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more. MailOnline has contacted representatives for Lil Wayne for comment. The festival released a statement where they said they were feeling 'deeply disappointed' by the 'negative' ruling. They added how they were annoyed by the short time frame allowed by the decision being given in which to find a replacement act. Pulled out: The rapper, 39, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was due to headline at Strawberries & Creem 2022 on Saturday They said: 'Lil Wayne will no longer be performing at Strawberries & Creem 2022. Ludacris will now perform on Saturday. 'Due to extreme circumstances beyond our control or influence, we are very sorry to inform you that Lil Wayne is now unable to perform at the festival on Saturday 18th June. 'Lil Wayne has been refused entry to the UK directly by the Home Office in a last-minute decision. We are deeply disappointed by this sudden and negative ruling. 'We have received very minimal notice, and the timing of the decision is of course upsetting for all involved including Lil Waynes fans, as well as the festival team. Letdown: The festival released a statement where they said they were feeling 'deeply disappointed' by the 'negative' ruling 'Across the weekend, we still have an incredible array of artists joining us. The team have all worked round the clock to secure a huge new name for Saturday too: We have brought in Grammy-winning rapper Ludacris to play a UK exclusive set on Saturday 18th June.' They then announced that all ticket holders would be entitled to a free Sunday ticket for the event or discounted tickets for next year's festival to make amends for the disappointing news. They added: 'Additionally, the team would also like to offer ticket holders a free ticket for Sunday 19th June, or a discount on tickets for next year's festival. Please check your emails for details on how to claim these. 'In absence of any statement from Lil Wayne, we would like to apologise to everyone who was coming to see him perform at S&C. We look forward to welcoming the iconic Ludcacris to the stage instead. 'We cant wait to see all of you this weekend. Love and thank you for your support as always.' Lil Wayne was previously arrested in December 2019, and charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition. He could have faced 10 years in prison for illegally owning a .45-caliber handgun - which he was banned from possessing because of a weapons conviction in New York more than a decade ago. Replacement: He will be replaced by Ludacris instead, for the show at Childerley Orchard, Cambridge The rapper already had a felony gun conviction dating back to 2009. He was sentenced to eight months in a New York prison for that offense, and convicted felons are subsequently barred under federal law from possessing firearms. However, on his final day in office in January 2021, President Donald Trump pardoned Lil Wayne of the charges. Days before the November election, Lil Wayne had posed for a thumbs-up with Trump and praised him for 'listening to what we had to say' in an apparent endorsement of the president. Advertisement Goldie Hawn showed she's still looking as incredible as ever, as she joined her longtime partner Kurt Russell on a speedboat in Greece on Wednesday. The 76-year-old actress and the 71-year-old actor were seen soaking in the sun and relaxing on the boat - mimicking scenes from their 1987 hit film, Overboard. Goldie looked sensational in a black swimsuit, that perfectly showed off her youthful figure and ample cleavage. Wow! Goldie Hawn showed she's still looking as incredible as ever, as she joined her longtime partner Kurt Russell on a speedboat in Greece on Wednesday. She wore her blonde tresses swept up from her face in a ponytail and shielded her eyes behind a pair of black sunglasses. Meanwhile, Kurt went shirtless and sported a pair of black patterned swimming trunks. Goldie and Kurt first met in 1966 when they co-starred in three films together including The One and Only, Genuine and Original Family Band. Having a blast: The 76-year-old actress and the 71-year-old actor were seen soaking in the sun and relaxing on the boat Onboard: However, their relationship did not turn romantic until 1983 when they were reunited on-screen for the movies Swing Shift and Overboard (rright in Overboard in 1987) Looking good: Goldie looked sensational in a black swimsuit, that perfectly showed off her youthful figure and ample cleavage However, their relationship did not turn romantic until 1983 when they were reunited on-screen for the movies Swing Shift and Overboard. The two share son Wyatt, 35, and Kurt helped raise Goldie's daughter Kate, 42, and son Oliver, 45, from her previous marriage to actor Bill Hudson, 72. In 2018, they co-starred in Netflix's The Christmas Chronicles film series, playing Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, and went on to reprise their roles in the 2020 sequel The Christmas Chronicles 2. Blonde beauty: She wore her blonde tresses swept up from her face in a ponytail and shielded her eyes behind a pair of black sunglasses Relaxing: Meanwhile, Kurt went shirtless and sported a pair of black patterned swimming trunks In a recent interview with E! News, Goldie said, 'The secret to my romance is separate bathrooms.' She also revealed, 'The best piece of parenting advice I gave Kate was: Learn from the mistakes I made.' The outing comes after Goldie opened up about politics that surround Hollywood in an interview with The Daily Wire. First meetings: Goldie and Kurt first met in 1966 when they co-starred in three films together including The One and Only, Genuine and Original Family Band Co-stars: In 2018, they co-starred in Netflix's The Christmas Chronicles film series, playing Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, and went on to reprise their roles in the 2020 sequel The Christmas Chronicles 2 Megyn Kelly gave her own opinions on how she believes Middle America takes Hollywood's messages as she interviewed screen star Goldie. 'I think it's why it drives people crazy when Hollywood tries to act holier than thou and starts lecturing middle America about morality and so on,' she said. 'And you know, these people sitting in Iowa who have never done any, they've never tried to put someone on a casting couch They're like, you could save your lectures for somebody else.' Goldie agreed with the former Fox News anchor saying, 'That's right, exactly. And the idea that I do have a feeling about keeping Okay, how do I say this? Holiday: Kurt made the most of his holiday as he kicked back and relaxed on the speedboat Secret: In a recent interview with E! News, Goldie said, 'The secret to my romance is separate bathrooms' Screen siren: Goldie looked straight out of a movie in her swimsuit which showed off her long toned legs and perky behind 'A lot of Hollywood has a lot of missions, right? And you know, you want to put your name onto something that you believe in, but it doesn't make a difference. And that's the reality.' Goldie continued: 'I stay in my lane. The reality is, is that if we want to do anything, we want to do it for all people, not just for a group or whatever.' 'What makes polarity even more is creating teams on either side of the aisle. And I don't think that's what we do. I think we entertain. I think we bring awareness to people, just of their ability to laugh, to have joy, to experience it, to cry. 'We are emotional beings and create emotion in others. And it's in this case, I think we're in service.' Romeo Beckham's girlfriend Mia Regan looked stunning as she attended The Royal Academy of Arts summer party in London on Wednesday. The model, 19, displayed her toned frame in a lace scalloped mini dress paired with leather biker boots as she posed up a storm. She wore her tresses in soft waves and sported a rich palette of make-up. Wow; Romeo Beckham's girlfriend Mia Regan looked stunning as she attended The Royal Academy of Arts summer party in London on Wednesday The dress also boasted a colourful caped detail, adding extra drama to the look. Last month Mia posed up a sensational storm as she modelled Victoria Beckham's VB Body black mini dress. The girlfriend of David and Victoria's middle son Romeo looked effortlessly chic in the figure-hugging number as she stopped for a slew of photos in Monaco. The star who has been in a relationship with Romeo, also 19, for three years, contributed to her glowing look with a striking sleek hairdo. Fun: Mia posed up with Lady Amelia Windsor at the soiree Colourful: The dress also boasted a colourful caped detail, adding extra drama to the look Stunning: Last month Mia posed up a sensational storm as she modelled Victoria Beckham 's VB Body black mini dress The garment, which features in fashion designer Victoria's brand new clothing range, presented Mia with an opportunity to show off her tanned legs. She rounded things off with black platform trainers and sported a beautiful face of makeup, including a bold application of eyeshadow. The photos, shared on Victoria's Instagram grid, were captioned: 'Mia in the VB Body Mini Dress in Black [black hearts] kisses @mimimoocher xx'. Mia replied with a star and heart emoji, which prompted compliments such as: 'girl u rocking this dress' and 'U are PERFECT [stars]'. Beauty: The girlfriend of David and Victoria's middle son Romeo looked effortlessly chic in the figure-hugging number Scenic: The garment, which features in fashion designer Victoria's brand new clothing range, presented Mia with an opportunity to show off her tanned legs Posing up a storm: The blonde beauty rounded things off with black platform trainers and sported a beautiful face of makeup, including a bold application of eyeshadow Range: The photos, shared on Victoria's Instagram grid, were captioned: 'Mia in the VB Body Mini Dress in Black [black hearts] kisses @mimimoocher xx' Appreciation: Mia replied with a star and heart emoji, which prompted compliments such as: 'girl u rocking this dress' and 'U are PERFECT [stars]' Last week, Mia cut a stylish figure in a short beaded black skirt and a matching shirt at the Maison Chaumet event in London. The model flashed her toned midriff in the blouse which fastened with one button and featured large pockets on either side. Mia looked effortlessly stylish in the black ensemble which she glammed up with a dazzling white, rose and yellow gold necklace and earrings. Glamorous: Last week, Mia cut a stylish figure in a short beaded black skirt and a matching shirt at the Maison Chaumet event in London She elevated her figure in a pair of black leather heeled boots and styled her blonde tresses in a chic up-do leaving her fringe down shaping her face. Mia beamed as she wrapped a arm around her mum Helen Regan who looked glam in a black maxi dress which she paired with tan sliders. The outings come amid rumours there is tension between Mia and Brooklyn's new wife Nicola Peltz - with Romeo's mother Victoria reportedly keen to hold a clear-the-air girls' lunch between them. Forum on "future-oriented cooperation" among China, Japan, S.Korea held in Seoul Xinhua) 09:37, June 15, 2022 Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming addresses the opening ceremony of the International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation 2022 among China, Japan and South Korea, in Seoul, South Korea on June 14, 2022. The forum was held here on Tuesday under the theme of "Future-Oriented Trilateral Cooperation: Lasting Peace, Common Prosperity, Shared Culture." (Xinhua/Wang Yiliang) SEOUL, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation 2022 among China, Japan and South Korea was held here on Tuesday under the theme of "Future-Oriented Trilateral Cooperation: Lasting Peace, Common Prosperity, Shared Culture." The forum was an annual event organized by the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS), a Seoul-based international body for promoting peace and common prosperity among the three countries. The TCS will "spare no efforts in carrying out the mandates of the three governments for a more advanced trilateral cooperation, and will strive to fulfill our mission to further promote lasting peace, common prosperity and shared culture in this region," TCS Secretary-General Ou Boqian said in her opening remarks. Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming said in his address that China, Japan and South Korea are not only close neighbors facing each other across the sea, but also countries with important influence on the region and the world. Looking ahead, trilateral cooperation among the three countries, on the current basis, should be deepened and advanced in the direction of maintaining lasting peace, realizing common prosperity in the region and building a shared culture in East Asia, Xing noted. The forum included three sessions in which insights on the institutionalization of trilateral cooperation, inclusive economic growth and cultural exchange were shared by veteran politicians, diplomats, prominent scholars and representatives of economic and cultural organizations. Launched in Seoul in 2011 by the governments of China, Japan and South Korea, the TCS serves as a major platform for deepening trilateral cooperation. Since its launch, the TCS, under the guidance of the three governments, has actively supported institutionalized cooperation among the three countries, and hosted numerous cooperation projects in such fields as economy and trade, culture, youth, media and disaster management. Ambassador of Japan to South Korea Koichi Aiboshi addresses the opening ceremony of the International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation 2022 among China, Japan and South Korea, in Seoul, South Korea on June 14, 2022. The forum was held here on Tuesday under the theme of "Future-Oriented Trilateral Cooperation: Lasting Peace, Common Prosperity, Shared Culture." (Xinhua/Wang Yiliang) South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong addresses the opening ceremony of the International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation 2022 among China, Japan and South Korea, in Seoul, South Korea on June 14, 2022. The forum was held here on Tuesday under the theme of "Future-Oriented Trilateral Cooperation: Lasting Peace, Common Prosperity, Shared Culture." (Xinhua/Wang Yiliang) (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) Representatives of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity speak to reporters following negotiation with the transport ministry at an inland container depot in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, June 14. Yonhap Unionized cargo truck drivers decided Tuesday to end their walkout that caused nationwide logistic disruptions and delays after reaching an agreement with the government over a freight rate system. Members of the 22,000-strong Cargo Truckers Solidarity, under the wing of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, reached the agreement with the transport ministry late in the day, and decided to end the strike that began June 7 and return to work from Wednesday. The union has been demanding an extension of the Safe Trucking Freight Rates System designed to prevent dangerous driving and guarantee minimum freight rates for truck drivers in a move to cope with soaring fuel prices. Officials from the transport ministry and representatives from the Cargo Truckers Solidarity attend a meeting in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, June 14. Yonhap The system was introduced for a three-year run in 2020 and scheduled to end Dec. 31, but the two sides reportedly agreed to keep the system in place. The transport ministry said it plans to report the results of the three-year operation of the freight rates system to the National Assembly so that discussions on the system can continue there. The ministry will also continue discussing a plan to expand the system, which is currently applied to those transporting containers and cement, to other cargo items, and review an idea of increasing fuel subsidies for truckers. The strike has caused major disruptions in cargo transportation and the production of goods, with the steel, automobile and petrochemical sectors reporting at least 1.6 trillion won ($1.23 billion) in damages, according to the ministry. (Yonhap) Anne Hathaway looked distraught as she filmed an emotional scene on the set of the upcoming psychological thriller Mother's Instinct in Union County, New Jersey. On Tuesday, the 39-year-old actress was seen crying and being comforted by costar Josh Charles as well as an older actor and actress. The four actors were clad in era-appropriate costumes for 1960s-set film. Upset: Anne Hathaway looked distraught as she filmed an emotional scene on the set of the upcoming psychological thriller Mother's Instinct in Union County, New Jersey Trying to calm her: On Tuesday, the 39-year-old actress was seen crying as an older actor and actress held on to her Anne channeled Jackie Kennedy Onassis as she donned a cropped gray striped jacket with a lapel collar over a matching knee-length v-neckline dress. The Academy Award winner wore elbow-length beige leather gloves and carried a brown crocodile handbag. She sported light brown leather pumps and a black pillbox beret hat that had a pale pink diamond pattern. Disturbed: The Princess Diaries star put a had to her chest as actor Josh Charles followed Breaking down: Anne began crying in front of the car while Josh put the suitcases into the trunk The Princess Diaries star completed her costume with a dark brunette bouffant style wig and a natural palette of makeup that included a rosy blush and pink lipstick. She shielded her eyes with oversized black sunglasses as she walked out of a house onto a porch. Josh, 50, had on a black blazer over a white dress shirt with creased light gray slacks and black leather shoes. Fashion icon: Anne channeled Jackie Kennedy Onassis as she donned a cropped gray striped jacket with a lapel collar over a matching knee-length v-neckline dress Retro: The Academy Award winner wore elbow-length beige leather gloves and carried a brown crocodile handbag In character: She sported light brown leather pumps and a black pillbox beret hat that had a pale pink diamond pattern The Dead Poets Society performer's short brunette hair was parted on the side and slicked down with gel. The two-time Emmy Award nominee later added an olive green and gray striped tie and black sunglasses. The older actress wore a high-necked black dress that had a pleated flared skirt. She draped black jacket that was embellished with beading over her shoulders. The performer swept her silver locks into an elegant updo under a black mesh pillbox hat. Emotional: Hathaway was in sunglasses in this image taken on the set Almost in tears: She looked numb as she left the blue and white home Costumes: The four actors were clad in era-appropriate costumes for 1960s-set film She accessorized with small pearl earrings and sported black leather pumps. The older male actor was costumed in a black suit with a brown and beige polka dot tie, a black fedora and black-framed eyeglasses. He gently held Anne's arm as he guided her out of the house and down the steps while being accompanied by the actress and Josh. All four performers looked somber with Anne bearing a particularly pained expression. Josh was seen carrying two suitcases at the group walked across the lawn toward a car. Producer: In addition to starring, Anne is also producing the movie, which is being helmed by Belgian director Olivier Masset-Depasse (Sanctuary, Illegal) Anne began crying in front of the car while Josh put the suitcases into the trunk. She was physically restrained by the older actors as she wept and resisted getting into the car. The Les Miserables star still appeared in character during a break in filming as she looked distress while walking away from the car as a production crew member held an umbrella over her head. In addition to starring, Anne is also producing the movie, which is being helmed by Belgian director Olivier Masset-Depasse (Sanctuary, Illegal). The psychological thriller reunites Hathaway with her Interstellar castmate and 'incandescent buddy' Jessica Chastain, who produces and stars as Celine's neighbor/best friend Alice. The Bulgari brand ambassador and the 45-year-old Oscar winner also co-starred in James Gray's film Armageddon Time, which received a seven-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19. Deadline reported on Tuesday that Josh and Anders Danielsen Lie had joined the cast. On Wednesday, Variety reported that Caroline Lagerfelt would be playing the role of Jessica's mother-in-law. Teary: The Les Miserables star still appeared in character during a break in filming as she looked distress while walking away from the car as a production crew member held an umbrella over her head. Mothers' Instinct is a remake of Masset-Depasse's own 2018 film Duelles starring Anne Coesens and Veerle Baetens. 'Life's perfect harmony is suddenly shattered after a tragic accident,' the logline for the American reboot read. 'Guilt, suspicion, and paranoia combine to unravel their sisterly bond, and a psychological battle of wills begins as the maternal instinct reveals its darker side.' Both Mothers' Instinct and Duelles are loosely based on Barbara Abel's 2012 novel Derriere la Haine. Reunited: The psychological thriller reunites Hathaway with her Interstellar castmate and 'incandescent buddy' Jessica Chastain, who produces and stars as Celine's neighbor/best friend Alice. Jessica seen on set in June New cast members: Deadline reported on Tuesday that Josh and Anders Danielsen Lie (pictured in 2021) had joined the cast Mother-in-law: On Wednesday, Variety reported that Caroline Lagerfelt would be playing the role of Jessica's mother-in-law 'It takes actors of Jessica and Anne's caliber to communicate the intricacy of these two roles,' Olivier, winner of the Cannes SACD Prize, said in a statement. 'The relationship between a mother and child is the most powerful connection between two human beings. When this bond is severed, it calls into question conventional morality and even sanity. 'In the behind-closed-doors atmosphere of 1960s America, Mothers' Instinct becomes a terrifying, high-pressure powder keg.' On May 11, Deadline reported that Neon (Pig, Titane, Spencer) has already acquired US rights to distribute Mothers' Instinct. Origin: Mothers' Instinct is a remake of Masset-Depasse's own 2018 film Duelles starring Anne Coesens (L) and Veerle Baetens (R) Jerry Seinfeld's wife Jessica and daughter Sascha enjoyed some quality time together watching Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick on Broadway. Jessica, 50, raved about their show, Plaza Suite, in the caption of a sweet mother-daughter selfie she had posted to her Instagram account on Tuesday. '@plazasuitebway is the most fun show and a must see. Loved every second. So did everyone else in the audience given the fervent standing ovation,' she captioned the image. Just the girls! Jerry Seinfeld's wife Jessica and daughter Sascha enjoyed some quality time together watching Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick in their Broadway show Plaza Suite In the photo, Jessica leaned towards her daughter, 21, as she clasped a copy of the playbill. A revival of the Neil Simon production, Plaza Suite stars SJP and her husband Matthew as three different couples staying at the iconic hotel room. 'Karen and Sam are a long-married pair whose relationship may be headed for an early checkout. Muriel and Jesse are former high school sweethearts who seem destined for an extended stay. 'And Norma and Roy are the mother and father of the bride, ready to celebrate their daughter's nuptials if only they can get her out of the bathroom,' according to a description of the play on the show's website. Broadway baby! A revival of the Neil Simon production, Plaza Suite stars SJP and her husband Matthew as three different couples staying at the hotel room Dynamic duo! The couple appeared on stage together during opening night curtain call back in March The outing comes weeks after Jessica celebrated a major achievement - graduating from NYU's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Jessica marked the milestone on Instagram last month, where she posted images from her ceremony and photos of her in her cap and gown. The media personality also wrote a short message to express her feelings about finishing her time in graduate school. Milestone moment: Jessica, 50, graduated from NYU's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service last month Couple: The author shared several photos from her ceremony, however Jerry (seen together in 2019) was not pictured in them and it is thought he may not have been able to attend Happy mom: Jessica - who shares three children with Jerry - did post one photo of herself posing with her sons Julian (right), 19, and Shepherd (left), 16, who both joined her Seinfeld's first shot showed her wearing her cap and gown while spending time in her family's home. The wife of Jerry Seinfeld also included several selfies that she took with her classmates in her photoset. The author notably shared a shot that had been taken with her sons Julian and Shepherd, aged 19 and 16. Her clip showed her making her way across a stage and being celebrated for her achievement. Seinfeld previously shared a shot of a sizable balloon arrangement that had been set up in her home to her Instagram Story. The inflatables spelled out 'congratulations' in big silver letters and took up much of her family's living space. The author also added a text graphic to her image that read: 'Jerry and kids went all out.' Marking the occasion: Seinfeld previously shared a shot of a sizable balloon arrangement that had been set up in her home to her Instagram Story Speaking her mind: Seinfeld began her statement by remarking that she was grateful for the connections that she made during her time at NYU Seinfeld began her statement by remarking that she was grateful for the connections that she made during her time at NYU. 'I spent the last two years learning alongside the best people working in public service,' she said. The media personality appeared to make a reference to the tragic events in Texas and expressed that she and her classmates would likely make a difference in the world. High praise: The author wrote that she had 'spent the last two years learning alongside the best people working in public service' Timely comment: The media personality appeared to make a reference to the tragic events in Texas and expressed that she and her classmates would likely make a difference in the world 'So, on one of the darkest days in our country's history, I feel hopeful that this group will help carry us, elevate us and advance us to a better place,' she wrote. Seinfeld concluded her message by writing that she was happy to have spent time studying at the graduate school. 'I made lifelong friends and I could not feel more proud to be part of this truly remarkable cohort and the Wagner family,' she noted. Jerry Seinfeld's upcoming Pop-Tarts movie is getting a healthy dose of star power after Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer and Jim Gaffigan signed on to its swelling cast. Netflix, which will distribute the film, announced a bevy of new cast members for Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story on Wednesday, via Deadline. The news of her casting comes the same day that McCarthy, 51, had her comedy series God's Favorite Idiot premiere, also for Netflix. Comic stars: Melissa McCarthy, 51, Amy Schumer, 41, and Jim Gaffigan, 55, are among the A-listers who were announced as part of the cast of Jerry Seinfeld's Pop-Tarts origin film Unfrosted on Wednesday, according to Deadline Although few details have been released about Unfrosted, it's reportedly inspired by the invention of the sugary breakfast treat and Seinfeld's recurring bit about them. In a 2012 interview with the New York Times, the comedian described the painstaking process of crating his Pop-Tart bit, which he said took years to perfect. Schumer, 41, appears to be going back to comedic roles after appearing in last year's critically acclaimed psychological drama The Humans. Gaffigan, 55, has kept up a steady stream of film roles in recent years, but like Schumer he's best known for his popular stand-up shows. Mysterious: Although few details have been released about Unfrosted, it's reportedly inspired by the invention of the sugary breakfast treat and co-writer, director and star Seinfeld's recurring bit about them; seen in 2018 in Philadelphia Funny man: Jim Gaffigan, 55, is also in the cast. He has kept up a steady stream of film roles in recent years, but like Schumer he's best known for his popular stand-up shows; seen in 2020 in LA Also making a splash in the cast is Hugh Grant, who is set to appear in the Guy Ritchiedirected spy comedy Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre later in the year. Mr. Robot actor Christian Slater will also join the cast, as will James Marsden, who was last featured in the Sonic The Hedgehog sequel. In addition to using actors best known for their film work, Seinfeld appears to be pulling from some of the funniest TV stars for his movie. Former Saturday Night Live fixture Bobby Moynihan, who currently stars opposite Ted Danson and Holly Hunter on NBC's Mr. Mayor, will be featured in an unnamed role, as will 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer. Overseas appeal: Also making a splash is Hugh Grant, who's set to star in Guy Ritchie's spy comedy Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre later in the year; seen in 2019 in London Film actors: Mr. Robot actor Christian Slater will also join the cast, as will James Marsden, who was last featured in the Sonic The Hedgehog sequel TV Stars: Seinfeld appears to be pulling from some of the funniest TV actors for his movie. Former SNL fixture Bobby Moynihan, who currently stars on NBC's Mr. Mayor, will be featured in an unnamed role, as will 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer Rounding out the cast is Reno 911's Thomas Lennon, plus Adrian Martinez, New Girl's Max Greenfield and Sarah Cooper, who achieved short-lived viral fame for videos in which she lip synced to clips of former President Donald Trump. Netflix's newly announced all-star cast may intrigue potential viewers, but the streamer didn't share any additional details, and of the main cast members' roles have been revealed. The streamer did share additional details of the synopsis, however. 'Kelloggs and Post, sworn cereal rivals, race to create a pastry that will change the face of breakfast forever,' read the logline. The film is a 'tale of ambition, betrayal, sugar and menacing milkmen,' that's set in Michigan circa 1963. Stacked: Rounding out the cast is Reno 911's Thomas Lennon, plus Adrian Martinez, New Girl's Max Greenfield and Sarah Cooper, who achieved short-lived viral fame for videos in which she lip synced to clips of former President Donald Trump; seen June 14 in Hollywood In addition directing Unfrosted and starring in it, Seinfeld co-wrote the film with Spike Feresten a writer on the Seinfeld series and Bee Movie and the comedian Barry Marder, who also co-wrote Bee Movie with Seinfeld. Filming on the movie commenced last month in California. Back in February, the streamer surpassed major studios including Disney and Warner Bros. to earn $60 million in tax credits from the state, which will be split among Unfrosted and three other film projects. 'We are so happy to get the California tax credit which enables us to make our whole movie there,' said Seinfeld at the time, according to Variety. 'Having made all of the Seinfeld series in LA, I very much wanted to come back and shoot there again. On behalf of everyone working on the movie, we really appreciate the great welcome.' The comedian has previously built up his relationship with Netflix by releasing multiple stand-up specials on the platform, as well as his comic interview series Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. Netflix also currently has his eponymous sitcom available on its platform in the US. Dog The Bounty Hunter's daughter Lyssa Chapman married her girlfriend Leiana Evensen in Hawaii at the beginning of this month. The pair, who have been together since 2016, exchanged vows in an intimate ceremony while wading in the ocean off the Hawaiian coastline. Although Dog, aka Duane Chapman, did not attend the wedding in person, Lyssa told People: 'He was of course on the phone with me all morning and during. We FaceTimed him a bunch. He was there in spirit and also electronically.' Newlyweds: Dog The Bounty Hunter' daughter Lyssa Chapman married her girlfriend Leiana Evensen in Hawaii at the beginning of this month I do: The pair, who have been together since 2016, exchanged vows in an intimate ceremony while wading in the ocean off the Hawaiian coastline Lyssa explained that it has become emotionally 'really, really hard for him to come back to Hawaii,' where he lived with his late fourth wife Beth Chapman. Dog and Beth shot to fame together as bounty hunters on reality TV, enjoying a happy marriage of over a decade until her death of cancer in 2019. Lyssa posted a wedding album to Instagram this Wednesday, writing: 'Last week Lei and I boarded a boat at 7 in the morning with 7 of our closest family members and we dedicated our love and lives to one another.' The album included a picture of the brides in Daisy Dukes and bikini tops kissing in the ocean as they were showered with rose petals. Dad and daughter: Although Dog, aka Duane Chapman, did not attend the wedding in person, Lyssa told People : 'He was of course on the phone with me all morning and during' A couple of silhouetted snapshots showed the newlyweds frolicking through the shallows together, radiating marital bliss. 'It was the most epic conditions on the bay, the water was a glassy mirror. We had a sprinkle of rain, (blessing) and as we came upon our spot, we were blessed again by a school of baby sharks (do do do do do do),' Lyssa revealed. 'With our feet in the water, we connected ourselves to the power and vastness of the ocean. We were hugged by the majestic Koolau mountain range, that will continue hugging us as we live and spend the rest of our lives together at Makaalamihi.' She added: 'There, with uncle David officiating, we stated our declarations of intent, said our vows and began life together OFFICIALLY as wife, and wife.' Instagram ready: Lyssa's wedding album included a picture of the brides in Daisy Dukes and bikini tops kissing in the ocean as they were showered with rose petals Such fun: A couple of silhouetted snapshots showed the newlyweds frolicking through the shallows together, radiating marital bliss Lyssa made sure to thank Wesley Sargent, who runs a company specializing in Hawaiian elopements and ensured the brides could keep their plans under wraps. The wedding was 'literally a dream day,' gushed Lyssa, expressing her joy that Leiana 'is my freaking WIFE !! Im so happy, blessed, filled with love and gratitude.' She added: 'I never thought I was worthy or capable of this kind of love. The vibration I feel in my body hasnt stopped since I met her and if youre reading this from a dark place know that your happy beginning is out there somewhere too.' The blushing bride concluded: 'So much more to come. Thank you all for being here for our journey. I love you forever my wife.' Done deal: Lyssa wrote: 'There, with uncle David officiating, we stated our declarations of intent, said our vows and began life together OFFICIALLY as wife, and wife' Fab: The wedding was 'literally a dream day,' gushed Lyssa, expressing her joy that Leiana 'is my freaking WIFE !! Im so happy, blessed, filled with love and gratitude' Details: When they exchanged vows, Lyssa was decked out in a white bridal gown with a floral circlet while Leiana modeled a matching shirt with dark shorts When they exchanged vows, Lyssa was decked out in a white bridal gown with a floral circlet while Leiana modeled a matching shirt with dark shorts. Two of the guests at the intimate ceremony were Lyssa's two daughters Abbie May, 20, and Madalynn Grace, 12. Lyssa gave birth to Abbie the day after her own 15th birthday, and the father - who was 24 during the conception - was arrested for statutory rape. Meanwhile she shares Madalynn with her ex-husband Brahman 'Bo' Galanti, whom she was briefly married to from 2009 to 2011. Family affair: Two of the guests at the intimate ceremony were Lyssa's two daughters Abbie May, 20, (pictured helping her with her circlet) and Madalynn Grace, 12 Keeping it casual: As early as last March, Lyssa hinted that she and Leiana wanted to get married 'in the ocean' in their swimsuits, though she declined to elaborate on dates or details Lyssa told Amo Mama last year that she was running a storefront in Hawaii in 2016 when she met Leiana, who was one of her customers. They were 'immediately intrigued' by the fact they had the exact same birth date and year, and shortly thereafter found each other to have 'similar morals.' Their romance flourished over the next few months, and not long after they first struck up their relationship, Lyssa realized Leiana was 'the one.' When they were dancing together, Lyssa found herself picturing them dancing at their wedding and thought: 'Oh my, dont mess this up and dont let this one go.' And now it's done: Near the end of 2017, Leiana proposed to Lyssa during a trip to Seattle and the bounty hunter's daughter agreed to marry her Near the end of 2017, Leiana proposed to Lyssa during a trip to Seattle and the bounty hunter's daughter agreed to marry her. As early as last March, Lyssa hinted that she and Leiana wanted to get married 'in the ocean' in their swimsuits, though she declined to elaborate on dates or details. She staunchly defended her father last year when his daughter Bonnie and stepdaughter Cecily accused him of racism and homophobia. 'My dad's always just loved me': While discussing her wedding with People this week, she revealed that Dog was supportive of her relationship with Leiana While discussing her wedding with People this week, she revealed that Dog was supportive of her relationship with Leiana. 'My dad's always just loved me and it's not been something we talk about. I think it's really hard for people who are Christian and do have that belief that marriage belongs to a man and a woman. But when your daughter falls in love with someone and you love that person, you can't just say you don't believe in it,' said Lyssa. 'I don't want to put words in his mouth because I don't know what his exact feelings about it are, but he's never shown me anything other than support.' Emily Ratajkowski displayed her toned abs and sleek legs while enjoying a vacation in Italy with her family. The supermodel, 31, looked incredible as she posed in front of a statue in the ancient town of Florence in pictures shared on Instagram Wednesday. The runway veteran looked relaxed in a white short set with a bra-top and long sleeve cover up. Vacation: Emily Ratajkowski, 31, displayed her toned abs and sleek legs while enjoying a family vacation in Italy Wednesday She completed the outfit with white sneakers, a gold chain, straight hair and natural looking makeup. In the post, in which she wrote only 'Firenze,' the busy mom included a picture of her holding son Sylvester, one, who was decked out in a blue and tan print shorts outfit. She and her husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard, 35, welcomed the boy into their family in March 2021. Relaxed: The runway veteran looked relaxed in a white short set with a bra-top and long sleeve cover up as she visited the city of Florence This appears to be a working vacation for the runway veteran who has recently penned a deal in April to be an ambassador for the Italian sneaker company Superga. In an interview with Women's Wear Daily, Emily, who will design her own line, explained, 'Im just happy to be affiliated with a brand I think is so natural to me.' 'And I, of course, have a real soft spot in my heart for Italy, she said. I go there almost every year. So its really great for me to be working with an Italian brand.' Bikini business: The supermodel was the focus of new snaps on her Inamorata social media page, wearing an orange string bikini with a plunging neckline Savvy: The savvy businesswoman tagged the luxurious Hotel Escencia in Mexico as the location for the bathing suit campaign in which she shared shots of her toned derriere The savvy businesswoman was being featured in a photos for her Inamorata swimwear on social media Wednesday. The fashionista chose a gorgeous beach resort in Mexico and modeled an orange string bikini with a plunging neckline. The world traveler tagged the Hotel Escencia as the location for the fashion shoot, and shared pictures of the white sand beach and turquoise waters at the high end destination. Anyone arriving illegally in Britain is liable to be sent to Rwanda for processing and resettlement Britain's government Wednesday refused to rule out abandoning a European human rights pact after a judge dramatically blocked its plan to fly asylum-seekers to Rwanda, sparking fury among Conservatives. The last-gasp intervention by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) forced the government to postpone the first flight on Tuesday night, after the number of claimants aboard had already been whittled down by domestic legal challenges. Interior minister Priti Patel, however, told parliament the government "will not be deterred from doing the right thing". The policy has sparked widespread protests and a wave of legal challenges She attacked the "usual suspects" among lawyers' firms and rights groups for defying the "will of the British people", as well as "evil" gangs behind a flourishing cross-Channel trade in migrants. "We will not be put off by the inevitable legal, last-minute challenges, nor we will allow mobs to block removals," Patel added, after repeated public protests against deportations. The ECHR is unrelated to the European Union, which Britain left in January 2020. But Tory backbenchers, fresh from rebelling in large numbers against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership, said the ruling infringed on British sovereignty. The government had chartered a plane to take 130 migrants to Rwanda but was stopped by a European court ruling on Tuesday night "Yes, let's withdraw from European Court of Human Rights and stop their meddling in British law," MP Andrea Jenkyns tweeted, echoing others in the party and banner headlines in right-wing newspapers. - 'Whatever it takes' - The European convention was enshrined in UK law in 1998 by the Labour government of Tony Blair. It notably underpins the Good Friday Agreement of the same year, which brought peace to Northern Ireland after three decades of bloodshed. The prime minister's spokesman said "we keep all options on the table" to facilitate the deportation plan. "We will do whatever it takes to deliver this new approach, including to explore any and all further legal reforms, which may be necessary," he told reporters. Home Secretary Priti Patel insists the policy is legal and vowed to press on But the spokesman added: "We would do nothing that would in any way jeopardise the Good Friday Agreement." Johnson's government is already in a bust-up with the EU over post-Brexit trading rules for Northern Ireland, and critics allege it is picking a separate fight over asylum-seekers to distract from economic trouble and political scandals. The convention has been used frequently by human rights lawyers to frustrate Johnson and Patel's hardline policy against illegal migrants. Last month, in the "Queen's Speech" opening a new session of parliament, the government committed to replacing the 1998 act with a new bill of rights. - Johnson's grandfather - Johnson's own maternal grandfather, James Fawcett, helped to write the European convention and was the commission's president for a decade in the years after World War II. Number of arrivals in UK on small boats Anneke Campbell, a cousin to Johnson's late mother, wrote last week that Fawcett would have been "appalled" at the government's actions. She noted that Johnson had previously described human rights lawyers working to halt deportations as "lefty activists". "Would you have called your grandfather a lefty human rights activist to his face? Where did you pick up this kind of contempt?" Campbell wrote in the Byline Times newspaper. Under the UK's agreement with Rwanda, all migrants arriving illegally in Britain are liable to be sent to the East African nation thousands of miles away for processing and settlement. More than 10,000 migrants have crossed the Channel from northern France since the start of the year. On Tuesday, 444 people were detected in 11 small boats on the perilous waters, the Ministry of Defence said. Good weather saw more intercepted on Wednesday. The ECHR, ruling in favour of an Iraqi claimant, said his expulsion should wait until London's High Court has taken a final decision on the policy's legality at a hearing next month. Various legal challenges had highlighted concern over human rights in Rwanda. But the government in Kigali insists it is a safe country. "We are not deterred by these developments. Rwanda remains fully committed to making this partnership work," government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told AFP. burs-jit/phz/bp Lee Jae-yong, right, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, poses with ASML CEO Peter Wennink at the Dutch company's headquarters in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of Samsung Electronics By Baek Byung-yeul Samsung Electronics is strengthening a partnership with ASML as its Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong met the head of the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker during his business trip to Europe, according to Samsung, Wednesday. The Korean tech giant said its vice chairman visited ASML's headquarters in Eindhoven in the Netherlands and had a meeting with the Dutch company's top executives including CEO Peter Wennink and CTO Martin van den Brink to discuss cooperation measures. ASML, a chip equipment maker, is the only company in the world that can produce extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) equipment, an essential tool for manufacturing ultra-fine chips smaller than 7 nanometers. "Vice Chairman and ASML executives discussed future semiconductor technology trends, semiconductor market outlook, EUV equipment, which is essential for manufacturing ultra-fine chips, and mid- to long-term business strategies," a Samsung spokesman said. It is the first time in 20 months that Lee visited ASML's headquarters since October 2020. Lee was accompanied by Kyung Kye-hyun, CEO of Samsung's Device Solutions division. Samsung said the meeting is part of further strengthening its competitiveness to become the leader of the foundry business that the company is aiming for. "By expanding research activities and investment in semiconductor and strengthening cooperation with ASML, Samsung aims to increase competitiveness in foundry business and further widen its super gap in memory semiconductor," the official added. A day after the meeting with ASML executives, Lee also visited Imec, Europe's largest chip research institute, in Leuven, Belgium, Wednesday. During his visit, Lee met with Imec CEO Luc Van den hove and discussed latest technologies in semiconductor field and R&D directions of the chip business, Samsung said. In addition to the meetings with chip companies, the Samsung chief also held a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday as part of the chip giant's efforts to solidify partnerships with the Netherlands, which is home to semiconductor equipment powerhouse ASML. Lee Jae-yong, right, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, poses with Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands, at the latter's office in The Hague, Tuesday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics Cargo trucks leave POSCO in Pohang, Wednesday, hours after the unionized truckers reached an agreement to halt a strike that had continued for the past eight days. Korea Times file It is learnt that schools from other boards would be writing to the government on the matter. It is learnt that schools from other boards would be writing to the government on the matter. HYDERABAD: The governments decision to make Telugu a compulsory subject for Class X in all its schools does not seem to have gone well with not only parents but also students. The government, on June 6, informed district education officers (DEOs) that students must enrol for Telugu, irrespective of the board they belong to, from the 2022-23 academic year. It said the schools that fail to implement this order would be imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000. It could double for a second offence. Most parents were not aware of this rule. They said Telugu was never taken seriously by schools. Citing lack of understanding of the language in the family, parents felt that a lot of extra effort was needed on this front. The stakeholders were agitated by this order as Class X students enrolled in other boards have hardly studied Telugu. It is learnt that schools from other boards would be writing to the government on the matter. Suddenly making Telugu a compulsory subject for Class X exams is a huge task and it is going to be very difficult for students. Giving an additional subject suddenly is a lot of pressure. We have to teach students the basics as Telugu textbooks, the syllabus for class X has not been sent to us, said a principal of a CBSE school in the city. Class X students said they had only learnt the basics of the language and got just pass marks. A bad score in one subject can bring down the CGPA and I am scared that it will happen because of Telugu. Already we need extra tuitions for difficult subjects, now Telugu is an addition, said Nikhil Shah, a Class X student in an international school. There are several students of other nationalities studying in international schools who will also have to learn Telugu and write the exams. The principals of international schools said it would have been better if the government had given them a year before making it compulsory. The pandemic actually pushed the education system back and we could not focus on Telugu subject because of it. I do not know how we will catch up as we have to teach Telugu from scratch. We are already getting a lot of queries from the parents and do not know how to answer them, said a principal of an international school in the city. Locals said Venugopal has been performing weird rituals at home for the last three days. The Atmakur police have started a detailed investigation.(DC file image) Nellore: In a bizarre incident, a father forced his four-year-old daughter to gulp kumkum and turmeric as part of a weird ritual to please gods even as the hapless child cried aloud in suffocation and then fainted. The incident was reported from Perareddypalle village in Atmakur municipal limits on Wednesday. The girl's condition was stated to be critical. According to police, Punarvika was among twins born to Kandra Venugopal and Yamini couple. Her sister was Poorvika. Yamini left for her parents home in Kupparapadu of AS Peta mandal along with the twins a few days back to take care of the standing crop on a piece of land given to her by her parents. Police said Venugopal went to Yaminis family home and brought back the children on Tuesday night. He started performing strange rituals on Wednesday morning by sprinkling kumkum and turmeric all over the house. Venugopal allegedly put some kumkum and turmeric in the mouth of Punarvika and forced her to gulp it. The girl cried aloud when he throttled the backside of her neck. The girl then became unconscious. His mother ran into the room and raised an alarm. Neighbours rushed in and shifted Punvarvika to a private hospital in Atmakur. Alerted from the hospital, the police came and took Venugopal into custody. Doctors later advised the relatives to take the girl to Apollo Hospital in Nellore. Reaching there, doctors referred her to their hospital in Chennai as the girl was in a critical condition. Locals said Venugopal has been performing weird rituals at home for the last three days. The Atmakur police have started a detailed investigation. Aravind Nani, a resident of Papireddy colony of Sangareddy, has been stalking the minor girl since the past five months and has forced her to love him. (Image credit: Facebook) Hyderabad: Chandanagar sub-inspector P. Srinivasulu beat up a Dalit father in trying to coerce him to withdraw a complaint against a man who had stalked, harassed and threatened his 16-year-old minor daughter. The man had also burnt their vehicle. He was trying to save an accused, one Aravind Nani, 24, who allegedly colluded with a ruling TRS corporator from Serilingampally, Ragam Nagender Yadav, who asked SI Srinuvasulu to beat and threaten the man till he withdrew his complaint Nani also threatened to rape her sister, a differently-abled girl. The Dalit man, a daily-wage labourer, had approached Chandanagar police to register a case against Nani, who is a resident of Papireddy Colony of Sangareddy. Nani had been tormenting the girl, a Class X student, by professing his love for her, for the past five months. Incidentally, TRS corporator Ragam Nagender Yadav shot into controversial limelight when he assaulted a neighbouring 20-year-old girl over a parking issue, in September 2020, after which he tried to coerce that family into a compromise, and a case was registered with the Chandanagar police station after media reports exposed him. It was also reported that Nani allegedly threatened to rape the differently-abled sister of the minor, if she did not accept his proposal. The episode came to light when the minors parents questioned her for being moody and upset over the past few weeks. According to the fathers statement in the FIR, a copy of which is in possession of Deccan Chronicle, he said, Nani had been stalking the girl for five months. He used to follow her to nearby shops, to her tuition classes and tried to offer her biscuits and chocolates. He would often threaten her to accept his proposal or he would hurt her family. About three months ago, the victim, along with her brother, informed Nanis parents about his behaviour and asked them to keep him away. However, he ambushed her while she was on her way home from her tuition classes and told her that if she rejected him, he would burn her fathers bike, said the girls father in his complaint. On June 2, her fathers bike was set on fire. A bike belonging to a neighbour was also damaged. It was later revealed that Nani had set the bike on fire. When the minor girl confronted him about this, he allegedly replied that he would burn her father and flashed a knife, saying he would also rape her younger sister. He cut himself on his hand with the knife and scared the minor girl with his behaviour. He warned her that if she revealed this to anyone, he would upload her morphed photos and videos on social media, her father added in his complaint to the police. It was alleged that SI Srinivasulu, instead of registering a complaint, colluded with the TRS corporator, Yadav, and assaulted the father to take the complaint back. The SI also refused to add sections under the Prevention of Atrocities (against SCs / STs) Act, and instead, harassed the family to protect Nani, who was reportedly let go from the police station with station bail. On Wednesday, after the intervention of the Mahila Sangam, whose members gathered at the Chandanagar police station, Madhapur DCP K. Shilpavalli took up the issue and said that she would be writing an inquiry report to Cyberabad police commissioner Stephen Raveendra. When contacted, TRS corporator Nagender Yadav denied the allegation and said that both the parties had met him. As I am a local public representative, Nani and the girls family approached me about 15 days ago, saying he had burnt the bike of the girls father. I heard their versions and asked them to be good to each other. I am nowhere involved in this issue. Someone is dragging my name to malign me, he said. When asked about further investigation, Chandanagar inspector K. Kastro said that the police had taken a complaint and placed Nani under arrest on Wednesday. We have now added Sections 11 and 12 of the POCSO Act, apart from Sections 435, 436, 354 and 509 of the IPC. An enquiry will be launched against the sub-inspector to check the allegations levelled against him. We are trying to verify the caste of the victim. However, we have added in our remand report that she is from the Scheduled Castes and the sections under the SC/ST Act will be added post verification, he said. The five minors in the case were questioned for five days at the Jubilee Hills police station based on the statements given by the prime accused Sadudin Malik. (Representational image) Hyderabad: Officials investigating the Jubilee Hills gangrape case said they were corroborating the statements given by the juveniles and Sadudin Malik, the prime accused in the case, about the routes they took from Amnesia pub to the scene of offence at Road 44 and back to the pub to drop the 17-year-old girl. Officials reportedly found discrepancies in the statements about the routes, which were not tallying with the CCTV footage and other technical evidence, sources said. It was also revealed that 17 witnesses, including the pub staff and workers at the Concu Bakery, were questioned by the police in the case so far and statements were said to be recorded from seven of them. The juveniles involved in the case reportedly had an argument and fight about leaking of the video which showed the sexual assault. While they collectively named Sadudin Malik as the instigator of the crime, Malik mentioned that one of the juveniles was the first person to approach the girl and that he merely followed the lead. During their interrogation, they reportedly confessed to the offence and were taken back to the juvenile home at Saidabad on Tuesday after their last day of questioning, sources said. Meanwhile, the police will be sending notices to the parents of the minors involved in driving the cars. Notices will be sent to the parents and the owners under relevant sections of the MV (Motor Vehicle) Act and they will be called for counselling, added the sources. The five minors in the case were questioned for five days at the Jubilee Hills police station based on the statements given by the prime accused Sadudin Malik. The investigating officials, who are awaiting the results of potency and DNA, will now start building a case for prosecution by further recording statements from witnesses and corroborating the same with CDR (call data record), CCTV footage and other evidence gathered. Malik and the four juveniles were allegedly involved in the gangrape of a minor girl in a car at Jubilee Hills on May 28. The sixth juvenile was booked for outraging the modesty of the victim and other Sections of POCSO Act. All the persons involved in the case were booked under sections of the Information Technology Act on charges of circulating the videos of the crime, which they themselves shot on their mobile phones while committing the offence. A total of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put to auction to be held by the end of July, 2022. (Representational image: PTI) New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has approved the modalities for holding 5G spectrum auctions, and 72097.85 MHz of radio waves will be put on the block by July-end, an official release said on Wednesday. The Cabinet also decided to enable the development and setting up of 'Private Captive Networks' to spur a wave of innovation in new-age industry applications such as machine-to-machine communications, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) across automotive, healthcare, agriculture, energy, and other sectors. "The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a proposal of the Department of Telecommunications to conduct spectrum auction through which spectrum will be assigned to the successful bidders for providing 5G services to public and enterprises," the release said. A total of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put to auction to be held by the end of July, 2022. The auction will be held for spectrum in various Low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), Mid (3300 MHz) and High (26 GHz) frequency bands. Continuing the pace of telecom sector reforms, the Cabinet announced various progressive options with regard to the spectrum auction, for facilitating ease of doing business. "For the first time ever, there is no mandatory requirement to make upfront payment by the successful bidders. Payments for spectrum can be made in 20 equal annual instalments to be paid in advance at the beginning of each year," it said, adding this is expected to significantly ease cash flow requirements and lower the cost of doing business in this sector. The bidders would be given an option to surrender the spectrum after 10 years with no future liabilities with respect to balance instalments. "The availability of sufficient backhaul spectrum is also necessary to enable the roll-out of 5G services. To meet the backhaul demand, the Cabinet has decided to provisionally allot 2 carriers of 250 MHz each in E-band to the Telecom Service Providers," it said. The Cabinet also decided to double the number of traditional Microwave backhaul carriers in the existing frequency bands of 13, 15, 18 and 21 GHz bands, the release said. The market is gearing up for the rollout of 5G services, that will usher in ultra-high speeds and spawn new-age services and business models. Telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), in April, had recommended about a 39 per cent reduction in the reserve or floor price for the sale of 5G spectrum for mobile services. Hyderabad: With the monsoon setting in over Telangana on Monday, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued warnings of heavy rain and thunderstorms for Wednesday in most districts, including in those districts that surround Hyderabad. The IMD forecast for Wednesday stated: Thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and gusty winds (30- 40 kmph) likely to occur at isolated places in many districts of Telangana. Heavy rain likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of Nizamabad, Rajanna Sircilla, Karimnagar, Warangal Rural, Warangal Urban, Jangaon, Siddipet, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Ranga Reddy, Sangareddy, Medak and Kamareddy. A warning of thunderstorms has been issued for the next three days, from Thursday to Saturday. As per the Telangana State Development Planning Society (TSDPS), until 8.30 am on Tuesday, Jainoor in Kumaram Bheem district recorded the highest rainfall of 73 mm in the state, while a few places in Adilabad, Kamareddy and Medchal Malkajgiri districts recorded heavy rains. Hyderabad: Advocates specialising in criminal law said a potency test was required in all rape cases. Experts, however, recommend against it, saying it was not entirely effective and that the test should be conducted only when an accused claims sexual impotence. Explaining the tests for men and women, Dr Upendra Kumar, a urologist, said there were several gadgets and methods used for the test on men while when it came to women, psychological or pathological aspects came into play, along with a detailed questionnaire about their menstrual health among other things. For males, we have something called a combined intracavernous injection and stimulation test or CIS test, wherein an injection is administered on the penis to check for erection. There are five types of erections. Then there is penile doppler test, which enables characterisation of arterial and venous blood flow within the erect penis, Dr Kumar said. The natural test, nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) test, which is conducted on several nights by putting tapes onto the penis before the person sleeps to obtain an accurate indication of erection that normally occurs during the alpha phase of sleep. We also use a device that measures the strength of an erection, explained Dr Kumar. When it came to females, doctors use a questionnaire which addresses depression, anxiety and other psychological factors which affect potency, he said. Women also tend to have hormonal factors, menopause etc. so, a lot of questions are needed to ascertain things. One of the main focuses is also on their libido and it is all mostly psychological or pathological, added the doctor. Speaking specifically about juveniles in the age group of 15-18, urologists said they were either given a Viagra or asked to stimulate the organ manually to check and measure the erection. We do not use any injection or such methods on children. Usually, we do not suspect any problem in children when it comes to erections, while some may have hormonal issues like less testosterone etc, he concluded. An advocate from the Nampally criminal court, P. Vasudev, said in all the cases booked under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC, a potency test must be conducted. It is done so that in the future, the accused should not say he is impotent. A medical board is assigned with a urologist, who conducts these tests which are mandatory for 376 IPC offences. The results and reports are shared by the doctors and a certificate is given during the prosecution. The doctor also comes and gives the evidence in the court during trial, said the advocate. Dr Anjali Kumari, a medical expert, said the potency test violated the privacy of the individual. The medico-legal examination of a person should be done by only collection of trace evidence from the crime scene. The potency test should be conducted only if the person has claimed impotence as the test could be normal in an impotent person and may prove unreliable in determining potency, she said. Hyderabad: In a jolt to officials of nodal agencies who are indifferent to their work, a proposal has been made to make them work for half the salary during their suspension period. As per the proposal, heads of departments of all nodal agencies in the city have to identify officers with a lethargic attitude, issue notices and suspend them from service while making them work for 50 per cent salary during the suspension period. According to sources, the authorities felt that despite giving showcause notices and suspending the erring officials, their attitude did not change as they were enjoying 50 per cent salaries during the suspension period. Now, the department heads will ask suspended officers to work even during the suspension period with a 50 per cent salary. The higher authorities have been checking the norms before submitting the proposal to the state government. With municipal administration and urban development minister K.T. Rama Raos instruction to execute infrastructure works in mission mode and at the same to ensure that there should be no loss of life due to negligence of officials. Despite the minister's instruction, the officials have been allegedly turning a blind eye to the safety in all ongoing infrastructure projects, which have been executed in the city. This was evident when special chief secretary Arvind Kumar made a surprise inspections in various work sites earlier this month and found out that several officials were not paying proper attention to their duties. Though showcause notices were served immediately asking why they should not be placed under suspension pending regular inquiry as per CCA (Classification Control and Appeal) rules for dereliction of duty and wilful disobedience of orders of superior officers and endangering the life of citizens, only a very few officials came with an explanation. A senior state government official, requesting anonymity, said the HoDs of all nodal agencies were asked to check whether there was a provision to make officials to work in their suspension period and pay 50 per cent salaries for dereliction of duty and wilful disobedience. "There should be some changes in the system. We cannot tolerate negligence and wilful disobedience at work, while executing infrastructure projects in the city, which would put citizens under grave threat. If they suspend the officials, most of them are enjoying the suspension and getting reinstated without any change in their attitude or commitment towards work," the official said. The senior official said in order to put an end to such irresponsible practices, the nodal agencies have already prepared a draft set of rules which has to be approved by the government. He hinted that Rama Rao was very positive about the proposal. Hyderabad: People welcomed the Supreme Courts ruling that a child born to a couple who were in a live-in relationship should not be denied property rights. Describing the relationship, which could be regretted as error on the part of parents should not place the burden of responsibility on mother and offspring born in such a relationship should not suffer. This was the observation of the people who learnt about the Supreme Court judgement. The decision is correct as children who are born out of wedlock are innocent. Error may be from the father or mothers side and this should not be the excuse for depriving the children of their right. Children should get all the benefits, as law is in favour of those who are weaker, observed P Damodar, an advocate. Similar was the view expressed by Progressive Organisation for Women (PoW) state president, G. Jhansi who welcomed the judgement while referring to the innocence of being born to parents who were not married. This will provide rights to the child who does not know anything. Why should he or she suffer when the parents indulged in adultery? I can say this is the decision in the right direction, particularly when it comes to the future of the child, she said. Meanwhile, Jaya Vindhyala, an activist, termed this as nothing new as illegitimate children were already given rights from the fathers property, through a constitutional amendment a few years ago. The Supreme Court should be dealing with much more serious issues, within the constitutional parameters. The apex court is losing its credibility. All the so-called landmark judgements for the past 2-3 years by the court should be reviewed by a full constitutional bench, she felt. From left, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins of Latvia, Prime Minister Antonio Costa of Portugal, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo of Belgium and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland during a press conference on the Catshuis in The Hague, The Netherlands, June 14, after a meeting in preparation for the NATO summit in Madrid. EPA-Yonhap The leaders of seven NATO nations from across Europe pledged their support Tuesday for Sweden and Finland's bids to join the alliance and for providing more heavy weapons to help Ukraine battle Russia. The support was voiced after an informal gathering at Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's official residence in The Hague co-hosted by his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen. The other leaders attending were Romania's president and the prime ministers of Belgium, Poland, Portugal and Latvia. ''My message on Swedish and Finnish membership is that I strongly welcome that,'' said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who also attended. ''It's a historic decision. It will strengthen them, it will strengthen us.'' But he said the alliance also has to take seriously concerns raised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has vetoed membership for the two countries until they change their policies on supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Ankara to be terrorists. ''There is no other NATO ally that has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey,'' Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg said Monday that he was glad the Swedish government had confirmed its ''readiness to address Turkey's concerns as part of assuming the obligations of future NATO membership.'' Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, meanwhile, criticized the support so far for Ukraine, which has time and again called for more and heavier weapons. ''We have not done enough to defend Ukraine, to support Ukrainian people to defend their freedom and sovereignty. And this is why I urge you, I asked you to do much more to deliver weapon, artillery to Ukraine,'' Morawiecki said. ''Where is our credibility if Ukraine fails? Can we imagine that Ukraine fails and we revert back to business as usual? I hope not,'' he added. The meeting came ahead of a June 29 and 30 NATO summit in Madrid that will seek to set a tough course for the alliance in the coming years. Stoltenberg said the alliance has beefed up its defenses following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, reinforcing ''our ability to protect and defend every inch of NATO allied territory.'' He said that in Madrid, ''we will take the next steps and agree a major strengthening of our posture. Tonight we discussed the need for more robust and combat ready forward presence, even higher readiness and more pre-positioned equipment and supplies.'' He also said that ''Ukraine should have more heavy weapons, and NATO allies and partners have provided the heavy weapons now for actually a long time. But they are also stepping up.'' The meeting followed a gathering Friday in Bucharest of nine NATO nations on the alliance's eastern flank where some leaders urged NATO to step up protection in light of Russia's protracted war against Ukraine. ''We need to make sure that NATO is able and prepared to respond effectively and calibrated to the threats it faces,'' Romanian President Klaus Iohannis told reporters after Friday's meeting. ''The alliance needs to be able to defend every inch of its territory.'' Three NATO members Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey border the Black Sea, which has turned into a key battleground in the war in Ukraine. (AP) The Karakatta road will be expanded 33-feet wide from Prakasam Barrage to Rayapudi for a distance of 16km at an expenditure of Rs 150 crore. (DC file photo) VIJAYAWADA: Expansion works of the Karakatta road in Undavalli on the banks of Krishna remain affected due to the reluctance of farmers to give their lands for expansion of the road that headed for Amaravati, unless the compensation amount is raised This is a VIP road through which the chief minister, the leader of the opposition, legislators, high court judges and other top officials frequent. Hence, the government decided to expand the road into four lanes. The APCRDA started the expansion works but the farmers demanded fair compensation if they were to give up their lands. The Karakatta road will be expanded 33-feet wide from Prakasam Barrage to Rayapudi for a distance of 16km at an expenditure of Rs 150 crore. In the first phase, the works started for expansion of the road for a 5-km stretch from Prakasam Barrage to Prakruthi Ashram with an allotment of Rs 70 crore. The land of 31 farmers were required for the expansion and the officials promised fair compensations. Later, the farmers alleged that officials started the work without paying them the promised compensation. They staged protests and held a rally demanding that the APCRDA keep off their lands until payments are made to them. The APCRDA on Wednesday held a meeting with the farmers to resolve the issue. The officials offered Rs 5,000 per square yard as compensation. The farmers demanded paying of Rs 10,000 per sq yd following the 2013 land acquisition act. A spirited discussion followed on the compensation and the meeting ended without any final decision. New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday will hold a meeting with several Opposition leaders to discuss presidential polls and put up a united fight against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. However, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is not likely to send a representative to Mamata's meeting amid moves to forge consensus for an opposition-backed candidate. Further, sources also informed that Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party is not participating in the meeting. Sources in the party also informed that AAP will consider the issue only after the candidate for the upcoming Presidential election is declared. The West Bengal Chief Minister flew to the national capital and met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar on Tuesday ahead of the meeting. The presidential elections will take place on July 18 and the results will be declared on July 21. The leaders who would likely to take part in the meeting include former minister HD Deve Gowda and his son and Janata Dal (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, Rashtriya Lok Dal's Jayant Chaudhary and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti. MK Stalin's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will be represented by TR Baalu while Shiv Sena's Subhash Desai will attend the meeting. Samajwadi Party and National Conference will also attend the meeting. Sources said Congress will also participate in the meeting to be held at the Constitution Club. Congress leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh, and Randeep Singh Surjewala are likely to attend the meeting. Banerjee has also sent an invitation to former BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal but it is unlikely to attend the meeting. Communist Party of India general secretary D Raja on Tuesday said that Left parties are likely to attend the meeting. CPI-M and other Left parties are rivals of the ruling TMC in Bengal. Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal, which has been invited, is unlikely to attend the meeting. Banerjee had earlier written a letter to 22 leaders, including Left parties, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and chief ministers of opposition-ruled states. Hyderabad, New Delhi: The TRS on Tuesday decided to skip the meeting of non-BJP parties convened by Trinamul Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Delhi on Wednesday to discuss fielding a joint Opposition candidate for the Presidential election. TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao took the decision after a five-hour meeting with senior party leaders at Pragathi Bhavan. The party said it wanted to be equidistant from the Congress and the BJP, and was skipping the meeting as the Congress would be present. In Delhi, Banerjee landed in the national capital on Tuesday and the Congress, amongst other parties, including the CPI and the CPI(M), confirmed they would be attending the meeting. DMKs T.R. Baalu, Shiv Senas Subhash Desai, RLDs Jayant Chaudhary and Mehbooba Mufti have confirmed that they will be participating. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will also attend, as will Jharkhand Mukti Morcha president and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. NCP chief Sharad Pawar will be attending the meeting. The Left parties representatives, and not the top leadership, will attend the meeting. According to reports, Pawar has declined to be the oppositions consensus candidate in the upcoming presidential elections. A delegation of left parties met Pawar in the national capital. After the meeting, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, I have been told that Pawar will not be the opposition face for the presidential poll, some other names are under consideration. After landing in Delhi, Banerjee also met the NCP chief. The two leaders discussed presidential elections during their meeting. Insiders claim that this is a preliminary meeting to assess the number of political parties and votes that are with the Opposition. As of now, no specific name has cropped up, but discussions behind closed doors are being held. A leader from the Opposition party, not wanting to be named, said that any leader of standing will only be ready to give his name if there is a chance of winning. As of now, the odds are favouring the treasury benches. In 2017, the Opposition had fielded former speaker of the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Meira Kumar as the presidential candidate. President Ram Nath Kovinds term ends on July 24. Elections will be held on July 18 for the next President of India and counting, if required, will be held three days later. Hyderabad: With complaints increasing on the functioning of the Dharani portal, the state government on Tuesday launched pilot project to resolve the grievances of agriculture landowners at Mulugu mandal. After studying the outcomes, the government will hold a special drive all over the state in phases to correct the Dharani data errors. As part of the special drive, finance minister T. Harish Rao visited Mulugu mandal along with Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and top officials in Chief Minister's Office (CMO) to interact with landowners and resolve their grievances on the spot. Top officials in the CMO like Smitha Sabharwal, V. Seshadri and Rahul Bojja, Siddipet Collector Prasanth Jeevan Patil, TS Technical Services chairman Venkateshwar Rao and others interacted with landowners of Mulugu mandal, gathered their feedback on Dharani and heard their grievances. Mulugu is part of the Gajwel Assembly constituency which is represented by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. The government has received over 4.5 lakh grievances regarding the Dharani portal. Lakhs of landowners have applied at Mee Seva centres. For correction of errors in the Dharani portal with regard to survey numbers, owner name and extent of land among others. Harish Rao termed the Dharani portal as a revolutionary move initiated by the CM to end land disputes. Some landowners and farmers were facing problems due to minor technical issues which the government was determined to resolve, he said. Some issues persisted due to court cases and disputes among family members on ownership, Harish Rao said. "Other than these cases, all other issues will be resolved as per the CM's directions by holding meetings in the villages. We will resolve 100 per cent land issues in Mulugu mandal as part of a pilot project and issue pattadar passbooks to landowners. This drive will be completed in the entire state in a time-bound manner," Harish Rao said. Chief secretary Somesh Kumar said that CM had introduced Dharani portal to providing 100 per cent rights on lands to genuine landowners and make the process of land transactions simple. "With the help of Dharani, land registration is being completed in just 15 minutes in a transparent manner. There are no problems in Dharani portal. There are only a few technical glitches which are being sorted out," Somesh Kumar said. He said the government had introduced 33 new modules on Dharani to resolve grievances and the process would continue. New Delhi: Several Opposition parties held consultations in New Delhi Wednesday, at the initiative of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, to evolve a consensus on a joint candidate for next months presidential election. Insiders claimed after NCP supremo Sharad Pawar refused to be the candidate, the names of former J&K chief minister and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and Mahatma Gandhis grandson and former diplomat Gopalkrishna Gandhi cropped up. But some Opposition leaders who were present said that these names were floated in passing and not seriously. In the last election held in 2017, Mr Gandhi had unsuccessfully contested for the vice-presidents post. It was learnt that the Opposition leaders will again meet on June 21 to finalise their common candidate for the Presidents post. This meeting is likely to be held in Mumbai and will be convened by Mr Pawar. Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Singh Surjewala, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, NCs Omar Abdullah, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav DMKs T.R. Balu, Shiv Senas Priyanka Chaturvedi, RJD leaders Manoj Jha and some others attended the meeting held at New Delhis Constitution Club to discuss possible common Opposition candidates. The notable absentees at the meeting were the Aam Aadmi Party, Telangana Rashtra Samiti, YSR Congress, Akali Dal, Biju Janata Dal and Sikkim Democratic Front of Mr Pawan Kumar Chamling. Around 17 parties attended the meeting called by the West Bengal CM. The meeting passed a resolution to field a common candidate in the next presidential poll. In the forthcoming presidential election which is being held on the 75th anniversary of Indias Independence, we have decided to field a common candidate who can truly serve as a custodian of the Constitution and stop the Narendra Modi government from doing any further damage to Indian democracy and India's social fabric, the resolution said. Addressing the press, Ms Banerjee said: One or two parties did not attend the meeting and they must have their reasons. All the members in the meeting unanimously backed Sharad Pawars name. If Mr Pawar is ready, it is okay. If not, then other names will come from the political parties. It (name) will be discussed and decided. Today is the beginning and I think after so many months, we sat together and we will do it again (given) the bulldozing going on in the countrys democratic system. Every institution is (being) totally misused politically and it is necessary that we must sit together. Congress Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said: The Congress Party will play a constructive role in ensuring that the parties assembled here this afternoon arrive at a consensus candidate in the next few days. Let us be proactive and not be reactive. The Congress Party has no particular candidate in mind. It will sit together with all of you and arrive at a candidate acceptable to all. At the next meeting, the parties are likely to come up with the names of leaders who could be widely acceptable, some leaders said. The decision by some key regional parties like the BJD, TRS and AAP to skip Wednesdays meeting called by Ms Banerjee has cheered the ruling BJP as it believes that their absence has only highlighted the fault-lines and one-upmanship among its rivals. Equity benchmarks fell for the third day running on Tuesday, with the Sensex tumbling 375 points in early trade, tracking weak global markets as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting outcome. Unabated foreign fund outflows continued to weigh on the domestic equity markets. The 30-share BSE benchmark was trading 374.72 points lower at 52,471.98. The Nifty declined by 100.15 points to 15,674.25. From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Titan and HDFC were the major laggards in early trade. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, NTPC, M&M and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers. Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai were trading lower in mid-session deals. Stock exchanges in the US ended sharply lower on Monday. The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,456.74 points or 2.68 per cent to settle at 52,846.70 on Monday. The Nifty tanked 427.40 points or 2.64 per cent to 15,774.40. "The Fed is scheduled to make its next policy announcement on Wednesday and investors will be highly focused on any clues for how aggressive the central bank intends to be in raising rates," said Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.02 per cent to USD 122.24 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 4,164.01 crore on Monday, as per exchange data. Bollywood actor Siddhanth Kapoor consumed illegal drugs like cocaine and ganja, his medical report has revealed. On Tuesday, the Halasuru police questioned the actor for around five hours, and he was asked to appear when summoned. Police caught Siddhanth and four others from IBAR at The Park Hotel around Sunday midnight after they raided the hotel based on information that drugs are being used at a party. Although over 100 people were present, 35 were subjected to a medical test while the rest fled. Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Dr Bheemashankar S Gule said Siddhanths medical report has revealed that he consumed cocaine and ganja. The actor did not say who gave him the drugs or when he consumed them. Siddhanth and four others were granted station bail late on Monday night. Also Read | Siddhanth Kapoor says his friends gave him drinks laced with drugs Claims drink was laced Following the police notice that he should appear for interrogation on Tuesday, Siddhanth arrived at the Halasuru police station around 11.45 am. Inspector Manjunath questioned him till 4.30 pm. The actor left the station around 5 pm. While the police quizzed him about the party, his role as a DJ and the source of the drugs he consumed, sources said Siddhanth told the police he must have consumed drinks laced with drugs. Someone offered him a drink as he played music and someone else offered a cigarette, which he smoked as he drank what was offered. He did not know he was consuming drugs. He also shared some other details, which cannot be shared at this moment. Since his answers are not satisfactory, his mobile phone has been seized and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to retrieve the messages and call details if he has deleted any, said a senior police officer. Ive been cooperating While leaving, Siddhanth told reporters he had answered all the questions. I have been cooperating. I have answered all the questions they asked. If they ever need me, I will come back. They have been really good, the Bengaluru police, and I think they are doing a great job. They should continue doing what they are doing to save many lives. Police also summoned the other accused persons Akhil Soni, 28, business manager of a private firm; Harjoth Singh, 28, operational head at a logistics firm; Akhil, 23, freelance photographer; and Hani Rafeeque, a 25-year-old digital marketing professional for questioning. A senior officer said their phones have been seized and sent for FSL. Soni lives in Indiranagar, Rafeeque is from BTM Layout and Akil is from Magadi Road. Singh is from Punjab. Meanwhile, the police continued to review the CCTV footage of the hotel. They also collected the ledger to get details of the guests who attended the party. Siddhanth was the fifth accused in the FIR. All the accused were sent for medical tests to Santosh Hospital, where five tested positive. Police filed drug-peddling charges against unknown people. There are an estimated 10 lakh domestic workers in Karnataka and about six lakh in Bengaluru alone. Despite the large number, no formal survey has been undertaken by the central government or the state, said Geeta Menon, co-founder of Stree Jagruthi Samiti, who along with Socratus and Flourishing Bengaluru Collective, is organising the Domestic Workers Unions Action Forum in Bengaluru on June 16 to mark International Domestic Workers Day. Geeta said an informal study has revealed that the domestic work sector has emerged as the largest urban employment for women workers, but it is still at the bottom of the work hierarchy. These workers are a part of the informal economy as contract workers or workers in the unorganised sector, where they are underpaid and exploited, said Geeta. She said domestic workers make a significant contribution to the GDP. There is no established legislative framework, policies, or mechanisms to address their grievances. The forum is being organised to insist the ratification of legislation to recognise domestic workers, and ensure minimum wages and other welfare schemes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday recalled the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia as he pressed Europe for further help in responding to Russia's war in Ukraine. "We're with you, be with us," Zelenskyy told Czech lawmakers in Prague, quoting an appeal made by a Czechoslovak Radio presenter in 1968 as the occupants tried to cut the radio off. "Now when the Ukrainian people are fighting for freedom against Russia's cruel invasion, we are using these words to address all nations of Europe and the democratic world," he added. "Ukraine should get everything necessary to achieve a victory." The 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by five Soviet-led armies crushed the so-called Prague Spring, a democratic movement during the communist spell of 1948-1989. Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. Zelenskyy said he believed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, was only the first step in a Moscow plot to retake its former satellites. "A tyrant who... wants everything will never stop," said Zelenskyy. "Czech people are very well aware of what happens when you make compromises with tyrants," he added, also recalling the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1938. Zelenskyy thanked Prague for welcoming more than 300,000 Ukrainian refugees and sending over weapons worth over 3.5 billion koruna ($148 million). He urged the Czech Republic to help accelerate the next package of sanctions against Russia as it takes the rotating six-month presidency of the European Union in July. Prague said it would prioritise Ukraine during its EU presidency, vowing to promote the country's bid to join the bloc and to help rebuild it after the war. "Be active so that all European leaders agree that defending and strengthening Europe is our common goal," Zelenskyy said. "Russian soldiers know that they are up against European values." Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that he is determined to timely complete all the projects under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and assured that he will resolve all the issues faced by the Chinese companies working in Special Economic Zones. Addressing a meeting in Rashakai Special Economic Zone, a flagship industrial project of the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa under the CPEC, Sharif said his government is committed to industrial development to make Pakistan an economically progressive country, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. Shehbaz said a total of nine special economic zones were launched during 2016-17 in the Joint Commission Committee. He added that Pakistan is taking advantage of modern Chinese technology. He said the affordable and skilled Pakistani labour and modern Chinese technology jointly will help make the economic development grow at a vigorous pace. The Prime Minister suggested holding road shows and other activities in China to promote Chinese investment that could result in a "win-win" situation. He assured to resolve all the issues faced by the Chinese companies working in Special Economic Zones. Shehbaz directed to achieve targets in the SEZ on stipulated times and stressed on making the Special Economic Zones a role model. The USD 62 billion CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It was signed in 2015 when Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Pakistan. The multi-billion dollars project aims to build infrastructure, power generation facilities and industrial zones in Pakistan. India has protested to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. An activist from a LGBTQI+ group poses for photos on a large rainbow colored flag as they take part in a demonstration during the House of Representatives session to legalize same-sex marriage bill, at the Parliament building in Bangkok, Wednesday. EPA-Yonhap Thailand took a step towards marriage equality Wednesday as lawmakers gave initial approval to legalising same-sex unions, prompting celebrations outside the parliament building. It is a significant landmark in a Buddhist-majority country with a highly visible LGBTQ community but whose members still face major barriers and discrimination. The legislation must clear several more hurdles before becoming law. If it succeeds, Thailand would be the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize same sex unions. The lower house approved two bills that would allow same-sex marriages and also two others that would permit civil partnerships. A committee of lawmakers will now scrutinize the bills in detail and consolidate them into two proposals, to give MPs a choice between backing civil partnerships and full same-sex marriage. After the vote a small but enthusiastic group of activists celebrated noisily outside parliament, weeping, hugging and waving rainbow flags. "I am very happy and glad, it is a good sign in Pride month that there are MPs who want equality and vote for the bills," LGBTQ activist Nada Chaiyajit told AFP. "But there is a long way to go." Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of the opposition Move Forward Party which proposed one of the same-sex marriage bills, said the vote should give people hope. "Today is an answer that politics is possible here in Thailand," Pita told the celebrating activists outside parliament. "No matter who you are, there is a place for you in this country." Demands for marriage equality were a theme at Bangkok's Pride parade earlier this month the Thai capital's first such even in nearly 16 years. Ryan Figueiredo, executive director of LGBT rights campaign group the Equal Asia Foundation, welcomed the vote but warned "there is a lot of work to be done on the ground in terms of moving the needle of public opinion and also talking to parliamentarians." Figueiredo also urged the Thai parliament to back full marriage."Civil partnerships are not equal to marriage equality, it creates an entire different class of people," he told AFP. "Civil partnerships seem like a consolation prize." (AFP) Senior TV journalist Navika Kumar has been named in an FIR registered in Maharashtra's Parbhani district against now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who had allegedly made objectionable remarks against Prophet Mohammad during a news debate hosted by Kumar, police said on Tuesday. The First Information Report was registered at Nanalpeth police station on the complaint filed by a Muslim cleric on Monday who accused Sharma and Kumar of intending to outrage religious feelings, an official said. Sharma had made objectionable remarks against the Prophet during a 'prime time' news show aired by Times Now hosted by Navika Kumar, the editor-in-chief of Times Now Navbharat and Group Editor, Times Network. "Times Now anchor Navika Kumar and Nupur Sharma are booked under section 295-A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)," the police official said. Further investigation is underway. Several FIRs were registered against Sharma in Maharashtra and other states in the wake of her remarks against the Prophet which led to massive outrage in India and also in gulf countries. Track the latest news and updates from India and across the world, only with DH. With NCP chief Sharad Pawar categorically declining the offer to be the common candidate in the July 18 Presidential polls, Opposition parties on Wednesday resolved to field a common candidate with leaders now deliberating on two names Mahatma Gandhis grandson and former Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. Just hours before the Opposition meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached out to leaders across party lines, including Congress, Trinamool Congress, BSP, BJD, JD(U) and Samajwadi Party seeking their support and suggestion on a consensus Presidential candidate. Opposition parties said Singh did not give any name from the government side. The 17 parties, which attended a meeting called by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said in a resolution adopted at the meeting that their choice of a common candidate for the Presidential polls in the 75th year of Independence will be one who who can truly serve as the custodian of the Constitution and stop the Modi government from doing further damage to the Indian democracy and India's social fabric. Sources said that the Opposition, especially the Left, would like to project the electoral battle for the top post as one of Gandhi versus Godse in a year the country is celebrating its 75th year of independence. The meeting, was attended by Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK, RJD, CPI(M), CPI, RSP, Shiv Sena, CPI(ML), National Conference, PDP, JD(S), Muslim League, RLD and the JMM, was an attempt to put a show of unity but parties like AAP, Akali Dal, YSR Congress, BJD, TRS and Sikkim Democratic Front, who were invited, chose to skip it. At the outset of the meeting, sources said, Mamata proposed the name of Pawar for the poll, which had the support of other parties, but the NCP supremo declined the offer, saying he wanted to remain in active politics till death. Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja as well as Mamata had broached the subject with Pawar on Tuesday also but he had refused to contest. While no other leaders mentioned any possible candidates, sources said, Mamata during the course of the meeting made a mention of Abdullah and Gandhi as possible candidates. However, Abullahs son and National Conference chief Omar Abdullah said there was no need to discuss names at this juncture. Amid reservations among certain quarters of the Opposition, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge made it clear in the meeting that Congress has no particular candidate in mind and they will sit together with all of you and arrive at a candidate acceptable to all. Sources said the meeting entrusted Pawar, Kharge and Mamata to take forward the process of consultation. With Mamata remaining busy, sources said, Pawar will lead the effort with Kharge and speak to party leaders to find their mind on the candidature of Gandhi and Abdullah as well as look for other names. The next meeting, as reported by DH on Tuesday, will be attended by top leaders on June 20 or 21. In the forthcoming Presidential Election, which is being held in the year of the 75th anniversary of India's independence we have decided to field a common candidate who can truly serve as the custodian of the Constitution and stop the Modi government from doing further damage to the Indian democracy and India's social fabric, the resolution adopted at the meeting said. Within days after a BJP legislator termed the police action on rioters as a ''return gift'' for their violent protests, another saffron party MP on Tuesday said that stone-pelting on Fridays would be responded to with bulldozers on Saturdays. ''UP mein agar shukravar ko patthar chalega to shanivar ko bulldozer bhi zaroor chalega,'' (If stone-pelting takes place in UP on Fridays then bulldozers will also roll on Saturdays) firebrand BJP leader Sakshi Maharaj said referring to the houses of the protestors that were razed. BJP MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi, former media advisor of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, had tweeted "balwaiyon ko return gift" (return gift to the rioters) as he posted a video of the alleged thrashing inside what appeared to be a police lock-up. The video, which had gone viral on social media, showed two cops brutally hitting nine protestors with sticks as the latter begged them to stop and tried to fend off the blows with their hands. Also read: Amnesty urges India to stop 'vicious' Muslim protest crackdown Defending the bulldozing of the houses of the protestors, Sakshi Maharaj said that the situation would have worsened had Yogi Adityanath not been at the helm of affairs in UP. Meanwhile, undeterred by widespread criticism, the administration had made a list of more houses to be demolished in the cities which had witnessed large-scale protests on Friday. ''We have identified some more rioters.....we are collecting the details of their properties....they will be razed if they are found to be illegal,'' a senior police official said. The authorities had razed the house of the alleged mastermind behind protests in Prayagraj, Javed Mohammed, claiming that it was illegal and that he had been served notices by the authorities asking him to demolish the illegally built portion of the house. Local traffic police harassing foreign tourists and extending e-visa facility to those travelling from the United Kingdom, Canada and Kyrgyzstan were the two key demands made by tourism industry stakeholders in a memorandum presented to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. We have said that tourists should not be treated like criminals. If they violate traffic signals, then it should be handled with good talks, not by harassing them, Nilesh Shah, president of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, said. Traffic polices harassment of tourists riding their own two- or four-wheelers or using self-drive vehicles is commonplace in Goa's coastal belta hub for tourist activityis commonplace in the state, where the tourists are routinely flagged down for alleged violations, the body said in the memorandum. The tourists are then eventually made to settle the fine with the cops. The issue has been raised several times in the state assembly. Shah also said that to tide over the drop in the number of foreign footfalls, there was a need to extend the electronic visa facility. Goas tourism sector has suffered due to withdrawal of e-visa for travellers from the UK, Canada, Kyrgyzstan and other countries. We have requested the Chief Minister to take this matter to the central government and find a solution, Shah said. The United Kingdom accounts for the second largest influx, after Russia, of foreign tourists to the beach state. According to Shah, before the pandemic, about 50,000 tourists from the UK visited Goa annually, adding that e-visa should replace the paper visa protocol currently in place vis-a-vis tourists from the European nation. The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, one of the oldest organisations for the sectors stakeholders, also sought immediate crackdown on the fake websites for hotels in the state. According to the association, these fake websites swindle scores of tourists intending to visit Goa by luring them to pay for their stay in non-existent hotels. The industry is facing online frauds while booking hotels. Fraudsters have developed websites of hotels, and on the pretext of providing rooms, they cheat tourists. The government should take action against such fraud, so the tourist is not looted before landing in Goa, Shah said. Even as Opposition parties protests against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan intensified for his alleged involvement in the UAE consulate smuggling case, fresh allegations have surfaced against the CMs family. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, a protest staged in front of the Secretariat here turned violent; the police had to use grenades to disperse the mob. A section of media reported that the key accused in the case, Swapna Suresh, made allegations against Vijayans family in an affidavit submitted in a Kochi court, along with a request to record a statement under CrPC 164. There was no reaction from the Chief Minister, or his office, in this regard. The allegations were about Vijayan and his familys personal meetings with Sharjah ruler Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi during the latters visit to Kerala in 2017. Suresh alleged that the CM sought personal favours for his family from the royal. She also stated in court that she had already given these statements to central agencies, but these were not investigated. Congress leader V D Satheesan demanded that if Sureshs allegations were false, why hadnt the Chief Minister filed defamation suit against her. Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister's office released footage of a previous press conference by Pinarayi, where he was telling that Sureshs visits to his residence were only for official purposes. Suresh, on Tuesday, had announced she would soon reveal details of her meetings at Chief Ministers official residence that involved his family. Meanwhile, protests by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party continued across the state on Wednesday, as well. The new Principal of St Cecilia's College, Mary Jo O'Carolan, has paid tribute to her outgoing predecessor, Martine Mulhern. Ms O'Carolan will take over as Principal at the start of the new school year in September having served as Ms Mulhern's deputy for the last three years. The end of a 10-year era will come to an end at the closure of the current term with Principal Mulhern taking early retirement. Mary Jo thanked Martine for the work she had done and ensuring that she has a strong foundation to write a new chapter in St Cecilia's history. She said: It is an honour and privilege to be appointed as the new Principal of St Cecilias College. Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to the many achievements of the outgoing Principal, Martine Mulhern. She has been a support and mentor to me since I joined the school community as Vice-Principal in 2019. Martine's dedication, sincerity, integrity and commitment to the girls has been an inspiration. She will be greatly missed. I feel confident that as the new Principal of St Cecilia's, I stand on solid foundations, surrounded by a thriving community as the school writes its next chapter. The out-going Principal of St Cecilia's College, Martine Mulhern, who leaves after 10 years in the role It goes without saying that St Cecilias College is at the heart of the local community, and I look forward to working collaboratively with the pupils, their parents and all those organisations who do so much to enrich the experience of our pupils academically, spiritually and emotionally. The last few years have been extremely challenging for us all. Therefore, my priorities will be to continue to support the health and well-being of the students, further develop the curriculum to suit the needs of all learners, whilst, fostering in our girls the desire to reach their full educational potential. Never mind Derry girls, St Cecilia's girls are unique: fun, creative, kind, but most of all full of immense talent. I will do my utmost in the coming years to ensure that this talent continues to be nurtured in all who attend St Cecilias College. I am blessed to have an excellent staff and I will be drawing on their expertise and support in the years ahead to ensure St Cecilia's College remains a welcoming and vibrant educational community. I would like also to acknowledge the work of our Board of Governors. The Governors give so generously of their time to ensure the highest standard of education is delivered in the school. The warm ethos of the school springs entirely from their commitment. Finally, I wish to say that I relish the opportunity of working within this wonderful community of people as the new Principal and will work hard to ensure St Cecilia's College remains an outstanding educational family. True You Clinic in Derry's North West Business Complex, have scooped the top prize for Cosmetic Clinic of the Year at the NI Hair and Beauty Awards. The clinic was shortlisted along with nine other finalists from across the country after being nominated by the public. After a judges panel made their decision, the Derry aesthetics clinic took home the trophy at the Europa Hotel in Belfast. Owners and practitioners at True You Clinic, Kerry Gillespie and Jemma Heath told Derry News they were extremely honoured to take home the award. Kerry said: "It was an amazing night. We just couldn't believe it. Jemma was shaking. We are so delighted. It's out of clinics all over Northern Ireland, so for us to win, it's just so special. "It's out of clinics all over Northern Ireland, so for us to win, for the girls to get the recognition from all the clients that come through the door, it's just so special. Kerry and Jemma also work alongside beauty therapist, Shree, in the salon which opened in July of 2020. All the ladies wanted to thank the public for their unbelievable support for the clinic in its primary years. Kerry added: "We've not been open long, not even two years, so that's probably the main reason we were so shocked. We really want to send a massive thank you to everyone for the nomination and their ongoing support." The nominees were decided by the public and then the judging panel decided the winner. The Northern Ireland Hair and Beauty Awards have become the leading celebration of the hair and beauty professionals that operate in the country. Creative Oceanic hosted the event for the 5th year with the awards split across two chapters and two events; one dedicated to beauty and the other focused on hair proffessionals. Incredible contenders from across the industry attended the memorable celebration on June 12, at The Europa Hotel in Belfast. A Spokesperson for The Northern Ireland Hair and Beauty Awards 2022 said: The winners reflect the creativity and talent that flows within the profession. These specialists inspire others when it comes to the big and competitive world of beauty. The Awards provided a platform to thank those that deliver high class services, making sure clients are left with the best of impressions. The winners lead the way in providing innovative treatments and are role models for the rest of the beauty world. We would like to congratulate all finalists and winners for their amazing achievements. True You Clinic can be found at Unit 31, North West Business Complex Skeoge, Derry, BT48 8SE. Kerry and Jemma accepting their award at the Europa on Sunday night (Picture: Oceanic events) A County Derry heritage group have launched a new project looking at three aspects of their local town's history. Maghera Heritage Centre (MHC) held an event to launch their latest project Memories of Maghera at the centre on Main Street, Maghera on Saturday. This exciting new project will look at three aspects of the long and fascinating heritage of the town: firstly, the history of St. Lurachs Old Church, then the long connection between Clarks Mills in Upperlands and Maghera and finally the stories and memories of those who left their Own Wee Town over the years to make new lives abroad. The Church is the symbolic heart of the town with a history that stretches back to the 6th century when St. Lurach established a monastery on the site. The old church contains a carved Romanesque lintel, which is internationally regarded as an outstanding example of 12th century architectural sculpture. The project will bring together all the information available on the Old Church and seek to make its importance more widely appreciated and known. Clarks Of Upperlands was founded in the early 1700s and the firm is the oldest family linen business in continuous production, in the world. Going back to the 17th Century Ulster was the centre of the linen industry in Ireland. The industry peaked in the 1860s then settled into a steady decline and the empty mills and factories in Upperlands are evidence of this. This project sets out to remember the importance of this industry and its connection with Maghera from the farmers who grew the flax to those who worked in the mills. These first-hand memories and stories are invaluable and give a sense of a time, a place and a way of life now long-gone. The tradition of people leaving their homeland to seek their fortune abroad goes right back to the 17th century. Sometimes they set out with hope and optimism, more often emigration was forced on them by oppression or poverty and they left reluctantly. The pattern continues to this day. Dr Conleth McCloskey. There is a wealth of material and information to be gathered here, not only about those who found fame and fortune, but about the lives and hopes and dreams of all who set out for brave new worlds. Project director, Dr Conleth McCloskey, thanked the National Lottery Heritage Fund for making the venture possible. We would like to thank the National Lottery Heritage Fund for making this project possible and extend our thanks to the National Lottery players, he said. Without them we would not be able to carry out this work, in addition we have received help from so many individuals and organisations in the area. We look forward to delivering a exciting and engaging project which will promote pride in our town and appreciation of our history and heritage. A spokesperson for the National Lottery Heritage Fund said heritage had a huge role to play in instilling pride into communities. Maghera is home to fascinating heritage across the Upperlands Linen Mill, the Old Church of St Lurach and The Emigrants Cairn, they said. We look forward to seeing the resulting exhibition, models, films and digital materials that will be produced as part of this project and available for people to enjoy now and in the future. Opposition parties have rallied behind remarks made by President Michael D Higgins who described Irelands housing crisis as our great, great failure. Sinn Fein, Labour and People Before Profit referenced President Higgins comments in the Dail during leaders questions. On Tuesday, Mr Higgins described housing as a social disaster, adding that it was no longer a crisis, but a disaster. Labour leader Ivana Bacik said it was no wonder that Mr Higgins described the housing situation as a disaster. @PresidentIRL has given voice to the reality of the ongoing housing disaster. He called out the failures of successive Govts. Above all he spoke out for those who are suffering now. Our first citizen spoke for all of us. Rather than attacking him Govt should listen. Carefully. Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) June 15, 2022 Its no wonder that hes referring to failures in government policy and its deeply concerning in this context to see kite flying from members of government about tax cuts being the priority, rather than the priority of spending on housing, on child care and public services, our schools and our hospitals, Ms Bacik added. People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said that the President has called the Government to account on its housing policy. As if we needed reminding, the president of this country had to come out and call you to account for what he described, absolutely rightly, as the great, great failure of this government and this Republic to deal with the housing disaster that you are presiding over, Mr Barrett added. When he referred to the poor law system that we thought wed left behind us as still being present, he was obviously referring to what is truly embarrassing the fact that we have 10,000 families and households and individuals and children in emergency accommodation, a situation that has got worse and worse month after month. Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty said that from the people in the street to the highest office, the housing crisis has been called out for the disaster and social catastrophe that it is. He said that the housing crisis has been profoundly damaging to the aspirations of an entire generation. The truth is being spoken in a powerful way and the cynical government efforts to shut down and shut up those standing up for the people is disgraceful, Mr Doherty added. The housing crisis is a decade of shame for Fine Gael and for Fianna Fail, that has defined life in Ireland for far too long. House prices have soared beyond the reach of ordinary workers and families. Homelessness has returned to pre pandemic levels with over 10,000 people and emergency accommodation. He accused Fine Gael and Fianna Fail of turning housing into a cash cow for private interests. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said he accepts the crisis is a challenge that the government must rise to and make progress on. He said that their efforts are showing clear signs of an improving housing supply. Paschal Donohoe said that 22,000 homes have been built in the last 12 months It is only with more homes being built, that we have the ability over time to see rents change and to see us make progress on affordability, Mr Donohoe added. He said that 22,000 homes have been built in the last 12 months, 35,000 homes commenced this year, and 43,000 homes have received planning permission. All of us except the need to make more progress here in government. We understand the anxiety, the stress, the difficulty, that this is causing to households, to homes all over our country, Mr Donohoe added. Meanwhile, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said he agreed with some of the remarks made by Mr Higgins. Mr Varadkar said that while Government is responsible for fixing the housing crisis, it is not responsible for the construction bubble and the housing crash from 2008. Mr Varadkar said: The President is somebody whos always been and often outspoken in his views because hes the President, hes above politics, above party politics and is immune in many ways of criticism and scrutiny so Im not going to be critical of him in any way. I think some of what he said was true quite frankly. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said he agreed with some of the remarks made by President Michael D Higgins The housing crisis is a disaster for a lot of people. For the 60% or 70% of us who own our own homes whether its outright or through a mortgage, thats not the case. But for people who are paying very high rents, often half their income in rents, thats a disaster and it is a fact that in Ireland at the moment, very often you know, a couple both of who have decent jobs are unable to afford a home and that wasnt the case for most of our history. To me thats a social disaster, people who are working hard to have decent incomes cant afford to buy a home and many are so frustrated at that, theyre even willing to turn to populism and nationalism and euroscepticism as a solution and in that scenario they may lose their job as well as their house but that is a disaster in my view. Were responsible for solving it. I dont think were responsible for the construction bubble and the housing crash and all of the things that happened. Part of the reason why we have the housing crisis that we have is because 12 years ago we had a housing bubble, a banking and construction collapse and I certainly wasnt responsible for that. We are responsible for fixing the problem. Criticism and describing a problem is one thing, but coming up with solutions and operationalising them is another. Meanwhile, anti-homelessness campaigner Father Peter McVerry, who attended a Dublin event promoting weekend cost-of-living protests on Saturday, said Mr Higgins had stated the obvious. President Higgins states what is blatantly obvious and gives a reason for it, that over the last 15 to 20 years successive governments have relegated responsibility for housing to the private sector and he gets attacked by the very parties who implemented those policies, he said. Instead of listening to him and asking themselves what can they do, they attack him. PLDT has pressed the Philippines government to clarify how its proposed Open Access in Data Transmission Act will distinguish between telecom operators and data transmission players. The proposed act aims to help ISPs enter the local broadband market by removing regulatory hurdles, promoting fair and open competition. The government claims that this will reduce internet prices by driving more cost-effective installation of broadband infrastructure. However, at PLDTs annual stockholders meeting, corporate secretary and chief legal counsel Marilyn A Victorio-Aquino argued that the act will open the data transmission industry to data transmission participants who will be allowed to own and operate a network without obtaining a franchise, or a certificate of public convenience, or a provisional authority unlike the telcos. Victorio-Aquino further elaborated: When a data transmission industry player owns and operates a network, it will be allowed to compete for the scarce frequencies which are available to players like us. When that happens, you ask yourselves, so what happens between the business of a data transmission player and the telcos when they can operate and own a network and they can compete [for] our frequency? Theres not much difference. So, why will they be treated differently? Why will they be allowed to operate and conduct business without obtaining a franchise and a certificate of public convenience and necessity? Both requirements are imposed on telcos, which somehow restrict our operations in such a way that these regulators subject us to. So, these are the questions that need to be asked in case this bill is reintroduced in the new Congress, she concluded. CommsUpdate reports that the Open Access in Data Transmission Act was first published as House Bill No. 0057 in July 2019, although it was revised to become House Bill 8910 in March 2021. The House of Representatives approved the bill on 28th July 2021 and it passed to the Senate the following day. Business World reports that the bill is one of the measures that local business groups and foreign chambers are pushing for the 18th Congress to pass in its remaining session days. The DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) supports the bill on the grounds that it will ensure competition in the former duopoly. In a statement, DICT said that the bill mandates interconnection among data transmission participants to avoid dominance by a single player or by a group of data providers. The bill also mandates that there should be at least two providers at any given layer. Continuing its fast pace of growth, Africa Data Centres, which boasts Africas largest network of interconnected, carrier and cloud-neutral data centre facilities, has announced plans to build its second data centre in Cape Town. The company, part of the Cassava Technologies Group, a pan-African technology group, says the new 20MW facility will cover 15,000 square metres in eight data halls and is situated on the northern periphery of Cape Town city centre. The site is located in a secure business park that is well served by two major national roads, the N7 and M12, and is close to Cape Town's city centre, the V&A Waterfront harbour and Cape Town International Airport. It is also within easy reach of Africa Data Centres' existing facility in Diep River. Tesh Durvasula, Chief Executive Officer of Africa Data Centres, says there is a clear pipeline of demand for colocation space that cannot be served from the existing Diep River data centre. Cape Town is the number two data centre market in South Africa, itself the leading data centre market on the African continent. The city currently has a connectivity ecosystem made up of several colocation data centres and a wide range of cloud service providers and networks. The Cape Town build is currently in the initial design phase, with work set to start on site in the last quarter of 2022. Completion is scheduled for the end of 2023. This news follows hard on the heel of plans recently announced by Africa Data Centres to build a 30MW data centre facility in Accra, adding Ghana to its existing Nigeria and Togo data centres. Team Telecom Armenia has secured funding worth US$45 million from three separate banks to help it deploy high speed internet across Armenia, enabling the countrys digital economy. Formerly known as Beeline, the operator has procured financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Russias Ameriabank. The operators chairman Aleksandr Yesayan said that the investment would be used to deploy a 25Gbps next-generation fibre optic network connecting the countrys cities, towns and villages. In addition, the funding will allow Team Telecom Armenia to upgrade and expand its 4G/LTE network. CommsUpdate reported that the additional investment would improve connection quality for at least 1.1 million subscribers, with over 450,000 households receiving access to fibre technology for improved connectivity speeds. Joint Visit of Minister Coveney and Norwegian Minister for Foreign Affairs to Turkiye Press release The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney T.D., will make a joint visit to Turkiye with Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt on 14-15 June. The Ministers will visit the UNs cross border aid operation between Turkiye and North West Syria, at Bab al-Hawa, before travelling to Ankara for a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu. Ahead of the visit, the Minister said: Since joining the Security Council in 2021, Ireland and Norway have worked closely together as co-penholders on the Syria humanitarian file. After ten years of conflict, the humanitarian situation in Syria is worse than ever. Over 14 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 4 million people in need of aid in North West Syria alone. Millions of Syrians depend on United Nations cross-border assistance enabled by the Security Council. The UN dispatched some 800 trucks of cross-border aid from Turkiye to North-West Syria every month in 2021, reaching 2.4 million people. The Minister added: This UN operation requires a political mandate from the Security Council to operate. In 2021, Ireland and Norway successfully led negotiations on Resolution 2585, which extended the mandate for the operation for twelve months, until 10 July 2022. Ahead of the expiry of the mandate, Ireland and Norway have again been tasked with leading negotiations on a new Resolution. Our visit to the cross border operation today highlights the importance we attach to this operation, and to extension of the mandate. Humanitarian aid must reach all people in need. The Minister concluded: I also expect to discuss the situation in Ukraine with Minister Cavosoglu, particularly Turkish efforts to find a resolution to getting the millions of tonnes of grain that are stuck in Ukraine out onto world markets. Russias invasion of Ukraine is causing a humanitarian crisis, not only in Ukraine itself, but amongst vulnerable populations in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa in particular, who are facing food shortages and soaring grain prices. ENDS Press Office 14 June 2022 Notes to Editor: Cross border deliveries of aid have played vital role in providing humanitarian assistance to people in need throughout the Syria conflict. In 2014, four of these crossings were given authorisation by the Security Council, under Resolution 2165. Russia is opposed to the use of cross border operations, believing them to be an infringement of Syrian sovereignty. In 2019 and 2020 Russia vetoed a number of UN Resolutions to extend the mandate for cross border operations. After protracted negotiations in 2020, the mandate for only one of the four original crossings at Bab al-Hawa was renewed. Since joining the UN Security Council in 2021, Ireland and Norway have served as co-penholders on the Syrian humanitarian file. In this role, we led negotiations on the extension of the mandate for Bab al-Hawa. In July 2021, the Security Council agreed on Resolution 2585 by consensus this extended the mandate for the operation at Bab al-Hawa for 12 months, to 10 July 2022. This was the first Security Council Resolution adopted by consensus since 2016. Humanitarian needs in Syria remain extremely high, with over 14 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. The humanitarian situation in the North West Province of Idlib is particularly acute, with over 4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. The only viable way to meet these needs is via the UNs cross border operation. To date Ireland has provided more than 220 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the Syrian humanitarian crisis our largest ever response to a single crisis. Minister Coveney visited the UN cross border operation at Bab Al-Hawa in January 2021. Previous Item | Next Item Android updates are always very fascinating, as Google also keeps on adding new features and the latest bids of software updates such as Google Assistant Features, animations, themes and many more. With many phones yet to receive Android 12, Google has announced Android 13 and Android 13 Beta 1 which came recently. As usual, Google first released the developer preview, and then 3 Beta updates are scheduled, and once the system reaches stability, Android 13 will be launched this year. Like always, Google Pixel devices will get the update first and once Beta 2 is released a few OEMs can be expected to come with Android 13 on some of their phones. Further in the article, we will delve into the top features and latest information about Android 13 and also at the long-awaited release date of the OS, along with some eligible devices that are expected to get Android 13. Android 13 Expected Release Date Back in February, Google released the first developer preview, and on 26 April released the first Android 13 Beta for Pixel devices. As per the timeline shared by Google, the 2 Beta released in may and Beta 3 and 4 are scheduled to release in June and July respectively. Google is expected to release the final and stable version of Android 13 in August 2022. Android 13 Top Features With the Android 13 update, Google has focused more on privacy and security. There are some visual changes and some of them are under the hood, these are not visually available for the users to see, but Google is adding new features to enhance the experience and user performance as well. Photo Picker This new photo picker feature lets the users share photos and videos on other apps securely. The picker 13 will bring both local and cloud pictures. All can use photo picker Apis to access shared pictures and videos, it wont require any permission to view all media files on the device. This is a big win, as the users wont have to worry about giving unnecessary access to all media files. Nearby Wi-Fi Devices Permission The new version of Android brings the NEARBY_WIFI_DEVICES runtime permission. This permission will be required by the apps that commonly request WiFi APIs and also enables apps to use nearby WiFi without needing location permissions. Quick Settings Tile Google is making it easier for its users to add tiles to Quick Settings With the introduction of a new Tile API. With this developers will be able to add their apps tile directly to the active Quick Setting Tile. This also makes it easier for users to discover tiles in the quick setting area. More Material You Design Google introduced this feature in Android 12 which is a system-wide theme engine. On Android 13 the company is expanding the material to all icons., allowing users to inherit the wallpapers and other themes. Developers can add a monochromatic app icon and a tweak to the adaptive icon XML, this will allow their app to the Material you Theme. Per-app Language This feature has been in the talk for a while now and is finally available. With this functionality, the users can choose the language in which they want to operate a particular app without changing the default language. At first, few apps will only come with this functionality, this is a great feature for multilingual people. The settings can be accessed by heading to Settings > Apps > All apps >